Tennis Lesson: How to go from 3.0 to a 5.0 Tennis Player

Click Here for Next Level Coaching: crunchtimecoac...
Is it possible to go from a 3.0 USTA Adult Tennis Player to a 5.0 ranked tennis player?
Many coaches will tell you NO...you are too old
Even most adults would agree with that assessment but I don't!
I think it has less to do with age and more to do with vision, mindset, and persistence!
You have to be with in constant pursuit of developing you game as a tennis player.
It you get too caught up in Wins and Losses you will not get there.
If you are obsessed with your ranking you will not get there either!
You have to always keep your eye on the prize and develop skills just like a junior does.
You can do this!

[@PK-qe7sw]

As a self taught 4.5/5.0 player, I highly recommend beginners to get formal instruction to make sure they learn the correct fundamentals. It's very difficult to unlearn something.

[@PeterFreemantennis]

ain't that the truth

[@PK-qe7sw]

@@PeterFreemantennis After 30+ years of tennis, I am unlearning and then relearning the fundamentals of the serve. Unlearning "muscle memory" is the most difficult part.

[@sunglee3935]

KZbin is better than local pros. There are so many people who don’t know how to teach. A lot of people don’t even teach hitting with shoulder rotation and they are like hit the ball like hitting thru 3 balls.

[@PK-qe7sw]

@@sunglee3935 I think different people learn differently. One person could learn by "hitting thru 3 balls" vs another could learn by "rotating with the hips and letting the shoulder and arms follow". A good coach can figure out which methods will be most effective.

[@sunglee3935]

@@PK-qe7sw my forehand was never getting better when I told hit thru 3 balls. Then when I learned to rotate the shoulder by watching KZbin, I got so much power. then I learned that even better way is to bend the knees and use the leg to rotate hip and shoulder. I learned that on KZbin and online courses

[@lukas.540]

I love this guy because he speaks to the modern tennis player looking to improve and enjoy the game. I started recently at the age of 26 which many would consider "late". I'm a 3.0 but determined to be a 4.0 or 4.5 one day. It's nice to hear this message that it's possible.

[@Charles-lz2tz]

Luka I was like you and started later at age 19. My brother started playing a year before me and became a 4.0 in about a year. He practiced a lot in that year. As he introduced me to the game he didn't want to hit with me because he was so much better as I was just starting and he was 4.0. He suggested I hit against the wall at our college to get used to hitting a lot of balls. I would go everyday for a whole year summer and hit against the wall and maybe once a week hit with my brother. In one year I was a 4.0 player too. You can improve, but you have to hit a ton of balls as much as you can. You can learn all the fundamentals from youtube and a coach, but the biggest thing is hitting against the wall. In five years playing and practicing a lot I was at the 5.5 level and was ranked #1 in my state. You can easily get to a 4.5 if you put in the time to practice. Coaches sometimes won't tell you that because they want you to spend a lot of money on their lessons. Basic fundamentals are important, but most importantly is how much you practice. I realized this was a year old video. How have you improved?

[@Thibstho]

Hows your progress?

[@EskoTV-VIDEO]

I started when I was 69 years old (reaching 3 years in a while and getting better little by little). Now trying to develop my tennis serve and forehand (net is about ok). All this time I have tried to be a better player and I think I am on right track. I am now starting to serve sometimes a kick serve and flat serve, but I don't have yet the consistency. I try not to go back to pan serve, but sometimes getting desperate. Thanks for encouragement. I think I am somewhere around 3.5 now. This is Finland thanking for your lessons.

[@eamondaly6924]

This is such great coaching. I really respond to it. I am now old enough now to realize i need to be patient. My coach is on the same wave-length. He says don't play to be the 3.0 champion - risk losing to pushers so you can play 5.0 in 2-3 4 years. I conceptually understand that and am enjoying the patient learning curve.

[@rashidahshakir2632]

Yes, it is entirely possible! 1) Fitness is important. More important in fact than natural athletic ability because to move up four USTA notches you need to play A LOT and reduce potential for injury. 2)The right instructor is vital and worth the money. The instructor needs to know the game and speak your language. What that means is if you prefer long technical explanations, that should be their strength. If you like metaphors and analogies, there are coaches who communicate that way. Some coaches are very physical and will rally with you (which I love). Some coaches just feed balls and teach you to hit targets, but hey that might be what you need. 3) You must compete in both high pressure situations and easier matches where you have a good chance to win. Why? You need to get used to feeling, thinking, and problem solving like a winner to propel through more difficult matches. 4) Read a few good books on tennis. There are too many to name here, but reading 7 books on any subject usually results in a more superior level of understanding and achievement than the average competitor. I started at the 2.5 level and eventually made it to 4.5. The toughest opponents I faced were "4.5 on their way down"---from lower division college play. I never won those matches, but I did very well against players who'd worked their way up like me. Thank you!

[@TwistedHairProds]

100 % Pete. Proud to say I started tennis at age 53. I’m nearly 59. I’ve taken lessons every week and am prob between 3.5 and 4 on US ratings. I live in Oz. I’ve found that my consistency is my greatest challenge so I’m developing my defense game and it’s coming along now. I only play doubles but who knows, I might feel confident to try singles some time. Loved all the tenniscon info especially on fitness. I missed the opp for free vids and buy in but I watch out for your content religiously. Thank you!

[@PeterFreemantennis]

Thanks for the kind words Jane and I love that you are going strong!!! keep it up

[@carnivalgods4573]

Great stuff! I'm 51 and started playing 2 and a half years ago. I jumped into 4.0 and took beating for 2 years. After getting really frustrated I FINALLY started being honest about specifically addressing weaknesses in my game. Just amazing how things turn around when you start playing the game on the forefoot consistently and using the off hand to assist your racquet preparation for example. Lesson learned, you don't get better by just going out and hitting. Kudos for a frying pan grip mention! We all see it.

[@Sweeney-Kubach]

Hi coach great video my friend. I have a question for you Sir; I started playing tennis again after a 20 plus hiatus from tennis. Before I became disabled, I was playing in the opens from 1989-2000. I started playing again about a month ago, and I still have my Wilson Profiles 95’s 4L. I hit with a eastern to semi western grip, and I crush the ball when I hit my flat shots, but when I try to hit with a ton of topspin, I sometimes it the ball of the frame, but the racquet is so stiff the damn ball goes in like a slice. Hahe my question is there a modern racquet that has the same stiffness as the Profile, but a thinner frame? I also tried a Prince Comp, and I was able to blast my serves in a the strings are so old, when I hit the kick serve it jumps over 7 feet, it Funny to watch the ball bounce so high, but when I hit the ball with the Prince racquet I feel like it might be bending and it might break from the torque I am hitting with. I appreciate your advice and I appreciate your hard work on your videos Coach thank you I would add I practice everyday and I hit 200 serves a day. I love being out on the courts. Practice makes perfect! Ty Coach

[@knotwilg3596]

I think any program needs to balance development and results. Even if it's true that proper strokes go a long way, you also need some positive feedback to continue going a long way. Confidence from what an online coach has said 3 years ago, or even last week, rapidly pales in the face of losses against players with a crappy style. So you need some advice on how to win matches too. And consistency is the main answer. That doesn't mean ballooning your way to the trophy, but things like 1) kick serve on first serve and second serve to reduce double faults (learning kick serve is good long term) 2) full attention, short stroke on return (return basics) 3) cross court topspin strokes (with proper technique, but reducing errors) Extra) driving forehands, volleys and overheads to deal with opponent pushers - often overlooked techniques in programs In any skill, the "process school" is very vocal and the "result school" is being labelled as counterproductive, if not immoral. But the harsh reality is that many people quit because following the right process doesn't lead to results. And there's another reason why focusing too much on technique (process) can be bad. I'm borrowing the term "intention" from Feel Tennis Instruction. Intention comes first. Intention is closely related to desire (the desire to win a match, a set, a point). Technique is a means to an end. Too much focus on technique can go at the expense of intention. Restraining desire can lead to complacency. Too much focus on the result will go at the expense of development for sure, but I feel the opposite risk is not often emphasized.

[@PeterFreemantennis]

really great post!!!

[@bangmonsta]

Well stated, you're such an intellectual :)

[@knotwilg3596]

@@bangmonsta acting smart has many faces

[@dejpsyd0421]

Well put!

[@thomasmedeiros5722]

I started to play tennis at when I was 22 years old. I ended up playing and winning in the USTA 35 + tournaments and became a PTR certified teacher. Good coaching from two really talented teachers and my willingness to constantly leave my comfort zone at the baseline made the difference. However I brought so many cross over skills from many years of good coaching when I played baseball and basketball. If you can field hard hit ground balls, catch fly balls, throw breaking pitches, hit breaking pitches and run the basses tennis is similar. In basketball footwork is essential and you learn to drive into the basket to score like serve and volley in tennis. When I teach or coached I always asked players what other sports they played to try to find their skills that they could use. In my experience adults that don’t have much previous athletic experience required more coaching in footwork, movement and tactics. Coaching high school tennis I loved turning Hockey players and basketball players into doubles teams because they knew how to play zone, play two on one, set up a partner for the score and of course always go to the net. Also they are not afraid of getting hit by the ball like so many non athletes.

[@jlook6070]

Labels in life limit you overall. Never stop learning and growing ever.

[@TyRaff]

6:35 This was me this year. I've playing tennis for a year and a half minus one covid lockdown. Being 6'8" I thought it was a great idea to start rushing net. It wasn't until an older guy at the local park saw me and took time on teach8ng me proper distance from the net and hitting down on my volleys that I started hitting winners at the net.

[@PeterFreemantennis]

good stuff Tyler...6 8 make sure you spend a lot of time developing that serve mate :)

[@ifeanyiikpegbu6465]

Hey, what's the proper distance from the net? I'm a net rusher myself

[@dogsonline222]

i started 3+ yrs ago (after a 6 yr break) with a "goal" of 6.0... i have been reworking every aspect of my game... im a 64 yo that has been athletic all my life and been playing for 40 or so years at 4. to 4.5... (i also taught for 10 yrs) this is the first time ive ever seen anyone even admit that there are those out there with such aspirations... good on you! ps my "real goal" is just to be able to hit with anyone and be a state/national contender in my age group but i know that if i dont train like a pro (literally) ill be stuck where i am out of pure laziness... just sayn... ;)... ps a lot of the difference in levels has to do with the opponent's racket speed... topspin from a college 6.0 player is way more aggressive than even a 4.0... serves over even 95mph dont bounce off the court like even 80 mphers do... you Have to see the ball early and unit turn early or you have no chance... and just get used to hop, hop, hop split stepping... if you are flatfooted its over... but if you can get your tempo up, hit 90mph + serves with placement and can hang in a 15 hit rally several times a set... those are the differences that become essential to me in the upper ratings...

[@PeterFreemantennis]

Good stuff Greg ...best of luck with your tennis journey

[@PK-qe7sw]

For me, moving from 4.5 to 5.0+ was just practicing with better players. It's hard to jump into a 5.0 or Open tourney and face the true 5.0+ guys without hitting with that level consistently. It's not a matter of skills for me...it's getting used to the pace, spin, serves, etc. 4.5 to 5.0+ is a big jump.

[@ltrotter636]

So appreciate this video, thank you!

[@PeterFreemantennis]

glad you like it

[@chandravythilingam3647]

It's equally important to find a coach that understands development , not all coaches can do this without confusing the students

[@glademaster]

I needed this positive message this morning! Thank you

[@kevinfernando]

There should be a video on how to pick the right coach. That would be easier for development I guess?

[@stevebyfield1595]

Fantastic advise thank you so much

[@mikedugan855]

Great advice!

[@user-jv9qz2bu1r]

Of course it is possible if a) you are reasonably coordinated b) have good mental attitude (no bad case of nerves as this will kill yr. tennis game c) you put in the time - say hit 2 Million tennis balls or thousands of hours. From what I have seen - the minimum time to advance from 3.0 - 5.0 for a really dedicated and hard working athlete is 6 years.

[@PeterFreemantennis]

i agree well said

[@PeterFreemantennis]

@@user-jv9qz2bu1r thanks mate appreciate all the kind words...just curious what rating are you now? and age?

[@harryherman5371]

I did it since January this year. 3.0 - 5.5.

[@tennisone6376]

@@harryherman5371 NICE!

[@tennisone6376]

@@harryherman5371 legendary stuff

[@mythcrab6047]

Go Braves. Thanks for the tips coach.

[@jeffvevans2588]

Please tell me your in Alpharetta and teach adults?!

[@PeterFreemantennis]

I am in Atlanta near the ball park and yes I teach adults : )

[@lindaplaylist9560]

Excellent, thank you!!!

[@seanscott394]

One more thing, grew up watching Dale Murphy in early 80s, Go Braves!

[@ProjectsandReviewsZone]

"Adults want it more than the kids" That is for damn sure lol. Spending the money watching videos at work and dealing with constant body pain!!

[@PeterFreemantennis]

yes !!! keep going

[@almacnamara2000]

I would say(after 5 years/5 hours a week) you could look like a 5.0 player warming up but you won't play like one when the match starts!! At 5.0 you have to be able to swing fast with control, reposition correctly, anticipate opponent, reading opponents shot(spin, height, power etc) in mili seconds) oh and make micro adjustments for late contacts that your not even conscious of. Factor in knowledge of game styles of your opponents and you having a plan B if your game style didn't match. Understand momentum and how one point can turn a match. After all that then there's the surface to contend with. Ie; different surfaces. Finally, good luck with the weather and understanding how to use it in your favour. This alone can take 5 years to learn his to deal with it... tactically and mentally!! Basically, 3.5 v 5.0... it's like someone learning karate and then fighting neo from the matrix Even if you train for 5 years... can you slow down time .. Finally something positive: the key shot to work on. The serve: you can get your first serve to be a weapon in 5 years. The only reason this will work for you is .. you have a free shot(you have a second serve) In my expedience, under match pressures it will take you 5-8 years to be able to do a kick serve. It requires you to swing faster than first your first serve, hit less of the ball. Who have I seen do it, I've seen a national level Badminton player(played tennis as a junior) transfer alot of the intangibles to the tennis court. He got to about utr 9..

[@tennisone6376]

u realise when u already on 3.0 or 3.5 for a while its impossible get to 5.0 is 100% unrealistic man

[@Tennisbull-match-statistics]

Maybe you could mention how many hours you have to spent to get up from 3.0 to 4.0 and then to 5.0 Plus if you don’t have an athletic background you also have to invest a lot of time to get fit, fast and strong to prevent injuries. Especially if you are over 40 😉

[@PeterFreemantennis]

good points...hard to mention everything in one video...that is why I have made thousands of videos :)

[@alenx5455]

I agree with most of your points, and I love the video, its a great video, however I disagree that you will ever get to a 5.0 level if you are over 50, theres just no way that is possible under any circumstance, a solid 5.0 player is around UTR10, D1 college players are around UTR11-12 generally, so thats almost at the level of top junior college players that have played since they were 5 years old for 15 years and are among the most talented and athletic people, there is no way a 50+ year old can get to that level if he is at 3.0 presently, even a 40+ year old would have to be out of this world athlete with insane talent and have coaching and dedicate his life to the goal, I think most people don't realize just how high a UTR10 level is, its an insanely high level, even a UTR7-8 is a very advanced rec level of tennis that most people never reach in their life and UTR10 is leagues higher.

[@kepnermelt]

you get it. most people don't. this is an excellent review of what's possible. I'm self-taught, ramped up my competitive usta and utr play at 40 years old, and merely had a ten year plan to get to 5.0. Well, when I made that goal, I didn't fully grasp how basically you are gonna get to 4.5 and essentially hang out at that level for the rest of your life, and then the goal should be not to go backwards, even in your 60s. With 4.5 USTA and that 7-8 UTR line you can compete with top high school players and certain college players, and at the very least hit with them, and take a nice loss to them at a local or regional USTA event and feel like you didn't waste their time. But to get to a true 5.0 you would need coaching and daily work for dedicated years.

[@HarryJohnson69]

Yeah, this is a comment I was looking for. I’m a 10 UTR/NTRP 5.0 and I worked my ass off playing competitively almost every day from age 11-18. I quit competitive tennis and only play casually now (I’m 22). But even now, I have to play at least 2-3 times a week to maintain a 5.0 level. It’s definitely not a level that just any recreational player can reach. If a recreational player can even make it to 4.5, that alone is impressive enough

[@ltrotter636]

Everything is impossible until somebody does it. Going from a 3.0 to 5.0 tennis level seems like a modest "impossible" thing to accomplish (considering all of the truly difficult "impossible" things people accomplish every day). It's all about mindset and being willing to do the work. Holding and swinging a racquet at 5 years-old doesn't say much for mindset at that age... just says a person was introduced to the game earlier than most.

[@albertcamus5970]

The most important things unfortunately are to be fit, flexible and somewhat athletic at least. 5.0 is a very high level of tennis. You are better then almost everyone who plays tennis recreationally and could even become a teaching pro. This is going to be very rare for older players.. But 100% agree with the sentiment of this advice. You must suck it up and try to develop your game for years - rather then try to play low level leagues and matches. you can get sucked into playing to win now..and will ignore development of your strokes.

[@FS-me8mj]

I was searching for how to do well in education and I landed here

[@princessoftennis5539]

ㅁWow! We've been on a tennis lesson trip since last week looking for professional coaches, and we really want to go to your court.

[@PeterFreemantennis]

oh yeah? where do you live?

[@princessoftennis5539]

@@PeterFreemantennis we live in Korea

[@ha7n7ah]

@@princessoftennis5539 Where are you Crunch Time?

[@princessoftennis5539]

@@ha7n7ah We are in Korea. Where are you?

[@dejpsyd0421]

There’s one way and one way only to go from 3 to 5 as an adult, and that’s to stop trying to win and to keep playing up and up and up, practice and practice and practice,play and play and play! If you’re an adult just taking up the game, never had a lesson as a youth, NO, you’re NEVER going to hit like a 16 & under coached junior! You need to play to your adult physical abilities.

[@PK-qe7sw]

I'm 50 soon and actually had to change my game about three years ago to hang with the "modern juniors". Basically, shifted to a semi-western fh, went lighter on the rackets, and started hitting heavy baseline shots. Used to play with a PS85 and very much an all-courter. The strings (poly) was the biggest change it seems. Difficult to attack net when pretty much all the young players hit with heavy dipping topspin. Getting good success now though playing kids half my age.

[@ranjitarajkumari8746]

count me in.. coach..

[@anacap007]

By the time you get to 5.0 you better be in damn good shape because you'll never survive a competitive rally at that level. By the time you are passing 4.0 into 4.5 territory, technique is no longer an issue but playing the game correctly. Everyone you play has weapons, everyone you play is in shape, everyone you play is consistent. So now what? You have to think your way through a match. You have to be mentally tough to lose a first set tie-breaker and have the belief you can still win the match. Stop playing timed matches and see if you can win a tight match that goes over 3 hours.

[@Doty6String]

5.0 is a real feat IMO. You need to train a lot

[@tennisone6376]

or do the pusher style and just play on windy day

[@davidkim3854]

I just want my forehand to stay in the court

[@zbabyg6998]

Man I really didn't think I'd get told to seek out and watch children! I'm staying a 3.0! 😂 jk, great video

[@germanslice]

Well how to go from 3.0 to 5.0? You got to have a good solid serve, a good solid serve return, able to serve the short angles when under pressure, now this is not spoken about very much I don't think in the clubs. Not just serve just the three basic spots in the box that's not enough when dealing with advanced tennis players.. Able to hit shorter groundstrokes with more spin to open up more of the court. A decent enough volley, able to hit an overhead or do a swinging volley, and you need also the reverse forehand.... You can't use the flat forehand all the time on everthing. You need to be versatile when wrapping the ball to keep the spin always on it. You got to be soild in doing the basics as that's why the pros have got a solid foundation to build upon...and its also helpful if you have a good slider serve like Salzy, Oh and you need a good coach who can show you the way to learn those higher level strategies that put the advanced players in trouble.. So I think a good coach is a MUST if you want to compete in high level tennis. Because the strategies you need to beat the top players in the clubs with won't be found all down in club rec level tennis of 4.0 or 3.0. levels. I can't see how 3,0 or 4.0 levels can get up to 5.0 or 5.5 without having a good teaching pro to learn the lessons and strategies from which is what I think these videos are for and to develop the necessary tools and the weapons to compete at the higher difficulty levels. Ok does that about cover what you need?

[@PeterFreemantennis]

good stuff

[@shujazaidi625]

I am the one

[@GershonBenYitzhak]

95%+ players at the 3.0 level will never get to 5.0. That's ok, but you need to be realistic.

[@Dasato123]

Tennis is a easy game made hard by hard headed people. The vast majority of tennis players hate making technique or strategy changes even if they are obviously needed. For example take a player using a frying pan grip (western type) on the serve or volley. You can show him a hundred videos with closeups of pros using a continental grip; which looks completely different from a western grip; when serving or volleying and tell him this is how a good player holds the racket when executing these shots. The vast majority of players will come up with excuses of why it’s ok for him or her to maintain their frying pan grip. It usually starts with it’s uncomfortable and goes on from there. Once most players reach a level where they can carry on a rally and play sets the main focus becomes playing tennis rather than learning tennis. It’s more common for tennis lessons to become status symbols rather than actual learning events. They love being able to say they take lessons. Actually learning anything is secondary at best. Coaches will never be as strict with adult students because the adult students are the ones paying for the lessons. They can’t be too strict and end up doing more nice guy encouragement rather than actual teaching. You could take a person with a moderate athletic background, say someone who was second string on their high school basketball team or ran a year of track or cross country and teach him to play tennis at a 4.5 level in about two years. Actually I’d go a step further and say that in this age of easy access KZbin tennis lessons I’d say that the right individual could become a 4.5 level player in two years without ever taking a formal lesson. It would have to be the right individual. He/she would have to be highly motivated but most importantly they’d have to be logically minded and not hardheaded, also they’re powers of observation would have to be good. . The core philosophy wold have to be “ if a advanced player does it this way than that is what I’m going to do.” All the relearning that goes on with most people who in spite of seeing what a pro does will do something completely different simply because it’s comfortable would be cut out. For people without athletic backgrounds it would take a little longer because they’re going to have to learn what goes into the development of athletic ability. If you are a normal able bodied person there is nothing in tennis that requires extraordinary athletic ability to execute or any strategies that require a Mensa type IQ. Tennis is a technique driven game at the core. That is why former pros when they get old and can hardly run can still school 4.5 types because a 4.5 player is merely a person who is competent in executing most tennis strokes and strategies. A pro is someone who has mastered tennis strokes and was probably gifted in some of them. Even if the pro no longer has his top level ability he has to drop pretty far to be merely competent which is what a 4.5 level player is. 4.5 constitutes about 11% of the league playing population. It should actually be about 50%. I’m saying that 50% of the people playing in tennis leagues right now have the physical ability to play 4.5 level tennis. They don’t possess the stroke technique to do it. But if a hypnotist could instantly give a person competent strokes. There is nothing physical that would stop a player from executing them. Actually in a lot of cases executing proper technique requires less strength, flexibility and coordination than doing it with improper technique. Another way of putting my opening statement is “Tennis is a easy game for those who make it easy for themselves .”