Why Is Vision Important In Tennis?
You might not have thought about it before, but everything in tennis depends on your vision!
You have to pick up on the subtle changes in your opponent's body position to anticipate their next shot.
You have to be able to quickly read the flight of the ball, so you can prepare in time & set up in the right position for your shot.
You have to be able to judge the speed and spin on the ball as well as precisely how far it is away, so you can start your swing at the right time.
You then have to adjust your swing speed and swing path, relative to the unique flight of the shot coming towards you.
And finally, you have to track the ball through to contact, so you can hit it cleanly and consistently.
Your ability to focus is also completely dependent on how well your visual system works.
When you think of great tennis players, you instinctively think of what incredible athletes they are in terms of speed, fitness, strength and flexibility. What most people don’t think about is how incredible their visual systems are.
It's amazing vision that allows top players to easily return a 120 mph serve that would fly by most normal people before they could even react.
And unfortunately, it works the other way too. Lack of visual skill is the biggest thing preventing most players from improving.
That’s why it’s common for players to practise religiously, spend thousands of dollars on tennis courses, clinics and lessons, but not improve very much at all.
Because you can only play at the level your visual system will allow you to play at!