Tennis Training Mistakes

In this article, I’ve gathered the most common tennis training mistakes based on my experience as both a player and a coach. Tennis is a challenging sport, and it takes time before a player reaches the level where they can rally consistently.

There are no real shortcuts; progress requires practice and repetition. However, avoiding certain mistakes can speed up your development and make training more enjoyable.

Some of these mistakes might seem obvious, but fixing them can make a real difference over time.

Sleep and Recovery 🛌
Nutrition and Hydration 💧
Attitude 🧠
Being Late 🕝
Irregularity 📉
Lack of Communication With Your Coach 🔇
Wrong Gear 🎾
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Sleep and Recovery 🛌

Poor sleep reduces focus, speed, and precision on the court.
Fatigue from lack of sleep increases the risk of injury.
Sleep affects mood and patience, which can influence your practice and group atmosphere.

Sleep and recovery are the base of good, injury-free training. If your practices are in the morning, getting enough sleep becomes even more important. When you don’t sleep well, everything starts to slip. Fatigue sets in, your focus drops, and you move slower on the court.

Tennis demands precision, because every bounce is a little different and hitting solid shots takes constant attention. When you’re tired, you burn out faster, and longer drills or point play start to feel much tougher.

Fatigue also raises your risk of injury. When you’re not fully alert, your movement gets less sharp and controlled. That often leads to awkward hitting positions and increases the chances of ankle or footwork-related injuries.

Poor sleep can also make you more irritable. Tennis is a tough sport where mistakes happen all the time, and tough sessions require patience. When you’re tired, it’s much harder to stay calm and move on from errors.

Irritation can spread to the whole training group, too. I’ve seen it many times: one frustrated player can shift the mood of the session. Training with someone who’s negative or unfocused puts their partner in a strange spot, especially if the frustration starts spilling over. This connects closely to attitude, which I’ll cover in the next section.

Adapting and Training With Poor Sleep

Accept that your performance will likely be lower and avoid getting frustrated.
Lower expectations and focus on maintaining concentration rather than peak performance.
Be cautious with movements to reduce injury risk when your body is not at full alertness.
Use fatigue as an opportunity to simulate long matches and practice adapting your game under less-than-ideal conditions.

It’s not always possible to sleep well, and sometimes, no matter what you do, you won’t get a good night’s sleep before practice. A bad night doesn’t automatically mean you should skip practice. It’s up to each player to know when they can still train and when rest is the better option.

If you choose to practice after poor sleep, the main thing is to accept that you probably won’t play at your usual level. Getting frustrated because things aren’t going your way is the first trap to avoid.

Once you acknowledge that your performance won’t be perfect, the best way to turn a rough practice into a productive one is to adapt. Start by lowering your expectations. You might make more errors, and you might not stand out in your group that day, but you can still have a solid session if you stay focused.

The next important point is to be a bit more careful than usual. Your body isn’t as sharp after a poor night’s sleep, and big, explosive movements come with a higher risk of injury. You shouldn’t play scared, but it’s smart to remember that your body isn’t operating at full capacity.

Even though fatigue makes training harder, it also comes with one useful benefit. Playing while tired is similar to the feeling you get deep into a long match. Even if you sleep well before a competition, after a couple of hours you will still feel fatigue. That “fatigue zone” is something most players rarely train in during regular sessions.

To become a better player, you also have to learn how to perform when tired and adjust your playing style to your energy levels. So if you show up tired, you can treat the practice as a “long match simulation” and use it to gain valuable experience.

When you’re rested, your mind handles mistakes more easily, and it’s simpler to move on from lost points. When you’re tired, it’s much easier to get stuck on a few bad shots and slip into a negative loop. This makes training feel less rewarding. One of the key things I teach players is to notice when they do something right, because that feeling is what keeps progress moving.

In the end, training with poor sleep comes down to listening to your body and knowing your limits. Some players manage fatigue well, while others don’t. Sometimes it’s better to skip practice if you’re extremely tired, and sometimes you can push through and still have a productive session.

A good general rule is this: training while fatigued once in a while is fine and can even be beneficial, but if most of your practices happen in a tired state, it’s a sign you need more rest and recovery. In sports, your body usually needs more rest than you think.

Recovery

Proper recovery allows your body to adapt and learn from training.
Training while fatigued reduces the effectiveness of repetitions.
Listen to your body to decide when to train and when rest is needed.

Recovery is another key factor closely connected to sleep. When your body is fully or mostly recovered from previous exercise, it adapts better to changes and learning. This applies to both physical and mental development. While regular practice is important in any sport, training when your body hasn’t recovered from a previous session can actually be counterproductive.

Knowing how often to train comes down to listening to your body and observing your performance. The easiest way to notice this is through your good and bad days. On good days, everything feels light and effortless, usually because your energy levels are high. On bad days, you feel sluggish and off-balance, often because your energy is low.

The real skill is how you handle those bad days. Sometimes, even if you’ve done all the right preparations like sleeping well and eating properly, you still have an off day. Attending practice on these days usually doesn’t hurt.

Sometimes, bad days happen because of poor preparation, like not getting enough sleep or proper nutrition. On those days, it’s usually wiser to rest instead of pushing through, especially if you’ve had several off days in a row. Overtraining not only drains your energy but also increases the risk of injury. Taking a session or two off can help you come back stronger and make your next practice more productive.

Bad days in practice are very similar to tough moments in matches. In a match, you won’t always be at your best, sometimes your energy dips, shots don’t land, and mistakes pile up. Training on off days helps you build resilience for these situations. You learn to adjust your game, stay focused, and find solutions even when things aren’t going perfectly, which prepares you to handle pressure and setbacks during real matches.

At the same time, finding the right balance between work and rest is important. You won’t always train on your best days, and pushing through a tough session can be valuable, but quality often matters more than quantity. When your body is rested, it adapts and improves more effectively. Training while fatigued may give you a lot of repetitions, but your body doesn’t “register” them as well. Learning when to push and when to rest is part of becoming a smarter, more resilient player.

Nutrition and Hydration 💧

Proper nutrition fuels focus and energy for training.
Avoid practicing hungry or dehydrated to maintain performance.
A protein-rich meal or a light snack before practice is sufficient.
Drink plenty of water or hydrating liquids, especially during long sessions.

One of the easiest training mistakes to avoid is poor nutrition and hydration. Tennis is a demanding sport that requires above-average focus, and maintaining that focus takes energy. You do not need a “feast of champions” before every session, but it is important not to train hungry or dehydrated.

When your body does not have enough energy, it goes into “energy-saving mode” to maintain basic functions. Training in this state limits your performance and slows learning.

A protein-rich meal before practice is usually enough to fuel your session. If you do not have time for a full meal, a light snack like a banana or sandwich is better than nothing. For longer sessions, easily digestible carbohydrates, such as sports drinks or fruit, can help maintain energy levels.

Hydration is equally crucial. Tennis players can sweat more than 2.5 liters per hour, which increases the risk of dehydration. Once dehydration sets in, performance drops and muscles take a long time to recover even after drinking. That is why staying well-hydrated before and during practice is essential for maintaining focus, energy, and overall performance.

If you are interested to learn more about tennis eating and hydration you can check this article.

Attitude 🧠

Define why you are practicing to set goals and focus.
Be confident and humble enough to make errors and try unfamiliar skills.
Avoid perfectionism; focus on the outcome rather than how the shot feels.
Stay out of your comfort zone to develop a wider range of skills.

Attitude is one of the most important elements in tennis training, yet it’s often the most difficult one for players to manage. In order to have good and consistent training sessions your mind needs to be on point in addition to your body.

Why Am I Practicing?

The first question you should ask yourself is simple: why am I practising? Your answer sets the framework and goals for your training and gives your sessions purpose.

Just for Fun

If you are practicing just for fun, there is no need to be too demanding or systematic. At this level, skill development doesn’t need to be a priority.

It’s important that everyone in your practice group is on the same page. For example, if three players want to train seriously and one is just playing for fun, conflicts can happen. The serious players may get frustrated if they feel the fun player isn’t matching their effort.

As a fun-focused player, you usually don’t need to worry too much since coaches are mainly responsible for coordinating training goals. But if you notice others are putting in more focus and effort than you, it might be a good moment to consider picking up the pace too.

Becoming a Better Player

If your goal is to improve, the first step is to be confident and humble enough to make mistakes. Too often, I see players who want to develop but shut down when faced with something unfamiliar.

There are two common reactions when a new skill or theme is introduced in training. The first is saying the skill won’t be useful in a game, like a forehand slice. I’ve discussed this issue with my coach, and his blunt response was always: of course you wouldn’t use it, because you can’t. This highlights where real development happens, by tackling skills you don’t yet know. Pushing yourself to try the unfamiliar is where true growth comes.

The second reaction is questioning the coach. Some players challenge the usefulness of a new drill. While curiosity is natural, constantly questioning can make the coach’s job harder and slow your progress. Trusting your coach’s expertise is key to development.

Being humble and confident enough to make errors is essential. When practicing new skills, mistakes are normal. Shots won’t land, movements will feel off, and that’s part of the process. Errors are actually the best way to learn because your body adapts with each repetition. Tennis requires precise technique, movement, and timing, and mastery comes only after thousands of repetitions.

When you feel stuck or are making lots of errors, don’t immediately question the drill or the coach. Focus on the process and keep practicing. Each repetition helps you improve, even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment, and consistent effort is what leads to real progress.

Finally, don’t worry about what others think when you make mistakes. Giving too much weight to others’ opinions will keep you in your comfort zone. In a good practice group, everyone makes mistakes and feels free to do so without judgment.

In short, to develop as a player, stay open to new and unfamiliar themes, be patient, and allow yourself to make mistakes.

Striving for Perfection

One of the most common mistakes I see among beginner to intermediate players is striving for perfection. Tennis is a difficult sport that takes a lot of practice to even reach an intermediate level. It should not be compared to other racket sports like badminton or padel, which do not require as much skill to reach that stage.

In badminton or padel, you can quickly learn proper technique, so most strokes feel balanced and natural. In tennis, however, there is no stage where every shot feels perfect, even at higher levels. A good tennis stroke requires several factors, including solid technique, proper footwork, and perfect timing to feel smooth and balanced. Rarely do all these elements come together, so a shot might feel just okay even if it is actually good.

Especially for beginners and intermediate players, chasing perfection can take the fun out of practice. I have seen players hit an 8 out of 10 shot but mark it as bad just because it did not feel like a 10 out of 10. This attitude makes practice less rewarding since most shots in the early stages will not feel perfect.

One way to fight perfectionism is to focus on where the ball landed and how it affected the game, rather than how the shot felt or how hard it was hit. If the shot landed where you aimed and helped you win the point, it is a good shot even if it did not feel perfect.

I like to say that in tennis, style points do not matter. Proper technique is important, but the ultimate goal is winning, which can happen in many ways. For players who struggle with perfectionism, the key is to shift focus from individual shots to the bigger picture, such as completing the drill, executing a point, or winning the match.

Staying In Your Comfort Zone

This mistake is closely related to the mindset of developing players. Every player has an area where they perform best. This can come from physical abilities, training background, or personal playing style. For example, some players excel at aggressive play while others are better defensively. Some prefer flat shots, while others favor topspin or slice.

Having a comfort zone is generally a good thing. In this zone, everything feels natural, and shots and game decisions come automatically. In matches, playing to your strengths is important whenever possible.

However, staying in your comfort zone during training can limit your progress. The comfort zone is made up of things a player can already do well. While this may be enough at a certain level, advancing further requires developing new skills. For example, relying only on flat shots without learning topspin can hold a player back.

That is why it is important to be curious and courageous enough to leave your comfort zone and practice things that feel difficult at first. Real development happens in unfamiliar territory. Next time you face something new, approach it instead of avoiding it.

Avoiding challenging themes will make you a one-dimensional player and block your progress to the next skill level.

Attitude towards other players

Consider how your performance affects training partners.
Push through bad days for the benefit of others in the group.
Avoid slacking off, which can frustrate teammates and disrupt practice.
A good group atmosphere benefits everyone’s progress.

Even though tennis is mostly an individual sport, training often happens in groups, and it should not be treated as a solo activity. When practicing with others, it’s important to consider how your performance affects them. For example, if you are having a bad day, try to push through for the benefit of your training partners. If you let your off day dominate your game, it can drag down the practice for everyone else as well.

It’s not always easy to give your best when nothing seems to be going your way, but letting a bad day affect others can be frustrating for teammates. In my coaching experience, I’ve seen players on bad days slack off, which can upset those who are performing well and expecting consistent effort from everyone.

When you are having a rough practice, remember that you are not only practicing for yourself but also contributing for the benefit of the group. Being mindful of others helps create a better environment and ensures that everyone gets the most out of the session.

Being Late 🕝

Arriving late disrupts practice planning for coaches.
Late arrivals affect the warm-up and rhythm of other players.
Training is for both yourself and your group; punctuality shows respect.
Even small delays can make practice less productive for everyone.

One training mistake that might seem obvious but is surprisingly easy to avoid is being late. Being a few minutes late might not feel like a big deal, but once you are more than five minutes late, it can start to negatively affect the practice.

From a Coaches’ Perspective

Being late disrupts practice planning. At the start of a session, the coach usually sets a theme based on the number of players present. If players arrive late, the coach has to readjust the plan each time, which becomes increasingly difficult as more players show up late.

From a Players’ Perspective

Tennis requires at least two players to rally, and most sessions start with a warm-up rally. Arriving late can be frustrating for those who are already warmed up and in rhythm, as the late player is cold and hasn’t found their touch yet.

Being late affects not just your own practice but also others’. In a group, you are practicing for yourself and for your partners. Arriving late disrupts the flow, slows down the session, and can be seen as selfish.

Irregularity 📉

Muscle memory improves through regular practice.
Long breaks make movements less consistent and require time to regain rhythm.
Beginners are more affected by short breaks, while advanced players recover faster.
Consistent practice frees mental space for tactical thinking, not just technique.

One of the biggest training mistakes that hinders development is irregularity. In all sports, players improve through repetitions, which strengthen muscle memory. Good muscle memory allows your body to perform movements more accurately and consistently.

Muscle memory is time-sensitive, so regular practice is essential. Long breaks can cause your body to forget previously learned movements, making your play less consistent. After a break, depending on your skill level, it usually takes a few sessions to get back to your normal rhythm and fully benefit from practice.

What counts as a long break? For beginners, even two weeks without practice can make the game feel sluggish. Intermediate players may feel the effects after three to four weeks, while advanced players can take a month or longer off and still regain their form in a few sessions.

In tennis, finding the rhythm and tempo of the game is key to executing good shots. Regular practice helps you internalize this rhythm, freeing your mind for tactical decisions and analyzing the game. Once the rhythm is automated, you do not have to think about hitting the ball and can focus on where to place it and how it affects the point.

To make real progress in tennis, train consistently and avoid long breaks. Regular practice keeps your muscle memory active, reinforcing movements and fine motor skills, and helps you get the most out of every session.

Lack of Communication With Your Coach 🔇

Your coach is your best resource for identifying strengths, weaknesses, and a development path.
Talk openly about your practice goals and ask for tips or feedback.
Good communication helps your coach understand you better and tailor training to your needs.
A strong coach-player relationship creates a supportive environment where you can make mistakes and push yourself further.

This mistake is closely connected to a developing player mindset. If your goal is to progress, your coach is your best resource. A professional coach can help you understand your strengths and weaknesses and guide your development as a player.

To unlock this potential, it is important to maintain good communication with your coach. Talk about your practice goals and ask for tips or feedback when needed. That is exactly why your coach is there. Open communication also helps your coach understand you better, which allows them to develop you more effectively both physically and mentally.

Finally, a strong relationship with your coach creates a trusting and supportive practice environment. When you feel comfortable and supported, you are more willing to make mistakes, take risks, and push yourself further.

Wrong Gear 🎾

Using a racket that is too small or heavy can hinder learning and consistency.
Beginners benefit from rackets with larger sweet spots and lighter weight.
Heavy or small rackets slow reaction time and reduce shot power.

The last training mistake is playing with the wrong gear. While not a major issue for all players, it can noticeably hinder progress for beginners and intermediate players.

So what makes a racket too difficult? For inexperienced players, rackets with a frame smaller than 100 square inches can be challenging because the sweet spot is smaller, making it harder to hit consistent shots.

Rackets that weigh more than 10.7 ounces (300 grams) can also be difficult. They are slower to move, which makes timing shots harder, and they generate less power for beginner players compared to lighter rackets. Choosing the right gear helps you focus on developing proper technique rather than struggling with the equipment.

Tennis Physiology