4 Ways to Improve Your Reaction Speed

Physical Relaxation

Another part of the reaction is physical relaxation. If you are tense, you cannot react as fast because your muscles feel locked. Even though you see what is going on, your body doesn't move immediately.

The key is to stay alert and yet relaxed. The mind is focused and alert while the body is relaxed and ready to pounce.

The Split-Step

Closely related to being physically relaxed is the split-step.

Every sport that demands quick reactions and movement to the ball has a split-step. A soccer goalie makes a split-step before moving to the ball. The same applies to a handball goalie (but the split-step is very low), and to a volleyball player who reacts to the spike.

The split-step allows you to store the energy in your legs BEFORE the actual event (stroke, hit, throw, etc.) when you'll have to move quickly.

But if you store the energy too early it will dissipate. (For example, if you stay low with bent knees for a second, you cannot move as fast as if your knee bend was just a quick bounce).

That's why you often see tennis players constantly moving, bouncing and jumping before an opponent's serve, which allows them to keep this energy in the legs ready to explode.

Timing of the split-step is crucial. You need to land exactly when you realize where the ball is going. That means that you have to split-step just before your opponent makes contact.

How early? Even if I explain that here, it won't help you. You need to practice and FEEL when it's the right moment to react and push towards the ball the fastest.

And one last thing about reactions -- this skill is best developed between 8 and 14 years of age. After that, improvement is very slow.

You can, of course, spend some time working on improving reactions in tennis, but in my experience you'll improve more by learning to anticipate what's about to happen.

Once you are able to predict better, you'll also react better.