So I finally decided to try that Prince tennis ball machine everyone’s been buzzing about. Honestly, I was skeptical at first. How much could a fancy ball shooter really fix my crappy backhand? But my tennis buddy kept nagging me, so I caved and rented one for the weekend.
Unboxing this thing felt like wrestling an angry octopus. Tubes, batteries, weird clamps – total mess. Took me half an hour just to realize the feeder tray goes upside down. Almost snapped the trigger mechanism forcing it wrong. Felt like an idiot standing there sweating with four AAA batteries rolling in the grass.
First test was straight up embarrassing. Set the machine on “easy mode” thinking I’d ace every shot. Instead, watched about twenty balls sail past my racquet while I swung like a drunk windmill. That stupid beep sound before each shot kept making me flinch. My dog got more exercise than me fetching all those balls.
After calming down, I actually read the damn manual. Big revelation: you’re supposed to adjust the wheels for spin and speed separately. Turned the top wheel tighter for more topspin, slowed the speed dial way down. Suddenly the balls started landing where I could actually reach them. Felt like cheating on a math test.
Started feeding myself the same shot fifty times in a row. Forehands first. At first my arm felt like spaghetti after thirty reps. But around ball seventy-five, muscle memory kicked in. Stopped thinking about my feet, stopped over-swinging. Just… hit. Went from spraying balls everywhere to consistently landing deep in the court. Even made that satisfying pock sound off the strings.
Next day focused entirely on backhands – my personal nightmare. Cranked up the oscillation so it’d randomly switch corners. Humbled me real quick. For the first hour, looked like I was trying to swat flies. Key was resetting my stance after every shot instead of leaning around like an idiot. Started anticipating better around noon. By sundown? Actually nailed a down-the-line winner. Nearly cried.
What I learned:
- Stop rushing. The machine forces you to reset between shots. No panicking.
- Consistent reps > fancy shots. 200 boring forehands trump 20 cool ones.
- Adjustments matter more than power. Dialing proper spin helped way more than smashing.
Took my new “skills” to actual court Monday. My regular hitting partner thought I’d taken steroids. Ball machine didn’t make me pro overnight, but those two days of robot hell finally made my shots somewhat less terrible. Worth the rental fee just to stop shanking every other backhand.