By Eli Buenaventura
For Variety

WHETHER you like it or not, tennis is practice, practice and practice. The more you practice the more your game becomes better. When you play better, the more you will have a lot of fun on the court. And the more you have fun, the more you will be able to optimize your performance. Here are 10 pointers to improve your tennis practice sessions and eventually raise the bar of your game.
1.Practice and apply system. Try the practice and apply system. Apply to the game what you have practiced. Rather than abbreviating your swing motion, try to swing the racket finishing between your right shoulder and ear. Another opportunity is to hit your second serve as fast as the first serve but with plenty spin. Do this until it becomes part of your system.
2. Practice first with serve, volley and groundstroke. One hundred percent of the recreational players hit tons of forehand and backhand shots, hit only few volley shots and then practice a couple of serves to start a match. Try to reverse your practice sequence. Hit a lot of serves and volleys instead. You will be amazed how easy to get points, particularly during tiebreak. Remember that pros are not practicing their tennis serve and volley for hours for nothing.
3) Practice good habits. Recreational tennis players easily fall prey to bad tennis syndrome. As a result, their level of performance keeps still. For instance, after they hit a wonderful shot, they stop and watch their shot instead of getting ready. Another bad habit is that they rely on their opponent’s mistakes instead of forcing them to commit errors. Examples of good habits are: Stay on the point until it is finished. Assume that the ball will keep returning to you. Stay on your toes. Turn your shoulder to hit your backhand.
4) Practice with your mind. Tennis is 65 percent mental and 35 percent physical. So you can see that there is more opportunities to use the mind than the physical part of your body in the game. The question is: How can I practice with my mind? One way is to visualize the shot you have to make. Example: In a quiet place in your home, imagine that all your balls will land between the service line and the baseline. Visualize that no matter how big your opponent’s serve is, you are going to return it crosscourt. Do this 15 minutes a day, and you will see what your mind can do for your game.
5) Practice easy floaters. How many of us have witnessed an easy volley going out wide, a weak lob poorly smashed, and a short ball totally mishit. Countless, aren’t they?
Spend time practicing easy shots. Honestly, I am more scared against players who put away an easy shots than those who rarely miss a hard shot. Reason: Easy shot does not come very often. And you are not supposed to miss it.
6) Practice with the right shoes. It is very tough to have a productive practice session, particularly if your feet are not comfortable with your shoes. Whether your foot is supinated, pronated or neutral, there are shoes available in the marketplace that suits your sole. Your foot is supinated when your wear is on the outside of your shoes. It is pronated when your wear is on the inside around the ball of the your foot. And your foot is neutral when your wear is even.
7. Practice your strength and weakness. You may not have a strong backhand and you need to practice it more. But it does not mean that you will part ways with your powerful forehand. Practice your powerful forehand regularly and maximize it during actual play. If you stop practicing your strength, it will become your weakness later on.
8. Practice with drills. It is not enough that you hone your strokes by getting a hitting partner. You must also do some drills that simulate actual play. The USTA has a book of drills that deals almost everything with respect to your totality as a player. From drills for better serving, footwork, and stamina to drills for better volley, backhand and forehand. I recommend that you buy this book. It is a good investment.
9. Practice with a purpose. You don’t need to pound hundreds after hundreds of balls to complete your practice session. All you need is to get the feel of the shot that you want to use in an actual match. If your practice goal is to hit 20 backhand down the line and 20 backhand crosscourt, and you achieve it in 20 minutes, switch to your next goal. Always remember the good shots you make.
10. Practice with fun. Practice session, I must admit, is sometimes boring, particularly if you are only doing it yourself. Imagine you are practicing service alone around 2 o’ clock in the afternoon. The best of your personal discipline will always be put to a test. Have fun when you practice and your practice sessions will be productive.