I've been playing for about 18 months and finally got invited to join some 4.0 games at my local courts. Played yesterday and got destroyed. The pace was so much faster and everyone seemed to know exactly where to be. I held my own in dinking rallies but the moment someone sped things up I was scrambling. Is this normal? How long did it take you to feel comfortable at 4.0?
5 Comments
totally normal. i made the jump about a year ago and got crushed for the first month. the speed difference between 3.5 and 4.0 is real. what helped me was focusing on just one thing per session - like footwork or resets - instead of trying to fix everything at once
That makes sense. I was definitely overwhelmed trying to do everything. Maybe I'll just focus on my resets next time since that's where I really struggled
The fact that you held your own in dinking rallies is huge! That means you have the soft game. Speed up balls are the hardest thing to adjust to. Practice your reset shot - being able to slow down a hard shot and drop it in the kitchen is the key to surviving at 4.0. Once you have that, the pace won't intimidate you as much.
second this. resets are everything at 4.0. once you can absorb pace and reset to neutral the game slows down for you mentally even when its fast
Keep showing up. Took me maybe 2-3 months of playing up before I felt like I belonged. The only way to get comfortable with 4.0 pace is to play at 4.0 pace. Playing down at 3.5 doesn't prepare you for it.