During a recent trip to Orlando for a USTA Player Development Camp, I had the opportunity to watch both Ben Shelton and Madison Keys during a short training block as they prepared for the Indian Wells and Miami Open tournaments. Observing their practices up close was both inspiring and very educational.
Three things stood out clearly.
1. Total Engagement
While there were plenty of smiles and light moments during practice, there were zero moments of laziness. Every drill—whether simple or demanding—was done with full focus and effort. The level of commitment was consistently A+.
2. Simplicity Wins
The drills they worked on were surprisingly simple. In fact, many were what I like to call “peanut butter and jelly” drills—the same fundamental patterns we practice regularly. The difference was the intention behind them: each drill focused on constructing the point and finishing it decisively, often with a put-away shot, volley, or overhead.
3. The Right Kind of Errors
Perhaps the most interesting observation was the number of mistakes they made while executing these patterns. These were not careless errors—they were “good errors.” They happened because the players were fully committed to being aggressive and executing with purpose.
More than once I heard their coaches reinforcing this idea with encouraging words when a shot was missed while going for the correct target. The message was clear:
“Missing is okay when the intention, energy, and tactics are right.”
As we move into the second trimester of the year and prepare for a strong summer of tournaments, I challenge all of our players to embrace these three lessons:
• Engage fully
• Trust the fundamentals
• Accept mistakes as part of improvement
These habits are practiced by the very best players in the world—every single day.
