Tennis Tidbit #1 Positioning for Volleys in Singles

This is something I reverse-engineered from my own game that has helped some players that I've worked with. In singles, even experienced players get caught out of position at net. The basic rule of thumb is this: When the ball is struck by your opponent, you need to be standing (or more properly, "split-stepping") on the imaginary line that connects the T on your side and the ball on the other side. This is not 100% accurate, but it's a good enough guide for most shots. An easy way to get in position on the first volley is to move through the T on the way forward and just run at the ball. This is not something that one can always do, but it's a good way to practice and get a sense of the correct positioning.

Tennis Thought #2 -Level Differences

Level differences are sometimes hard to determine quickly, and are always a sticky subject with players. Most players overrate their abilities, often focusing on what they "know they can do," which is usually based on what they have done under ideal circumstances. In reality, it's hard to move up a level without the ability to score consistent wins against the range of players who are, by other means of evaluation, "as good as" the player. Players that hit at the same pace and with similar consistency can have very different match results.

Any close match will come down to a few key points. Weaker players often loose these points for a number of reasons. Chance is certainly a factor, as is fatigue. But there are a few reasons which are extremely common which weaker players almost never seem to shake, but don't apply to better players.

The first is the tactical error of playing too carefully or safely. In a match of players who are "at the same level," the match will, at the most basic level, be decided by who hits better shots. When players lower the ceiling of the shots they are trying to hit, the are begging for the other person to lower the ceiling more. If that person does not oblige, the first player loses, unless they are lucky. Of course some players try to hit shots that are well beyond their abilities. the percentages don't favor these players either. I mean here to point out that when playing someone who one can, on the whole, match stroke-for-stroke, backing off on second serves, approach shots, overheads, etc. in order to"keep the ball in play," or "get into the point" is unlikely to be successful over the course of a match. The player who strives to hit better shots is more likely to win than the player who strives to get the other person to choke (to say nothing of the overall development of one's game, basing it on succeeding only when the other player underperforms).

Another major principle of matches between similar players is the following dynamic: If players A and B are evenly matched and A hits an above average shot, B response will typically be weaker (not every time, but usually). Player A must develop the ability to win a high percentage of these points by pressing the advantage until they hit a winner or B makes an error. Of course, A may make a few errors and B may smack the occasional great shot, but overall, A needs to convert. Weak shots take on many forms, but for the 3.5 player, the most common (probably ?) is the mid-court-sliced-floater. This is a shot that 4.0+ players eat up. A slow-paced, mid-court forehand should be converted into a win by everyone who isn't playing against Rafael Nadal. There are just too many good offensive opportunities here to let this shot go to waste. Yet the 3.0-3.5 player often gets eaten up.

This happens, for the most part, because off a lack of ability to control spin. Almost any player can occasionally hit a winner from the T just by smacking the ball flat. But most players, cognizant of the fact that they have advantage, can't unleash their most powerful blast for a winner every time. In fact, if they do try to crush flat, they will often find themselves out of position if the ball gets returned because they will have have barely enough time to recover their balance, nevermind get ready and/or move into prime net position. Additionally, the flat ball is the riskiest of any hitting venture, and therefore the one most affected by doubt and tension. Therefore, the topspin (preferred) or slice is more likely to improve the hitter's position in the point.

Topspin is preferable because the ball will dip into the court, providing the ability to produce sharper angles without a loss of pace. It will also have more of a tendency to "jump past" the opponent as they move laterally and a "looping" topspin will take more time in the air, allowing for better recovery and positioning. Slice also has it's charms, particularly on fast courts, among them the "skipping" feel to the bounce of a low-trajectory drive, the ability to hit the shot more easily on the run towards the net, and the possibility of using the same preparation to hit a sneaky little dropshot. For my money, these advantages are mitigated by the reduced power and, especially, the low net-clearance that the slice drive entails.

So kids, get together, master your topspin, and drill like crazy on mid-court appraoch shots. it's the biggest difference between a 3.5 and the levels above and below.

Tennis Thought #1 - Wholesale Changes

I recently read an article by about Vic Braden and the 3-day programs he does at his resort in Utah. One of the things that surprised me about it was that people who come in for these intensive weekends meet a man who is familiar with tactics, and psychology, as well as mechanics, but the focus of a lot of their activity is reshaping mechanics. He thinks that the biggest problems that players have is in their tendency to overdo their strokes, in particular this article talks about the author having a big backswing on her forehand.

This was salient for me because, as a tennis pro, I am often confronted with the idea of minor tweaking, or major reshaping. Most players are understandably reluctant to take on wholesale changes without guarantee of success. My working theory is that there is a ceiling for intermediate players where the most talented of them can reach a low-advanced (I am thinking 4.0) level without hitting topspin, but only a rare talent can rise above this. In fact, I firmly believe that a similarly talented player hitting topspin will win every time, and continue onwards, level-wise.

So anyone who I work with on a consistent basis is going to face learning topspin. I don't think I can help them grow much without it. The primary reason for this is that topspin allows people to attack weak shots from their opponents with a good risk/reward ratio. Obviously, this is because topspin dips the ball into the court and bursts after the bounce, allowing more pace on a deep shot, which is then is more likely to get to the back curtain before it can be tracked down. Additionally, topspinners can keep their swing speed constant (-ly high) whether they are forward in the court or not which allows a player to keep their foot on the gas, so to speak. I find it very difficult for players to vacillate between soft swings and hard swings, and spin helps mitigate that.

Another great advantage of someone who can hit as much Top as they want is the ability to play angles with pace. The more spin, the faster the ball dips, so it becomes much more likely that a person can hit a cross-court passing shot, for example. A flat-hitting player must look for the down-the-line pass nearly every time because it allows them to hit the length of the entire court (to the opposite baseline). If they hit the same pace cross-court, obviously the ball will go wide, so they must slow down the ball in order to keep it in (I am aware that the diagonal shot, corner to corner is longest, but for a Passing shot, the cross-court cannot be aimed to the diagonal corner because the volleyer would easily cover this ball. The available shot must be inline, at the minimum, with the "side T (where the service line hits the sideline," if not closer to the net along the sideline.). Topspin, by making the ball dip, allows for more pace on the crosscourt, as well as a sharper angle. This ability also behooves the baseliner in moving their opponent off-court.

What are the limits of learning topspin? This is always a tough question. Younger is usually better (less habit to work against), as well as people who are not currently involved in a lot of competitive play (old strokes creep in when there is pressure, and it is hard to try new things when there is an obligation to win rather than to try to improve). I often try to get people to add spin to a weaker stroke, or focus on the forehand as a more offensive stroke. I also think it's much easier to hit topspin with a forehand or a two-handed backhand. The one-handed topspin backhand demands the most control over body position, balance, and racquet-face control, and is therefore usually the hardest of the three major groundstrokes to learn topspin with.

I’d also say that spin is much better understood with a headlight frame. Head-heavy racquets mask and even out the various kinds of contact that we make. Spin requires an certain amount of sensitivity to the amount of grip the ball feels from the strings. This translates into a feeling about ratio or spin to power. I can describe the spin part as friction, but struggle for a good word to describe contact that leads to straight-ahead power. "Contact" doesn't seem clear enough. "Impact?" "Bounce?" I'm open to suggestions. Anyway, thick (looking across the string bed from the side), head-heavy racquets absorb so much of the information, that it's hard for a novice to develop any sense of how much friction and bounce they are creating with a given swing; it becomes hard to develop a sense of how hard to swing and at what angle. It's hard to develop confidence.

But that doesn't mean that I haven't been able to get people in their 80s to spin the ball. It just means it harder when one of them uses an "old-lady" racquet that is best suited to generating more power for flat shots.

I continue to believe that a beginner at any age or state of racquet ownership should be taught topspin as long as they can make contact with the ball "every" time. I believe that it is easier in the long-run to learn feel for spin while learning about all the other elements of hitting the ball than later. I don't teach anything to my students that I wouldn't endorse a competitive player doing. I think it is a disservice to show someone something, get them some skill at it, then change the basic feel of the activity by adding spin. At that point, everything changes: the positioning of the body, the location of the racquet in preparation, the angle of the racquet face, the target of the follow-through, as well as the feel of the ball on the strings.

Ergo, a beginner's strokes should be:
-an Eastern to semi-Western forehand
-a two-handed backhand with the dominant hand in Continental
These are the easiest to hit topspin with.

-Continental grip on volleys and overheads
The slice volley is incomparable and all top-flight volleyers are masters of this. It allows a consistent approach to mid-court and low volleys (the two toughest) and allows "regular" volleys to be driven deep into the court with relatively low risk and minimal swing. Topspin volleys are occasionally better at dipping the ball and adding power, but they are very limited in when they are appropriate.

-Continental grip on a slightly slice (sidespin) serve
This was actually one of the last serves I learned well enough to use, but that's because I was stubborn. Now it is a primary serve for me. The common serve that people learn which is flat and with an Eastern forehand grip is crap. It can't be improved on beyond an intermediate level. Pure flat serves are the hardest to get into the box. The harder they are hit, the lower the percentages are. Not so much with the slice. The spin adds a layer of margin for error (This is something I wish I could fully explain to a non-spinner, but I'm not sure I can yet.). It also allows the development of a second serve which is much more difficult to return than a slowed-down flat serve. Good servers don't slow down on the second serve; they just attack with more spin.

By way of summary, I'll say that there are lots of kinds of strokes out there. The best players are the ones who develop strokes that have the highest ceiling. It is important to me to help people work on these strokes rather than spin their wheels beating themselves up because they are trying to improve with strokes that have reached their highest possible level.

New Category --Tennis Thoughts

I am starting a series of postings (admittedly my first) on my general philosophy about playing tennis, teaching and learning tennis, and occasionally, I expect to post comments on the tennis we see on TV.

Wheels are turning

This is the first post. The next one will be better.
This one only contains a picture of me having a caucasian at The lanes in LA and of orange chickens standing in urine, and not much else.