When I started learning tennis as an adult, I realized that what made tennis difficult was not learning the tennis strokes, instead it was learning to realize the value of the feedback loop: racket vibrations, tennis ball sounds, and the way my balance shifted before I even realized it. None of this information is obvious on the court. However, without it I would continue to make the same significant error, and be frustrated that “trying harder” doesn’t seem to aid.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://percona.community/blog/2026/09/10/the-perfect-serve/