Nowadays, there are so many pros providing free tips and videos online that it is difficult to figure out who is worth listening to. As certified tennis nuts, we have gone through a lot of the materials and picked out some of the best tennis pros' websites and videos that are worth your time.
Best Online Tennis Pros:
For Advanced Players (U.S. NTRP rating of 4.0 or better):
Jeff Salzenstein (https://www.youtube.com/user/TennisCoachTV). Former top-50 ranked pro with awesome tips. A must watch site for all aspiring pros.
Heath Waters (https://www.youtube.com/user/theacesystem) and (http://www.virtualtennisacademy.com/). His Virtual Tennis Academy has some of the best videos for advanced players. Signup is free for now. Hurry before he starts charging for the site.
Peter McCraw (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=peter+mccraw+tennis) and (http://www.mccrawmethod.com/). He is a well-known junior development coach. His "Technical Fundamental DVD" in our opinion is well worth the money.
Patrick Dougherty, the serve doctor at IMG Academy Bollettieri Tennis (https://www.youtube.com/user/servedoc).
David Bailey for footwork (https://www.youtube.com/user/baileymethod).
Hank Pfister for serve and volley lessons (search for Hank Pfister in the search box at http://www.tennisresources.com).
Dr. Calvin Nii (https://tennisspeedresearch.blogspot.com/). Advanced discussion on forehand biomechanics ideally suited for junior development coaches.
For Intermediate Players:
Mauro Marcos (https://www.youtube.com/user/CoachKyril) and (http://mauromarcostennis.com). He is incredible in explaining technical concepts in easy to understand terms.
Jim McLennan (https://www.youtube.com/user/JPMcLennan).
Tomaz Mencinger at Feel Tennis (https://www.youtube.com/user/TennisMindGame).
Ian Westermann (https://www.youtube.com/user/EssentialTennis).
Florian Meier (https://www.youtube.com/user/OnlineTennisLessons).
Tom Avery (https://www.youtube.com/user/BestTenniscom).
Brent Abel (https://www.youtube.com/user/webtennis).
Will Hamilton (https://www.youtube.com/user/FYB2007).
Best Tennis Bulletin Board:
Talk Tennis run by tennis-warehouse.com (http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/)
For Advanced Players (U.S. NTRP rating of 4.0 or better):
Jeff Salzenstein (https://www.youtube.com/user/TennisCoachTV). Former top-50 ranked pro with awesome tips. A must watch site for all aspiring pros.
Heath Waters (https://www.youtube.com/user/theacesystem) and (http://www.virtualtennisacademy.com/). His Virtual Tennis Academy has some of the best videos for advanced players. Signup is free for now. Hurry before he starts charging for the site.
Peter McCraw (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=peter+mccraw+tennis) and (http://www.mccrawmethod.com/). He is a well-known junior development coach. His "Technical Fundamental DVD" in our opinion is well worth the money.
Patrick Dougherty, the serve doctor at IMG Academy Bollettieri Tennis (https://www.youtube.com/user/servedoc).
David Bailey for footwork (https://www.youtube.com/user/baileymethod).
Hank Pfister for serve and volley lessons (search for Hank Pfister in the search box at http://www.tennisresources.com).
Dr. Calvin Nii (https://tennisspeedresearch.blogspot.com/). Advanced discussion on forehand biomechanics ideally suited for junior development coaches.
For Intermediate Players:
Mauro Marcos (https://www.youtube.com/user/CoachKyril) and (http://mauromarcostennis.com). He is incredible in explaining technical concepts in easy to understand terms.
Jim McLennan (https://www.youtube.com/user/JPMcLennan).
Tomaz Mencinger at Feel Tennis (https://www.youtube.com/user/TennisMindGame).
Ian Westermann (https://www.youtube.com/user/EssentialTennis).
Florian Meier (https://www.youtube.com/user/OnlineTennisLessons).
Tom Avery (https://www.youtube.com/user/BestTenniscom).
Brent Abel (https://www.youtube.com/user/webtennis).
Will Hamilton (https://www.youtube.com/user/FYB2007).
Best Tennis Bulletin Board:
Talk Tennis run by tennis-warehouse.com (http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/)
Other worthwhile websites:
Online Tennis Resources (http://www.tennisresources.com/). This is one of the best sites online. The only reason why it's in the "Other worthwhile websites" is that you are only allowed 5 free videos before being asked to pay.
Lock and Roll Tennis (https://www.youtube.com/user/lockandrolltennis). His How to Hit a Modern Tennis Forehand Video is one of the best in illustrating how the pros hit a powerful yet effortless modern forehand. That video alone has over 800,000 views.
Tennisone (https://www.youtube.com/user/tennisonevideo)
Peter Freeman (https://www.youtube.com/user/atlantatennisfactory)
Brady Hiete (https://www.youtube.com/user/DailyTennisLesson)
Kevin Garlington (https://www.youtube.com/user/TotalTennisgame)
Top tennis Training (https://www.youtube.com/user/TopTennisTrainingNet)
Daniel Spatz (https://www.youtube.com/user/SpatzTennis). Many of his videos are in Spanish. I wish my Spanish were good enough to understand him.
High Altitude Tennis (https://www.youtube.com/user/HighAltitudeTennis)
Mario Llano (https://www.youtube.com/user/Mariomst)
Jorge Capestany (https://www.youtube.com/user/TENNISDRILLSTV)
Edgar Giffenig (https://www.youtube.com/user/EdgarGiffenig) – we like that most of his videos are 2 minutes or less.
Online Tennis Resources (http://www.tennisresources.com/). This is one of the best sites online. The only reason why it's in the "Other worthwhile websites" is that you are only allowed 5 free videos before being asked to pay.
Lock and Roll Tennis (https://www.youtube.com/user/lockandrolltennis). His How to Hit a Modern Tennis Forehand Video is one of the best in illustrating how the pros hit a powerful yet effortless modern forehand. That video alone has over 800,000 views.
Tennisone (https://www.youtube.com/user/tennisonevideo)
Peter Freeman (https://www.youtube.com/user/atlantatennisfactory)
Brady Hiete (https://www.youtube.com/user/DailyTennisLesson)
Kevin Garlington (https://www.youtube.com/user/TotalTennisgame)
Top tennis Training (https://www.youtube.com/user/TopTennisTrainingNet)
Daniel Spatz (https://www.youtube.com/user/SpatzTennis). Many of his videos are in Spanish. I wish my Spanish were good enough to understand him.
High Altitude Tennis (https://www.youtube.com/user/HighAltitudeTennis)
Mario Llano (https://www.youtube.com/user/Mariomst)
Jorge Capestany (https://www.youtube.com/user/TENNISDRILLSTV)
Edgar Giffenig (https://www.youtube.com/user/EdgarGiffenig) – we like that most of his videos are 2 minutes or less.
Here are some videos that we consider especially useful in developing great tennis strokes.
Forehands:
The following videos emphasizes the wrist and racket head positions during a forehand stroke.
The following videos emphasizes the wrist and racket head positions during a forehand stroke.
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Volleys:
The best video for intermediate to advanced players I have come across is a 17 minute video from tennisresources.com by Hank Pfister called "Volley Technique Full Lesson". At about 13:15 into the video, Hank discusses having a 90 degree angle between the forearm and the racket (L-position) and says "You set it and it stays. Once you set it, it does not move!". To us, maintaining that L-position throughout the swing is the key in hitting a consistent volley. Click here and search for "Pfister" to watch the video.
Grip:
Another critical concept that there is not a lot of information about is the grip. Did you know that there are two different types of continental grip? Pros use a so-called strong 2-1 continental grip (index knuckle on bevel 2 and heel pad on bevel 1) while most club players use a weak 2-2 continental grip. Click here to read the discussion at tennis-warehouse.com. The same strong 2-1 grip could be used for serving as well. Click here to view a video by Pat Dougherty (known as the serve doctor at IMG Academy) discussing the pro 2-1 grip.
Backhand Slice:
The backhand slice is very similar to a backhand volley. As such, the key to a consistent backhand slice is also the locked L position of the wrist throughout the swing. In addition, the forearm and upper arm should be straight at the time of impact. The following video discusses these concepts and proper swing path.
The backhand slice is very similar to a backhand volley. As such, the key to a consistent backhand slice is also the locked L position of the wrist throughout the swing. In addition, the forearm and upper arm should be straight at the time of impact. The following video discusses these concepts and proper swing path.
Serves:
Similar to volleys, the key to a powerful serve is the roughly 30-40 degree angle between the racket and forearm at the point of impact. The angle takes full advantage of pronation of your arm (biomechanically speaking, it is internal shoulder rotation plus a little bit of forearm roll) to provide maximum racket head speed. Using the 2-1 grip discussed above helps to achieve the proper angle. We personally know of many over-70 year old players who can serve at 100 mph or better just by using this grip and "pronation".
The following video also discusses the 30 degree racket angle to the forearm.
Similar to volleys, the key to a powerful serve is the roughly 30-40 degree angle between the racket and forearm at the point of impact. The angle takes full advantage of pronation of your arm (biomechanically speaking, it is internal shoulder rotation plus a little bit of forearm roll) to provide maximum racket head speed. Using the 2-1 grip discussed above helps to achieve the proper angle. We personally know of many over-70 year old players who can serve at 100 mph or better just by using this grip and "pronation".
The following video also discusses the 30 degree racket angle to the forearm.