Visual Tennis-2nd by John Yandell
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Book Reviews of Visual Tennis-2nd
Book Review: Great for the beginning player who wants a foundation
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a 46 yo man who played tennis in my teens relying on my teen quickness.
A friend who plays several times a year suggested this book when I mentioned that I wanted to resume playing with my wife ( played state final level tennis as a teen).
The book has been terrific!
Other reviewers have quibbled about old vs. new tennis. My personal view is that you should have some fundamental foundation which you choose to retain or change. This book will give you the core foundation at a fraction of the price of a private tennis lesson!
I am a visual person who has returned to the book after playing to "tune" my stroke and in anticipation of play.
This is simply the most inexpensive method of digging into tennis I can imagine. When you move beyond this.....CHEERS! and hire a pro instructor!
And if you are an accomplished player buy the book to make sure your basics are sound. Even my friend who spends much more time/money on tennis than I do said "When something isn't working I return to this book".
Wouldn't it just frustrate you if you were at match point and you didn't know how to adjust your serve if needed?
Book Review: Cheaper and better than a lesson!
Summary: 5 Stars
Having played competitive tennis for many years, having taught tennis, and having competed for many years in sanctioned USTA Open level events, this book is worth every penny. For many years my achilles heel was my forehand volley. No matter how many times I saw myself on video, how many volley lessons (at an average of $45 a lesson) I took, how much I competed in singles and doubles, how much tennis I saw, I could never hit a forehand volley with consistency, acuracy, and confidence. After visually seeing how to hit the volley and then practicing in front of a mirror as suggested in the book, I was able to hit a forehand volley RIGHT AWAY! With detailed visual cues to fall back on, I finally have a volley I can count on and keep. Amazing! This book is well worth having. Having taught tennis, I truly believe in the book's premise that we learn physical activities visually and not cognitively: our minds which can constantly criticize and judge our strokes can be our worst enemies on court (imagine trying to walk while TELLING yourself how to walk!); visual images are the best aids and this books provides great visuals.Book Review: Visual Tennis is the best way to learn how to play tennis
Summary: 5 Stars
Speaking as a student of John Yandell since I was six (I am turning seventeen on July 13, 1999), I must say John's book is an excellent way to make sure your strokes follow those of the pros. Granted, I am not the world's best player (which is quite the understatement), but this book (and video with the same name) have pushed me into becoming a better tennis player by simply looking at the basic strokes and following the patterns of the pros. If you're looking to improve your game, this is the book for you.Book Review: Good on basics
Summary: 4 Stars
I think putting emphasis on the visual basis of learning is a valuable instructional technique. As the author notes, watching good tennis players raises the level of our own game automatically. However, still photos can benefit from moving pictures. What we can take away from a visual approach to learning is not only a visual picture but a kinesthetic one--how it "feels." In this regard, I think that moving pictures would be an excellent addition to this book and, hopefully, a future edition will incorporate them.
As to the issue of "classical" Eastern forehand styles vs. the pro tour-dominated "Western" styles, with their heavy topspins, I can't fault this book like one of the other reviewers did for excluding the latter. Employing a heavy topspin style is an advanced technique and is beyond the focus of this book, which is obviously instructions for beginners. At the recreational and club level, I would hazard a guess that the majority of players do not use heavy topspin. Likewise, one of the best web-based instructional series--Brent Abel's WebTennis--is based on the "classical" style exclusively.
Book Review: Good book but .....
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is correct about learning by using visual images. For the last 8 years, I've been playing tennis using Yandell's images. But the only problem with this style is that it's not very good for competitive tennis. The forehand stroke that resulted from this book are more flat than topspin. The backhand stroke are also relatively flat. In competitive play, especially against modern players, these strokes are not suitable because of the tremendous topspin that they put on the ball. The strokes
photographed are not suitable to handle topspin shots.
The reason the top pros are not seen in the book is because they don't hit this way. This book is a good start for any beginner. After a few years of
playing using Yandell's photos, a beginner should have enough confidence to switch to modern tennis which is nothing but topspins.
I no longer hit the way this book suggests. But I still utilized the visual learning technique from the book. So get this book if you are a beginner. It will increase your tennis enjoyment.
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