It's Not My Game...It's the Weather (Humid)

Humid weather, sometimes called "heavy conditions" can be deceptively difficult. Scientifically speaking, there just happen to be more water molecules in the air. So the ball has to push through more molecules and it has absorbed molecules too. Imagine if you were going to play tennis underwater. Think of how hard it would be to hit a ball over the net. How hard it would be to run. Now imagine the ideal dry and hot conditions. Mix the two together.

Regularly speaking, the ball is heavier. So it will be harder to hit and it won't bounce as high.

You and your opponent will be experiencing the heaviness too. Which means that you will be using more energy. Your sweating will also increase because the humidity and the normal sweat will act as a barrier, keeping heat from escaping your body at a normal rate. Which means more sweat still.

Water is a really powerful molecule. Here is how you counteract:

1. Spin is your friend. Humidity will make the ball bounce lower. So get ready to hit a heavily spun ball. A higher percentage of balls will be too low for you to hit straight into the court flat. So it is a good rule to spin all the balls unless they are really high. Legs don't fail me now!!

2. Serve aggressively. You can hit more flat serves and slices. In these conditions, the ball should fall into the box a little more. Just toss a little higher to counteract the ball heaviness.

3. Bring more water. If you sweat, you will lose more fluids than you are used to. Make sure that you bring extra to replace.

4. Bring more towels and shirts. Double up on the sweat bands and headbands/hats. Managing your sweat will start to become an issue. If you sweat a good amount in normal conditions, bring another shirt or two. Maybe a complete change of clothes. The accumulation of sweat will weight you down if you aren't careful.

REMEMBER: Your body controls it's temperature by sweating and shivering. So make sure that you create as many spaces for your body to sweat. The sun is not an issue so show a little more skin and dry yourself off meticulously between points. By letting heat escape from your body faster, you fight fatigue.

Good Luck