My Stumble with Higueras’ Stuff
Okay, so I was getting really stuck with my tennis game a while back. Felt like I hit a wall, you know? Same old mistakes, especially under pressure. I was just browsing around, trying to find something, anything, that might click.
Then I kept seeing the name Jose Higueras pop up, connected to some big-name players known for being super solid. Guys who just didn’t seem to miss much and worked really hard on court. That got me thinking. What was this guy all about?
I didn’t go super deep, didn’t buy any fancy courses or anything. Just picked up on a couple of core ideas people talked about regarding his methods. The main things that stuck out to me were:
- Footwork, footwork, footwork: Like, obsessive focus on positioning and small adjustment steps.
- Consistency over flash: Building points, hitting heavy balls to big targets, not going for crazy winners all the time.
- Hard work, obviously: Seemed like his whole thing was based on drilling the fundamentals until they were second nature.
Hitting the Court – Trying It Out
So, I decided to give it a shot myself. Forget trying to blast winners for a bit. I went out to the practice courts with a simple plan.
First, the footwork. I consciously tried to take more little steps before hitting the ball. Instead of one big lunge, I tried to shuffle, adjust, shuffle, adjust. Felt super awkward at first. Like I was wasting energy dancing around. My legs were definitely feeling it more than usual after just a short session.
Then, the hitting part. I focused purely on getting the ball over the net, deep, with decent topspin. Not aiming for lines. Just big, safe targets in the middle third or deep corners. I wasn’t trying to hit hard, just heavy. Trying to make the ball kick up after the bounce. My coach back in the day would have called it ‘rally balls’.
It was boring sometimes, honestly. Just hitting crosscourt, over and over. Trying to keep the ball in play, focusing on my feet. No fancy drop shots, no flat bombs down the line unless the ball was really short. It felt restrictive.
Did It Work? Well…
The first few times I tried this in actual points, it was a mixed bag. I definitely made fewer unforced errors, which was the goal. My shots felt a bit more solid, maybe? But I also felt passive. Like I was just pushing the ball back. I lost points I felt I should have attacked.
But I kept at it for a few weeks, trying to integrate the footwork and the target practice. Slowly, something started to shift. The footwork started feeling a bit more natural. I wasn’t thinking ‘small steps, small steps’ quite as much, it just started happening.
And hitting to those big targets? It meant I was in the point longer. I found I could actually dictate play more, just by being consistent and using depth and height. When the short ball finally came, because I wasn’t scrambling as much (thanks, footwork!), I was in a better position to actually attack it properly, instead of just flailing.
So, yeah. Didn’t turn me into a pro overnight, obviously. But focusing on those Higueras-style basics – the grinding footwork and the relentless consistency – definitely helped my game. It made me realize how much I was neglecting the fundamentals. It’s less flashy, maybe, but building that solid base seems to be the real deal. Still working on it, always feels like there’s more to improve with the feet! It’s a grind, but a good one.
