Watching the tennis ball while playing tennis is a bit of a wrong conception, or perhaps it just a shortcut for saying: look at the tennis ball when you tennis raquet is actually striking the ball. Instead many tennis players only watch the flight of the ball as it comes toward them.

Watching the flight of the ball works fairly well much of the time especially if the tennis ball comes to you in a straight line. It does not work if the ball has topspin, sidespin, underspin, or if the flight of the ball is curving due to the wind or slanting of the court. In addition, it does not work if it hits a crack or a dip or a bit of dirt. So, unless you are playing indoors on a brand new tennis court that has just been cleaned, against a player who only hits clean flat shots, you are going to have problems producting your long powerful strokes.

Here is my tennis solution for this problem:

First watch your opponent striking the ball. This will tell you where the ball has topspin,sidespin,or is perfectly flat and perhaps where the opponent is aiming.

Second: Watch the flight of the ball ( and get moving, meaning move your feet). This will tell you where it is going and what sort of bounce to expect.

Third: Watch the tennis ball bounce. If nothing more this will tell you whether it landed in or out of the tennis court. It will also allow you to see the ball upon contact with your racquet.

This is very important.

Even now you haven't finished. Ever hear the admonition to, "keep your head down." After you have struck the ball, keep looking at the contact point until you have completed your stroke