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

If you are like me you will play tennis in the cold even if you do not like it. Cold weather takes bounce out of the ball. So if you are used to hitting the ball with a little pace, you can forget about it.

The cold weather also can freeze you making it harder to warm up and easier for you to get injured. No fun there!!

BUT you are addicted to tennis or maybe you signed up for a league and you do not want to quit so here is how you overcome the colder temperatures.

1. Get out the long johns! Most people naturally want to layer their clothes to keep warm. I try not to layer so much. Personally I put on long underwear pants to warm my legs up quickly. I do not want to wear shorts because I do not want a changeover to take all the warmth out of my legs for the next game.

For the top half of my body I wear a tight shirt underneath and maybe a sleeveless undershirt. Then I put on a big sweatshirt. I don't want to layer so much up top that I sweat or stifle my swing motion in some way. I am a big guy and this is how it works for me. However, if you are a different body type, you might not have a problem hitting a forehand or a serve. So experiment. However I do STRONGLY recommend not exposing any skin to the elements if you can.

2. Spin works wonders. You want to play with the spins more than usual. Slice serves and flat serves are good. The ball will not bounce enough for anyone to be very aggressive so do not worry so much about people hitting winners. Keep the shots low and you can take all the patience out of an aggressive player.

3. Get to the net. The most aggressive shot you can hit in this weather is your serve. So if you can get to the net behind it you could have some success. Go more for angles on your groundstrokes when you hit an approach shot. Smacking balls deep will cause you to overcook shots.

4. Bring something warm to drink.

The cold is something that we all have a preference about. with a little experimentation you can keep your condition stable and play at an optimum level.

Good luck!