The Jensen Zone: Work On Your Weakness By Luke Jensen

Work on Your Weakness

By Luke Jensen T he first quarter of the 2020 season is upon us and there are so many compelling story lines on the pro tour.

On the women’s side, Coco Gauff is taking off! I was concerned about her Forehand at her big splash at Wimbledon 2019. That shot is often short and hit to the middle of the court. Coco played predictable patterns with her big groundstroke weapon being her backhand cross court. What I saw in her last fall with a run at the US Open and winning her first WTA event was next-level good. What I witnessed from a 15-year-old at the 2020 Australian Open was next level AWESOME! The forehand was much deeper on her rally ball and she could drive it down the line when needed. The Gauff serve is explosive going into the 118 MPH range, one of the top three fastest servers in the women’s singles draw, but her second serve can get a little “cray cray” at times. Because Coco is not seasoned enough to have learned how to self correct, the second serve will stay a mystery like it has for legends like Maria Sharapova, who has never conquered the double-fault demons.

Do you have the double fault demons? Is there a shot in your game that you AND your opponents quickly realize is your weakness? All players play on instinct. From the very first ball we hit to the last ball in every rally,

whether you know it or not, you are picking up multiple messages as you track the ball. In the case of the second serve demon, it happens when you are about to hit a second serve. The best natural instinctive player is the one who NEVER thinks. That is EVERYONE’S zone; what we are all trying to achieve. Everything flows and the opponent has no way of stopping your game.

For me personally, my overheads and backhand passing shots were always automatic even under the highest pressure situations. Most of my game was not. My second serve was an area of my game that I had to constantly monitor in matches and correct several times in practice sessions throughout my tennis lifetime. I was fortunate to absolutely love serving practice. Setting up the three targets of T, body and wide serves in both boxes was one of the most enjoyable parts of my training. I grew up in a football culture so a consistent routine of punting, passing and kicking 100 footballs each taught me very deliberate training discipline that spilled over to my serving training when I became ambidextrous. Most of my football skill training was done on my own or with my younger brother Murphy. Mom and Dad were still coaching their varsity teams after school and Murphy and I would practice our football skills. Based on accuracy and distance, it took us a little over an hour to get all 600 punt, pass and kicks done. That same approach helped me in self correcting service training. Try this, tweak that; I was building tools for a tough would-notbreak-under-pressure serve.

I still use so many of those developed skills in my serving today. When I see Coco Gauff, I see the tennis world is about to be dominated by a wonder kid that we haven’t seen since 15-year-old Maureen “Little Mo” Connolly, who was nicknamed after the powerful World War II Battleship Missouri. From beginning tennis at the age of 10 to when she turned 15-yearsold in 1947, “Little Mo” won 50 tennis championships. Three years later, at the age of 18 in 1950, “Little Mo” was the first woman in tennis history to win the calendar grand slam: all four major titles in the same calendar year. The similarities are amazing but unless Coco learns how to self correct that second serve, the double-faults will haunt her throughout her career.

All of you are stepping into spring tennis and competitive league play…are you ready?!? Be ready for the pressure that can either break you or make you awesome. I know I am!

Raised in Ludington, Mich., Luke Jensen’s resume includes 10 ATP Tour doubles titles. He was also a member of the U.S. Davis Cup teams that reached the finals in 1991 and won in 1992. His ambidextrous play, including his ability to serve the ball with either hand at 130 mph, earned him the nickname “Dual Hand Luke.” Luke is currently director of racket sports at West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y. He may be reached by phone at (315) 403-0752 or e-mail LukeJensen84@yahoo.com.