Mix-in FAQs

How good does my tennis have to be to come to a Saturday mix in?

We welcome anyone to a Saturday morning where some of our “steady” players will be happy to give you some basic pointers and try and get you going on your tennis journey. We will also help with the basics of scoring and where to stand in doubles play. We are not coaches however and it is no substitute for our proper coaching which is on Tuesdays for intermediates and on Wednesday and Fridays for improvers and beginners at Redbourn. We also offer Saturday coaching with our partner club in Studham for adults and juniors who can’t make our weekday coaching times.

How good do have to be to come to the other mix ins?

There is a balance between playing with better players to improve your game and being good enough to keep rallies going and maintain an interesting game for all players in the main club mix ins. On Saturday mornings the “steady” players are playing balls to new players encouraging them to maintain longer rallies and to gain confidence. During the other mix ins the objective is to win the point and so players will be reasonable but much less forgiving! Players need to be able to serve in consistently without doing continual double faults, should know the basic rules of tennis in terms of scoring and where to stand in doubles. We would expect players to be able to maintain extended rallies of several consecutive shots on both forehand and backhand even when the ball is hit relatively deep on the court and we would expect players to be able to be starting to anticipate where the ball is going to go so they are starting to position themselves and move towards the next shot. We would expect players to be able to successfully complete basic volleys hit towards their playing zone at the net.

Is there a difference between the different mix in sessions?

The Thursday afternoon/evening mix in tends to be the strongest session especially in the second session. The earlier session tends to be slightly less strong. Friday morning mix ins are generally the most gentle session after Saturday mornings and are often followed by social coffee in the clubhouse afterwards! Sunday morning, like Thursdays tends to be quite competitive. Our workers sessions on Tuesdays at 08.00 and on Wednesday and Friday lunchtimes are somewhere in the middle but can also be quite competitive. We do want to be an inclusive club but if you feel you are consistently significantly weaker than all of the other players at the mix in perhaps a different session might be more appropriate for your game.

I like to play with better players to improve my game. Why do I have to play with weaker players?

Everyone likes to play with better players for this reason, but better players also like to play with better players so that they can stretch their game and play more aggressive strokes as well as challenging their own skills. Our mix-ins are social games first and foremost and we try and organise them so that you have one game with players similar to your own standard and one game that is a well matched pair but may be a higher or lower ranking mix of players. This way you get to meet a very wide range of RTC members very quickly and this will allow you to learn who you best like to play with and to arrange your own games directly.

I see that there are team squad evenings for both men and ladies. How do I get to play in these and how good do I have to be?
These sessions are organised by Paul Jewel for the men’s squad and by Lizzie Geeson and Mikaela Deakin for the ladies. They are primarily an opportunity for the best male and female players at the club to play with other similar standard players to give them at least one session per week that is a strongly competitive challenge. It is not designed to be a coaching session for aspiring players, that is what our formal coaching sessions are for. The sessions are aimed at the  club’s  strongest players and so it isn’t quite as simple as getting to a minimum standard of ability. It is effectively competitive! However players should expect to be able to do the following to at least some reasonable extent:-

• Relatively strong first serve with the ability to confidently direct the serve towards either the forehand or backhand side.
• Relatively deep second serve with the ability to confidently direct the serve towards either the forehand or backhand side.
• Consistent deep groundstrokes on both forehand and backhand.
• Ability to vary to some extent between slice, flat and topspin forehand groundstrokes.
• Ability to consistently return deep backhands and to be able to vary to some extent between slice and flat backhand groundstrokes. Some topsin backhand ability preferable.
• Ability to prepare actively for groundstroke returns, to understand split steps effectively and to be able to anticipate an opponents return for slice or topspin.
• A strong understanding of a range of doubles court positioning and tactics.
• Ability to confidently approach the net and execute confident volleys on both sides.
• A desire to learn and improve their game.

If you are coming to the squad sessions and feel that you are consistently the weakest player and your game is not improving then perhaps it isn’t quite right for you.

I think I measure up on all these measures and am at least as good as existing squad players. How do I get to play?

Paul, Lizzie and Mikaela along Tim track players performance at mix ins and tournaments and we actively ask people who we believe should be coming to squad sessions. If you feel you have been missed please contact any of the above to ask to be considered. We prefer not to ask people to step back from the sessions and so it is important to get the attendance right as one much weaker player in a session makes it much less effective for the rest of the players.

How do the club player rankings work?

The rankings are just and informal way to try and achieve good pairings at our club mix ins. Redbourn is much more inclusive than other clubs with its mix ins and so it is important to understand player levels. The rankings are not published, but if you think that your pairings are either always too high or too low a standard please let Tim know as it indicates that your ranking may be incorrect. The ranking is worked out on the basis of individual mix in scores along with tournament, match and club championship results as well as just watching people play, but as there are 135 ranked players this process is imperfect.

I always seem to be paired with the same players? Why is this?

For at least one session per mix in we try and pair players with the most similar standard players in that mix-in. That means that you are more likely to play more often with players relatively near to your ranking who tend to play in the same mix in that you choose. If you are one of the relatively  stronger players in a mix in you will be likely to have at least one game with the other players who are stronger and vice versa. This means that match up is more likely to have repetitive pairings.

I like to sign up straight away every week to guarantee my place and then cancel the day before if I can’t make it. Is this ok?

No, it makes it much more difficult and time consuming for the organisers. Please check your diary before you sign up.

Can I make a special request to play with or not to play with certain players?

This is not ideal. All restrictions make it much harder to organise mix ins. It is still perfectly possible to arrange your own games with other members giving you complete freedom to pick your favourite partner and opposition! The success of our mix ins has led some of our members to forget this option!

The number of squad mix ins in the evenings means there are no evening courts for me to book. Can you do anything to improve this address?

We have listened to members on this subject and are planning to change squad mix ins next year. Men’s squads (c 40 players) will be split into 3 groups who will rotate between Sunday (currently very quiet in the evening), Monday and Wednesday. These groups will have phased start times so that there are fewer peak time courts booked on Mondays and Wednesdays. Ladies squad practice (c 24 players) will also have phased start times so that there are fewer peak time courts booked on Tuesdays. The new Tiger Turf surfaces on courts 3 & 4 will mean that all members will have significantly more access to top quality courts at peak times.

Other players always seem to turn up to mix ins with balls so I don’t really bother. Is that ok?

Not really no. Players should be providing the balls a minimum of one in every four times that you play. The balls should be of a reasonable standard which means that you should be able to read the logo clearly and the each ball should provide significant resistance when you try and press your thumb into the ball.  Balls will typically last for 4/5 mix ins but last less long in bad/cold/wet weather and they degrade pressure over time. After 4 weeks once open they are unlikely to be any good to play with. A poor quality ball makes a big difference to the quality of play. Please don’t take advantage of the good nature of your playing partners. The cost of providing balls to this frequency is around 30p per mix in which is not an unreasonable expectation. Balls should in summer be a “tour standard ball. In winter long life balls are an acceptable option. Cheap balls are generally cheap because they aren’t as good and don’t bounce consistently like a quality ball.