Eight Tips for Rapid Improvement in Your Game

1.     Take lessons from a qualified teaching pro to learn proper stroke mechanics, court position, strategy and much more.
2.     Drill by yourself and/or with a friend. Drill often.
3.     Learn to kill any ball off the back wall to punish your opponent for long ceiling balls and high passes.
4.     Put your ego aside and play with better players as often as possible to raise your own level of play.
5.     Join leagues and play tournaments to face competition that will provide experience and help improve your play under pressure.
6.     Play doubles as well as singles to improve your all-around game.
7.     Cross train: improve your speed and reaction time; work the core; strengthen the legs, back, shoulders and arms; bike and row. 
8.     Buy a high-end racquet that suits your specific game, and re-string regularly. An expensive racquet won't make you a great player by any means, but it will help increase your racquet speed and provide more explosive power at weights as low as 150 grams.

What's Your Skill Level?  Open, Age, Elite, A, B, C, or D

The USRA governing body developed a ranking system for competition that rates players according to particular skill levels. The divisions/rankings are Open, Age, Elite, A, B, C, and D. Keep in mind that your ranking at your own club will likely be higher than on a State, Regional or National level where the competitive pool is much larger. Basically, if you haven't recently won a title in a particular division, you can enter that division in tournaments and leagues until you do win. However, avoid sand-bagging or dropping down to a division clearly below your skill level. Tournament directors always have the option to place you in a more competitive division.

Open: This is the highest ranking, reserved for ex-pros, young guns and the most experienced players. Open players hit exceptionally well from both the backhand and forehand sides. They have every shot and serve. Their court coverage and anticipation is phenomenal.

Age: This division is broken into Open and A, B, C, D for competition. For example, when you see 35+ on an entry form, that division is meant for any Open-level player 35 years old or older. Age divisions may be set up in 5-year increments: 25+, 30+, 35+, 40+ and so forth through 80+, but they may also be combined to cover a range of ages. The Open Age divisions are only for the best and most experienced players at or above that particular age and often include ex-pros. The Age Skill divisions A-D are for players who want to compete at a particular age and skill level, such as 35+A or 45+C. Age divisions and skill divisions may be combined to reflect a tournament's participants: 40+A/B. So, if you're a 44-year-old B player, you could enter that division.

Elite: The Elite division was established in the last decade to find a place for players who clearly have moved beyond the A-D skill levels but are not quite ready to compete with Open players. Elite players hit well from both the backhand and forehand sides. They have most every shot and serve and attack short balls. Their court coverage and anticipation is very good. These are excellent players who unfortunately have little chance against full-fledged Open players.

A: A players hit almost all the shots well from both the backhand and forehand sides, but not with the same consistency, power and control as Open and Elites. A solid A player should have a variety of serves, including a good drive serve and Z, and a few lobs, and is learning how to attack short balls. They pinch and splat, and shoot well off the back wall, especially on the forehand side. They pass with a purpose. 

B: Good old B players usually form the loyal core of club players. They play weekly, often with the same group. B players have a decent drive serve, fair lob serve, hit pretty good ceiling balls and passes, and can pinch and shoot off the back wall. Their backhand is probably their weaker side, but they're learning how to use it defensively, occasionally offensively. Whether it's a lack of pure athleticism, the lack of time or will to practice and train and compete, or just a lack of interest, most players never rise above the B level.

C: The average club player is a C. Typically they have a decent forehand and a weak backhand that they try to run around. They're beginning to shoot off the back wall and to strategize, even if they can't actually execute it yet. When they're on they have a decent forehand pinch and kill shot. Their passes are often wild. Their ceiling balls, lobs and drive serves come off the back wall way too often.

D: Since no Novice division is described here, the Ds will be the catch-all for raw beginners and players with a little court experience. These players learn the basic rules, buy racquets and eye guards and reserve courts. They are still learning to gauge the pace and angle of balls off the front, side and back walls, so they often stop short of balls or overrun them or get too close to take a proper stroke. They hit a lot of long ceiling balls, chest-high passes and waist-high pinches, but they're trying. Be kind to them if you're an experienced player, remember how good it felt when a better player helped you, but beware of wild swings.