Friday, 24 April 2020 / Published in Strategy Courses

Getting Tight: Brookes Gives It Two Thumbs Up

Getting Tight has been out now for about a week and a half and the early adopters are consuming the course.

Brookes Byrd, from Sacramento, sent me this review yesterday and was nice enough to agree to share it with everyone. So let’s go through Brookes’ review and see what she thinks about Getting Tight.

Quote 1

I love that it is centered around a real match. I know I’ll be able to absorb the lessons because I can visualize, feel the points – it’s almost as if I have experienced them myself! If I get hit by a sudden burst of nerves, I’ll use Jeff’s experience to guide me. If I am muscling my forehand, I’ll commit to releasing it. I can picture that.Brookes

The match Brookes is referring to is the 2019 US National Men’s 40’s Hardcourt semi-final. Francisco Clavet (formerly No. 18 in the world) defeated Jeff Greenwald (co-author of Getting Tight) 6-7, 6-1, 6-2. Jeff is also an internationally recognized sport psychology consultant and also a former ITF World Champion in Men’s 35’s and Men’s 45’s. Getting Tight focuses on pre-match expectations and tightness, what happened in the match, and also post-match reviews from Jeff and Francisco.

Quote 2

Tactics are hard for me, but having them pointed out in the context of a real match makes them vivid. I’ll ask different questions now—how long are the points that I am winning/losing? How can I make my opponent uncomfortable? Who is controlling the rally?Brookes

Jeff’s match versus Francisco is a common thread Getting Tight is built around. Having a real-life scenario is so much better to learn from and relate to! There may not be a better question to constantly ask yourself in a match than “how can I make my opponent uncomfortable?” Well done Brookes for changing the way you view matches.

Quote 3

As someone who has looked over to the other side too much, this is a delicate task. Thinking of Primary and Secondary tactics helps enormously. Also, the court divided into ABCD gives me visual targets which are lanes, not lines. I have an opponent like Jeff’s where I am going to have to expand my play to win. I’ll have to get out of my comfort zone, but it’ll be fun!Brookes

These are very insightful comments. A primary pattern is something you run 7-8 times out of 10. A secondary pattern is 2-3 times out of 1-0. In Getting Tight, we outline when is the best time (point score / what is the opponent anticipating?) to go primary or secondary. ABCD provides lanes on the court as big, easy to accomplish target zones.

Quote 4

I hate winning an easy first set. I usually brace, fearing my opponent will play better and that I will protect and continue to expect errors. Francisco answered that question for me. He expected Jeff to play better in the 3rd set, he planned to resist his attack while staying aggressive himself. That’s a plan and a mindset I can internalize and use.Brookes

Learning from real-life situations is the BEST way to learn. Francisco is directly coaching Brookes and I love it!

Quote 5

Another effect of the course is to dislodge deeply held expectations– of not making errors or not losing points. I find it very hard to loosen the grip of perfectionist goals. 45% sticks in my mind. If I play shorter, higher risk points, I’m going to make more errors. They will be visible. Judgment kicks in, my own, and what I imagine others might think. It will be an interesting mix of mental and tactical.Brookes

Giving yourself a quota of losing 45% of all points you play in a set – which means you win it 6-3 – is one of the best things you can ever do to help you win more! Tennis is absolutely not a game of perfection. It’s a game of percentages, and once you know which percentages apply to you, you can make them an integral part of your mindset.

Quote 6

I have a new image of the layering of a match. The strategic, mental, emotional, tactical layers shifting, interacting in the building of the match. Congratulations on such an imaginative and spirited course! Your enthusiasm spills over!Brookes

Thank you, Brookes, for letting us share your insights and your learning from Getting Tight. Yes, there are multiple layers all happening at once in a match, interwoven and building on each other. You now have a much better paradigm of what matters most to winning tennis matches!

Thanks, Brookes,

Craig and Jeff.

The practice court is clearly broken. Here’s the proof.

Points are "front loaded". By far the majority of the action, and the winning, takes place in THE FIRST 4 SHOTS. The practice court is full of long rallies. Matches are dominated by short rallies. There is a massive disconnect occurring.

We spend too much time grinding, banging balls up and down the middle of the court – that have no real benefit to winning tennis matches.

There are 3 specific rally lengths in tennis. Here is their percentage breakdown of total points.

0-4 Shots = 70%
5-8 Shots = 20%
9+ Shots = 10%

The First 4 Shots is specifically the serve, return, Serve +1 groundstroke and Return +1 groundstroke. Those are normally the shots that get practiced the least, but matter the most to winning tennis matches.

The net is an extremely high percentage place to be!

If you love playing tennis for fun, spend as much time at the baseline as you like. But if you compete – if the score matters – then you must turn your attention to the net to maximize your potential.

The “herd mentality” in tennis thinks it’s too tough to approach the net in today’s game. The conversation starts with improved string technology, more powerful rackets, and finishes with stronger, faster athletes. The herd think approaching is a relic of the past. The herd is WRONG!

AVERAGE WIN %
Baseline = 46%
Net = 66%

Data from ALL Grand Slams provides the facts about approach and volley, and the data is crystal clear – it’s immensely better than staying back at the baseline, grinding for a living.

The baseline is a tough place to create separation. Here's how to do it.

At the 2012 US Open, only 7 men and 14 women had a winning percentage from the baseline. At Wimbledon 2016, Andy Murray won the title only winning 52% of his baseline points - and he is one of the very best at it in the world!

Num3ers deeply explores the data that rules points, especially from the back of the court. Take a "deep dive" into all three rally lengths (0-4, 5-8, 9+), and winner and errors totals from the elite level of our game. The numbers will shock you!

All 4 Grand Slams

Forcing Errors = 41% Men / 37% Women
Winners = 32% Men / 29% Women
Unforced Errors = 27% Men / 34% Women

Num3ers is very much like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. It's about bringing together different data sets together to create the big picture.

Every recorded match from the 2015 Australian Open - Rd2 to the final.

There is a lot happening on a doubles court. Situations and strategies are constantly being adjusted to create mis-matches with court position. It's hard to keep track of - until now. Dou8les Num3ers is the most comprehensive analysis of doubles data in our sport. The focus is on how a point ends, and it's broken down eight ways to Sunday. Specifically, you find critical information on:

Winners rise to the #1 way a point ends (over forced & unforced errors)

- The last shot of the rally is overwhelmingly struck at the net.
- Center Window: the most important part of a doubles court to control.
- Stephen Huss: an in-depth interview on Wimbledon's Centre Court with the 2005 Wimbledon Doubles Champion.

Dou8les Num3ers leaves no stone unturned. Percentage breakdowns of how often the server or receiver hits the last shot highlight the dramatic influence of the serve. The last shot of the rally is significant, and is broken down into the following categories: volleys, overheads, passing shots, lobs and groundstrokes.

When you play a match, you actually play two matches.

When you walk out onto a tennis court, there are two matches that you are about to play. The first is during the point - a part of the match that you have spent a lot of time preparing for on the practice court. But there is a second match, that takes place in the 20 seconds between the points. This is where the mental and emotional aspects of our sport kick in.

Let's face it, there will be adversity in almost every tennis match that you play. The storm clouds are coming. How bug they are, and how long they last for, are up to you.

Between the points is very tennis specific. It provides a roadmap for the 20 seconds between the points, teaching how to handle the adversity that will surely come, and how to build on the successes that will also be present. Your mind is your biggest asset in a match, and Between the Points takes your hand off the self destruct button and stops you beating yourself.

You don't have to be good at everything, but you have got to be good at something.

You can break tennis down into four key elements - serving, returning, rallying and approaching. Each part has specific patterns of play that consistently deliver higher winning percentages than the others. No more guessing. No more opinions. All facets of our sport are covered in this exceptional product, clearly outlining what patterns to gravitate to, and how to best construct the practice court. Data comes primarily from the 2015 Australian Open.

Building Blocks

MEN = 70% errors / 30% winners
WOMEN = 74% errors / 26% winners

Forcing errors is the best way to construct a point.
You can simply break tennis down into primary and secondary patterns of play - and they are all covered here. Primary patterns include serve and return direction, forehands v backhands, and the best way to approach the net. Secondary patterns include drop shots, serve & volley and 1st volley options. If you play tournaments, this product will greatly help you simplify the singles court.

The conversation starts & ends with the Center Window.

The doubles court is like an hourglass. There are two big ends, but a small neck in the middle where all the action happens. Once you learn the power of the Center Window, where you stand to start the point will take on a lot more significance.

Doubles is a lot more about situations, with four people on the court all "dancing" with one another. Learn all the best doubles patterns, broken down for the server, returner, server's partner and the returner's partner.

Doubles Situations

The "J" - the most ideal movement for the returner's partner to attack the net.

The "V" - a better way of understanding where the server's partner should move to.

Volley Targets - there are four main areas to attack. Know which ones are higher percentage. Beach Volleyball - the idea of a "setter" and "spiker" is ideal for the doubles court.

There are certain parts of the court that the ball travels to a lot, and other low percentage areas that you really don't want to cover at all - like the alley! In general, the serving team wants to keep the ball in the middle of the court as much as possible (to help the server's partner), while the returning team benefits from hitting wider and creating more chaos in the point.

SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

Getting Tight: Brookes Gives It Two Thumbs Up

<img decoding="async" src="https://www.braingametennis.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/MC-Banner2.png" />

<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter" src="https://www.braingametennis.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GT.png" />