Conversation 29/30 Tennis Coaches ….you cannot critique a player’s movement until you understand what they are trying to achieve. Yet tennis coaches regularly judge technique against an ideal movement model without considering the problem confronting the player. Take the so-called “perfect C-shaped” groundstroke. That movement might be functional when the player has time, space and a manageable incoming ball. But what happens when an opponent drives the ball at maximum speed? The player has less time. The available space may be reduced. The intention may shift from attacking to surviving, redirecting or neutralising. In that moment, attempting to reproduce the same large C-shaped action may be inefficient. A shorter swing or block might be the most functional solution available. The movement has changed because the problem has changed. That is not necessarily a technical fault. It may be intelligent adaptation. Movement only makes sense in relation to the intention, infor...