Watching Someone Else Playing
It's hard to leave my eyes off the ball on the tennis court when I'm watching someone else playing. However, it is more important to pay attention to the player him/herself than the ball trajectory. Why? Well, for a number of reasons.
First of all, it takes only 5ms of dwell time however seconds of prior preparation. That means it's more important to learn what is happening before the ball contact. And we can learn a lot when watching the better players not the ball. Here's Novak Djokovic's practice session captured from the right angle!
In contrast just look at this video. Any back angle just ruins this phenomenon for me, it becomes hard to follow Novak where the good staff is going on (I'm talking about the footwork, swings, follow-throughs for God's sake!).
Another reason you might wonder? By watching the player's movement you can figure out more weaknesses. And one more, you have to watch the player against you to understand if a ball is coming with a slice. Otherwise, it is impossible to take position properly with a good anticipation. ;) I see this a lot of times with club players like me...
First of all, it takes only 5ms of dwell time however seconds of prior preparation. That means it's more important to learn what is happening before the ball contact. And we can learn a lot when watching the better players not the ball. Here's Novak Djokovic's practice session captured from the right angle!
In contrast just look at this video. Any back angle just ruins this phenomenon for me, it becomes hard to follow Novak where the good staff is going on (I'm talking about the footwork, swings, follow-throughs for God's sake!).
Another reason you might wonder? By watching the player's movement you can figure out more weaknesses. And one more, you have to watch the player against you to understand if a ball is coming with a slice. Otherwise, it is impossible to take position properly with a good anticipation. ;) I see this a lot of times with club players like me...