Serena Williams MasterClass Review: Tennis Lessons Like No Other

This article “Serena Williams Masterclass Review” will provide you with the opportunity to read an in-depth evaluation of Serena Williams Masterclass, including information on how the lessons are presented, who the course is best suited for, and the cost, what I enjoyed about it, etc.

Serena Jameka Williams is a professional tennis player from the United States of America. Between 2002 and 2017, the WTA made it to the top of the world rankings eight times.

On July 8, 2002, she climbed to the top of the rankings. She was ranked number one for 186 straight weeks for the sixth time. This is in line with Steffi Graf’s previous performance.

She has held the No. 1 ranking for 319 weeks, placing her in the third position in the “open era” of tennis, behind Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf.

Most Grand Slam championships have been won by Serena Williams and other active players when combined. Among their 39 titles, 23 are singles, 14 are women’s singles, and two mixed doubles make up the rest.

After Rod Laver and Steffi Graf, she is the first player to win all four Grand Slam titles at the same time (2002-03 and 2014-15). A year ago, she became the only player to win a Grand Slam title on each of the three major court surfaces (hard, clay, and grass).

For the first time in women’s tennis, she and her sister Venus have both won all four major championships (2009-10).

Her 23 Grand Slam singles titles at the time of the Open are the most ever, and he is second only to Margaret Court on the all-time list.

On a hard court, she set a record for the most Grand Slam titles won. Most Australian Open championships are held by Williams, and she shares the record with Chris Evert for most of the US Open victories.

For the 337 big games, he holds the record for the most individual women’s victories.

Who Is Serena Williams?

Serena Williams is one of the most well-known names in tennis (the other being her sister, of course!). In addition to seven Wimbledon championships, Serena has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles and was previously ranked as the world’s best female tennis player.

Serena, on the other hand, has been devoted to the sport since she was a child. Just four years old when she learned to play, her father Richard Williams began teaching her the basics of the instrument. He developed a 78-page lesson plan for Serena and Venus to be taught on public tennis courts.

It’s easy to see how Serena has grown into the world-class athlete she is after hearing about the passion the entire Williams family has had for the sport since its inception.

It’s been a long road to the top for Serena, even with all the help she’s gotten. Her tennis career was severely impacted by frequent ankle and knee ailments between 2004 and 2007, which resulted in her falling from world number one to number 95.

It didn’t seem to deter Serena at all, and she went on to win her 10th Grand Slam title and reclaim her position at the top of the sport over the next few years.

A lot of what Serena’s journey can teach prospective tennis players is how to overcome adversity while being committed to their sport throughout their lives.

What Is MasterClass?

MasterClass is an online learning platform that offers courses on a wide variety of topics, all of which are taught by professionals of the highest caliber.

Over one hundred well-known people, like Simone Biles, Steph Curry, Tony Hawk, and many more, have lent their expertise as instructors on the various courses that are now being offered on this website.

As someone who has participated in a number of MasterClass courses itself, I can attest to the fact that many of them are excellent and provide a profound education on the topics covered.

Having said that, some are superior to others; therefore, it is essential to conduct preliminary research in order to ensure that the training program you select is the most suitable option for you.

Course Overview – Serena Williams MastercClass Review

The following are the components of the Serena Williams MasterClass:

• 10 video lessons with a combined running time of two hours (average video length is about 12 minutes)
• The workbook consists of 13 pages that detail, in sequential order, how to perfect the serve via practice and repetition.

The Serena Williams MasterClass takes the style of a discussion between the instructor and the student.

Serena talks about many parts of her training in an unstructured manner, frequently mentioning particular training exercises that she enjoys and giving tidbits of wisdom that have been passed down to her from prior coworkers and trainers.

This works incredibly well for some classes, and it sheds light on what makes Serena tick as a player and as a former champion.

However, this can also make many lessons seem rather unstructured and impromptu, which may be off-putting to viewers who were looking for a more in-depth explanation of the tennis technique.

For the sake of this Serena Williams Masterclass Review, I have divided the courses into three major categories: racket technique, court technique, and game psychology.

I will evaluate the content of each of those groups separately in order to give you an idea of what the course covers overall.

Racket technique

What you’ll discover in this part is:

• Why a solid groundstroke is so crucial?
• Footwork on the groundstroke
• Working on my backhand and forehand swings
• The server’s physical and mental attributes
• Work on your serve with these workouts to improve your game.
• Lessons one and two of the course cover the fundamentals of racket handling.

Serena offers form tips for the groundstroke and serves throughout the classes, as well as a few activities to help students improve their technique.

Going in, the first thing you notice about these sessions is that they are arranged more like informal talks with Serena, where she explains the technique in a casual manner.

This can be confusing for newcomers who aren’t familiar with the lingo of the sport, so it’s best to avoid it if you can.

Intermediate/advanced tennis players may prefer this approach since it skips over some of the more fundamental information that more experienced players already know and allows Serena to focus on the finer points of tennis form that other courses may not have the opportunity to cover in as much detail.

Beginner-level instruction is provided in the serve lesson, which teaches the fundamentals of the technique and explains how to apply it in practice. If you’re going to put a lesson like this near the end of a course, it should be the first thing you show viewers.

Groundstrokes:

The groundstroke, one of the most critical skills in tennis, is emphasized heavily in the first few lessons.

The serve:

Here you’ll discover the key elements of a powerful and accurate groundstroke, as well as several workouts to help you hone your technique.

The serve is the subject of the second lesson in this section, which shows you how to perfect your serve.

She’ll walk you through each step of the method and offer suggestions for how to put it into practice after she finishes.

Serena Williams practice – Court technique:

• The different types of lobs and when to use them
• Approach shots
• How to set up winning shots 
• How to read your opponent’s game and pick the right shot

More on general strategies and tactics than on specific techniques, these books are geared toward gamers of all skill levels.

The lob:

You will learn about the various types of “lobs” that Serena uses to confuse and destabilize your opponent, as well as a few more strategies to get an advantage in the match.

Approach shots:

“Approach Shots” are a type of close-quarters shot that can be used to catch your opponents off guard and score points.

Tennis Psychology

• How Serena structures her training camps
• Staying motivated during training
• How to keep cool during a losing match
• Avoiding burnout as an athlete

The approach that Serena takes to the mental aspect of tennis, both while she is practicing and while she is competing, is discussed in this final section.

This segment shifts away from the court and into a comfortable interview room, and even includes some archival footage of young Serena practicing tennis when she was younger. The style of this section is a full conversation.

In my opinion, this was hands down the most beneficial aspect of the whole class. The format of the interview really shines since Serena is given the opportunity to relax and talk about the issue without restriction. This allows the conversation to shine.

It provides you with an understanding of who she is as an athlete and even some behind-the-scenes details on some of her most well-known competitions.

In addition, the principles that can be learned here extend far beyond the realm of sports. The strategies of motivation that Serena employs are applicable to a wide variety of facets of life, including employment, hobbies, and sports. No matter who you are or what you do, you are sure to find quite a bit of useful information herein.

Learn Serena GroundStrokes Shots

Following the introductory portion of the first two sessions, the primary emphasis is placed on achieving success in the groundstrokes.

Everyone is aware that these are Serena’s weapons since they are able to easily touch the winners as soon as they are in a good position and cause them to lose their advantage.

The following are some vital directions that Serena provided, which I found to be quite helpful. If you actually pay attention to what she says, you will find that these videos are great pearls for learning strokes.

She asks the observer:

• Turn to the right as you prepare, and when you shoot, use your weight rather than your arm if you hit to the right rather than shooting regularly with your arm.
• Maintain an elevated elbow position when performing the aftercare so that you can easily lift the ball over the net.
• Bringing the long chase to a successful conclusion will make it easier for you to play the ball deep.
• Even after you make contact, you should keep your head still so that you can maintain your equilibrium throughout the action.
• Have someone feed you balls and only hit them with your non-dominant hand (left for the right-handed), as the opposite applies exclusively to your non-dominant hand. This will help improve your two-handed setback and will only apply to your non-dominant hand.

Serena’s Tips on Mental Toughness

Serena believes that 70% of top tennis is mental and claims that she won all Grand Slam finals because she is mentally very tough.

Here are some golden nuggets from this section:

• You should try to take the initiative away from your competitor so that he starts to question his capacity to win this game.
• Maintaining a healthy body can provide a significant boost to one’s mental performance.
• Imagine that it is now 3.30 in the afternoon and you have a second practice service scheduled.
• When you are attempting to get back into the game, keep in mind that this is not the end of the world; take a few deep breaths and play the game one step at a time.
• By striking the ball as forcefully as you can, you can get rid of your fear. Even if you blow a few opportunities to get rid of the fear, you will succeed in the end.
• Maintain a high level of seriousness and concentration during the training, and you’ll find that these qualities carry over into the competition.
• Your ability to think rationally is hindered when you are furious. Therefore, it is imperative that you compose yourself and take a deep breath.
• Forget the errors you’ve made and move on; the important thing is to learn from them.

Plans & Pricing – Serena Williams Masterclass Review

Since the prices of MasterClass could have changed since this Serena Williams Masterclass Review was written, please check this page for the most up-to-date pricing information.

At the time of this writing, a subscription to MasterClass costs $180 per year, which comes out to approximately $15 per month. You gain access to all of MasterClass’s more than 150 different courses if you purchase a subscription.

The fantastic feature of this opportunity is that the effective cost of each class will decrease proportionately to the number of lessons that are taken. For instance, if you are able to locate at least four to six classes that you are interested in taking, this indicates that your average cost per class is between thirty and forty-five dollars. ($180 / 6 lessons = $30).

The value of these classes is unrivaled when considering the fact that they are led by renowned industry professionals. In the event that you are dissatisfied with your purchase, MasterClass will reimburse your money within the first thirty days.

Check out our article on the costs of using MasterClass to get a comprehensive description of the pricing structure of the platform as well as tips on how to extract the most benefit from using it.

Gift subscriptions to MasterClass are also available for purchase.

The All-Access pass, on the other hand, is likely the best deal, especially when one considers that MasterClass offers a number of other courses that are highly complementary to the one being discussed here.

Pros & Cons – Daniel Pink Masterclass Review

Pros:

Any tennis player would benefit greatly from Serena Williams’ MasterClass, which is an excellent resource.

To begin, the production quality of Serena Williams’ course is exceptional, much like that of every other MasterClass course. In all seriousness, you won’t be able to get enough of how amazing the classes look.

However, the course is more than just aesthetically pleasing; Williams walks viewers through aspects of her game that they may easily incorporate into their own without too much difficulty. Because of the competitive nature of the online tennis coaching industry, the shots often get overanalyzed and broken down into the minutest of details.

This is one of the drawbacks of the industry. This type of training is fantastic if it is given one-on-one with a trainer who is able to both physically assist you and evaluate your shot. Having said that, for the purposes of online instruction, that is an excessive amount of data.

Williams teaches the audience the foundations, which can be applied in any situation.
This class does a good job of covering Serena Williams’ serve, which is perhaps her most valuable asset on the court (although there is a very lengthy list of attributes that she possesses).

Training your body is just as vital as learning how the professionals serve, which is why it’s important to learn how the pros serve. Serena Williams attributes her services to the time she spent as a child tossing a football. In fact, it was Serena’s father who made the connection between the biomechanics of throwing a football and serving a tennis ball.

The MasterClass will also go into the strategy and tactics involved in the mental side of the game. Due to the fact that it is a one-on-one sport, tennis is first played in the mind before it is played on the court.

The mental aspect of tennis is an area that Williams excels in, and he does a good job of covering it in this course. He offers a number of useful tips that players of all skill levels may implement into their play.

Cons:

There aren’t many things about Serena Williams’ MasterClass that are problematic at all. If, on the other hand, you are only interested in the tennis content that MasterClass has to offer, I would argue that purchasing the all-access membership is a waste of money.

You will see that many of the other classes are organized into clusters. For instance, there are many different writing classes and poker-playing classes to choose from. If you are a writer and are interested in the Gladwell course, you will have access to four or five more writing courses that will make your subscription valuable.

It would have been nice to have a few more tennis courses available on the platform as it would have provided tennis enthusiasts with an additional motivation to join up for the class. Perhaps in this way, each player will have the opportunity to provide an in-depth analysis of their area of expertise in the game.

On the other hand, the platform offers a wide variety of additional high-quality classes, so you’ll almost certainly come across something that piques your interest (the cooking course with Gordon Ramsay is a great option).

Serena Williams Masterclass Review: Is It Worth It?

In general, I would maintain that it is worthwhile to enroll in this course; nevertheless, it is essential that you are aware of what to anticipate before doing so.

There are times when the lessons come off as being a little bit unstructured, and the course format can sometimes be a little bit perplexing, but if you search around, you can find some real gems.

There is currently no other online course that can claim to offer you a perspective as unique as this one on what it is about Serena Williams’ tennis that makes it so wonderful, therefore you won’t find that here.

Reason enough to give it a shot is the in-depth teaching on the serve, which includes form advice from one of the best living tennis players on the planet.

In addition, there are dozens of other wonderful courses available on MasterClass. These courses were created by other sporting greats such as Stephen Curry and Simone Biles, so there is a lot to explore on the platform. And with a full refund offered if you are not satisfied within the first 30 days, what do you have to lose?

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