Week 23
Week 23
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Week 23

March 30, 2026 – April 4, 2026

This was the best I've felt playing in a long time. My drives had dip, my court coverage was on point, and my backhand flicks finally started clicking. But Friday exposed a weakness — I missed too many balls out of the air because I wanted to attack, changed my mind, and was out of position. The fix? Stay in position, take it out of the air, be patient. That's the focus going forward.

Brad Douglas

April 6, 2026

The Data This Week

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11

Games Played

5W - 6L

Record

4.68

Avg Rating

45%

Win Rate

Best

Serve Quality

91% average

Focus

Reset Win Rate

32% average

Focus Areas

4th ShotResets

What I Worked On

This week was all about 4ths and resets — and honestly, it was the best I've felt playing in a long time.

Drilling started with the usual dinking games, but my focus shifted to staying on the line and pushing dinks out of the air to take time away and force popups. More patience practice. Then I spent 15 minutes working on 4ths — trying to dial in when to be aggressive out of the air, when to let it bounce and attack, and when to concede. Watching film, I noticed I wasn't creating the space needed to hit a good aggressive fourth. I was "short arming" balls out of the air, leading to inconsistency and weaker shots. So this week, I focused on moving when the ball was coming my way to create that space.

Next up: 15 minutes on transition zone resets. I really wanted to work on taking balls out of the air and resetting them softly — something I don't practice much but realized I need to develop. Dru just ripped balls at me while I was in the transition zone. Starting to feel better, just need to keep repping it.

Wednesday games hit different. My drives felt solid with good dip, court coverage was on point, and I picked my spots for speed-ups. More times than not, I got what I wanted. Still need to work on sliding into better position to finish — had a couple points where I got a popup after a speed-up, but my feet were stuck and I didn't put away the shot like I wanted.

The real difference? Control. I was taking aggressive dinks out of the air and pushing or slicing to create angles hard for my opponents to hit clean. Kept most dinks down and unattackable. Backhand flicks and rolls felt great too — hit some aggressive flicks that either finished the point or led to a popup.

Friday games stayed solid, but I missed too many balls out of the air when dinking. Not attacks — just taking the ball out of the air to take time from the opponent. The ones I missed were because I wanted to attack, changed my mind, and was out of position. I need to stay in position, take it out of the air, be patient. That's the focus going forward.

What I Learned

4ths

This was a big focus this week — and honestly, it exposed some gaps.

  • Watching film, I noticed I wasn't creating the space needed to hit a good aggressive fourth. I was "short arming" balls out of the air, leading to inconsistency and weaker shots.
  • My focus: move when the ball is coming my way to create that space and put more pressure on my opponent.
  • Still dialing in when to be aggressive out of the air, when to let it bounce and attack, and when to concede. That decision-making is everything.

Dinks

Feeling better overall — softer touch, more consistency. But:

  • I was taking aggressive dinks out of the air and pushing or slicing to create angles hard for my opponents to hit clean. Kept most dinks down and unattackable.
  • Friday exposed a weakness: I missed too many balls out of the air when dinking. Not attacks — just taking the ball out of the air to take time from the opponent.
  • The ones I missed were because I wanted to attack, changed my mind, and was out of position.
  • The fix: Stay in position, take it out of the air, be patient. That's the focus going forward.

Backhand Flicks

This one is finally starting to click.

  • Backhand flicks and rolls felt great this week — hit some aggressive flicks that either finished the point or led to a popup.
  • When I picked my spots, more times than not, I got what I wanted.
  • Still raw, but the foundation is there.

Transition Zone Resets

This felt like the biggest improvement of the week.

  • Spent 15 minutes working specifically on taking balls out of the air and resetting them softly — something I don't practice much but realized I need to develop.
  • Dru just ripped balls at me while I was in the transition zone. Starting to feel better, just need to keep repping it.
  • Using two hands on backhand resets has been a game-changer — especially under pressure.
  • The more touches I get in the TZ, the more confident I feel. This is a repetition game.

What Still Needs Work

  • 4th Ball Spacing: Watching film, I noticed I wasn't creating the space needed to hit a good aggressive fourth. I was "short arming" balls out of the air, leading to inconsistency and weaker shots. The fix: move when the ball is coming my way to create that space and put more pressure.
  • Decision-Making on Dinks: Friday exposed it — I missed too many balls out of the air when dinking. Not attacks, just taking the ball out of the air to take time from the opponent. The ones I missed were because I wanted to attack, changed my mind, and was out of position. The fix: stay in position, take it out of the air, be patient.
  • Finishing Points: Still need to work on sliding into better position to finish. Had a couple points where I got a popup after a speed-up, but my feet were stuck and I didn't put away the shot like I wanted.

Win of the Week

Not a single moment — but the overall feeling I had this week. The game slowed down again. I felt in control, able to see the openings, knowing when to speed up and when to keep it slow. That clarity doesn't always show up, but when it does, everything clicks.

Felt like a 5.0 for a few stretches. I'll take it.

What's Next

Next week is all about footwork and starting to build the speed-up/counter game.