Serve - 10.Beefing Up Your Second Serve

Beefing Up Your Second Serve in Tennis Game

Is your second serve a friend or an enemy to your game? Having a weak second serve can be a big disadvantage. It not only puts the pressure on you to get your first serve in, but it allows your opponent the opportunity to take control of the point early when you hit a second serve. Avoid thinking of the second serve as the shot that you need to get in the box just to get the point started.

The second serve can be a weapon, or at minimum, a way to fight off your opponent from attacking and putting the pressure on early. There are 3 ways to beef up your second serve to make it more of a weapon. The 3 ways to improve a second serve are spin, placement and speed. If you can incorporate just 2 out of 3 of these you are well on your way to having a great second serve!

Spin: There are 3 types of spin you can use on your second serve. Slice, topspin or the kick serve. Being able to use these spins helps to keep your opponent guessing and always having to adjust.

Slice serves are effective, but unless you can really pull someone off of the court with a slice second serve, I recommend developing a topspin serve or a kick serve (AKA, American Twist Serve). The advantages of these two serves is the bounce. Both of these serves bounce very high making them hard serves to attack. The topspin serve acts just like it’s name, it bounces high because of topspin. The kick serve bounces high but also takes a slight change in direction when it hits the court, which makes the ball harder to judge. Many players stand further back when you hit the high bouncing serves as opposed to returning the slice serve. If you can get them to stand further back you will have more time to react to their return and it will also be harder for them to hit a clean winner.

Placement: Placement is where many players fall short on the second serve. Many players have the goal of just making sure their second serve goes in the box, and they don’t really care where as long as it lands in. Being able to place your second serve gives you an advantage. If you can put the ball where you want in the box than you can start to hit to your opponent’s weaker side. If you mix that with spin than you can start to pick on their weaker side. Being able to pull your opponent out wide on a second serve may be to your advantage if your opponent is a slower player.

Placement is key, and if you are not placing your second serve than start to. It takes practice and a certain level of comfort. Grab a bucket of balls and go out to the court alone and practice aiming your second serve. You will thank yourself when you are able to hit to your opponent’s weak backhand as opposed to their rocket forehand!

Speed: I am mentioning speed last because I think it is the least important. Speed can help, there is no doubt about it. But unless you are Pete Sampras or Andy Roddick, most people don’t have fast second serves. Speeding up your second serve will force your opponent to have to react quicker and may earn you some free points. However, of all the options, speed is the one that can get you in the most trouble. Going for too much on a second serve can cause errors. As you develop spins and placement speed naturally follows. As you become more confident with the serve you can trying swinging a little faster and see where that takes you.

My former tennis pro used to tell me this: “Swing as hard at the second serve as you do at the first, just use all spin”. I took his advise, or 90% of it. I swing about 90% as hard at the second serve as I do the first serve, but I use all spin. Spin is a safe bet, it gives you the biggest margin of error over the net and also brings the ball back down once it crosses the net. Once you have the spin down, try placing the ball. Once you can place the ball with spin, try speeding up the serve.

As one of your “internet” tennis pro’s let me tell you this. Developing a decent second serve will improve your tennis game immensely! You will be able to force your opponent to hit on their weaker side, you can move your opponent around, force them to stand further back, open up the court and force more errors. Try to practice your second serve outside of a match when there is no pressure. Set up targets if you have to or set goals for yourself. Working on your second serve can make your life on the tennis court will be better!

Serve - 9.Mixing Up Your Tennis Serves

Mixing Up Your Tennis Serves

Mixing up your serves during a tennis match can make the difference between you holding your serve and getting broken on your service game. There are tons of variations of ways to serve mixing up pace with spins and so on. Being able to keep your opponents guessing where and how you might serve next will keep them on their toes and will most likely keep them from getting a rhythm when returning your serve.

When most people think about mixing up their serves they think of using placement and spins. You can go beyond these two options and also mix speed and your stance location into the mix. Now all of the sudden you have so many variations of serves that it is not even funny. Below we will take a look at each option in detail.

Placement: Placement is always important, and maybe even the most important of all the options to have in your arsenal in my opinion. With placement you can pull your opponent off of the court with a wide serve. You can also hit the ball at their body and jamb them, or you can direct the serve to their weaker side and control more points. The placement of the serve will be the option that makes your opponent move the most. Moving your opponent out of position, or into the position you want will win you more points.

Spins: There are 4 different types of tennis serves in terms of spins. The flat serve, slice serve, topspin serve and kick serve. Each of these serves has it's own advantages and disadvantages. However, if you use all 4 types of serves effectively during a match your opponent will have to adjust to hit each one and again not letting them get into a rhythm while returning your serve. (To read in more detail about the 4 different types of serves click here.)

Speed: Speed is a tough one to think about because people always think that the faster you can hit a serve the better. Being able to hit a hard serve is certainly an advantage, but without placement it is not nearly as effective. When you mix up the speeds of your serves it makes it harder for your opponent to get a good read on the ball. If you have been hitting 110 mph serves and throw a 90 mph serve in they may swing early expecting a 110 mph serve and hit an error. The same idea goes for the opposite situation. If you have been hitting slower spin serves and all of the sudden you hit a flat serve at a much faster pace it will throw your opponent off.

Stance: This is probably the least important of the 4 ways to mix up your serves. However, if you like to adjust where you stand to hit your serve it can also keep your opponent guesses and wondering where you plan on hitting the ball. This may cause your opponent to stand in a different spot (or uncomfortabel spot) than usual to return serve. If you stand way out wide to hit the serve you will be able to hit a serve with a much greater angle to pull your opponent off of the court.

However, by doing this you also make yourself vulnerable by leaving too much of the court open for your opponent to hit a winner. I have seen players stand out wide to hit serves and it really throws off their opponent because they are not used to people standing so far out wide to hit serves.

However, if you are not used to hitting serves from out wide it might also play with your head as you to hit a serve you are not used to hitting.

In the end, mix up your tennis serves as much as you can. Keep your opponents guessing what serve might come next. If you mix up the 4 options listed above, the number of options you have to mix up your serve are almost limitless!

Serve - 8.Speeding Up Your Serves

Speeding Up Your Tennis Serves

Who doesn't want to speed up their first serve. I know I do, and I bet you that if Pete Sampras could he would too! But you have to remember, consistency and placement are far more important than the speed of your serve. If you can not get the serve in and within a reasonable distance in where you aimed, then the speed of the serve is almost worthless. I say "almost" because the speed of the serve does account for something and can sometimes win you some easy points. However, I feel you need consistency with your first serve before you read this section. (A good percentage for first serves is anything above 70%) Here are some ways to speed up the serve!

Tossing out front: Tossing the tennis ball out in front of your body helps you to jump into the court when hitting the serve, thus bringing your body weight into the serve. If you are moving forward when hitting the serve this will increase the speed of your serve. Observe the Sampras video below and see how he is tossing the ball slightly in front of him and jumping into the serve.

Good rotation: Good rotation of the shoulders and the waist will give you added power to your serve. This allows your whole body to contribute to the power instead of just the brute force of your arm. The uncoiling is key, be sure to use your legs, shoulders, and waist.

Extension: Check out this Pete Sampras quick video... Look at the extension and his reach on his serve! With extension this good his torque is much greater allowing his to really hit the serve hard. Also notice how his wrist does not pronate, he keeps it firm through out the whole serve. Pronating, or snapping of the wrist does not always help to speed up your serve!

Hit less spin: Another way to juice up your serve would be to simply hit less spin. Hitting the ball flat creates a lot more pace because you hit the ball more solid. Hitting with spin puts more friction on the ball and does not allow you to swing straight through with all power.

Racquet Adjustments: Get a longer tennis racquet. Look what it did for Michael Chang! The longer the racquet the more power you will get out of your shots. You can also string your racquet with less tension, that will give you more power. But be aware, both of those options will give you more power, but will also give you less control.

Add weight to the head of your tennis racquet: Adding weight to your tennis racquet head helps to produce more force when hitting. It's like driving a bike and hitting a wall, or driving a semi-truck and hitting a wall. The semi truck definitely has more momentum and more force to hit with because it is heavier. I am not saying the difference will be that great of a change, but it will increase the speed of your serve, and other strokes for that matter. You can add weight to your racquet by simply applying sticker like lead strips to the head of your racquet. Make sure you do this evenly on both side of the racquet. Not many of these strips are needed to notice a difference in weight of your racquet, so do not over do it. Just try a little at a time to see if it works for your tennis game. To get the most out of lead tape, check out Alan Vinh's section on lead tape at the following URL. http://www.monumental.com/avinh/leadtape.html

Quick tip: Hitting the serve down the "T" (the down the middle of the court) will create a faster serve for two reasons. One reason is that it has less distance to travel and therefore encounters less air resistance to slow the ball down. The other reason is that the net is low, so it gives you more room for error to hit the big flat serve.
If you have any questions about this article or tennis in general please do not hesitate to contact me @ tennis4you@hotmail.com. Thank you!

Serve - 7.Practicing the Serve

Practicing the Serve

Intro:
I played a match several years ago while my tennis pro stayed and watched the match. Once I was done with my match I stayed out on the court and hit serves for 10-15 minutes. When I walked off the court to my surprise my instructor was still there. He said this to me which I will never forget: "Scott, that is how you will get a head of everyone else, stay out there and practice after and before matches". He was right, when I gave it some thought, most people only hit serves during matches and their quick warm-up for the match. In this article we will discuss why you should practice your serve and different ways to do just that.

The serve is a very important part of the game of tennis. Many people stay out all day and practice the forehand, backhand and volleys but never go out to practice the serve. The only time that these people get to work on their serve is during their matches. This would be the wrong time to work on improving the serve. The serve needs as much attention as everything else if you want your serve to be at it's best!

Practicing Techniques:
A good approach to practicing the serve (although somewhat boring) is to just grab a basket of balls and go out just to practice serving. A good goal while practicing the serve is to set up a pyramid of 4 balls in each corner of the service box on the opposite side of the court. When serving, aim for these balls. This helps people who have not yet learned to aim their serve to do so. When you are able to aim your serve, on both first and second serves, you will have a much more effective serve.

Another good practicing technique is to stand 10-15 feet behind the baseline and hit the serve. This is an effective way to get to learn to hit spin on the serve. This practicing technique was not designed to have you stand far back and try to slam serves. This technique is to develop spin. Stand back, and just use your arm, do not use your legs and to do not rotate your body and get used to the spin. Use the rainbow effect of topspin and learn to develop your topspin serve and kick serves.

When practicing the serve utilize both sides of the court. Do not just serve to the deuce side or just to the ad side. Make sure you practice equally on both sides to fully benifit your game. It is important to be equally comfortable serving on both the deuce side and the ad side.

So please please please practice the serve before and after the tennis match! You have only to benefit yourself, if you don't then you may be benefiting your opponents.

Serve - 6.The Service Toss

The Service Toss

The Toss: The toss of the serve, how insignificant one may see it, can play a large role in your game. In order to be able to hit a good serve, you must have a good toss. Some tennis players have problems with their toss, and some do not. If you are someone who has an inconsistent toss, it is well worth practicing just the toss.

When learning the 4 types of serves, many players get accustom to throwing their toss in different places for the different serves. This is not a big deal, but it may not be a good thing either. If you have to toss the ball in different places to hit different serves you have already told your opponent what serve is coming before you hit the ball. Good tennis players will read your toss to be better prepared. My suggestion to those who are learning the different types of serve is to learn to hit all four serves from the same ball toss. This will make your serve much more effective. The same theory is applied to the placement of your serves. If you are going to tell your opponent where you are serving, you might as well not serve at all. When you get a chance to watch the top players pay attention to their serve, see how they toss the ball, and watch the consistency of their toss. John McEnroe was an expert at disguising his serve. You want to be able to hit the ball in the same spot for your serve every time. This will also help in disguising your serve.

Eye Contact: Always watch the tennis ball from the very beginning of the toss. Avoid tossing the tennis ball up and then start looking for it in the air. Keep your eye on the tennis ball until contact is made! If you take your eyes off of the tennis ball and look at the court that means you just dropped your head. Where the head goes the face of the racquet usually follows, and you will most likely not come up with a good serve, but instead a fault. This is where nerves can play a role especially on the second serve of big points. When some players get nervous they tend to look to the court before they hit the ball. You will have to remember to stay calm and watch the tennis ball the whole way through.

Toss Height: Don't toss the tennis ball too high or too low. Tosses that end up too high will be affected by the wind and cause timing problems, and tosses that are too low are subject to all sorts of problems! Not only will tosses that are tossed too high be affected by the wind, they will also test your timing to the fullest. The toss should be high enough so that when you extend to hit your serve you hit the ball at the peak of the toss while the ball is in equilibrium. You want to hit the ball at it's peak of the toss. How high is that for you? It depends on how tall you are and how high you like to jump (assuming you jump) to get to the ball. You should be able to figure that out quickly. Tossing the ball too low, or letting the ball drop too low before you serve, will not let you hit a powerful serve. Instead You will get cramped up because the ball is too close to you and you will be lucky to hit a solid serve! When the tennis ball is tossed, or allowed to drop too low you will lose spin, power and consistency, so make sure you have a good toss!

Practicing the Toss: I have heard Venus William's say that when she or her sister feel their toss may be off they practice by throwing the tennis ball at a spot on the ceiling. If that is what it takes then great, mark a spot on the ceiling and toss like you would for your serves. I would keep your racquet in your hand just to make it like the real deal, toss, bend your knees, turn, just don't swing.

Serve - 5.The Four Different Types of Tennis Serves

The Four Different Types of Tennis Serves

There are four different types of serves that can be learned and each can be used to your advantage. Some of these serves may be effective against certain opponents and other may not.

Mixing up all four serves through out a match may cause your opponent problems because they can never find a rhythm in returning your serve. Learning to effectively hit each serve is key to advancing the service part of your game.

There are four kinds of serves you need to be aware of, the flat serve, slice serve, kick serve, and the topspin serve. All four serves can be very effective and no one serve is better than any of the others. Each has their advantages and disadvantages, learning how to hit all four is important, and learning to mix them up in a match against an opponent is even more important. Here we will list the advantages and disadvantages of each serve.

Flat Serve

Advantages
1. Speed of the serve gives your opponent less time to react and prepare for the return.
2. Helps to win easy points which in turn can also help you conserve energy.
3. Easy to learn.

Disadvantages
1. Gives serve and volley players less time to get to the net.
2. Percentage of serves that go in can be very low.
3. Harder for shorter people to get the clearance over the net with out some spin.
4. When returnee gets their racquet on the ball the return can come back very fast b/c they are using the power you generated.

Slice Serve

Advantages
1. Ball bounces low, away from or into opponent's body.
2. You can use the spin to make the ball get further away from the opponent stretching them out, or you can use it to spin into their body jamming them.
3. Percentage of serves in is high.
4. Easy to learn.

Disadvantages
1. It's a basic serve, people are used to hitting back slice serves.

Kick Serve

Advantages
1. Ball bounces high, away from or into opponent's body.
2. Ball bounces opposite direction of which it hits the ground.
3. Gives serve-and-volley players time to get to the net.
4. Hard to attack.
5. A lot of less experienced people have not seen or played much against a kick serve and it may really throw them off.

Disadvantages
1. If your opponent hit's the ball off the rise it takes away the effectiveness of the serve, not allowing the ball to go far in any direction.

2. Hard to learn.

Top Spin Serve

Advantages
1. Gives serve-and-volley players time to get to the net.
2. Bounces high.
3. Great consistency.
4. Easy to learn.

Disadvantages
1. If opponent hit's the ball off the rise it takes away the effectiveness of the serve, not allowing the ball to bounce high.
2. Easy to hit back.

3. Easy to see coming.


A Quick Breakdown of How To Strike The Ball for Each Serve

Please be aware that there is much more to these serves than I am explaining in this section. For the first three I am only going to talk about the motion your racquet needs to hit/brush the ball to execute these serves. Watching the pros is a great way to see how the whole body needs to move as one for the serve! The numbers I am referring to are the numbers on a clock so you can get orientated on how to hit the ball. These are also assuming you are right handed. (Sorry lefties)

The Flat Serve: No spin on the ball, just drive through the ball towards the court!

Here is an example of Serena Williams hitting a flat serve.

The Slice Serve: Brush the ball on the right side driving through the ball towards the court. Your swing should move right to left slightly as you hit this serve and follow through.

The Topspin Serve: Brush the ball from low to high, from 6 to 12. The harder you brush the ball, the more spin you will get.

The Kick Serve: Brush the ball from low to high, from 8 to 1 or 2 o'clock. Here is a great example of a kick serve illustrated by Patrick Rafter.

Serve - 4.Three Choices of Placing the Tennis Serve

Three Choices of Placing the Tennis Serve

Basics -In the tennis game when serving in singles or doubles you have three different choices of where you can place your serve in the service box. Where you choose to place the serve depends on your opponent's strengths and weaknesses as well as your ability to mix up the placement of the serve. Mixing up the placement of your serve will not allow your opponent to get into a groove and keep them guessing where you might serve next. To always serve in the same spot is a mistake. Your opponent will be ready for the serve and be more likely to hit winners more often. Your three choices are as follows: Out wide, Down the Middle (Down the "T") and at your opponent (Into the body). Each of these three options have their own advantages, which can vary depending on your opponent's strengths. Below we will take a look at the three options in depth.

Serving Out Wide -Serving out wide can be an advantage as well as a disadvantage. If your opponent is not quick on his/her feet, dragging them off the court with a wide serve can create an easy point for you. Serving out wide creates a wide open court for you to put away an easy winner if your opponent's return of serve is weak. If your are playing a slower player they may not be able to reach the ball, or they may not be able to prepare to hit the ball as effectively as they may like. If you are a serve and volley player this serve gives you a lot of open court to put a volley away. If you are a baseliner than it gives you a lot of open court to hit the winner, or to hit the ball in the opposite corner and be in control of the point.

The disadvantage of serving out wide is that you have created an angle by hitting out wide. Now your opponent has a shot in which they too can return the ball at an angle, so be ready! Don't think because you pulled your opponent out of the court that his/her return will be back down the middle. You now have to watch the down the line shot, and at the same time be prepared to cover the cross court angle. This is especially true for serve and volley players b/c you will have less time to react to your opponent's return. When serving out wide the ball has a longer distance to travel than serving down the middle. This means the ball will have to encounter more wind resistance which will cause the ball to slow down before the opponent gets to the serve. The net height is also higher at the ends than it is in the middle, so you have less room for error serving out wide.

Serving Down the Middle (Down the "T") -Serving down the middle of the court, or "down the 'T"', erases the angles that your opponent can hit. With this serve you can expect more balls to be returned down the middle. This makes it easier to serve and volley, however you do not have the open court to hit the volley into. However, with a return down the middle, you can take advantage of this and hit to your opponent's weaker side and start to control the point. If you can plan on where your opponent is going to hit the return of serve this can help you to be aggressive and win the point. Another advantage of serving down the middle is the height of the net. At the middle of the court the net is at its lowest point. This will allow you to have more margin for error on the serve. Also when serving down the middle the travel distance for the ball is shorter than serving out wide. This means the serve will be traveling at a faster pace when it gets to the opponent due to less wind resistance.

The downfall to serving down the middle is that there is no open court to hit the ball into. You will have to create the angle to hit the winner.

Serving at Your Opponent -Serving into the body of you opponent, if done well, handcuffs the opponent not allowing him to step into the ball and hit back a hard shot. This would allow you to approach the net on a weak return, or control the point from the baseline. If the serve is executed correctly it does not let your opponent easily come up with a great angle to hit a winner which can give you the control of the point.

The 2 Bad Choices of Placement - There are however 2 choices of placement which may get you in deep trouble. These two would be directly to the opponent's forehand or backhand. You will have to hit the ball at your opponent's body to effectively jam him/her. If you are off by a foot or so they may be able to easily step out of the way and pound a return within their comfort zone! I heard an analogy once that helped to see the 3 good choices vs. the 2 poor choices. Hold out your right hand (with your fingers extended) towards the deuce service box. All 5 fingers represent choices of placement. The 2 bad choices would be the ring finger and the index finger.

Last Note
In addition to the 3 different options of serve placement there are the 4 different types of serves. This will help you to mix up your types of serves and truely keep your opponent guessing. If your opponent gets used to one serve in the same spot you could be in deep trouble.

Serve - 3.The Second Serve

The Second Serve

I feel that the second serve needs more attention than that of the first serve. Just as the first serve can be you best friend, the second serve can be your worst enemy! Many players have second serves that are easily attackable, meaning the returnee can hit the ball where they want in the court and possibly come into the net to finish an easy point. The problem with many player's second serves is not the fact that they are slow, although it's not a bonus having a slow serve. What hurts these players is the fact that their second serve has little or no spin, and lands too shallow in the service box.

To keep the opponent from attacking your serve I feel you need to do two things. First you need to learn how to hit a deep second serve, this will force your opponent deeper into the court making it harder for them to penetrate the serve and come to the net or flat out hit the winner. The second thing you need to do is use lots of spin to hit the second serve with. The two goals listed go hand in hand. The more spin you can get on the ball (not a slice serve, but kick serve or topspin serve) the deeper the ball will bounce once it hits the ground. This again will push your opponent away from the net creating a second serve that is not as easily attackable. Many people are afraid to hit their second serve hard. If you refer back to the advantages of the topspin serve, consistency is an advantage of the topspin serve, this is due to all spin. A good goal to keep in mind is this, swing as hard at your second serve as you do your first, but use all spin when hitting the second serve. Pete Sampras is the master at this. He hits soo much spin on his serves, more than anyone else ever has, which helps to make his serve the best ever. Practice hitting the topspin serve and the kick serve as second serves before and after your matches, it does not take long to improve on these serves to have the confidence to use them effectively in a match. If you do this, and do it well, you will have a much better second serve and it will take the pressure off of you to not be attacked off of the second serve.

Another problem with people second serve is the fact that they don't aim the serve, especially the second serve! Many people can aim their first serve, but just fire off a second serve just hoping it goes in, not caring where, just as long as it is in. If your opponent has a strong forehand, and is continually hitting winners off the forehand side you obviously don't want to hit second serves to his/her forehand side. Again, being able to aim the second serve can greatly decrease the chances of your opponent controlling the point from the get go. Remember, the second serve is all about spin!

Serve - 2.The First Serve

The First Serve

The Basics: The first serve can be someone's biggest weapon making it someone else's worst nightmare! I personally rely on the first serve for a large part of my tennis game since I serve and volley. The first serve can be used like Pete Sampras who just pounds it into the court and it is usually unreturnable, or someone like Patrick Rafter who uses well placed serves to get his opponent off of the court only to come in and volley into an open court. You do not have to be strong or work out to have a big or effective first serve. The service motion is not just your arm strength. The use of your legs, shoulder rotation and stomach muscles all play a large role in the speed of your serve. The choices for those with out the option of a big first serve can be to mix up the 4 types of serves and placement options keeping the opponent guessing what might be coming next. The worst thing you could do when serving, besides double faulting, is make your first serve easily attackable.

The Serves: When serving you have 4 different types of serves to choose from and 3 different options of placement. The four different types of serves are the flat serve, slice serve, kick serve and the topspin serve. To learn more about these four types of serves check out the article "The Four Types of Serves". To learn more about your three choices of placement check out the article "The Three Choices of Placement". Using all of your options when serving will give you an advantage always keeping your opponent on his toes! Mixing up all these options will help to keep your opponent from getting into a rhythm from seeing the same serve hit every time. Use all of these options to your advantage for a more effective serve!

Power Servers: I do not suggest just throwing the ball up and hitting it as hard as you can hoping it goes in the service box. Being able to place the first serve is much more important than how hard you hit the ball. Placement of the serve will allow you to keep your opponent guessing and when necessary hit to the weaker side of your opponent. This strategy will give you more control of the point. If you do have a huge first serve and just aim for the service box hoping it goes in, I suggest you slow it down for some added control. At first this may not feel correct, but I promise you it will improve your serve 2 fold! After you have established some rhythm, some timing, and better placement then you can add some power back into your serve. Notice how effective your serve can be when you have added control to place the ball on either side of your opponent.

Non-Powerful Servers: Players like Agassi who are smaller players on the ATP tour use their serve wisely. Since Agassi does not have a huge weapon for his first serve he uses a lot of spin and good placement to give his opponents problems attacking his serve. Basically, if you don't have a big serve, use as much spin and placement as you can to hit your serve. As time goes on and you improve, your serve will get better, faster, and more accurate. Practice makes perfect! Keeping your opponent from attacking your first serve is key. If your opponent is able to attack your first serve you could be on the defensive through out the whole match. This will give your opponent the opportunity to start each point by controlling the flow of the point. The use of spin and placement can be key, knocking your opponent out of the court so that you can control the point and take the offense. This will also help to keep your first serve from being attacked easily. It is more important for the non-powerful servers to hit the serve deep in the service box. If your serves land shallow in the service box your opponent will have the opportunity to step into their return and hit better shots. For some quick options on how to possibly speed up your serves check out the "Speeding up your Serves" article from Tennis4you.

You do not always need power to have a great first serve. Players who do not have the height and power have other options to be effective! Find what works for you and play it to your best advantage.

Serve - 1.The Serve, Know the basics

THE TENNIS SERVE, KNOW THE BASICS: :
Practice with your doubles partner or one of your singles friends.
by Mat Galemmo, Racquety-Yak

The tennis serve, with all its varieties and nuances, can be difficult to consistently maintain. Whenever you are struggling with your serve, it is helpful to key on a few basic points, rather than obsessing over too many elements. Let your body do the job you've trained it to, and concentrate on these simple keys:

Grip: Continental, you should be able to bounce the ball with the edge of your racket.

Stance: Stand sideways to the net with your feet comfortably apart and your weight on the back foot. You should be able to draw a diagonal line from the toes of your back foot to the toes of your front foot to the service court. You shoud hold the racket in front of your body, arms in close, and supported with your free hand. The racket is on edge and pointing to the service box.

Backswing and toss: Down together, up together rhythm. The toss is straight up from your extended left arm. The racket swings down past the right hip and then up behind the back.
Point of Contact: Reach up as far as you can, making contact above your head, slightly in front and to the right.

The Slice Serve: The primary purpose of the slice serve is to pull the opponent wide or to have the ball jam the opponent. The lower and further to the right one makes the toss, the more effective the slice becomes. Using the example of the clockface, the racket should "bypass" the ball at 3 o'clock.

The Spin Serve: The spin serve is really a combination of the slice and the topspin or American twist serve. The stroke can easily be disguised by imparting both overspin and slice at the same time, the ball can either curve quite wide or kick high enough to present an awkward shot for the receiver. By using the face of the clock, the racket should "bypass" the ball at 1 o'clock.

Backhand - 10.If you have a weak backhand, don't let players exploit it

If you have a weak backhand, don't let players exploit it

If you've got a weak backhand, give yourself a different set of expectations. You're not going to rip it like your forehand, so don't try! Work on making it reliable and consistent, a shot that will keep you in the point rather than win it. Make it your bread-and-water shot!

If you've got bread-and-water for a backhand, something else will need to be your champagne-and-caviar. So develop your forehand into a weapon. Or you could develop your net game and win your points that way.

If you keep your shots deep during a rally, you can avoid playing a lot of backhands. That's because you have more time to prepare for your own shots and, if you can improve your anticipation skills as well, you should be able to run around and hit some forehands when the ball arrives in the backhand side of your court.

Avoid going for too much of an angle crosscourt when you play your backhands. An angle invites an angle in return, and you'll find it harder to avoid backhands if you get into that sort of rally. Don't worry about the limitations of your backhand. A judicious mix of bread-and-water and champagne-and-caviar will serve you quite adequately while you hire the services of a chef, sorry, coach and work at improving the menu

Backhand - 9.The Corkscrew Slice

The Corkscrew Slice

The slice backhand is a versatile shot and can be put to good use in both an attacking and a defensive situation. If played right, it allows you to hit a low sliding approach shot or a floating defensive ball that buys you time to recover your court position. In particular, there are two distinct types of attacking slice backhand that you would do well to master.

The first involves hitting more around the outside of the ball (the side of the ball facing away from your body) for added control. This is a useful shot if you are looking to hit an accurate approach shot or an angled ball close to the lines. When you get it right the flight of the ball should be straight as an arrow, giving you a great deal of control and accuracy.

The second option involves hitting more towards the inside of the ball. The flight will be harder to control as it will tend to veer to the left, but the spin you impart will not only make the ball skid but will also cause it to break awkwardly to the side. This is a really tough ball to return and is great for forcing a weak passing shot when you have more space to hit into, and for use against players with extreme forehand grips.

Backhand - 8.Returning deep high ground strokes

Take from Sportsinteractive

Returning deep high ground strokes; the ones that land on the baseline

First and foremost; it is easier to run forward than backward, understanding this means it's OK to play close to the baseline. But not the whole time 1, 2, or 3 feet inside the court. As when they do hit it deep, it's to hard to run back and hit the ball at the same time. Your playing to close in if your letting some GO and they still land in.

Second, anticipation is the key to being in the proper place on the court most of the time. What type of shot and where will they hit it are things you can't buy from any tennis Pro. You must go and play enough and experience enough, to imagine where your opponent will probably hit the ball. Then start going there, even if they haven't hit the ball yet.

Next, learn the rising ball shot; taking the ball right after the bounce. This prevents the ball from getting to high on you in the first place. It may still land deep, but if you always run back to hit the ball that's close to the back fence, your giving up to much court in front of you to your opponent. Playing the ball as a half-volley form the baseline, you won't be giving as much court away. You can still hit the ball low, fast, and far with the rising ball technique, and not pop it up.

High deep shots are are tough on you, so don't let it get up there. Catch it off the bounce.

Tip of the Month
sportsinteractive--Walt.
Feel free to contact Walt @ Tennis Time with any questions you have about instructional tennis. He will be more than willing to help you. Walt's e-mail - tentime@aol.com
Come back next month to learn from from Tennis Time!

Backhand - 7.How to hit your backhand slice with more pace

How to hit your backhand slice with more pace

When you prepare for your backhand slice, your racket arm is bent. The moment at which you extend it pretty much determines the speed of the shot. If your shot lacks pace, try extending just a little bit later, reaching out just before the point of impact. Be careful though, because this will probably make the shot a little more difficult to control. Try it out on the practice court first!

Backhand - 6.The Better Backhand

The Better Backhand

Hi Everyone! Welcome to the Park. It's always nice of you to stop by and see what old Tommie Ray has to say :-)

I would really like to talk about the tennis backhand shot and how your shoulder should turn. Let's get one thing straight, I'm learning about this game just like a lot of you readers are. As I go along I understand some of the problems you may be having and what it feels like to get that stroke down and say, YES! That's it!

So on with the shoulder turn-- which I've found to be the most critical part of hitting the backhand. Ok, now first you got to get to the ball. Plant your pivot foot and try to get sideways to the ball and your racket should be back by this point. Now this is a good time to stop and really make sure those shoulders are turned almost to the extreme. Be like a spring ready to uncoil and then that is exactly what you do. Uncoil and drive through the ball. At first really get animated about this and don't worry about where the ball goes. I guarantee you'll see results in your backhand with more power and control. You can also practice this in your house or anywhere, just go through the motions and I'm sure it will become more automatic in time. The body will naturally do it with more practice and time. Always remember, and I know I beat this dead horse all of the time, but tennis is a developmental game and takes time and practice.

Remember you get out of it what you put into it!

How fun and play the tennis game! Thanks for stopping by.

Tommie Ray
If you have any questions or comments please email me :-)

Backhand - 5.Add Pace to That Backhand

ADD PACE TO THAT BACKHAND by Mat Galemmo, Racquety-Yak

If your tennis backhand lacks pace and depth it may be due to a common trait. Players often bend and lift their elbow before contact with the ball. If you were to watch Edberg (for a one hander) and Hewitt (for a two hander) prepare for the backhand, you would see that their arm is straight and close to the body when they make their backswing. As they start to accelerate the racquet to meet the ball in front of them there is no change in the straight arm. The stroke is smoothly hinged at the shoulder and does not bend at the elbow. You have to "straight arm" the ball without changing your arm set-up. This technique will have you leading with your racquet instead of your elbow or wrist.

You may bend your elbow to hit a backhand volley when the ball is close to your body. Out of necessity, you will bend your elbow to hit a sliced backhand approach shot or groundstroke.

To get the feel for a straight arm stroke, tuck a tennis ball under your armpit, take the ready position and have your buddy hit a medium-paced ball to your backhand side. The object is to make contact with the ball before the ball tucked in your armpit drops out. Be sure to finish with a full, high backswing as though you are airing out your armpit.

After you practice this and have the feel for keeping your straight arm close to your body, try hitting the backhand without the tucked ball. You will be pleased to see your stroke go through the ball sending it to your target with more pace.

Backhand - 4.How early should I prepare for my groundstrokes?

How early should I prepare for my groundstrokes?

Regardless of how much tennis you have played or how much coaching you have received, I am willing to bet that you are more than familiar with the advice "Get your racket back early". It was probably one of the first suggestions made to you by your coach or practice partner and the logic of it still holds true. If we are late with our preparation we will be unable to make a solid contact with the ball or generate a full swing. But how early do we actually need to take our racket back? Is it really a case of 'the earlier the better'?

Well, my answer would be no. We should strive to time our preparation so that we can begin our forward swing towards the ideal contact point with no pause in the action. Allow me to explain. The most important aspect of a backswing is that it pre-stretches the muscles of the arm, shoulder, and trunk. This 'pre-stretch' stores elastic energy in these muscles that can be used to generate the swing. The tricky thing about elastic energy is that it can only be stored for a couple of seconds. So if we are to reap maximum benefit from this elastic pre-stretch we should not prepare too early, and risk having to wait for the oncoming ball. Neither should we prepare too late for the reasons outlined earlier.

What we need to do is study the speed, spin, and flight of the approaching ball and adjust the timing of our backswing accordingly.

In fact many of the top tennis players are now learning to get the best of both worlds by preparing early but then tagging on an extra twist and rotation (to set the muscles in pre-stretch) immediately prior to starting the forward swing. Good examples of this would be Andy Roddick's serve and Serena Williams' backhand.

The only potential danger of this particular technique is that it may result in a disjointed swing, and it should not be attempted until you are completely comfortable with the concept of elastic pre-stretch and with being able to time your swings in order to make maximum use of it.

Put your back-hand into it

There are many advantages to using a double-handed backhand as opposed to the single-handed variety. However, one of the potential drawbacks is that the swing is not so fluent. To avoid a stiff, punchy swing on your two-hander or to combat problems of not being able to keep the flight of the ball down (i.e. not imparting enough topspin) try this simple tip.

They key is to hit your backhand with the top hand driving the swing. For right handers it is like hitting a left-handed forehand with the right hand on the racket simply for support.

If you compare hitting a two-handed backhand with your top and then your bottom hand leading you will find that when you lead with the bottom hand your swing has a tendency to push underneath the ball and 'lock out' before you are able to make a full follow-through. Leading with the top hand allows you to drive your swing over the ball and right up over your shoulder. This will provide you with more power and the spin to control it.

Bakchand - 3.A Flick of the Wrist

A Flick of the Wrist

Listening to TV commentators covering a tennis match, you might think the contestants were playing badminton. John McEnroe particularly likes to say that a player sends the ball crosscourt or down the line "with just a flick of the wrist."

Just how much wrist is used in tennis? High speed photography (200 frames per second) of world class players analyzed by John Yandell of www.tennisone.com shows that there is virtually no wrist movement on forehand and backhand groundstrokes. On a forehand the wrist is locked into a laid-back position at the end of the backswing and remains in that locked position until the end of the followthrough, at which point the muscles of the arm and shoulder relax and the wrist returns to its natural position. This occurs long after the ball has crossed the net. On TV and video replays (at 15 frames per second), it might look like a flick of the wrist, but it is usually a slight roll of the forearm with a firm, locked wrist.

Timing the shoulder rotation and the acceleration of the racquet arm through the ball on a good groundstroke is difficult enough; playing with a lot of wrist adds another, troublesome, variable to the mix. If you cock your wrist back as you prepare the backswing with the intention of uncocking your wrist upon ball contact (as a flick of the wrist implies), your timing must be perfect in order to have your racquet face flush to the ball. If your timing is off, you will mis-hit the ball. This is why most good players eliminate wrist movement in their swings. It gives them one less variable to contend with.

So what's up with McEnroe, one of the best players ever, saying that Agassi and others are making these great shots with a "flick of the wrist"? It's probably easier and more dramatic for McEnroe to describe such shots in this way rather than giving a long technical explanation (as above). It might also be a case of Mac not understanding the nature of the modern forehand, particularly those using semi-Western and Western grips. Look at old videos of Mac playing with his continental grip off both sides and you'll see that his strokes look strange compared to the modern forehands of Hewitt, Agassi, Federer, Haas, Ferrero, Roddick, Kuerten, et al. Mac's a genius on the court, but he hits a different groundstroke than the younger players of today. He, too, however, didn't flick his wrist.

Drive, he said

Want to ensure a successful groundstroke? Then concentrate on driving or hitting through the ball.

Driving through the ball means extending the racquet about two feet or so through the contact zone, with the racquet face continuing on a straight line, parallel to the net, and out towards the target. Many ground stroke errors occur when players abbreviate this extension by wrapping the racquet around their neck or shoulder too early. The "wrap" should occur naturally at the end of the swing but only after you have hit through the ball and your swing begins to decelerate.

You can learn to drive through the ball by practicing a couple of simple exercises. Stand about a foot away from the back fence with your shoulders parallel to the net. Take your racquet back on your forehand side until the head touches the fence. Standing this close to the fence you will only be able to take a fraction of your regular backswing. Lock your wrist and keep your elbow bent and in close to your ribs.

Now drop feed a ball and try to hit a forehand over the net and as deep into the court as possible. Swing high to low for a little topspin. Your racquet should be more-or-less vertical at the point of contact. Extend your forward swing for at least two feet after contact. Finish with your racquet on the right side of your body (left for lefties). I tell my pee-wee students to picture a big smiley face painted on their racquet strings and to let their opponents see that big smile throughout the swing.

A good cue here is the self of the palm of your hitting hand. The image you want is of your palm striking the ball and then pushing the ball straight forward toward the target. You might even put your racquet in your other hand and just practice shadow strokes with your palm to get the feel for hitting through the ball.

Unless you drive through the ball it won't clear the net, let alone land deep in the court. Concentrate on the face of the racquet (or your palm) remaining parallel to the net as it swings through the ball. Keep drop feeding yourself balls and hitting in this manner until you gain good consistency and are getting the ball deep in the court.

In this little exercise, the role of your shoulder is minimized. Your arm is doing most of the work. On a true forehand ground stroke, your shoulder would generate most of the power (coiling and then uncoiling), with your arm picking up the load from the point of contact onward. By limiting the role of your shoulder in this way, you can concentrate more on driving through the ball, which is the main task of the arm in a good forehand.

Another way to get the feel of driving through the ball is to stand about a foot away from the net, with your shoulders parallel to the baseline. Turn your shoulder to initiate your backswing and bring your racquet back until the butt of the racquet is perpendicular to the net. Keep your elbow bent and close to your side and lock your wrist. Now take a short step forward and turn your shoulders back toward the net, which should bring the face of your racquet flush to the net cord. Strike the net cord gently such that half of your racquet face extends above the net. Continue to push the racquet face against the net with your hitting arm, building resistance as your weight shifts forward against the net. Now raise your hitting arm slowly upward until your racquet is free of the net. Extend your hitting arm and let your racquet move forward toward the open court, keeping the face of the racquet parallel to the baseline. This will simulate driving through the ball.

You can also do backhand versions of these exercises. For a two-handed backhand, focus on the palm of your non-dominant hand to keep your racquet face parallel to the net and extending through the contact zone. Let the elbow of the non-dominant arm straighten out before finishing with the racquet around your neck or shoulder. If you are doing a one-handed backhand, you'll need to use a backhand grip. On the one-hander, visualize the knuckles of the hitting hand driving through the ball and out toward the target. This will help to keep the racquet face parallel to the net as it extends through the contact zone. For the one-hander using these drills, I suggest you exaggerate your sideways positioning to the ball so your hitting arm can swing freely from the shoulder joint.

Remember, the two feet of forward extension after contact, generated mainly by the arm(s), is critical. Shorten this important part of your swing by wrapping the racquet too quickly around your neck or shoulder and your shots will lack power and depth.

In practice sessions and match play, a good rhythmic mantra to assist in driving through the ball as described above is to say to yourself "bounce, step, drive."

Randy Cummings
Match Point Racquet Sports
http://www.racquetgear.com/

Backhand - 2.How to avoid overhitting when you get a real sitter

How to avoid overhitting when you get a real sitter

Shorten it! Shorten your tennis racket and shorten your backswing! They haven't invented a racket with a button that shortens the grip for these sort of shots, but you can achieve the same effect by shifting your hand up the grip a couple of inches. This should give you the feeling that you've got more control over the swing. Shorten your backswing too - just a shoulder turn will do. But still go for a full follow-through, because the last thing you want to do is trade your overhitting for a "nothing" shot!

Prepare early - but not too early!!

Beginners are invariably told to "prepare early!" It's good advice while you're developing your tennis technique. However, performance tennis players who are looking for a little extra racket speed must pay some attention to biomechanics.

The backswing stage of the action involves stretching the muscles to store elastic energy for the forward swing. If there is too much of a pause between the backswing and the forward swing, the benefit of the stored energy can be lost. Obviously it's not good if your elastic gives out on you!

For maximum efficiency, try to time it so that there's little or no pause between the completion of your backswing and the start of your forward swing.

If you're used to taking the tennis racket back very early, you might find it a useful compromise to prepare early and then quickly take the racket back still further prior to swinging forwards

Hitting bigger without hitting bigger!

You can achieve more power on your groundstrokes by transferring your weight forwards, by swinging faster and by hitting more through the ball. These are things you can apply without too much tinkering with your technique.

The power drives of the modern game, however, are produced by adopting an open stance and driving up from the legs and rotating the upper body (hips, trunk and shoulders) and if you're not already doing that, the change is fairly drastic and you probably need to book some lessons.

But let's try thinking laterally for a minute. Your basic tennis technique is sound and you don't want to bin it, but you do want to inflict more damage on your opponent. Ok, so why not try this - take the ball earlier! Instead of waiting for the ball to drop, step in and take it at the top of the bounce. Once
you're comfortable with this (and it'll take a while, so be patient!), try taking it on the rise.

You'll have more angles at your disposal and your opponents will have less time to prepare for their shots. It's kind of hitting bigger without hitting bigger! Cool, eh?

Hitting on the rise

There's plenty of good tennis reasons to hit on the rise. What are they? Well, you can hit with more power because your opponent's pace is still on the ball. Also, you give your opponent less time to recover and therefore less time to prepare for the next shot. And the more you move inside the baseline the more you see over the net, enabling you to open up the rally with angled shots. If you like getting into the net, hitting on the rise gives you a better chance of closing in.

So, how do we do it? For one thing, you need to get inside the tennis court during the rallies! Easier said than done - it's a psychological leap because you're leaving that familiar comfort zone behind the baseline - so try it in practice first! The other thing that will take some adjustment is your backswing. There will be less time for it, so you need to make it as efficient as possible - a good shoulder turn will probably suffice. Relax at the knees and stay light on your feet. Start your swing early enough to ensure firm contact just out in front of your body. Although you've had to adopt a more compact backswing, accelerate the racket head and follow through smooth and long and full.

One thing you've got to consider is the angle of the ball as it comes on to your racket - instead of a flat or downward trajectory, the ball will be angling upwards onto your strings. You'll find you won't keep the ball in the court if you use an open racket face. So adjust your grip to close the racket face slightly. It's probably a good idea to brush up on the ball to impart some topspin. This will give you a greater degree of control.

Open or closed stance?

I often get asked what's best - an open stance or a closed stance. And of course there isn't a definitive answer. You can argue the merits and demerits of each until the cows come home. It's true that clay courts suit open-stance players and faster courts suit the sideways-on stroke. Ultimately, it comes down to your own athletic and tactical preferences.

Open-stance players can use powerful trunk rotation and produce great racket-head speed, but they find that their centre of gravity pulls to the left (or even backwards) during the stroke, discouraging forward movement.

The step-in forehand, on the other hand, imposes a limit on your swing because your front leg locks up your body, but it encourages forward transfer of weight and therefore favors players who want to close in on the net. By taking the ball on the rise, players who use this technique can cut out the opponent's reaction time and apply pressure by approaching the net. This can be just as devastating as a booming open-stance forehand, especially on fast surfaces.

One word of caution. Open-stance is a bit of a misnomer. It refers to your feet. It does NOT mean having your shoulders parallel to the net! If you use an open-stance forehand, you must coil and then uncoil your hips and shoulders, otherwise there is no benefit to it whatsoever.

Keeping your backhand approach shots low

You need to use backspin to keep the ball low after it bounces. To do this, you need to deliver a kind of high-to-low glancing blow - but be sure not to come down on the ball too severely, otherwise you'll end up just chopping it and losing the pace.

Players like Pete Sampras often add sidespin to the sliced approach. This is produced by moving the racket across the ball with an outside-in action, i.e. from outside the line of the ball's flight to inside the line, as well as high-to-low. This makes the ball skid low and away from a right-hander's backhand.

Make a full shoulder turn and take your racket back at around shoulder height, with the face slightly open. Support the throat of the racket with the fingers of your non-racket hand and keep your wrist firm. As you swing through the ball high-to-low and outside-in, keep the racket face slightly open and try to get a l-o-n-g contact. Extend your non-racket hand back behind you for balance and keep your knees flexed throughout. Avoid opening your shoulders.

It's generally a good idea to aim your approach shots parallel to the sidelines. That gives you your best chance of covering the angles on your opponent's passing shot. But you should vary it occasionally, especially if your opponent is weak on the backhand.

"Shrinking" the Strike Zone

When you're hitting groundstrokes, you'll find it easier to control the tennis ball if your contact is somewhere between mid-chest and knee, a comfortable arm's length away from you and just slightly in front of your body. This is your ideal strike zone.

When your opponent hits the ball, it arrives with gradually diminishing speed. It rises after the bounce and then levels off for a moment as its speed dies.

If you can adjust your footwork so that the levelling-off moment occurs in the middle of your ideal strike zone, you've cracked it! Tennis is a breeze!

But it isn't always that easy. Although most balls level off somewhere between shoulder-height and knee-height, sometimes the ball bounces too low or too high. You may have to hurry forwards to short balls and you may have to bend your knees to cope with low balls. High-bouncing balls travel through your strike zone twice - once on the way up and again on the way down, so you have the luxury of a choice.

The face of your racket must be square to the ball at contact. Swing it up through the strike zone from below the level of the ball, finishing above it.

A common mistake is getting in line with the ball, with the result that you get jammed by it. It's okay to position yourself on the tracks, but remember to dodge aside before the train arrives!
The strike zone is important in baseball, too. Rules committees frequently argue over its definition. When the umpires "shrink" the strike zone, there are more home runs and the hitters (and the fans) are happy. But when they allow a larger strike zone, it favors the pitchers and the home runs start to dry up.

Let's apply a baseball analogy to tennis. Let's say you're hitting balls at all different heights, one ball up around your armpits and the next down below your knees. Well, clearly this is the equivalent of a baseball umpire allowing a large strike zone. And your opponent - the pitcher - is just grinning all over his face.

Use anticipation and footwork to shrink that zone and start scoring!

Is having just a slice backhand the end of life as we know it?

Tennis players with one-handed slice backhands sometimes feel frustrated and envious when they see the top pros cracking two-handed backhand winners. They tell me they don't want a slice backhand any more - they want a slice of the action!

However, I never advocate switching from a one-handed backhand to a two-hander. In my opinion, that's a backward step. The two-handed stroke presents you with problems in terms of reach and there's absolutely no guarantee that you'll compensate by producing more power. It's not that I'm against two-handed backhands per se, far from it. It's just that players with effective two-handers typically start at an age when they lack sufficient strength in the arm and wrist for a one-hander. It's forced on them. The best of these players develop the shot and develop the athleticism to make up for the reach restrictions. But if you're used to playing with a one-hander and you can execute it with a reasonable degree of competence, you should stick with it and try to make it more reliable and more versatile.

The slice backhand is not a purely defensive shot. Used as an approach shot, it skids low and forces your opponent to lift the ball for you to put away with a comfortable volley. Slice makes the ball float further in the air allowing you to dominate your opponent by maintaining good depth. So don't turn your nose up at it. Build up your appetite and help yourself to a bigger slice!

For more bite on the shot, prepare by coiling your upper body using a hip and shoulder turn and bend the elbow of your racket arm. Then straighten your arm as you hit through the ball. If you keep your elbow locked, you'll restrict your swing and end up chopping at the ball.

The slice backhand is least effective against a net-rusher. Instead of learning a two-hander, I recommend developing a flat or topspin drive to give yourself a better chance of making a pass or at least making your opponent contend with a dipping ball.

Two-handed backhands - is time running out for the closed stance?

Although most players still prefer to strike the two-handed backhand from a closed stance whenever possible, the success of the Williams sisters is encouraging more and more players to use an open stance. Venus and Serena use their tremendous leg and upper body strength to compensate for the loss of linear momentum. The technique enables them to cope better when they're rushed into playing a shot (e.g. a service return) and also to recover their court position efficiently by pushing off the outside leg to return towards the middle of the court.

Let's consider the grip first. Although you can hit a perfectly effective two-handed backhand with your dominant hand placed in an eastern forehand grip, you ought to be using an eastern backhand grip (or at least a continental grip) if you want to use topspin and if you want to be able to hit the occasional one-handed shot. Your dominant hand really only provides support - it's your non-dominant hand that should actually provide the power for your two-hander and you should put it into the eastern forehand grip.

Load your weight onto your left foot (assuming you're right-handed) and coil your hips and shoulders. The amount of backswing depends on what you want to achieve. Typically, a shorter backswing will facilitate more control and a longer backswing will generate more power. Keeping your head as still as possible to control the uncoiling of your hips and shoulders, extend your racket out towards your target for control and depth. Complete the shot with a full wrap-around follow-through and push off to recover for your next shot.

If, like Venus and Serena, you have the required athleticism, you might want to make open stance groundstrokes the basis of your game, but even if you don't, practise an open stance two-hander and you'll be able to compensate effectively when you're rushed for time.

The 'Whys' and 'Whens' of spin on groundstrokes

Batting a ball to and from over a net is okay, but it's very basic. If tennis was a language, we're talking morse code. Once you can master the basics, what you really want to do is make the ball do stuff - you want to make it talk, don't you? If tennis was a TV set, you'd want more than just an on-and-off switch and a volume control - you'd want a channel selector and a brightness control and a contrast control and so on. If you're going to control a rally, you need to control the ball. And that's where spin comes in.

With groundstrokes, your spin options are topspin and slice.

With topspin, the ball dips to the ground quicker and bounces higher than you'd expect from a ball with no spin. It allows you to hit harder - and higher over the net - with less risk of hitting long. It also allows you to dip balls at the feet of an incoming volleyer. Use it as your stock rally ball, but flatten it out a bit to go for winners. Topspin is a player's insurance policy and you shouldn't be allowed to drive without it!

With slice (or backspin), the tennis ball floats through the air longer and bounces lower than you'd expect from a ball with no spin. It allows you to hit deeper and lower, forcing your opponent to hit up on the ball - very desirable if your opponent has an extreme "closed" grip or you're approaching the net for a volley or an overhead. Use it as an approach shot and use it for defence when you've been stretched out of position, because the ball will travel slowly and buy you time to recover for your next shot. A slice backhand is essential to an attacking net game, such as that deployed by Tim Henman, Pat Rafter, Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe. It can be particularly effective to combat topspin with slice, since the direction of the spin is maintained rather than reversed, i.e. you're actually adding to the existing spin on the ball.

When you first learn how to play spins, it's okay to experiment and see what you can do. It's like when you get that new TV set and you sit there playing with the remote! Eventually, you'll get familiar with it and just use the controls you need.

Regards.
Dave Winship

Backhand - 1.The Basic (Classic) Tennis Backhand

THE BASIC (CLASSIC) BACKHAND by Mat Galemmo, Racquety-Yak

At practice, some tennis players try too many irregular motions. This will inhibit muscle retention in your strokes. It's a good idea to stay "basic" to build your stroke consistency.

THE GRIP: Turn your hand from the forehand grip until your first knuckle is on top of the handle. Extend the index finger, your thumb may be either across the handle or curled around it.

WAITING POSITION: Stand facing the net, knees slightly bent, weight evenly distributed and slightly forward on the tennis balls of your feet. The tennis racket is held in front of your body, elbows in close, and forearm parallel to the ground. The tennis racket is supported with your free hand. Once you have the backhand grip, the racket should be pointing toward the sideline, not toward the net.

TURN: The shoulders and hips pivot so that your weight shifts onto the left foot and the tennis racket hand touches the left hip bone.

BACKSWING: The left hand slides down the tennis racket to cradle the right hand. The racket is on edge and the angle of the racket and forearm remain the same throughout.

STEP AND HIT: The right foot steps toward the net with your weight shifting onto it. The tennis ball is contacted a little in front of the right leg, approximately waist high and the arm is relatively straight and the wrist is firm.

FOLLOW THROUGH: The follow through is a long, continuous sweeping motion, finishing high with the arm relatively straight. The butt of the racket is past the right eye. (for right handers)

Your weight is now completely on the front foot and your hips and shoulders have turned halfway toward the net. Unlike the forehand, they do not turn as much in the backhand.

Forehand - 5.Get Back to Basics

Get Back to Basics

This month I want to talk about back to basics. Simple basic tennis. Things you should be aware of for a good sound tennis stroke which will eventually give you a good sound tennis game.

Let's review the forehand:
1) You should always have good anticipation on the tennis courts.
2) When you get to the tennis ball, always try to be sideways to it.
3) When you get to the tennis ball, your racket should all ready be back in the ready to swing position.
4) Your eye should be on the tennis ball and you should have already decided where you are going to hit the ball.
5) Step in and swing trying to hit the tennis ball out in front of you. Swing low to high and don't forget a good follow through. Racket should end up around the eye brow.

Now this should take about 5 to 8 seconds. That's what makes tennis an awesome game. Always remember to get the tennis ball over the net. Sometimes you won't be in perfect position and will have to make an on the spot split second adjustment. Always try to make your opponent hit one more shot.

Tommie Ray

Forehand - 4.How early should I prepare for my groundstrokes?

How early should I prepare for my groundstrokes?

Regardless of how much tennis you have played or how much coaching you have received, I am willing to bet that you are more than familiar with the advice "Get your racket back early". It was probably one of the first suggestions made to you by your coach or practice partner and the logic of it still holds true. If we are late with our preparation we will be unable to make a solid contact with the ball or generate a full swing. But how early do we actually need to take our racket back? Is it really a case of 'the earlier the better'?

Well, my answer would be no. We should strive to time our preparation so that we can begin our forward swing towards the ideal contact point with no pause in the action. Allow me to explain. The most important aspect of a backswing is that it pre-stretches the muscles of the arm, shoulder, and trunk. This 'pre-stretch' stores elastic energy in these muscles that can be used to generate the swing. The tricky thing about elastic energy is that it can only be stored for a couple of seconds. So if we are to reap maximum benefit from this elastic pre-stretch we should not prepare too early, and risk having to wait for the oncoming tennis ball. Neither should we prepare too late for the reasons outlined earlier.

What we need to do is study the speed, spin, and flight of the approaching tennis ball and adjust the timing of our backswing accordingly.

In fact many of the top players are now learning to get the best of both worlds by preparing early but then tagging on an extra twist and rotation (to set the muscles in pre-stretch) immediately prior to starting the forward swing. Good examples of this would be Andy Roddick's serve and Serena Williams' backhand.

The only potential danger of this particular technique is that it may result in a disjointed swing, and it should not be attempted until you are completely comfortable with the concept of elastic pre-stretch and with being able to time your swings in order to make maximum use of it.

Forehand - 3.A Flick of the Wrist

A Flick of the Wrist

Listening to TV commentators covering a tennis match, you might think the contestants were playing badminton. John McEnroe particularly likes to say that a player sends the ball crosscourt or down the line "with just a flick of the wrist."

Just how much wrist is used in tennis? High speed photography (200 frames per second) of world class players analyzed by John Yandell of www.tennisone.com shows that there is virtually no wrist movement on forehand and backhand groundstrokes. On a forehand the wrist is locked into a laid-back position at the end of the backswing and remains in that locked position until the end of the followthrough, at which point the muscles of the arm and shoulder relax and the wrist returns to its natural position. This occurs long after the ball has crossed the net. On TV and video replays (at 15 frames per second), it might look like a flick of the wrist, but it is usually a slight roll of the forearm with a firm, locked wrist.

Timing the shoulder rotation and the acceleration of the racquet arm through the ball on a good groundstroke is difficult enough; playing with a lot of wrist adds another, troublesome, variable to the mix. If you cock your wrist back as you prepare the backswing with the intention of uncocking your wrist upon ball contact (as a flick of the wrist implies), your timing must be perfect in order to have your racquet face flush to the ball. If your timing is off, you will mis-hit the ball. This is why most good players eliminate wrist movement in their swings. It gives them one less variable to contend with.

So what's up with McEnroe, one of the best tennis players ever, saying that Agassi and others are making these great shots with a "flick of the wrist"? It's probably easier and more dramatic for McEnroe to describe such shots in this way rather than giving a long technical explanation (as above). It might also be a case of Mac not understanding the nature of the modern forehand, particularly those using semi-Western and Western grips. Look at old videos of Mac playing with his continental grip off both sides and you'll see that his strokes look strange compared to the modern forehands of Hewitt, Agassi, Federer, Haas, Ferrero, Roddick, Kuerten, et al. Mac's a genius on the court, but he hits a different groundstroke than the younger players of today. He, too, however, didn't flick his wrist.

Drive, he said

Want to ensure a successful groundstroke? Then concentrate on driving or hitting through the ball.

Driving through the tennis ball means extending the racquet about two feet or so through the contact zone, with the racquet face continuing on a straight line, parallel to the net, and out towards the target. Many ground stroke errors occur when players abbreviate this extension by wrapping the racquet around their neck or shoulder too early. The "wrap" should occur naturally at the end of the swing but only after you have hit through the ball and your swing begins to decelerate.

You can learn to drive through the tennis ball by practicing a couple of simple exercises. Stand about a foot away from the back fence with your shoulders parallel to the net. Take your racquet back on your forehand side until the head touches the fence. Standing this close to the fence you will only be able to take a fraction of your regular backswing. Lock your wrist and keep your elbow bent and in close to your ribs.

Now drop feed a tennis ball and try to hit a forehand over the net and as deep into the court as possible. Swing high to low for a little topspin. Your racquet should be more-or-less vertical at the point of contact. Extend your forward swing for at least two feet after contact. Finish with your racquet on the right side of your body (left for lefties). I tell my pee-wee students to picture a big smiley face painted on their racquet strings and to let their opponents see that big smile throughout the swing.

A good cue here is the self of the palm of your hitting hand. The image you want is of your palm striking the ball and then pushing the ball straight forward toward the target. You might even put your racquet in your other hand and just practice shadow strokes with your palm to get the feel for hitting through the ball.

Unless you drive through the ball it won't clear the net, let alone land deep in the court. Concentrate on the face of the racquet (or your palm) remaining parallel to the net as it swings through the ball. Keep drop feeding yourself balls and hitting in this manner until you gain good consistency and are getting the ball deep in the court.

In this little exercise, the role of your shoulder is minimized. Your arm is doing most of the work. On a true forehand ground stroke, your shoulder would generate most of the power (coiling and then uncoiling), with your arm picking up the load from the point of contact onward. By limiting the role of your shoulder in this way, you can concentrate more on driving through the ball, which is the main task of the arm in a good forehand.

Another way to get the feel of driving through the tennis ball is to stand about a foot away from the net, with your shoulders parallel to the baseline. Turn your shoulder to initiate your backswing and bring your racquet back until the butt of the racquet is perpendicular to the net. Keep your elbow bent and close to your side and lock your wrist. Now take a short step forward and turn your shoulders back toward the net, which should bring the face of your racquet flush to the net cord. Strike the net cord gently such that half of your racquet face extends above the net. Continue to push the racquet face against the net with your hitting arm, building resistance as your weight shifts forward against the net. Now raise your hitting arm slowly upward until your racquet is free of the net. Extend your hitting arm and let your racquet move forward toward the open court, keeping the face of the racquet parallel to the baseline. This will simulate driving through the ball.

You can also do backhand versions of these exercises. For a two-handed backhand, focus on the palm of your non-dominant hand to keep your racquet face parallel to the net and extending through the contact zone. Let the elbow of the non-dominant arm straighten out before finishing with the racquet around your neck or shoulder. If you are doing a one-handed backhand, you'll need to use a backhand grip. On the one-hander, visualize the knuckles of the hitting hand driving through the ball and out toward the target. This will help to keep the racquet face parallel to the net as it extends through the contact zone. For the one-hander using these drills, I suggest you exaggerate your sideways positioning to the ball so your hitting arm can swing freely from the shoulder joint.

Remember, the two feet of forward extension after contact, generated mainly by the arm(s), is critical. Shorten this important part of your swing by wrapping the racquet too quickly around your neck or shoulder and your shots will lack power and depth.

In practice sessions and match play, a good rhythmic mantra to assist in driving through the ball as described above is to say to yourself "bounce, step, drive."

Randy Cummings
Match Point Racquet Sports
www.racquetgear.com