How It Works

How NeuroTennis Works

Click to listen to Mats’ Wilander’s Instructions

How NeuroTennis Works

Click to listen to Mats Wilander’s Instructions

Diagram Explained:
  1. Both players are wearing NT wristbands, with impact sensors. They are executing a drill they have selected based on what they want to work on.
  2. Player 1 has just hit the ball. Their NT wristband selects a coaching instruction triggered by their own shot — in this case, “Recover fast”.
  3. When player 1 hits the ball, player 2 receives a wireless signal. Their NT immediately selects a coaching instruction triggered by their opponent’s hit — in this case, “Turn shoulders now!”
  4. The NT App was used by the players to select drills from the library, or customize their own.

How NeuroTennis Differs from Typical Training

NT does not see you play, so it does not provide a “feedback system”. It’s all based on positive encouragement of specific habits. The concept is to make you think about the important details at the right time. For example, one of the most common problems observed on court (even with very good players) is that players wait too long to turn their body and prepare their racket to hit an incoming ball. This results in the stroke being rushed and corrupted. If you improve just that one aspect of your game, you will see major dividends.

Non-Judgmental Coaching Creates Better Absorption

A common phenomenon in tennis coaching is for players to become frustrated with corrective feedback. We’ve all been there! When hearing instructions from a coach, players assume that if they receive feedback (for example, “bend your knees”), it must be because they are not doing something right. It’s a negative form of feedback, and after hearing many comments numerous times, frustration sets in. With NeuroTennis, the player just receives the positive reinforcement regarding specific details they are working on, and does not assume they are doing anything incorrectly. Instead, they just keep trying to do it. This repetition without frustration leads to better absorption and creation of good habits.

Watch NeuroTennis in action

Key Features

Sensors

Sensors react in real time when you or your opponent strike the ball, perfectly following the rhythm of your play.

Two Way Communication

Sensors communicate with each other, training you to tune into what’s happening on the other side of the court.

Focus and Reaction Time

Reacting as soon as possible is a key improvement area for most players, even at the pro level. NeuroTennis instantly prompts you to react at precise times during the rally.

Flexible Instructions

Instructions are selected based on what you or your coach decide to work on. Instruction categories include: Footwork, Groundstroke Technique, Motivation, Overheads, Racket Preparation, Return, Serve, Shot Selection, Tactics, and Volleys. NeuroTennis instructions create neural patterns and muscle memory that will become permanent and carry over into your match play.

Smartphone Control

Manage your practice sessions with the NeuroTennis app. Select drills from an extensive library designed by our world-class coaches. Create new coaching instructions right on the court, and use them within seconds.

Voice and Video

Watch quick video demonstrations explaining the concepts for each coaching instruction. Record your own videos and voices.

The NeuroTennis Difference

Game Modifying Technology™ ​

Other wearable tennis products just measure physical results like speed and spin, and tell you how many strokes of each type you hit. These metrics are unlikely to make a significant change in your game. NeuroTennis is about actionable information – what you can do right now to raise your game. With NeuroTennis’ extensive library of coaching instructions and personalization technology, you will always be pushing your game to the next level.

Mental and Physical Training ​

NeuroTennis delivers a unique combination of mental and physical training, programming your mind and body to work together, which is critical for maximizing your potential.

Practice Like a Pro​

Live coaching™ keeps you working with professional-level focus on the court the entire time you are playing, teaching your brain specific improvements. In each practice session, you can acquire new skills or perfect your current ones.

Personalization Technology​

NeuroTennis comes packed with valuable drills. And, you or your coach can also tailor drills to your specific needs. Even create custom coaching instructions in real time on the court, and try them out right away!

Two-Player System​

Unique, Two-player or one-player system provides you with flexibility to use NeuroTennis whether you have a partner lined up or not. Even use it with the ball machine or hitting against the wall. The two player system is a unique concept and technology unmatched by any other training tool.

Who Should Use NeuroTennis?

NeuroTennis drills are available for players of all skill levels and in all age groups. By practicing with NeuroTennis, all players will improve their habits and focus, as well as maximize their potential.

All Skill Levels

For beginners, club players, league players, juniors, college players, and professionals, focusing better and working on specific aspects of your game will improve the quality of your practice. You’ll also notice that you are working harder on the court and getting more exercise while you play.

Coaches

If you are a tennis coach, use the NeuroTennis app to create custom commands and drills for your students to use on court with you, as well as “homework” between lessons. Optionally, record short demonstration videos to illustrate the commands and remind your students what their goals are. Create drills with a blend of commands from the NeuroTennis library, and your own personalized commands.

Designed for Practice and Training

NeuroTennis is specifically designed for people who want to improve their game. The product includes a significant library of lessons and drills, and you can also create your own. You can use NeuroTennis during matches (as long as your opponent is OK with it!), but that is not the primary use of the product. The library includes a category of drills for point play, and the intent of these drills is to play points with the purpose of working on specific improvements.

NeuroTennis and Doubles

NeuroTennis can be used in a 2-player or 1-player mode. It does not provide a 4-player mode. Therefore, if you use NeuroTennis in a doubles scenario, you will receive coaching instructions triggered by: your own shots; and shots made by one of the opponents on the other side of the court. You will also be able to receive coaching instructions prior to serving or receiving.

Players with a Coach or Pro

If you already have a coach, NeuroTennis will be an invaluable tool to use while hitting with your coach, as well as in between your coaching sessions. Your coach can personalize your NeuroTennis drills to exactly what you need to work on most, and ensure that you get the most out of your time on the court.

Players without a Coach or Pro

If you don’t currently have a tennis teacher, NeuroTennis provides standard lessons and drills out of the box, together with explanatory videos. When you’re in the mood to get real work done on the court, put NeuroTennis on your wrist, select a lesson from the library, and enjoy a fun and intense workout while improving your game.

Coaching with NeuroTennis

NeuroTennis App

NeuroTennis is controlled by an app on your iPhone or Android phone. The app allows you to select lessons and drills from an extensive library designed by Mats Wilander, former world #1 and winner of eight grand slams. NeuroTennis coaching instructions are explained and demonstrated in short videos, which you can play directly from the app. Personalize your NeuroTennis even further by creating new instructions and drills in the app. Then, transfer them to your NeuroTennis wearable and take them onto the court to practice exactly what you need to improve.

The Science Behind NeuroTennis

Watch Mats Wilander’s interview on TSN

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Frequently Asked Questions

NeuroTennis is based on a completely different concept than other electronic tennis devices. Most tennis devices use sensors to measure swing speed, estimate velocity or angular rotation (spin) of your shots. They may also determine if you hit forehands vs. backhands. All of these devices are in the “measurement” category. This is fun and may be useful to you as feedback on whether changes in your technique has resulted in additional power generation or spin. Nothing wrong with all that!

However, NeuroTennis is focused on modifying your game, not on measuring it. We want to help you make much more profound changes in your game. There are two key parts to the approach: First, get the most out of your current capability. Every player knows that most days, they play well below their potential. NeuroTennis works on your most important muscle — your brain — to help you feel what it’s  like to be engaged in your tennis, and play in the present moment.  Second, work on all aspects of your game to create a totally different picture of you as a performer on the court. Everything goes into this: your footwork, your stance, your racket preparation and reaction time, your technique, loading and using your legs more, rotation in your body, keeping your head still, and so many more details. That’s why NeuroTennis comes with 100’s of coaching instructions and drills. Plus, create your own. See more about Why NeuroTennis? and the Science Behind NeuroTennis.

NeuroTennis supports both a 2-player mode, and a solo mode. The way NeuroTennis works is easy to understand by thinking about it from the perspective of one player. Let’s say you are playing with your friend, “Pat”. There are two types of events that matter to you: 1) when you hit the ball; and 2) when Pat hits the ball.

When you hit the ball, your own wristband detects that, and it may give you a coaching instruction (CI) designed to best for right after your shot. A typical example would be, “loose wrist’ because right after a shot, players tend to keep gripping their racket tightly, and it’s better to be loose before your next shot.  Another example, might be “recover fast”, which means you should go back to wherever makes most sense for the shot you just hit.  Many players wait too long to initiate their recovery, so by saying “recover fast” right after your shot, NeuroTennis is helping you change that habit.

When Pat hits the ball, if Pat is wearing a NeuroTennis wristband that is paired with yours, then it will send a signal across the court to your wristband to let you know that Pat has just made impact. Your own wristband receives that signal and it may give you a coaching instruction appropriate for what you need to do to best respond to Pat’s shot, which is on its way to your side of the court. For example, it might say, “watch the ball until contact”, because many players don’t do a good enough job of tracking the ball with their eyes all the way until they hit it. 

Now that you understand how all this works, we can answer the main question of this FAQ, which is what happens if your opponent, Pat, is not wearing NeuroTennis, or has turned it off? The answer is that your wristband will still function, but it will tell you that you are in “solo mode” and, as a result, you will only receive coaching instructions corresponding to your own shots. The same thing will happen if you and Pat are both wearing your wristbands, but you have not gone through the pairing process, which you do by both pressing the pairing button (the button with the two rackets).

For more information, see the court diagram on the How it Works page.

Absolutely! The NeuroTennis app for iPhone or Android serves two purposes: accessing our library of awesome content; and creating any coaching instructions and drills that you or your coach can imagine. Read more about the NeuroTennis App.

NeuroTennis gives you coaching instructions through the speaker contained in the wristband itself. It does not use earphones, as this could be cumbersome and bluetooth communication also uses significant power, which would drain the unit’s battery too quickly. The NT200 features a volume control with 5 levels (plus mute) so you can choose a level that allows you to hear the coaching instructions without disturbing anyone else.