TennisOne,

I am currently a full time tennis pro and was wondering if you suggest any drills or preparation suitable for someone trying out for their high school team for the first time? I know match-play practice is the most important but I am looking for something one could work on in a private lesson that you think is a priority.
 
Thanks,
Bob

Bob,

There are many drills that would help an individual get ready for the high school tryouts.  A lot of the decision is based upon their skill level as well as whether they are trying out for singles or doubles.  In this case, I will assume they are trying out for singles.

Assuming the student has moderate skills; can hit a ball off both forehand and backhand with some direction and depth and the same with the volley and can get a serve in play somewhat consistently, I would offer the following drills.

1.  Have the player practice hitting balls to 1 of the 4 squares on the tennis court (square 1 is the deuce service court, square 2 is the square behind the deuce service court, square 3 is the square behind the ad service court and square 4 is the ad service court.  This can be done initially off a drop and hit by the student as they toss the ball away from where they are standing and must move to get position to direct the ball or can be a fed ball by the pro.
*Get away from feeding them balls to hit quickly as they are not likely to receive a nicely hit ball in their high school match or the same ball twice.

2.  Have the student call out the square they intend to hit the ball to before the ball coming to them bounces on their side of the court -this teaches early decision making and demonstrates they can control both direction and depth.  (This also ensures they are less likely to look up as they swing as they have selected a target before they strike the ball - allowing for more of a quiet mind as the contact the ball).

3.  Rally with your student and have them continue to call out the intended square in the above manner.  This will demonstrate their ability to construct a point, where to hit when they are in a poor position and helps them to breathe, focus on the the tactics of the match rather than how to hit the ball or their opponent.

4.  Divide the service courts in half - length wise and have them serve by calling out forehand or backhand as their intended target.  Once the ball is in play they will rally with you while continuing to call out their intended target for their ground stroke or volley if you bring them to the net.

5.  You serve to them - both to their forehand and backhand and they have to call out their intended return target - before the serve bounces in their service court and then continue as the point is played out.

6. Put two targets on their baseline, about 2-3 feet to the right and left of center and after they hit to their pre selected target - 1 thru 4 - they must recover to the correct side of the center service line.  If their return is to target 2, they should return to the right of the center service line, if their return is to target 3, they should return to the left of the center service line.  This will put them in the best "center of possible return" position to prepare for the next ball.

7.  Serve to your student or have them serve to you then rally crosscourt for 4-8 shots using only the singles sideline to center service line as boundaries then play out the point on the whole court.  Next, go to the other side and serve, rally 4-8 balls and play out the point on the whole court.  You can keep score like in a regular game but you must reach the rally number before the point can start.  Miss the rally number and you must start over on the same side and try again.

*When you rally with the student, be sure to hit them loopy balls, short balls, some faster balls and some underspin balls to prepare them for actual match play.  Your student will be forced to decide the;

1. Direction of the ball,
2. The depth of the ball
3. The spin they want on the ball - top and under
4. The correct speed they need to play each in-coming ball
5. Most importantly to get the ball in play

There are only 2 basic rules on playing tennis
1.The ball must go over the net
2.The ball must land inside the court of play

There are hundreds of styles of play and tactics but those are the two most important for all of us.
They must be able to play "UGLY" to win "PRETTY".

Thanks, their are 100's of drills to develop match play skills.  If you like I can email you the "50 Best drills for Singles and Doubles".

 Ken DeHart
PTR & USPTA Master Pro

TennisOne,

I was wondering if all professional tennis pros have the service toss in the same place on both the deuce courts and the ad courts? If so, what is the best way to practice a consistent ball toss?
 
Thanks,
John

John,

The service toss can have many variations:  (assuming a right handed server)

1. Toss the ball further back toward the fence to get more topspin
2. Toss the ball further out toward the service line for a little flatter serve or slight slice
3. Toss the ball further to the right for a more pronounced slice serve or
4. Toss the ball more toward the top of the head allows the racquet to travel across the ball in a path up and across the ball for more of a topspin or kick serve

 But more to your question:

The toss in the ad court is often in a slightly different position because the serving direction is different.  In the ad court you are hitting with the natural alignment of the serve motion.  In the deuce court you are serving slightly across the body alignment.

While the pros may make a very subtle adjustment because of their ability to make small athletic adjustments, it can often be a more pronounced adjustment for more novice players.

The best way to develop a consistent toss is to discover where you feel most comfortable swinging your racquet on the service motion.  I can be as simple as practicing your serve motion without the ball and leaving you eyes up as you swing to see the path your racquet naturally goes through.

How you toss is not as important as having a target to toss to...  The pros bounce the ball, looking down, check to see if the server is ready and then they look up to the intended toss target.  This motion can be difficult to see as the TV camera usually pulls back to a full court view as the server starts the service motion. 

Think about every other sport - a pitcher looks to the catchers glove as a target, a shooter in basketball looks to the rim before he releases, a quarterback throws to a spot where the receiver will be and etc.  The same principle applies to tossing - place the ball in the correct target area and your serve will be easy - as long as your eyes stay on the ball until you see the blur of the racquet move past your eyes before you look to pick up the receivers return.

As you swing, focus on the ball and decide what part of the ball do you wish to contact and then see it happen.  Most servers have never seen ball that well or the racquet come past their eyes as they serve.

Find a target and toss to it,

Thanks,
 Ken DeHart
PTR & USPTA Master Pro

TennisOne,

I have a question about power and being aggressive. My daughter, who is 11 is learning new ways to hit the ball. Instead of just hitting under the ball she is learning to hit flat and going over-the-top of the ball. This will allow her to move forward on high balls and be more aggressive.

She is equating being aggressive with hitting harder. She is hitting the ball as hard as she can believing that power is everything. My take on this is that she is going to come across a lot of girls who can just block the ball back until she misses. I’ve suggested trying to hit at about 75% power, which would give her good pace and control.

Am I limiting her potential as a player by suggesting she should hit the ball at 75% or is playing competitive tennis all about power?

Thank you for your response,
A Tennis Dad

Dear Tennis Dad,

Why does it have to be one or the other? Instead of her being trained to specifically hit her shots with "full power" or "75%" power, (or any other specific hitting strategy), I would train her to develop strategies that utilize both, a consistency component, and then a 'finishing off' component. The pros don't hit every shot hard, they block some shots back, slice, mix in sharp angle topspins, drop shots and, of course, a good dose of power.

Her training should include all of these, if she hopes to be not just a good player, but one that has diversity as well as power. Certainly, if one trains to hit the ball hard, he or she would be more productive in hard hitting battles. But, as you correctly pointed out, there will be those players who can indeed block those powerful shots back, time and time again, so that the hard hitting player--with their lower percentage strokes--will eventually miss. Hard hitters also tend to be "on" their game or "off" their game, with very little to fall back on when such strategies of hitting hard aren't working.

As with all of my players, we have some sessions that focus on full-power hitting. But, these are just one of a staple of strokes that we employ when I teach my students. Slices, learning to block shots back, lobs, drops shots, etc., are all shots that should be addressed, as well as learning to simply rally hundreds of balls in a row to develop the mental consistency associated with "staying in a point."

There is nothing wrong with learning new ways to hit the ball, nor is there anything wrong with learning to apply more power. But these elements must be addressed within the context of control and command. Certainly learning to hit harder will produce more errors and this is one of the learning steps associated with such harder ball striking. Players need to hit tons of such shots before they start mastering the power within that context of control.

A good pro will be able to monitor your daughter's progression in all of these areas. But, power in and of itself, is a very limiting playing strategy that can be countered with many different defensive strategies. Work on setting up the point and then having the power to finish the point off...this will be the 'exclamation point' that should set your daughter apart. "Aggressive" play is not always about hitting hard. In my book, it is all about moving the feet aggressively to hit the best shot in the best position. This could mean coming in and taking a ball early or slicing an approach shot and finishing with a drop angle volley, or it could mean an power game from the baseline or looking for the inside out forehand on the backhand side. Yet, all of these strategies have one thing in common, aggressive footwork!

Good luck to your daughter!
Dave Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne

TennisOne,

I am intrigued by the concept of focusing your eyes on the contact zone, as Scott Ford suggests in his article "Concentration and the Zone."; "the Parallel Mode Process", but I am confused as to how you know where the contact zone is if you don't watch the path and trajectory of the ball?

I am looking forward to your reply.

Thanks very much,
Dick Ide

Hi Dick,

There are several articles in the Parallel Mode Process section of Tennis One that go into detail about the Fixed-Depth of Focus (FDF) input pattern, both how to do it and why it works better than a Variable-Depth of Focus (VDF) input pattern.

In short, FDF is all about fixing your focus on your contact zone by visualizing a big window in front of you and locating the contact point along the surface of that imaginary window. This is a different visual strategy than the one we all learned which involves continuously refocusing our eyes from one fixation point to another as we try to "watch the path and trajectory of the ball."

The difference between FDF and VDF is that when you focus on the ball, you will not know where the contact zone is until your eyes arrive at the visual depth of the contact zone - and, at the higher ball speeds we see in tennis, the ball often arrives at the contact zone before your eyes refocus to the contact zone. So the ball gets to your contact zone before your eyes do, and you end up hitting the ball late. That's bad visual input and it always leads to bad timing.

You ask: "how you know where the contact zone is if you don't watch the path and trajectory of the ball?" I would ask you a different question: how do you know where the contact zone is when your eyes are focused on the ball?

When you visualize a big window in front of you (see articles), you are fixing your focus on your contact zone and that's how you know where your contact zone is. You are literally focused on it with your eyes, and when your eyes are focused on your contact zone, your brain is receiving information as to the height, width, and depth of the contact zone location. You will still "see" the ball in your far periphery (the far side of your window), and as the ball comes toward your window, it will also be coming into your predefined field of focus, which means the closer it gets to your window, the more "in focus" it becomes. All you have to do is look along the surface of your window for the contact point and you will "see" the path and trajectory of the ball without ever having to focus on the ball

FDF takes practice, but it is far superior to VDF as an input pattern, and the best part is, when you switch to FDF, you will be switching to the visual input pattern that puts you "in the zone."

Hope this helps,

Scott A. Ford, USPTA, RPT

TennisOne,

I was recently bumped up to the 4.5 level, and realized I cannot simply bang hard drives at this level to succeed. Can you suggest some drills/exercises to help get more "touch" into my game, and allow me to get more angles, droppers, and offensive lobs as weapons?

Thanks in advance for your thoughtful reply,
Matt

Matt,

You need to acquire more spin on your shots to neutralize the speed you are now facing. You will also need to mix the height of the shots you select as well.

There are five Tactical Priorities on every shot in tennis.

1. Get the ball in play
2. Control the "direction" of the shot -- Cross Court, Down the Line or Up the Center
3. Change the "depth" -- do not just go deep to the baseline, Play short also to put your opponent in an uncomfortable position to play from (like Federer does with his chip shot off his backhand to the opponents service line on their backhand) and vary angles to make the opponent play from outside the singles sideline.
4. Vary the "spin" -- mix in lots of slices, chips, and drop shots (underspins) with drives, loops, and lobs (topspins).
5. Vary the "speed" -- practice hitting at three levels 1. As hard as you can hit without missing. 2. The level of speed you would use to maintain a 20 ball rally. 3. The speed you would use to hit "loopy, spinning balls."

The challenge then becomes mixing those five factors in a match to control or dominate your opponent. All the drills you choose to use can be adjusted by changing any of the four factors (#2-5) to add variety and use the drill as a tactical practice session.

If you like I will send you a copy of my "100 Best Drills" and you can choose drills and options to help you practice your game. Send me your address and I will mail it to you.

Thanks,

Ken DeHart
PTR/USPTA Master Professional

TennisOne,

I have couple of topspin related questions:

- Looking at Agassi's and Federer's forehands, they both seem to swing along a relatively flat, horizontal plane. And yet, they both generate a great deal of topspin. Federer seems to be able to vary the amount of spin with the same spin. How does he do that? Are they dipping the racquet head with their wrists?

- When I'm practicing and one of the balls in the bucket happens to be a little bit dead, I noticed that I can generate more spin with that ball. It feels like I can 'grip' that ball better because it dwells on the strings longer. When I get a new ball, the ball leaves the strings quickly and I don't get that feel. Now, during the US Open at the Wilson store, there was a sign there that said that pro players have begun stringing their racquets looser. Would looser strings allow me to 'grip' the ball better? I had always thought higher tensions = more spin.

Thanks a lot!
Bill

Bill,

Great questions! First off, in the slow motion video clips at TennisOne, you should be able to detect the subtle, but effective, racquet head dip that most of the top pros employ during the critical moment that the pre-stretch of the forearm integrates with the forward motion of the forearm as the arm moves from the full backswing point towards contact. This combination of getting the racquet lower at the very moment the swing starts its full acceleration leading up to contact is what produces the high ball rotation along with the high ball velocity.

String tension will have more effect relative to swing speed. While the pros are dropping tension, it is subtle. A typical recreational/club player will probably not be able to control the ball as well by dropping the tension more than a small amount. This is because the longer the dwell time, the more the vector of any given shot will be effected by both miss hits as well as angle deflection as a racquet's face distorts or is manipulated within the contact phase (usually due to rolling or flicking the wrist). Such action is more apparent among the average recreational player, those who typically roll the racquet or use the wrist. The pros, control the racquet so very well through contact that they can benefit from the longer dwell time.

You will have to evaluate if you have an excellent swing path in order to determine if you can control the lower tensions you are talking about. Or, you can just go down in about 3 lb increments to find a string tension that works best for you.

Thank you for writing in!

TennisOne,

In my opinion and based on what I’ve read, Roger Federer and Ana Ivanovic own two of the most lethal forehands in the professional game today. I also understand that they both use a particular forehand grip some call the “hybrid” or “modern forehand” grip which can best be described as a cross between the eastern and semi-western grips. Would appreciate any comments you might have on the advantages and disadvantages in employing this forehand grip.

Thanks,
Brad

Brad,

As with any grip, the type of grip chosen will orientate the racquet to the forearm differently. The more closed grip (closer towards western) closes the racquet face to the ball relative to the arm being in a neutral contact position. Also, the more severe the grip, the more the racquet lays back relative to the forearm. (Creating more of a 90 degree angle to the forearm with a full western grip.) The more towards a true continental, the more the racquet lies parallel with the forearm and more open to the ball. (Of course, a player can augment these grips to have different relationships to the ball; for example, you can lay the wrist back and tilt it down to mimic a more semi-western racquet face.)

Thus, the so-called hybrid grip is simply a variation of any grip that could be considered 'in between' any two of the four main forehand grips. (You can also have hybrid backhand, serve and volley grips as well.)

How "lethal" a forehand is can be traced to several elements including grip, racquet head speed, swing path, swing speed, angular momentum, inertia and acceleration of the transfer of weight, (aka speed of the kinetic chain), torque, (usually emendating from the relationship of the lower body to upper body within angular rotation), and other contributing factors. Thus, in most cases, the grip is only part of the equation in terms of what makes a forehand so potent.

My belief is that the combination of these factors are probably most effectively combined with Fed and a couple others who have killer forehands. Certainly, if a player is too far western for the player to 'drive' the ball, then they will generate more topspin relative to velocity. Too flat, usually when players use an eastern grip, they don't get the net clearance from spin that allows them to swing harder with consistency.

The main element is to develop a forehand (and backhand too), that matches a player's ability to swing consistently, with a regular, repeatable swing path, with optimal topspin--yet with the balance of swinging through the ball for optimal velocity with control.

The obvious advantages of a mid-range hybrid grip is that it is not too severe either way. A player like Nadal who is well over to the western grip, generates a big topspin ball, but does not have the lethal forehand Fed has. The more western the grip, the more "prestretch" a player can employ on the forehand with can amplify the swing speed when utilized correctly. (Read Vic Braden's quick tip on the pre-stretch which describes this component very well.)

All players will want to find a grip that they can swing within the elements I mentioned: repeatable and controllable swing path, and one that can generate optimal swing speed.

Hope this answers your question about these grips!

Thanks for writing in!
Dave Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne

TennisOne,

I don't see much written or talked about the offensive "Swing Volleys". I find this to be an extremely effective shot against an opponent, especially when rushing the net. Is it possible that this is called something else on your site?

I've come across players, mostly Asian, that employ techniques they learned in Ping Pong to tennis. One extremely frustrating shot to defend against is a powerful side spin shoot. Topspin shoots are very linear in dimension, but a side spin shoot just about takes a right angle turn as soon as it bounces. I don't see this kind of shot in Pro tennis, but it definitely has it's place in tennis. Again, I don't see much mentioned about it in your site.

I also see these kinds of players (Asian) complaining about their racquet strings moving on them. How important is it to have strings stationary? I know that if my strings are strung less than 60 lbs, they will move, especially when hitting with a lot of top spin or side spin. Do the pros really care if their strings move on them? I think some pros us lower lbs on their strings then what I use, so those strings have got to move considering the power they hit with. Nadal for one, puts an enormous amount of spin on his shots, what string tension is his racquet strung at and does he even care if his strings move?

Anthony

Anthony,

Good questions and comments.

First off, the swinging topspin volley, is a shot we are seeing taught and executed at high levels of play. I don't recall seeing an article on this shot and I appreciate your bringing up this topic so that we can expand on it in an article/newsletter in the future.

Technically, this shot is simply a typical topspin groundstroke applied to a ball before it bounces. While this is a simple explanation of the shot, the actual execution of the shot takes expert timing, footwork, and aggressive mind set.

Your point about sidespin is an interesting topic too. About the only player who specifically plays this type of shot to a certain degree is Fabrice Santoro, the Frenchman who plays two-handed on both sides but applies a deft and sometimes very effective sidespin on his forehand and backhand sides. While he is somewhat effective with the shot, it is fairly accepted that this type of shot gets eaten up by top players after gaining a feel for attacking it.

However, at the recreational/club level of tennis, the sidespin shot, hit similar to a ping pong slider, can be very effective. Not only does it curve both in the air and after the bounce, it also tends to stay lower as it bounces upon its axis of spin thus it does not bite into the court like a true underspin shot can, nor does it bounce up and forward as the topspin ball will do.

As far as strings go, yes, the lower tensions, the more strings can move. But, more specifically, the more spin a player hits with, the more the strings tend to move. I don't know personally what Nadal is stringing his racquet at now. But, typically, big spinners tend to have tighter string beds (so that the ball moves more across the strings rather than sink into the string bed creating what is called more "dwell time".) Remember, Borg used to string his racquets at 80 lbs! But, he seldom hit a flat ball.

Most pros can be seen straightening out their strings between every point. This is not just because the strings move, but also it is done as a means to focus their mind on something other than the last point played or the importance of the next point, etc.

Finally, new strings tend to move much less than older strings. The pros typically play with freshly strung racquets nearly every time they play and/or practice. Thus, compared to the typical recreational player who has his racquet strung like every six months or so, the pros don't have as much movement of the strings in contrast to the typical club or recreational player.

Thanks for your comments and questions. I hope we will have some specific articles in the near future regarding these topics!

Dave Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne

TennisOne,

I have been looking at a lot of the slow-mo videotape of the serve and it seems a position all the pro's get into is the high right elbow, coincident with the racquet drop, as they explode up to the ball. Somehow, I doubt I get into that position, and therefore lack the pop/spin I would like.Is there a stretch I should be doing, or simply, without a racquet, practice getting that right elbow up there, to build muscle memory?  Any other suggestions you have to help me get into that position would be helpful.

Thanks in anticipation for your response,
Matt M

Matt,

It sounds like you are recognizing the relationship between the collapse of the racquet and the coinciding arm and elbow coming forward that skilled players (pros) exhibit. Many players collapse, then after the racquet is down behind the player's back, they then bring the hitting arm forward. This defeats the 'whip action' that creates a higher degree of racquet head speed. Imagine how a lion tamer would crack a whip: he generally does not bring the arm back--then stop--then sling the whip forward. He starts the whip back but before the end of the whip reaches the full back throw position, the hand brings the grip forward which then speeds up the action of the tip of the whip. (Which produces the signature, "crack" you hear when someone 'cracks' a whip!)

Try this: Before you toss, simply hold the racquet over your head, with the tip of your racquet pointing up, towards the projected apex of the toss. Instead of dropping the racquet early, the racquet from this position should allow you to feel the whip action and after a number of serves, you will gain a feel for the different timing that this action creates.

Don't forget to brush across the ball for spin in addition to hitting through the ball within this new swing pattern. (Many players forget what the racquet head should be doing to the ball when they are focusing on a new swing element.)

Good luck and let us know how you are doing with your serve!

Dave Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne

TennisOne,

My question is, how, assuming it's possible, can a young junior learn to shorten his/her backswing?

My 12-year-old daughter plays very competitively in USTA tournaments, but her first coach allowed her to develop a very exaggerated backswing (for her one-handed forehand), and her current coach says that, due to muscle-memory, it's too late to change it.

Meanwhile, I remember Nick Bollettieri saying in his book "Bollettieri's Tennis Handbook" that the first thing they do with most of the kids that come to his academy is to shorten their backswing. I really think that shortening my daughter's backswing could be key to her developing a more compact and consistent forehand which won't let her down under pressure. What's to be done?You can train players to shorten their backswing. However, you need to give them physical reference points to associate their swing with.

Tennis Dad

Tennis Dad

I use what I call Segmented Swing Patterns to train all players to intentionally learn to control their backswing. As you have probably noticed with your daughter, players will lose conscious control of their racquet once they take it back. Their focus is on the ball, not what their racquet is doing. Thus, you need to bring some focus to their racquet if they are going to consciously control their backswing.

The Segmented Swing Pattern breaks down the swing pattern into fairly equal parts labeled 0 (contact) to 5 (full backswing). The follow-through is the same, 0 (contact) to a 5 (full follow-through).

Have your daughter demonstrate different swing 'call out' numbers. For example, call out a 3-5. This would be a little more than half of a full backswing and then a full follow-through. Then call out a 5-2, A full backswing, a very short follow-through, and so on.

Then drill specific swing patterns, such as start with a 2-3, then a 2-4, and then a 3-4, and so on.

The next stage is to play a number of games only using a specific, designated swing pattern for all groundstrokes for that game.

Eventually, she will recognize where she is more consistent with shorter swings, (specifically serve-returns and deep groundstrokes), and when she will have time to set up for a full swing.

Hope this helps and good luck to your daughter.

Dave Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne

TennisOne,

I have been playing with the same racquets for years now. I purchased them and started playing with them in 2001. I play frequently and break strings often.

Over the past few months, my racquets have felt really dead. Even with a fresh string job, they don't seem to have the same pop. Additionally, my arm (esp. shoulder) has been getting sore and feeling sluggish during prolonged hitting.

Is it possible that my racquets are washed up?

Thank you in advance for any advice,
Paul

Paul,

You may well have to bury the frames. This July issue of Tennis Magazine addressed that exact issue. Each strike of the ball will break fibers in the frame until they become "soft". The article basically said the pros can go through about 70 plus frames in a year. We don't hit that hard or as often as they do but a couple of years on a frame can produce soft racquets, although nothing like the dying of the old wood frames. Because they break down each day, it can hardly be noticeable to us.

I'll bet you are due.

Ken DeHart
PTR & USPTA Master Pro

TennisOne,

I am a solid 4.0 player and have been taking lessons for 5 years after a 15 year layoff. Most of my competitive tennis has been in doubles. I enjoy singles but find I am losing to many players who can retrieve and hit numerous shots in. I find in singles I have trouble making more than three or four shots in a row.

Right now I am driving myself nuts trying to figure out what my roadblock is. Not sure whether the main factor is mental, stamina, technique, breathing or timing related. I have good strokes and can hit the ball hard, maybe too hard at times.

Do you have any suggestions for getting through this roadblock and increasing the number of shots I can successfully execute in my singles points? How about drills? I have heard about some instructors feeding 50 balls in a row and putting pressure on students in this manner. However, I question whether static drills with the instructor feeding balls to my strike zone can help in this situation.

Thanks,
Shawn

Shawn,

Singles is quite different from doubles as you have discovered. One of the key awareness skills is to recognize the value of "ugly shots" versus "pretty shots". Ugly shots are one of 3 general categories of shots. The other two are drives and lobs and they too can be with topspin or underspin.

Ugly shots are off-pace shots, extreme spin shots and pretty much any ball that players prefer not to play against. These shots are used to keep your opponent from receiving a ball they like to hit and one that is always just out of their "strike zone". Look at what makes a pitcher successful in baseball. Few have an overpowering fastball that do not rely on off-pace pitches to keep batters off balance and when delivered make their fast ball appear even faster.

Most players prefer to play pretty tennis and hit against other pretty players. However, as your opponent my job is not to make you look good. Try this, have someone toss you a perfect ball into your strike zone. Next, have them toss you a loopy, high and deep ball to your left or right. Which ball would you prefer to receive? So, which one should you give your opponent?

Number 1 rule to getting better - get over it.... learn how to hit some "ugly shots" that frustrate your opponents and cause them to give you balls that allow you to use your "pretty shots" to finish points.

Number 2 rule to getting better - set a number of shots in your mind you are willing to hit before your "need for speed" overcomes you and you go for a pretty put away.

How to practice:

1. Do not depend upon fed balls to get better with patients and consistency
   
2. Live ball rally 2 balls cross court with a partner then play out the point on the whole court. Next, rally 3 balls then play out the point then 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, playing out the point after reaching you goal. Now start again with 10 and play out the point, then 9, 8, 7, 6 and etc. Do this from the deuce court then the ad court. The idea is to establish a rhythm pace on the cross court shots where you feel comfortable and then play out the point using that rhythm on the whole court.
   
3. Do the same drill above but the first rally is with topspin, the next rally is with underspin.
   
4. Do the same drill above but one stroke is topspin the next is underspin from 1 to 10 and then 10 to 1

Tennis Professional, Jay Berger, once said he use to scout opponents by 2 categories:
1. What was their pain tolerance - how many balls they could hit before they went for a winner.
2. When the score was critical - what shot did they attempt and where they preferred to hit it.

A smart player will also realize there are basically 3 types of shots:

1. Offense - which we all like to hit. Especially when we see players winning points using this shot successfully and fail to see how often they lose points hitting offense - from a defensive position.
   
2. Neutralizing - where you are neither in offense nor defense and you do not want to give our opponents an opportunity to gain the offense or give them a free point.
   
3. Defense - where we hit a ball that allows us to 'Buy Time" to get back into a neutral position or hopefully put the opponent on the defense.

Most errors in a match can be attributed to choosing the wrong shot for the position we are in. Going for an offensive shot when we are wider than the doubles alley, in most cases would be and example instead of neutralizing the point so we can get back in the court and establish control of the point. Another example would be receiving a short soft ball and hitting it back into the court and retreating without attempting enough offense to put the opponent on the defense.

Lacking an effective target contributes greatly to early errors in a point. Most players decide where they will hit a shot before the ball touches their side of the court. Once the ball bounces on your side, the ball will dictate where you will have to play the shot instead of you.

There are 4 basic targets when you play in singles or doubles and they are the 4 squares on the opponents court. The opponent's deuce court is target #1, the area behind the service line to the baseline is the #2 target, the area behind the ad court is the #3 target and the ad court is target #4. All strategies are based upon the 4 squares, much like baseball, where you have 4 bases to choose to throw the ball to based upon where it is hit to you, the score and the position of the player.

Targets 2 and 3 are deep ball rally targets, 1 and 4 are short angle and drop shot targets. Mixing targets is very effective and helps to create plays that you can run against an opponent. Deep and high with lots of spin to #3 will push your opponent well behind the baseline. When you receive an appropriate shot attempt a drop shot or short angle to #1 that will bring the opponent up toward the net and put them in a neutral or defensive position. Next, you have a choice of looping the ball deep to #3 again or going for an offensive drive deep to #3.

Odd numbers targets create offensive opportunities for you just like even number targets can do and allow you to create patterns that take advantage of players weaknesses. There are multitudes of strategic and tactical opportunities. From the mental side, you can control the fear of losing or fearing your opponent will hit a winner by counting balls as they are contacted by both you and your opponent. Your mind can only have one thought at a time so counting as you contact the ball makes you focus on the approaching ball to be able to count it as it touches the strings. Counting as the ball touches your opponents strings allows you to breath twice during each rally (one when you touch it and once when they touch it) as well as identify that the ball has been contacted by your opponent to increase your reaction time for the in-coming ball.

Ken DeHart
PTR & USPTA Master Pro

TennisOne,

I'd like to read a lot more about Marion Bartoli's two-handed forehand. Maybe even see it in the video library?
Two summers ago my coach tried me on a two-hander. He thought I hit the ball better, and I liked it because it was easier on my injured rotator cuff. After I had my shoulder repaired, I went back to the western forehand without any trouble pain-wise, but I recently switched back to the two-hander at my coach's insistence because for some reason I just hit a better forehand with two hands. I hate the idea of it -- it's hard not to think of it as a crutch for little kids or old ladies, and I definitely have to run more -- but I can't argue with the results. With all the aging Boomers who don't want to give up tennis, I wonder if more people around my age (48) or older are experimenting with two hands, or might benefit from doing so. Can you tell us more?

Thanks,
Marie Dillon

Marie,

I have been teaching the two-handed forehand for 18 years with excellent success. My students include women in their late 60's to top-level boys. The stroke is not only a great learning tool for any aged beginner, but it can provide a new foundation for those who have a suspect conventional forehand.

Marion's forehand is as close to a carbon copy of Monica Seles' forehand (except a right handed version!) than any of the pros I have studied. Akiko Morigami, Peng Shuai, and a few others are similar too, but Marion's physique is closer to Monica's.

Don't think of the two-handed forehand as a crutch or a shot only for beginners. It does require a bit more footwork, but this is only because it encourages better footwork than a one-handed which can be hit with long reach...but this is usually accomplished with lazy footwork (just because I can reach out for a ball, doesn't mean I shouldn't move better and stroke the ball with better form!). If a pro like Marion Bartoli can take the shot and beat the top player in the world and reach a Grand Slam Final, then obviously, it can indeed be taken to the highest level. Monica proved this a decade ago, Marion and others will show it can be done in today's era.

I'm not saying that a great two-hander is better than a great one-hander. I'm saying that the two-hander helps players develop a more consistent, and hence, a more offensive forehand (because of the consistency the shot provides) for players at the recreational level all the way up.

If you haven't taken a look at the three articles I have done on the two-handed forehand, or read my book, TENNIS MASTERY, (the world's only book that teaches every element of the two-handed forehand), please take a look at these. I'm sure we will be adding more Marion info and video clips if she continues to impress.

Thanks for the comments and request for more Marion! We hope we can please you!

Dave Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne

TennisOne.

I have a question about the “rally” zone vs. the “competitive” zone. My daughter, who is 12 years old, has been working with a coach who lines up a series of cones about 2 ½ feet from the singles sideline on each side of the court. The cones are parallel to the sidelines, starting at the end of the service box and go about 4 feet back towards the baselines. The coach refers to the alley between the cones and the singles sideline as the competitive zone. Anything in the middle of the court is the rally zone. He believed that tournament players should practice and always work the ball to the competitive zones on the court, which is essentially 2 ½ feet from each sideline.

My daughter has been working on this for about 9 months now. She never rallies with anyone down the middle of the court. She always hits diagonally or down the line. In her matches she immediately directs each shot to the “competitive” zone. She can hit some amazing shots and shot combinations from sideline to sideline, but I’m noticing during tournaments her errors come from just hitting balls outside the singles sidelines. Prior to this advice she would hit broadly to each corner and make fewer errors. She does not over hit the ball and stays in the 60% to 80% range of her power. Relatively speaking, should my daughter keep working every ball to the “competitive” zone? Is this the pathway to competing at a high level in the future?

Thanks,
Tennis Dad

Tennis Dad,

The first question I have: does your pro watch your daughter compete regularly? Charting matches is part of the competitive picture and reveals areas of weakness, strength, and tendencies and patterns. It sounds to me your daughter is moving into the competitive zone far too fast in any given rally, from what you said that she "immediately" starts moving balls out of the rally zone and into her competitive zone.

If her pro does not watch her play, then they probably are not seeing this tendency. If the pro is encouraging this strategy, I would consider charting just about any pro match for comparison. Most pros begin the return and subsequent shots relatively close to the middle of the middle of the court (deeper, usually), and as a rally materializes, they start working the ball into these competitive zones.

At the junior level, too many kids don't give their opponent a chance to miss. They immediately move into the aggressive zones and either win the point quickly or lose it even quicker. All players need to put pressure on opponents to show they are willing to stay in the point. This not only helps win points by simple attrition, but also helps you gain rhythm and confidence to move the ball into the competitive zones without feeling like it is a 'now or nothing' concept.

While hitting more effective and competitive shots is the goal of any player seeking to make it to the highest levels of play, there will always be an element of staying within ones self, as well as learning to be competitive with patience.

In addition to the drills your pro is having your daughter do, he or she should be employing drills that are rally ball drills or consecutive count drills where your daughter has to hit 40, 30, 20 and 10 balls in a row in a general hitting area. (Crosscourt or down the line), learning to condition themselves to hit many times the number of balls in a regular rally.

Good luck to your daughter and hope this helps!

Dave Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne

TennisOne,

I would like to hit faster if possible. I am a 3.5 Senior that I think just made 4.0. One of the main reasons for this improvement is my forehand and back hand. I had purchased something like the squarehit. Now when waiting for a return, I think about it, and make sure my racquet is in that position.

My forehand has become totally consistent. Couldn't ask for more, except speed, which is not bad, but could be better.

My question is, that looking at the slow motion videos on this site, it looks like there not in that cocked position. Look like the racquet head is well below the wrist. So if that's true, maybe that's why I don't seem to be able to get exceptional speed. Please advise me as to the correct best angle of forearm, to racquet head, as well as wrist.

Thanks,

Roger

Roger,

The degree of racquet head tilt down will help determine the amount of topspin that a player may choose to impart on a forehand or backhand groundstroke. It will also help in what is called the "pre-stretch" of the forearm...a component of most pros' forehands that enable them to accelerate the racquet head more than just swinging the racquet around their body.

The wrist-assist helps a player keep the racquet head up in the continental grip position, and helps somewhat in putting the head of the racquet down when used with a semi western grip. But, the goal of this device, from my perspective, is to help players maintain a static wrist position relative to the racquet, making the player learn to keep the racquet plane the same through the stroke. (A very valuable tool especially for this goal!)

However, it does not allow you get significant head drop from the cocked position you mentioned...and, if you are not getting the racquet head to drop, you are going to have a difficult time hitting significant topspin and, more whip within the pre-stretch principles.

I will be discussing Roger Federer's forehand in my next article that will be found here on the first of July...so, if you can wait, I will be discussing and documenting this aspect of the forehand.

In the meantime, try to experiment with tilting the racquet head down just prior to the contact phase of your stroke. You should feel more racquet acceleration as well as added topspin to your stroke.

Good luck!

Dave Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne

TennisOne,

I read your newsletter regularly and enjoy it very much. I am a senior player (67) and having been playing on USTA teams (doubles 3.0) for the past five years. I usually play with women partners. This past week, my husband and I were playing in a mixed doubles match where the opposing receiver of my serves was standing about 1- 2 ft. behind the service line to receive my serves! I do not have a hard serve, but it has some spin (I've
been told). The opponent's closeness to the service line gave me a feeling of being "crowded" on my serve!! I have never had this happen before. But I did become more tentative with my serve! I double faulted twice which I never do. Any suggestions for a remedy ? I later thought my partner and I could have done and "I" formation, which could have calmed my nerves and maybe distracted the receiver a bit!

Thanks for any suggestions!!

Jane

Jane,

I'm glad you are enjoying our TennisOne newsletters! I hope they continue to provide you with advice helpful to you and your game!

Regarding your serve when an opponent starts to move in: it is a psychological tactic to crowd the serve, making the server--(you)--feel like you have a smaller area to hit your serve into, or that they are trying to make you serve differently by serving harder than you normally do.

The best advice I can offer you is to practice looking at the service box only when you are preparing to serve and you are picking out general areas to land the serve in. This will program you to ignore what ever your opponent is doing and focus on the serve instead.

If you have a reasonable serve, especially a good spin serve, it is best to hit such a serve with a little extra height, perhaps, and make this serve have good net clearance. The higher bounce will usually be difficult for such opponents who stand inside the baseline and crowd the service line in anticipation of your serve.

Remember, where your opponent stands changes absolutely nothing regarding the space you have to serve in. Don't try to blast a first serve only to resort to either dinking a second serve or feeling the pressure of having to get your second serve in.

I don't believe that changing to an I formation would have changed your feeling of being crowded by an opponent. Although, making a change can be helpful if you BELIEVE it will be!

Work on developing a dependable spin serve and then look at someone crowding you as them making a mistake...by getting that spin serve in and them having less time to respond to it!

Good luck!
Dave Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne

TennisOne,

My daughter just turned 11 and is a competitive tennis player. I have a question about her serve. She likes to toss the ball at about 12 o'clock over her head or even a little past, which allows her to hit a hard, reliable topspin serve. She uses this for both serves with good reliability. When she tosses it in the same spot, but in front of her, into the court, the ball loses some of its spin and she can get very good power from the shot.

Recently, a pro suggested to toss the ball slightly to her right (she is right-handed), which he claimed is a more natural throwing action that allows a player to hit harder. Tossing the ball to the right also allows for greater variety of spins. My daughter has been trying the new toss with some diligence and now she can't even get topspin anymore. Now she feels that she doesn't have any type of serve at all. She would like to go back to throwing the toss back over her head and forward. Recently, we have been watching the French Open and many of the players seem to be tossing the ball over the head. What do you folks suggest?

Thanks,
Tennis Dad

Dear Tennis Dad,

While the pro your daughter worked with may have had all great intentions, his advice may have taken a strong service motion and derailed it. Without seeing your daughter's serve, it sounds like her old motion was on track to progressively improve her overall serve. You correctly have noticed that most pros toss almost straight up over their head. You might have noticed that Dementieva was one of the few pros that tossed well to her right...and she had probably one of the worse serves on the WTA tour. (Doug King and Jim McLennan both did excellent articles on her serve in the Lesson Library that you should read.)

While a couple teaching pros frown on the toss over the head, (claiming mainly that this toss will cause rotator cuff injuries), it rarely does on the pro tour. This is because the shoulder tilt of the shoulder plane among good players keeps the arm from reaching over the head so far that it impinges the shoulder joint to the point of injury.

By tossing out to your daughter's right, she severely limits the action the racquet can produce on the ball. At best, a wide toss will allow only a slice or flat serve. It is nearly physically impossible to hit a topspin or kick serve on a toss out to the right of a right handed server. Perhaps worse, is the fact that such a toss often causes the player to hit under the equator of the ball, creating a serve that actually has some underspin as well as slice. This severely limits the potential pace of the serve (as this spin will cause the ball to rise instead of drop the harder you hit it!), and provides a smaller window of error room over the net.

Go back to her old toss. You had it right, it sounds. Tossing more towards the net will provide greater speed, less spin for her first serve; a toss more straight up over her head will allow her more topspin and less forward velocity for control and consistency on second serves. In addition, she will be able to learn to hit a significant kick serve from her old toss location as well, and, a great slice serve is still an option from this same toss, emphasizing a swing path that is around the outside or right side of the ball.

Good luck!

Dave Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne

TennisOne,

I’m a 5.0 player. I use an eastern to semi-western grip on the forehand and a one handed eastern grip on the backhand. I’ve recently changed from a two handed backhand to a one handed backhand over the past year and half. I’ve had really good success with the one-handed backhand from the back court. My timing and preparation seem to be better than ever trading ground strokes, but I’ve struggled greatly with the return of serve. I have a difficult time anticipating serves that are over 100 mph served at the backhand side. I do a pretty decent job of chipping the ball back with a continental grip, but when it comes to returning serve with an eastern top spin return, I have no chance. I can’t seem to anticipate the serve fast enough to get my racquet in position with the correct grip to return it with a topspin or flat shot from my backhand side. Do you have any tips?

Thanks,
Bill

Bill,

The perhaps most obvious tip I might first suggest is to hold your backhand grip in anticipation of the serve to your backhand. It sounds like you are fine in acquiring your forehand grip in times of need, however, you are not as confident in doing the same on a backhand service return.

Other key elements on the return is to make sure you stay sideways through the backhand. Many one-handers will try to open up early in an attempt to gain the net after the return. This destroys the continuity of your stroke and will severely limit your ability to hit through the ball. A way to check this is to try and "hit and hold" for a very brief moment after the backhand. This will allow you to maintain your position necessary for a solid backhand return. Don't worry, you will have plenty of time in most cases to respond for the next shot. (Watch Federer's backhand especially...he will hold his finish for a relatively long time almost every time.)

Hope you find your offensive backhand return! These tips should help!

Dave Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne

TennisOne,

I've started hitting with a semiwestern forehand and I love it, but my two handed backhand seems to be getting worse, namely flatter without topspin and sailing long.

My first question is regarding the grip on a two handed backhand. I'm right handed. Does it matter how my right hand grips the racquet? Is it possible to hit a two-hander while holding your left hand with a semiwestern grip, or would you recommend an eastern? 

Lastly, most tennis coaches always say to get underneath the ball to create topspin. When I hit my forehand I drop the racquet head so far down that it's pointing directly at the ground at one point. Do you do this on a two handed backhand with an eastern grip or does getting below the ball just mean getting your wrists below the contact point with the racquet head always pointing parallel to the ground? 

Then the contact point seems further away off to the side on the backhand now as well. The asymmetry of the different grips between forehand and backhand just seems to be throwing me off to where I can't seem to hit both shots well on the same day. Do you have any ideas? 

Michael Herriott

Michael,

When you focus on one side, the other side will always suffer somewhat from lack of attention.  That is a normal learning curve.  You can always start to add some focus back to the other side to bring it along again.

The grip on the two handed backhand is keyed by the right hand since you are right handed.  It needs to be "continental" as a minimum (first knuckle of the right hand on the bevel of the grip between the top of the grip - eastern backhand and the right or flat side - eastern forehand which will be a correct service grip).  To move the contact point out in front further, move the right hand more toward an "eastern" backhand (with the first knuckle to the right hand on the top bevel of the grip as well as the heel of the hand).  The left hand can be eastern or semi western.  The left hand is the "aiming" hand on the shot (the palm of the left hand aims the racquet face toward the target).

I would guess that working on the semi-western forehand grip you are not recovering to an appropriate backhand grip. 

You need to practice swinging at a forehand and then swinging at the backhand and feel the grip change with out having to focus on judging the ball.  When you can successfully change grips without having to look and can do it just by feel, then add the contact with the ball.  Thinking about the grip moves your "mental eye" to your hands while your physical eye may be on the ball.  In any event it causes a "disconnecting" thought and poor timing of the stroke.

Getting the racquet head below the ball is the key factor so the swing can come from below the ball to lift the ball up and over the net.  The racquet face is quite parallel to the intended target.  This "by passing" of the ball is what creates the spin where the top of the ball spins forward - or topspin.

Ken DeHart
PTR/USPTA Master Professional

TennisOne,

I'm a 3.5 player with an erratic service toss. It is what prevents me from moving to 4.0. I have tried everything to correct this problem, and it is becoming a psychological problem as well. I've practiced just tossing the ball daily for months to no avail. I've gone to several local pros and gotten little help. I can find no rhythm or consistency.
I feel I need to start from scratch somehow. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Erratic in Euless,
George

George,

Tossing is placing a ball to a "target" much like shooting to a rim in basketball, throwing to a catcher's glove in baseball or to a receiver in football.

If I were to stand about 5-8 feet from you, ask you to put the ball in your left hand and toss the ball into my extended hand - within 2-3 tosses you could place the ball directly into my hand.  (No one has ever failed, from beginner to world class).

I will have given you no instruction as to how to do it - it is a natural skill.  What I did was give you a "target" to toss to.  When the pros toss, they look up first before they toss and locate a "target" to toss the ball to.

Not sure where the "target" is, hold your racquet up where you would like to make contact and toss to that spot.  Now take the racquet down, look up into that location and place the ball into the targeted area.  Most errors on tossing occur because the player looks up as they toss and the eye movement up curls the ball away from the target or in most cases - lack of target to even toss to.

Need a better target?  Stand out under a tree, find a branch that is slightly above your reach, prepare to serve, look up at the branch first and lift the ball up to touch the target branch.  Within a couple of tosses you can toss to the branch 4 out of 5 times.

Things are looking up,
Ken DeHart
PTR & USPTA Master Professional