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Coaching Tips - Groundstrokes
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Close the racket and brush!
Question:
How do you hit with topspin?
Topspin is where the ball rotates forwards "bottom-over-top". It enables you to
hit higher over the net and bring the ball down into the court.
Sounds good, huh? Well, it can transform your game, but it's a fairly advanced shot and you need
to be able to hit reliably through the ball before you try it! The difficulty lies in the fact that
you need really good timing.
The trick is to use a fairly 'closed' grip (semi-western or western) and swing up from below your
intended contact point, brushing the strings up the back of the ball to generate the required spin.
The hand should be fairly relaxed, so that you can produce good racket-head speed.
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It's not so much how you hit it, it's where!
Question:
How come I do all the running when we're both at the baseline?
Have you ever tried the drill where one of you hits cross-court and the other hits
down-the-line? If so, you'll know who does all the running! That's right, it's the guy who's
hitting down-the-line. It's because when he's hitting down-the-line, he can't take you out
any wider than the singles sideline, whereas your cross-court shots can take a trajectory which
sends him way out past the sideline. In fact, the wider you take him, the less he is able to
make you move - he has to direct his down-the-line shot back towards you!
There are other advantages associated with hitting cross-court. For example, you're going over
the lowest part of the net. You've also got the longest possible distance to work with, so you're
less likely to hit the ball long. If you ask me, these are pretty compelling reasons to hit
cross-court!
However, don't neglect to hit the ball down-the-line when you're looking to close out the point
(either by attempting to hit an outright winner, or by executing an approach shot).
Vary this strategy if your opponent has an obvious weakness or if you suspect you're getting
too predictable!
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Top this!
Question:
How can I really bury those short high balls?
Don't you just love getting those short, high-bouncing balls that look so inviting?
And then you fire them into the back fence! What went wrong?
Get to the ball quickly so you can take it relatively high. Then lean in and hit the top half
of the ball as you swing forward and slightly downward. Your racket face can roll over a little
at impact, causing the strings to brush across the top of the ball, imparting topspin.
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GOAL!!!!!!
Question:
Where should I aim my passing shots?
When your opponent steams into the net, get into football mode!
Options 1 and 2: imagine your opponent is a goalpost and the singles sideline is the other
goalpost. You've then got two goals, one either side of your opponent. Aim for the goal
directly ahead of you, unless you feel sure you can score in the goal diagonally opposite you.
Option 3: in rugby, a conversion is scored when the ball passes over the bar and
between the goal posts. Imagine your opponent is standing in the frame of a rugby goal,
loft the ball and score a conversion!
Option 4: when a penalty is taken in soccer, the goalkeeper usually dives to left or right,
anticipating the direction of the kick. It is often therefore a good idea to kick straight
at the keeper on the assumption that he will dive to one side or the other. This idea could
work in tennis as well. Aim for the forehand hip.
Playing a net-rusher? No problem. Just get those metaphorical boots on! Happy shooting!
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PETE (Prepare Early Think Early)!
Question:
How do you hit passing shots on the run?
Prepare Early! Get your racket back while you move.
Think Early. Decide where your shot is going to go and don't change
your mind. Get somewhere near where you need to be and then adjust your position with smaller
steps. Oh, and watch the ball (not your opponent)!
It's amazing how much comes down to good footwork in tennis. So imagine you're Sampras and
think feet, think PETE (Prepare Early Think
Early)!
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Be the Club Champion Jockey!
Question:
How do you avoid hitting short when you use topspin?
One of the most famous steeplechases in the world is the Grand National. It's a unique test
of horse and rider which takes place every year at the Aintree racecourse in Liverpool.
One of the most memorable fences is the Water Jump.
When you're hitting your topspin groundstrokes, imagine the net and the two service boxes in
your opponent's court have been transformed into the Water Jump! The fence itself is almost
six feet high (imagine two nets, one on top of the other). You've got to clear this and you've
also got to clear the water on the other side!
Keep clearing the Water Jump and you'll gallop to victory!
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Shorten your racket!
Question:
How can I avoid overhitting when I get a real sitter?
Easy! Shorten it! Shorten your 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!
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Down the line to deny them time!
Question:
Should I pass crosscourt or down the line?
As a general rule you should hit your passing shots parallel to the nearest sideline. Go
crosscourt if your opponent hasn't got in close to the net or if he/she has come up short
with the approach shot.
Vary this if your opponent is weaker on one particular side and don't forget to mix in the odd
lob! Whatever you do, don't feel you have to pass your opponent outright. Avoid attempting
shots beyond your capability - a well-directed shot forcing a weak volley often pays better
dividends.
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Please do not feed the animals!
Question:
What's the best way of hitting a lob?
Actually there are two lobs - the defensive lob and the offensive lob.
The objectives with the defensive lob are to buy some time and push your opponent away from the
net. Typically, your opponent will be in a strong position at the net and you'll be in trouble,
in a bad position. Get your racket head below the ball and use a lifted swing with a high
straight-arm follow-through, staying with the ball. Hit high and deep, aiming for the far
baseline. Aim over your opponent's backhand side if possible. Lob deep! If you let a net player
gobble up a short lob, it will just increase his appetite! If you succeed in making your
opponent turn around, go on the counter-attack and move into the net after him!
The offensive lob is often used to surprise your opponent. Typically, your opponent will
be at the net (or on the way to the net) and you'll be in a fairly good position with options
open to you. This time, play a faster shot, with topspin if possible (brushing the racket face
up the back of the ball).
The net-rusher is an ill-mannered animal! He wants to gobble his food and isn't interested in a
lot of chewing first! Tease him by making him nibble at volleys below net height, or snatch the
food out of his reach with the lob. It's probably better to risk hitting a lob too deep
early in the match rather than allow him the prize of an easy overhead. Once you've taught him
some manners, you could soon have him eating out of your hand!
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Has your elastic gone?
Question:
How early should I take my racket back for groundstrokes?
Beginners are invariably told to "prepare early!" It's good advice while you're developing
your technique. However, performance 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 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.
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A new angle?
Question:
How do you hold the racket?
It's obviously important to become familiar with the various grips and the effect they
have on your shots. If you try hitting a one-handed backhand with an eastern forehand grip for
example, you may notice that the racket face is open on impact, resulting in too high a
trajectory.
Here are some of the most common grips. The first is known as the eastern forehand or
"shake-hands" grip:
Eastern Forehand
Front
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Top
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Back
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The eastern forehand grip is best suited to hitting flattish drives from a contact point
between knee and waist height. The next set of illustrations show the semi-western grip:
Semi-Western Forehand
Front
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Top
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Back
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The semi-western grip is more "closed" than the eastern grip. It's therefore ideal for generating
topspin with a steep, brushing low-to-high swing and a contact point at hip height and higher.
A more extreme version of this grip, with the hand right underneath, encourages the use of really
heavy topspin.
The next set of illustrations shows the conventional eastern one-handed backhand grip:
Eastern Backhand
Front
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Top
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Back
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The continental grip offers slightly weaker support compared with the eastern one-handed
backhand grip since there's less hand behind the racket, but it's commonly used
to produce slice. It is also used for volleying and serving.
Continental grip
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There are two alternative grips for players who use both hands on the backhand. One involves
a bigger grip change (from the forehand grip) than the other:
Two-handed Backhand
Small grip change
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Big grip change
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In the last few decades, there has been a gradual move away from continental and eastern
forehand grips to semi-western and full western grips, reflecting a trend towards greater
use of topspin. Semi-western and western grips facilitate the handling of high balls and the
generation of topspin, while making it more difficult to generate slice and handle low balls.
In the 1960s, a significant amount of tennis was played on grass and continental grips prevailed.
Many players used the continental grip for all their tennis strokes. These days, the vast
majority of tournaments feature clay and hard courts where the bounce is higher and semi-western
and western grips have become ubiquitous.
Racket technology has also had a role to play in this migration towards semi-western and
western grips. It's easier to master the accelerating, brushing action required to generate topspin
with modern large-headed, lightweight rackets.
If you're unsure about your grip and you want to experiment with a different grip, get a friend
to feed you some balls to whichever wing you specify. Progress to controlled rallying. Start off
with both of you positioned at the service line. Move back a bit at a time, endeavouring to
keep the rallies comfortably under control.
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