| always use my pre-match warm-up session to make sure | am making strokes in a relaxed manner. Making deliberately slow swings at the ball during the warm-up is useful in building tempo and in instilling good eye-ball coordination.
Timing produces power. Home run king Henry
Aaron is not excessively big and strong, but his low-key, keep-cool, relaxed playing temperament has made it possible for him to consistently swing with a smooth, well-timed action. Among tennis players Arthur Ashe and Tom Okker are slight of build and hardly muscle-bound, but among the hardest hitters on the circuit when playing at their most relaxed.
Tension comes mainly from worry about per formance and battling it is an eternal concern in most sports, and in many other activities of life as well. Sometimes just smiling at your problems can get rid of it — and cause you to start stroking much more smoothly all of a sudden.
Don't let nerves rob you of the fun in tennis — and of the chance to play to the best of your abilities.
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In a game of anticipation and movement like tennis, you perform at your best from a comfortable ready position. This means standing with feet apart at about shoulder width and weight evenly balanced on the balls of the feet. Knees are flexed. The racquet is held in front, pointing at opponent. Depending on the oncoming shot, racquet can be drawn to either side quickly and smoothly.
A good ready position in tennis is similar to that of a man guarding his opposing player in basketball. The body is set to respond to the play as it develops. The arms are in front, centered on the target. The legs are bent, prepared to spring right
The ready position is especially important in receiving service and in playing net. In receiving serve, you are at the mercy of your opponent's speed and guile. In playing net, your reaction time is cut in half because you’re so much nearer to the opponent. In both cases, maximum readiness helps you stay in the point.
Good balance is crucial. Probably no one distributes his weight so adeptly as Ken Rosewall. Though Ken is one of the ‘“‘old men” on the circuit, he stays on balance no matter where he’s running or what position he has to get into to make the shot. The secret is in his footwork. He never seems to let his feet fall asleep on him as
I’m afraid many of us do. In my discussions of the various stroke sequences featured elsewhere in this book, | frequently point out how the player in question moves with his feet in playing the stroke — how he literally dances into position.
| think studying these sequences for what they reveal about footwork will help the player whose problem is getting caught off balance a lot. Sometimes it is just a question of laziness. A good way to overcome lazy feet is to exaggerate proper footwork for a while.
Conditioning plays a part here, too. Tired legs can't “‘dance’”’ into position — they can hardly be dragged into position. When I’m not playing competitive tennis every day, | make sure | jog or skip rope to keep my legs in shape.
A comfortable grip is part of being ready. | ‘shake hands’ with my racquet handle to form the forehand grip. A good checkpoint is to press your open hand, palm down, upon the strings of the racquet, then draw the hand straight down the throat of the racquet, heel of hand first, to the handle. Then by simply wrapping thumb and fingers around the handle, the forehand grip is formed. A sound principle of the forehand stroke is revealed by this, too, namely that for making this stroke, palm of hand and racquet face should be in exactly the same plane. It may help to imagine the position your hand would be in if you were hitting the ball with only your hand, as in handball.
The ‘V’ formed by thumb and forefinger is on top of the racquet grip in the forehand. For making a backhand, | simply rotate my hand to the left about one/eighth of a turn, so that the ‘V’ is on the left edge.
A successful gunfighter would be someone who gets his pistol out of the holster fast. A tennis player who fails to get his racquet back fast is, by another definition, someone who probably makes a lot of needless mistakes in stroking. And gets shot down in competition.
In the correct ready position, as described earlier, the racquet is held out in front of the body and equi-distant from the forehand or backhand side. At this point the player must concentrate to determine, in the split-second following his opponent’s shot, on which side to take the oncoming ball. Then he should swing the racquet back as quickly and as fully as possible. He should try to get the racquet back all the way, by the time the ball crosses the net or, at the latest, by the time the ball strikes the court on his side.
There are several reasons why this is so important. First, it permits you to eliminate one of the variables in the myriad of actions that each tennis stroke requires. Instead of getting the racquet back while you are also running for the ball and trying to hit it, you get the racquet back immediately, then concentrate on getting into position and making a smooth stroke. Beginners especially should consciously make drawing the racquet back their first priority action.
Another good reason for a prompt backswing is that it permits the player to better handle mistakes in his own judgment or unexpected bounces. When you get the racquet back early, you are better prepared for a fast serve, for ex-ample. And if the serve comes in slow, you're still ready.
Finally, an early backswing encourages the development of a full, rhythmic stroke which means more power and greater consistency in the long run. An habitual late swinger will develop a whippy or wristy kind of stroke, not one he can rely on in competition. Don’t get me wrong — the pros resort to such makeshift strokes if caught off guard or challenged by an exceptionally aggressive shot. Like the lowliest player, we will jab, twist or flail the racquet if it will help us get the ball over the net. However, even in these emergencies, the player with the sound striking habits has the edge.
That early action also causes shoulders to turn earlier and shifts more weight to the back. Like smoothly taking the club back from the ball in golf, taking the racquet back in tennis sets the stage for the body to react on line with its objective. .
Styles vary, of course. For instance, some players take the racquet back in a little loop. Though this does add another variable to the stroke, it is an acceptable style so long as the loop is small and managable.
How many times and in how many sports have you heard that phrase — “‘keep your eye on the
In tennis | translate this all-important message as: “Watch the point of contact for an extra second after you’ve hit the ball.”
It’s probably impossible to actually see the ball bounce off your racquet strings — the action is too swift for the naked eye. But it is possible to get a glimpse of the action, albeit blurred, and when that happens it means you are doing your best to hit the ball in the center of the racquet which after all is the objective.
In the heat of a fast exchange at net, it is not easy to think in terms of watching the point of contact for long. It is best to develop this habit in practice sessions. Really concentrate on seeing shots explode off your strings.
Some instructors teach youngsters this same principle by encouraging them to ‘‘catch”’ the ball as though the racquet is a basket or a butterfly net. In fact I’ve heard of one who replaced the strings on his junior training racquets with fishnets. He’s had great success in instilling eyeon-ball habits into beginners this way. Of course, what he has done is design human curiosity out of the situation — with a net instead of a racquet the pupil need not concern himself with where the ball is going after he’s made the stroke. By imagining such a net or by other means, we have to train ourselves to stay involved in making the stroke and not start spectating until after the racquet has swept through the contact area.
You can’t watch the ball in tennis from a stifflegged stance. On low shots the body has to get down as far as possible to permit the eyes to see the ball in the plane of its movement. This is why billiards players crouch to sight their target properly, too.
The free hand is a useful sighting device, particularly on the forehand and the overhead. The hand pointing at the ball helps you to ‘‘read’’ its position better, just as a quarterback is able to pass a football more accurately when he uses his non-throwing hand to single out a receiver downfield.
Watching the ball is vital to serving rhythmically.
The serve points up a relation between visual concentration and good timing. When a server’s eyes shift prematurely from the ball he has tossed aloft to his opponent on the service court, his body instinctively rushes its action, too.
The eyes govern our mental and physical faculties to a large extent. That is why top’ golfers work at target orientation so seriously, and why bowlers sight along marks in their lane.
The more attentive we are to the movement of the ball, the more concentrated and effective will be our mind and body in the action of the moment.
When you hit the ball in front of you in tennis, rather than at your side as it flies by, you are putting more power into your shot with less effort. Your weight is behind the stroke in much the same way as is the weight of a baseball player stepping into a ball across the plate. Or take golf: for the drive — the power shot in golf — the ball is played farther forward — more toward the target — than for any other shot, to tacilitate maximum weight shift into the shot.
More accuracy results, too, when you can shift your weight in the direction you wish the ball to travel. Sometimes there isn’t time for this. Rather than stepping toward the net as you stroke, you may have to take a cross-step just in order to reach the ball. But with good anticipation and footwork, this should be the exception rather than the rule on your groundstrokes.
Many amateur players have a tendency to straighten their bodies when they make contact with the ball. This occurs frequently on low shots because the player is unconsciously trying to
“‘body-english” the ball over the net instead of letting his racquet do the work for him. Going upright in this manner robs the shot of both force and direction.
There are several ways to learn to hit in front more consistently. Perhaps the best way is to make use of an automatic ball machine if there is one at the courts where you play or where you vacation. Adjust the machine to-deliver shots three or four feet in front of you. After 20 minutes or so, you'll be in the groove. A steady practice partner can help in the same way. Unconsciously you will have begun executing two other actions better too. You'll be getting the racquet back sooner and you'll be flexing your knees more. It’s especially important to bend the knees and stay relatively low to the oncoming ball if you are going to hit in front consistently. This is because you need your knees to drive you forward into the shot. The color sequences of groundstrokes elsewhere in the book illustrate this point very well. a a |
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A fallacy common among less experienced players is the belief that a long follow-through indicates wildness. In fact, just the opposite is true. The more fully you follow-through on a stroke, the more complete your control of the ball. This is because the longer follow-through permits you to keep the racquet strings on the ball that much longer. When | am playing well
| feel like the ball really is staying on my racquet for a long period of time, and this gives me great confidence and control.
Check color sequences of the groundstrokes elsewhere in this book and study the final frames where the player is in his “‘picture finish”
— racquet held high and away from the body.
Some spectators regard such positions as pure showmanship — high, wide and handsome for the benefit of the stadium crowd. In fact these dramatic, sometimes dance-like postures are a fully functioning part of the solid groundstroke.
If your finishes aren’t as full, it means you are not obtaining maximum power and control in your game.
The key to a full follow-through is hitting along the intended line of flight of your shot for as long as possible. A frequent mistake among players with restrictive swings is to make a hinge-like stroke — one in which the racquet is facing on line toward target at only one point. Your goal should be to have the racquet facing toward target for as long as possible. This will automatically force you to stroke with more extension through the ball.
Of course you can’t improve a stroke simply by tinkering with your follow-through. In the case of trying to hit on line longer, you must first be sure you are in position to hit the ball in front of you, and that you have the footwork and knee action to drive forward with your body as your racquet moves on a parallel course into the ball. By readying yourself mentally to follow-through more fully, though, you will begin to improve the pattern of your entire stroke.
The follow-through varies according to the type of spin you impart to the shot, as well. To put heavy topspin on the ball, as when playing a forehand or backhand passing shot, the racquet would start below the level of the ball, brush against the ball on an upward swing and then finish high. A shot with sidespin would finish lower and more to one side. An underspin shot, often used on a volley or approach, would finish low but along the line of the target.”
Shots featuring extreme spin are really finesse shots that most players should not try to achieve until they have mastered their basic ground strokes. This means concentrating on carrying the racquet along the line for as long as possible and following through toward your target.
Charlie Pasarell, who is the director of tennis at
Palmas del Mar in his native Puerto Rico, has a classic service style which stresses rhythm and timing. His fine coordination of stroke, toss and weight shift makes an excellent model for any player.
‘Charlito’ begins his service motion (Frame #1) from a relaxed position about 2-3 feet from the center of the baseline. He will execute a fairly flat first serve here. In doubles play, he would stand nearer the sideline to increase his angle on the serve. Weight is on his forward foot which is pointing diagonally — at about 45 degrees — to the line. For a second serve, he would position his feet somewhat more parallel to the line. This would help him produce a serve with more spin.
In preparing to serve, the most important thought for any player is relaxation. Charlie tells me, “I try to feel loose. Sometimes | hold the racquet in my free hand as | walk to the line, to make sure no tension creeps into my serving hand and arm.” Like most players, Charlie will also bounce the ball a couple of times before starting, to reduce tension and promote rhythm. This works the same way as the preswing waggle in golf.
The tennis serve and the golf swing, each starting from a virtual standstill, pose similar challenges to a player’s nerves and muscles.
Charlie is holding racquet and ball in a relaxed, confident manner. He supports the ball in his finger-tips for maximum sense of touch. Pasarell uses the same Continental grip for all his strokes, but on the serve he extends his forefinger on the handle (#2 side view) for greater control. The main thing is to find a grip that gives you control with comfort. Charlie is gripping the racquet here with the pressure he might use in holding a paper cup filled with soda — firmly but without squeezing.
Frames #2 through 6 show Pasarell’s synchronization of ball toss and racquet swing. Notice how his entire left arm, kept straight, rises with the ball, and well after release, during Frames
#2-5. When the ball is released (+4), his right arm is extended parallel to the ground. -The racquet has been brought back to permit the fullest possible swing arc. Charlie’s toss is higher than average, in sharp contrast to the toss of Roscoe Tanner shown elsewhere in the book. The higher the toss, as a rule, the longer the swing and the greater the need for good timing. In this sequence Charlie’s racquet makes contact after the ball has begun to descend. Most players are taught to hit the ball at the peak of the toss, but there are many variations depending on individual makeup. | make contact when the ball has descended a full 4-6 inches from its peak. And some players, who have a very fast delivery, sometimes hit the ball on the way up.
Developing a natural and consistent toss is crucial to becoming a good server, of course. Check to be sure your racquet is meeting the ball at the spot where you feel your body is fully but comfortably extended — amateurs have a tendency to toss the ball too low and close to them rather than too high and far. Then practice your toss into that hitting spot — a kind of home plate for you to visualize in the air — until your body has memorized the action. A teacher's eye can be most important at this point, though — to ensure you spend hours practicing good habits and not bad ones.
Pasarell’s knees remain flexed until, in #7, he stretches his entire body and begins his forward stroke. Initially his weight was on his left foot, then it shifted to his right foot as he made the toss and brought his racquet back. Now it has shifted fully forward. Actually his body weight pivots around his anchoring left foot. Until the moment of impact it precedes the racquet. Ina well-timed stroke, the racquet arm catches up with the forward weight shift of the rest of the body exactly at impact, as Charlie shows in #9-
10.
One of the most important aspects of a good serve is illustrated in Frame +8. Though the moment of impact is only a fraction of a second away, Charlie’s wrist still has not uncocked to deliver the racquet into the back of the ball. The speed generated by the late release (which has begun in +9) is what gives the serve its extra wallop. The action is in a faster cadence than the cadence of all prior actions in the serve.
Pasarell notes, “I try to make sure | am swinging well within myself, effortlessly — up to the point where | can let everything happen.”’ The wrist is the trigger for “‘letting everything happen.”
Power build-up is such that Charlito is literally pulled off his right foot. Racquet and arm form a straight line at impact (#10 side view). Forward momentum moves him smoothly into the court (#11-12) to find the volley.
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Roscoe Tanner, a young All-American, who now lives in Big Canoe, a Sea Pines resort in Georgia, has the fastest left-handed delivery in the game. His cannonball serve, shown here, has been compared not without reason, to the devastating service of Pancho Gonzales — who in fact helped
Roscoe with different parts of his game in the past couple of years.
The sequences here is valuable not just to lefthanders. All players should find it an interesting lesson in serve power. Stylistically it provides a marked contrast to the serve of Charlie Pasarell, shown previously in this book. Charlie’s serve features a high toss and a long, fluid stroke. Roscoe is almost exactly the opposite. He has one of the lowest tosses and one of the most compact strokes in the game. His serving action is so fast that next to it Charlie’s appears to be in slow motion. Since an opponent's anticipation time is reduced to a minimum in such a serve, it can be extremely hard to defend against.
Despite differences, Charlie’s and Roscoe’s serves obey the same fundamentals. Feeling relaxed at the outset is as essential to Tanner as it is to Pasarell. “| make an effort to go to the base line with my mind blank of anything extraneous to the point,” Roscoe says. “I bounce the ball a couple of times, then try to place it in the air at the point where | want to hit it. In taking the racquet back,
| emphasize keeping my serving arm loose.”’
Frame 1 shows Roscoe with his weight on his forward foot, focusing intently on his target.
Rather than pick out a spot in his opponent’s service court, Roscoe aims at a point just over the net. | would recommend this tactic to anyone — and there are probably many such players — who feels intimidated by the net when serving. “Stand up on a chair at the baseline and see your target from your racquet’s point of view,”’
Tanner points out. “It helps you understand how much access you really have to that service court.”
Tanner’s weight moves to his back foot by #2, in a rocking motion that helps establish the rhythm of his entire delivery. His ball toss is well out into the court and quite low — it never gets higher than the position shown in +7. The farther into the court that you toss the ball, the more you have to lean into the court to make contact, and this is partly how Roscoe generates
SO much power, as we'll see later on. Another corollary: the lower the ball toss, the faster you have to bring your racquet back and down and then forward again in order to catch the ball properly. Roscoe manages this thanks to his very strong forearm and an unusually early forward action. In Frame #4, though he has only just released the ball, he is already kicking off his back foot.
The danger in throwing the ball so far into the court or at such a low height is that if your timing is not perfect you’re likely to start hitting into the net. This in fact is Roscoe’s problem on bad
Tanner brings his racquet back (#6), then down
(#7) preparatory to beginning his rapid forward action. After the racquet has reached the “scratch my back’”’ position — the most extreme point in the backswing — Tanner’s forearm propels the racquet up at the ball. His body turns toward the target (+8), then hurtles well ahead of the racquet head. Note how, after Frame #9, the trigger action of Tanner’s uncocking wrist brings the racquet into its impact plane. Frame
+10 (rear view) shows a true cannonball in the making — racquet centered flat on the back of the ball. On grass this will be an unusually difficult serve to return.
Roscoe tries to use only 80 per cent of his available strength in serving, but notice how his action here still is powerful enough to pull him off his feet (#10). With such momentum, there is no place for him to go but into the court (#11- 12), which is exactly as it should be in the serveand-volley game at which the modern pro excels.
Brian Gottfried’s big first pro win was the 1973 Alan King Classic in Las Vegas, worth a record $30,000 in prize money. A determined youngster from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., he is one of a growing number of ‘young lions’ who appear to be a good bet to help build an era of American dominance in world tennis.
Brian’s solid forehand, shown in sequences in the following pages, highlights sound fundamentals for this stroke. In Frame #1 he is in a balanced position ready for either a forehand or backhand. His head is up, alert to anticipate and receive the opponent’s ball. His knees are flexed and his weight is evenly distributed on the balls of his feet. His racquet is in front of him — not committed to: either side — and pointing toward his opponent.
Soon as he sees the ball coming to his forehand, Brian responds by drawing the racquet back on that side, beginning in #2. Here is where the first of two faults common to the amateur player would reveal itself — not getting racquet back fast enough. A fast reaction here is essential to making a full, smooth stroke. It is also important in helping you cope with unexpected spins or bad bounces. And there’s no excuse for not developing the trait since it only takes a little practice and concentration.
Brian turns sideways to his approaching target (#3) to clear the way for taking the racquet back. Note that his right foot is now parallel to the net (#3 side view). Anchored securely on that back foot, he now steps forward toward the ball (#4-5) and plants his left foot to create a firm platform for the stroke.
It is particularly evident in #6 that Brian is staring intently at the ball. Here is where the second most common fault among amateurs occurs — taking your eye off the ball. | think this is partly because most people have had more experience with their forehand than with any other stroke and tend to get overconfident about it. But note that Gottfried’s head remains down as late as
Frame #11, relatively long after he’s made contact with the ball. All sorts of mishits result when a player doesn’t make an effort to ‘“‘see the
Brian’s backswing has reached its extreme point in +6. Note that the racquet does not cross behind him, which would indicate overswinging. If we erected a fence behind him along the line formed by his heels, his racquet would not touch this fence on his backswing. At the same time, it is important to realize the stroke is not cramped. The right arm comes back fully but comfortably, and the elbow remains bent. Brian could probably retain a ball tucked into his armpit throughout this stroke.
Brian makes contact with the bali a few inches forward of his left foot. Hitting in front at least a few inches is essential for maximum power and accuracy. It also leaves you in a more balanced position for the opponent’s next return. “I practice deep crosscourt forehands when | find myself not hitting far enough in front,” Brian says.
“Getting the ball into that corner forces me to hit earlier and follow through more fully.” A good practice technique for anyone, | think.
His racquet comes through the ball on an upward plane (#7-9 front view), as though, as in baseball, he were hitting from the knees to the letters in the strike zone. This will produce topspin on the shot as the racquet strings brush across the back of the ball. Topspin allows you to hit the ball harder and still keep it in the opponent’s court, since the shot will dip slightly after it crosses the net. The ball will bounce lower as well, thus making it harder for your Opponent to make an aggressive return off the shot.
| really like Brian’s firm wrist before and after impact (+8 and 9) and the way he keeps the racquet moving through and toward the target for as long as possible. Notice his body does not straighten at impact, either, which is a fairly common error among novice players. He remains low to the shot, knees bent, well into his followthrough.
Brian’s all-out swing pulls the racquet around over his left shoulder (#12) for a picture finish.
If he had hit a flatter forehand, his racquet would finish somewhat lower.
Tom Gorman is an easygoing Irishman from Seattle, but on court he is as dead-set on winning as the rest of us. He reveals a few of the serious points to be made about the backhand stroke in the following sequences.
Like most top players, Tom has a backhand stroke that is better than his forehand stroke. Why is this true of the pros in general? Simply because the backhand is a more natural stroke to make — the arm swings the racquet around the body in a motion as old as a caveman hurling a rock. Many amateurs have trouble with the backhand simply because they fail to use it as much as the forehand.
Tom sets up for the backhand (Frame #1) as he would for the forehand. After he anticipates the opponent's approach, he swivels to his left, first with his upper body. He will get his shoulders on a line with the approaching target in order to be able to almost ‘shove’ them into the stroke for extra power.
Gorman uses his left hand effectively in drawing the racquet back. He wants to get that racquet back as soon as possible so he can concentrate on getting into position. Note that his left hand never completely leaves the throat of the racquet until just before impact at Frame 8. “Il actually feel | tug the racquet with my free hand in bringing it back,’ he says. The free hand also helps to bring the racquet back at the right level.
Notice Tom’s footwork in Frames 3-5 as he adjusts to the oncoming ball. ‘My footwork is not the classiest,’ Gorman says jokingly, ‘‘l just try to keep from falling down.” Actually, though, he does the job of getting into position here quite well. Sometimes | think that half of tennis is dancing in and out of position, like a boxer, so lively feet and legs are a must. In fact when
I’m not playing a lot of competitive tennis, | make it a point to jog or skip rope: every day to stay in shape.
In Frames 5-7, rear view, Tom resembles a batter in baseball. The tennis backhand is quite similar to the baseball swing in that you do step into the “pitch,” swinging from shoulder level to waist level, with most of your weight ending up on the forward foot at impact. In +7 we also see the distinctive pulling action in the backhand stroke. A good way to get this feeling in your own backhand, is to make the stroke as though you are casting a beer tray or frisbie through the air.
Tom’s head is down with gaze firmly on ball in
+8, near impact, and his accelerating racquet is finally leaving his left “helping” hand behind. His right forward knee is flexed and remains flexed throughout the rest of the stroke, rather than stiffening at impact.
Tom’s racquet meets the ball right in the middle of that shamrock logo of his and well in front of him. It is vital to hit the ball in front .The reason is simple: the more weight you have behind the ball, and the more time you have to develop speed in your racquet as you bring it forward, the harder you will hit. This can be crucial to the club player, whose backhand is already likely to be his weakest stroke.
habit of hitting in front: “Il just put a racquet cover or can of bails two or three feet in front of me and ask my practice partner to feed some balls to that spot on my backhand side. After a while, as | concentrate on making contact with the ball over the marker, | feel myself getting back into the groove.”
As a rule Tom has a slightly wristy backhand. That is, he tends to flip the racquet out at the ball, in a sort of punch-volley stroke, rather than behind and through the ball. But | think Tom’s wrist position in +10 is excellent. The back of his hand is in the same plane as the racquet face, an ideal correspondence at impact.
Tom follows through well (#11), keeping his racquet on a line toward his target for as long as possible. His high finish (#12) is indicative of a free flowing stroke. Many amateur players do not finish as fully — some of them, | suspect, because they are too shy to make such a dramatic looking gesture. But if you don’t finish completely, it may mean your whole stroke was too constricted.
The forehand and backhand volley are demonstrated in the following sequences by Wendy Overton and Erik Van Dillen. Wendy is a pretty ex-tennis instructor who has become dedicated to making her mark on the circuit. Erik’s a bright, articulate young man from Aptos Seascape, California, with about the fastest reflexes in the game — one reason why | love having him at net as my doubles partner in Davis Cup competition. Here we’re showing the backhand and forehand volley side by side to stress the fact that, basically, each stroke is the same and obeys the same fundamentals.
Both players stay low, watch the ball closely and hit the ball in front with a short punching stroke. They are punching for placement rather than swinging for power — a common error at net among less advanced players.
Wendy’s starting position in Frame #1 does not alter drastically in the course of this sequence. This is because the closer you are to net, the less time there is to react to an oncoming shot. It is seldom possible, for instance, to turn fully sideways to your target, as One does on groundstrokes, in the heat of a fast exchange at net.
Wendy does turn her shoulders right away, and this permits her to shift them back into the stroke at a later point.
Wendy gets ready for her volley by twisting her upper body and taking the racquet back no farther than her shoulder (#2+5). Note the relatively upright position of the racquet — the strings or racquet head stay higher than the hand throughout. Her head inclines toward the ball (#8) as she strives to get her eyes on the same level as her target. Golfers employ the same principle when they stoop over their putts — acloser view encourages more solid contact.
At impact (+9) Wendy’s forearm-wrist-hand unit remains firm. The movement of the racquet through the ball in #8-9-10 reveals that Wendy has put some underspin on her shot. This will help keep the ball low and hopefully deep in the opponent’s court. Returning with underspin is desirable when the ball reaches you at a level below the net. When the ball reaches you nethigh or above, you can go for an outright winner by cracking the ball flat and at a sharp angle.
Erik’s backhand volley stroke is shorter and more compact and probably a better model than the longish stroke of Wendy’s shown in this particular comparison. Notice how his knees stay well flexed throughout the preparatory stage. He is able to clear his body for the stroke simply by turning his upper body in #4-5. By contrast Wendy makes room for her stroking action by straightening her right leg, in #7. Erik will be able to play a more aggressive shot from his position.
Erik makes contact with the ball, +8-9, well in front. He is striving to meet the ball before it
a defensive shot. The cardinal rule in net play is to hit down on your opponents, rather than up to them. This in turn means that to volley effective-
The impact frames show Erik rather like a swordfignter who is delivering a short thrust as opposed to running his man through with the sword. Nevertheless he gets a lot of his body weight into the stroke (see his forward knee flex forward in +8) which should produce a more forceful and penetrating volley.
Frame +11 reveals that Erik caught the shot close to his body and made sure he got the racquet well in front. When the ball comes right at you, it is best to volley it back with your backhand, rather than your forehand, because you have greater freedom of action from that side.
In #12, Erik re-sets himself for the next play.
A word about practice. Using a ball machine is a great way to develop the punching or slapping action of the volley stroke. An excellent way to improve your quickness at net is to practice volleys while two friends bang balls at you from the other side. Use a bag of 50 balls or so and do it for 20 minutes, or at least until your arm has begun to tire.
Fans always get a kick out of seeing a successful overhead, or smash, the stroke 1am demonstrating in the sequences on the next pages. It’s the dramatic shot used to put away high lobs, and it really epitomizes the power game played by the modern tennis professional.
Basically the stroke is an extension of the service delivery, so don’t bother practicing an overhead until you’ve got your service motion down pat. The overhead protects against the lob, mainly. Its values can be subtle, too. Aside from winning the point for you, a good smash demoralizes the opponent. If it is consistently effective, Opponents will decide not to lob to you so Often. This in turn will permit you to play in closer to net, thus making it possible for you to sharpen the angles of your volley returns.
In Frames 1-2, | begin moving back from net as soon as | see the lob. | try to move back far enough, cross-stepping rather than back-pedaling, to be able to step into the ball, so that | get my body sideways as soon as possible. | also try to go in a direction that will permit me to make the overhead with my forehand side.
| get the racquet behind my head as soon as possible, too. Reacting quickly now in terms of fundamentals gives me a better chance to make any later adjustments demanded by the vagaries of wind, or sun, or by miscalculations on my part.
If I'm set up to deliver the proper stroke, | can concentrate on moving into the best position and keeping my eye on the ball.
By Frame 4 | have planted my feet, flexed my knees and lifted my left hand in a fashion similar to tossing the ball to serve. Now | have to carefully watch the ball floating down and “read” its position off my left hand. With a good service motion instilled in me already, | will Know instinctively when the ball passes into my service hitting area, and | will begin my forward swing.
That’s quite a full backswing pictured in Frame
+6. Most players will be able to shorten their backswing by half and still make an effective overhead. There’s no easy way to convey the feelings of the action in the subsequent frames as | take to the air to meet my objective. A player applying a good service motion who has correctly sighted his ball will find, when and if he does go airborne for a lob, that his body responds naturally to the situation. Acrobatic though it may appear, it is in fact only a little more complicated than the arm-and-shoulder swing of a first serve.
It is more strenuous, though — on a hot day, a lot of overheads like this can wear you out a bit.
The scissors action of my legs is really an un-conscious action which ensures good balance for me during the leap. It occurs between +5, where | push off my right foot, and #11, where | land on my left.
When should you let the lob bounce before hitting it? If the ball is coming into the area between the net and the service line, you should take it on the fly unless it is hit so high that you're unsure of your ability to handle it. The farther into the backcourt that the ball is going to land, the more you should consider letting it bounce, particularly if you are scrambling back for position anyway. Also, you may let the ball bounce on particularly windy days.
The lines of my serving delivery are visible in frame #/7-10. Everything has been timed well as evidenced by #9, side view, where my racquet and arm form a straight line at impact.
The plane of the racquet in #10 shows | have directed my smash at the opponent’s ad court — in the corner to my right as I’m hitting. Generally, you should aim an overhead at the open corner. Even among the pros, though, players develop preferred directions for their smashes, and it occasionally is possible to anticipate so correctly that you can make some kind of return.
At recent junior tournaments | have seen so many young players whacking shots with their two-handed backhands that | feel it is essential to make some remarks about the stroke in this book. | don’t use the stroke and, personally, | feel it has some limitations. But | think we’re going to see more and more of it in tennis in the next decade, as our junior players mature. And
| certainly recognize that it has been a telling weapon in the hands of some of my fellow players on the circuit, including those pictured here — Jim McManus, Cliff Drysdale, Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg.
The two-handed shot was not invented by Chris
Evert, contrary to popular belief. It's been used by many players. Pancho Segura, who was my first real instructor when | took part in a tennis clinic in Pasadena as a kid, used the two-handed forehand extensively. Jimmy Evert, in teaching daughters Chris and Jeanne, did make a science out of the two-handed backhand, however. And
Chrissie put the stroke firmly in the spotlight when she achieved stardom still as a teenager.
The two-handed backhand allows the player to get tremendous leverage coming across the ball.
It is a stroke made across the body, like the golf swing or the baseball swing. The picture of Jimmy here looks exactly like a righthander in baseball going for the fences.
It is relatively easy to impart topspin to the ball with the stroke. The player can meet the ball farther back in his stance, rather than in front of him as with the conventional backhand stroke and still not lose substantial power or accuracy. Thus it is a very difficult stroke to “read’”’ and to defend against.
Of course the stroke is easier than the conventional backhand to teach to youngsters whose arms are not yet strong enough to handle the racquet with one hand on the backhand side.
It may be said to be easier, too, because the player does not have to change his basic forehand grip to make the stroke. And as it is a shorter stroke made closer to the body with an extra hand lending stability, chances are it will not get out of kilter as often as the more rhythmical one-handed backhand.
The big minus in the stroke is that it cuts down on a player’s reach a good deal, both in the backcourt and at net. It is also not as versatile in the many different types of shot situations that occur during a match. High balls, low balls, badbouncing balls — all of these can be handled more easily with a well-grooved one-handed backhand stroke. It is much more important for the two-handed backhand player to get into good position to make his return — an ideal that is not always ‘“‘meetable”’ in competition.
Effective doubles play, like a good marriage, depends first of all on teamwork. Find someone you get along with, and can communicate with, off the court, and chances are you will play well together on the court.
Communication is essential not just to exchanging ideas on strategy before and during a match, but in the area of tactful mutual encouragement as well. You’ve got to know when to talk and when not to talk, and what to say and what not to say. All of this depends on a sensitive understanding of what makes your partner tick in the heat of competition.
Your team’s main objective in doubles is to control the net. That’s why it’s especially important to get first serves in — to prevent your opponents from going on the offensive. That’s also why its vital to get to net quickly after a serve or an approach shot. The closer you are to net, the easier it will be to hit down on your opponents.
It is hard to hit an outright winner in doubles since there are two players covering the opposite court, so the goal of a good doubles team throughout a match should be to place the ball near one of the opponent's feet and cause him to make an error or produce a high volley return that can be put away at a sharp angle.
When returning service, your goal is the same.
On a backhand return, try to chip to the feet of your Opponent as he rushes in behind his serve.
On a forehand return, employ a lot of topspin to keep the ball low and short in the opposite court.
While the crosscourt return is most common, you should not rely on it exclusively or the opposing team will begin to poach. An occasional return down the line will keep the opposing net player from poaching with any frequency. He will not want to let you score what the pros call a ‘cheap point’ off him, that is, a point in which the player doesn’t even touch the ball.
Lobbing is also effective against the poacher and should be used regularly in this and in other emergencies in doubles play. A deep lob to an opponent’s backhand side can take the sting out of the most aggressive attack.
When playing net while my partner is serving, | try to stand as close to the center of court as possible. | find this intimidates many opponents since it cuts down on their space for safely placing a crosscourt return. | am taking a risk that the opponent will hit down my alley — but the pressure is on him to make the exceptional shot, not me.
When things aren’t going well in a match tactically, change your game plan promptly, preferably adopting some alternative scheme that you have already discussed beforehand. If you are just missing easy shots, keep the same plan but concentrate harder.
“Always change a losing game” is a motto for both doubles and singles play, of course. In doubles it is a good idea for both players to go to the baseline when having trouble getting an opponent's serve back. Often doubles players use the net man as a target for their shots. Suddenly without a net man for target, an opposing player may begin to mishit a few. If nothing else, it would cause opposing players to think and possibly lose some of their concentration.
Another trick for handling a tough service is to
Stand farther back for it. Sometimes this will confuse the server’s perspective and make him serve long. Again at least it will set him to wondering about your tactics.
Finally, both players on a doubles team should try hard on every point. This will keep mutual confidence high even when the inevitable errors occur. And mutual confidence is the key to real teamwork in doubles.
Competitive tennis, like competitive anything, brings out the best and worst in people. Players On the pro circuit react to pressure just like the amateurs at courts and clubs throughout the country. Some players tend to talk a lot ina tight match. Others get so scared they can barely mutter a word. Some have trouble moving their arms or legs all of a sudden. Others experience blurred vision. Some develop twitches, others mild idiosyncracies like constantly wiping their hands even when their hands are dry.
| mentioned earlier in this book how important it is to relax — to reduce such nervous tensions as much as possible — to play well. Here | want to discuss more generally the background for such tensions, and perhaps point out some constructive ways of coping with them for players of any level of skill.
As a rule | think the way a person behaves on a tennis court is a. reflection of his basic personality. There are probably some things in a person’s makeup that can’t be changed, though | suspect these are fewer than most of us realize. Also court behavior reflects a person’s mood at the time. If | come out to play with a lot of current worries, | usually play less effectively. When my life off the court is going smoothly, | usually play my best.
It is not possible for any player to control all the events and emotions in his private life, any more than he can totally remake his personality. But what we can strive for, | firmly believe, is to minimize those aspects of our emotional makeup and those pressures in our current life situation that would tend to distract us from playing to the best of our abilities.
In other words, when you walk out-on the court, clear your mind of everything unrelated to the goal of playing the match as well as you can.
Mental preparedness is not just emptying out the negative and irrelevant things, however. It also requires you to develop a strategy to use against your opponent for the match. Such a strategy would encompass the type of service you will emphasize, for instance, or the pace of play at which you think you will be the more effective player. It would also include alternative strategies for you to use to adjust to unexpected developments in the match, so you won’t succumb to impulsiveness or defeatism.
Above all, a pre-meditated strategy gives you a focus of concentration and makes you less vulnerable to being affected by the emotional challenge of competing against another person head on. | do not subscribe to the theory that a player has to develop a kind of hate complex in order to win a tough match. In fact,! think it is potentially damaging to your own game to “‘personalize” the encounter in this way.
|! would also include some self-psyching in the program of getting ready for a match. If you have beaten your present opponent before, this would come in the form of calling back to mind — in detail — your winning critical exchanges on those earlier occasions. If he’s beaten you all the time, bring to mind the stretches within those matches when you had the upper hand, or periods with other opponents when your game has been at its best.
Incidentally, it’s also true that the better your physical condition, the firmer your positive mental approach will.be — and the longer it will remain — during a match. So being in good shape is part of mental preparedness, too.
Tennis matches are famous — perhaps more so than events in any other sport — for their sudden swings of fortune. A lot of this is psychological.
Take the dangers in getting well ahead in a match. First, you may start to play more cautiously and make mistakes. Second, your opponent having perhaps given up on his chances, may begin to play so loosely that his strokes catch fire.
Catching fire by relaxing and hitting all out is what you should strive for, of course, should you fall way behind in a match. And hustle on every shot, even the “impossible” ones. | should say especially the impossible ones,‘because if you make a point off one of those, you may deal a severe blow to your opponent’s confidence.
Finally, there is the destructiveness of exaggerated reactions to mistakes or bad breaks. Such reactions can ruin a player’s concentration and his stroking for the rest of the match. | think they occur more often among players who still lack confidence in their own abilities, such as the perfectionist type, or the person who really thinks he needed the break more than the other guy. The real champion puts silly errors or un-lucky breaks out of his mind and gets on with his game.