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Chapter 12: Tennis Technique and Strokes

The preceding chapters put heavy emphasis on the importance of quieting the mind by letting go of mental self-instructions and trusting the body to do what comes most naturally. The purpose of these chapters was not to disparage stroke technique in learning tennis but to prepare the way for the proper use of such knowledge. There is nothing wrong with knowing that a firm wrist will tend to increase the consistency of one's backhand, but if, on learning this, the player persists in telling himself to keep his wrist firm before every shot, fluid tennis will evade him. Thinking himself into doing everything by the book, he will experience the awkwardness, inconsistency and frustration all too familiar to most players. A most important lesson can be learned by watching the way animals teach their children basic skills.

Not long ago I was walking through the San Diego Zoo and came upon a pool just in time to see a mother hippopotamus giving her newborn child what appeared to be its first swimming lesson. At the deep end of the pool one hippo was floating with just his nose appearing above the surface. Soon he submerged and sank to the bottom, where he rested for about twenty seconds before pushing off with his hind legs and rising again toward the surface. Then I watched the mother hippo, which had been nursing her baby in the sun, get up and begin to push it toward the pond with her snout. When the child toppled in, it sank like a rock to the bottom and stayed there. Mother sauntered casually to the shallow end of the pool and waded in. About twenty seconds later she reached the baby and began to lift it upward with her nose, sending it toward the surface. There the young student gasped a breath and sank again. Once again the mother repeated the process, but this time moved off to the deeper end of the pool, somehow knowing that her role in the learning process was finished. The baby hippo inhaled on the surface and sank again to the bottom, but after some time he pushed himself toward the air with his own hind legs. Then he repeated his new skill again and again.

It seemed to me that the mother knew that somehow her child already knew what she was teaching it, and her role was simply to give nudging encouragement so that the baby's behavior would fall into a pattern whose form was already imprinted within it. I like to think that the same holds true for tennis strokes: that the perfect strokes are already within us waiting to be discovered, and that the role of the pro is to give nudging encouragement. One reason I like to think this is that when I and my students think of strokes as being discovered rather than manufactured, they seem to learn the game much faster and without frustration.

Instructions properly given and used can help a player discover his groove faster than if he were left on his own. But beware of too many instructions, and beware of mistaking them for the groove itself. No single chapter could describe all the elements of each of the three major strokes. A moment ago I noted on a piece of scratch paper some of the important components of the standing forehand; there were over fifty. If it had included common instructions on things not to do, the list would have grown to over two hundred. The best advice I can give to the student of stroke technique is keep it simple, keep it natural.

Master Tips

Master tips refers to certain key elements of a stroke which, if done properly, tend to cause many other elements to be done properly. By discovering the groove of these key elements of behavior there is little need to concern yourself with scores of secondary details. Please do not take these suggestions as commands with which to bludgeon your body into "right" behavior, but as gentle nudges meant to help you find your own most natural and effective way of hitting a tennis ball. Few of the following instructions are original, but each has been tested, and its merit proven.

Before beginning, let me simplify the external problem facing the tennis player. He faces only two requirements for winning any given point: each ball must be hit over the net and into his opponent's court. The sole aim of stroke technique is to fulfill these two requirements with consistency and with enough pace and accuracy to keep pressure on one's opponent. Keeping it simple, let's look at the dynamics for hitting forehand and backhand ground strokes both over the net and into the court.

Hitting the ball over the net wouldn't be difficult if it weren't for the requirement that the ball come back down again in the court. What besides gravity makes a ball come down? How to keep the ball from going out of the court is the greatest technical problem involved in hitting ground strokes. Here it may be of interest to understand something about a certain law of physics which governs the flight of a spinning tennis ball. Although it is not essential to understand the physics of the matter, it may help in understanding why ground strokes are hit the way they are.

Some may remember from their high school physics class the name of a Swiss mathematician named Daniel Bernoulli and his namesake, Bernoulli's Principle. This theorem states that in any horizontally moving fluid the pressure increases as the velocity decreases. Got it? The concept may grow more interesting when seen in relation to a tennis ball. Air is a fluid that moves horizontally in respect to a tennis ball moving from one side of the net to the other. The pressure of that air on the ball affects its flight. When the ball is hit with topspin—that is, with the top of the ball spinning in the same direction as the flight of the ball—the relative velocity of air will be least at the top of the ball. Thus, according to Bernoulli's Principle, the pressure at the top of the ball will be greatest. This higher pressure tends to push the ball toward the ground. Conversely, when a ball is hit with underspin—with the bottom of the ball moving in the same direction as its flight—the greater pressure at the bottom tends to keep the ball from dropping. Even if you didn't fully understand the theory, I recommend an experiment if you aren't already aware of the effect of spin on the flight of the ball.

First hit several balls hard with heavy underspin. (Do this by taking your backswing above the level of the ball and slicing down through it, finishing with your racket below the level of impact with the ball.) Watch the ball's flight carefully. Not only will it tend to float, but if you hit with enough underspin, you may even see it rise above the level of its original trajectory. Next, hit several balls with topspin. Topspin is best achieved by taking a low backswing and finishing with a follow-through at shoulder level or higher. In this way, the racket brushes the ball upward. If the racket face has been flat throughout the stroke, you will notice that the balls first tend to rise, and then to dive down toward the court. Now, hitting with medium to heavy topspin, try to hit the ball out. If you aim one or two feet over the net, you will experience how difficult it is to hit a topspin ball out. The more topspin, the more difficult it is. It's fun to find a way to stroke the ball which makes it hard to hit out!

Ground Strokes

The clear lesson to be learned is that topspin balls can be hit quite high over the net without going out of the court. This allows you a wide margin for error and increases consistency. On the other hand, a stroke hit with underspin must be hit lower to the net to be kept in the court, thus increasing the chances of error. A smooth and low backswing is the key to achieving topspin, and is usually the first component of a ground stroke which should be mastered. The reason is simple: most of the bad habits which players accumulate in their ground strokes are caused by their jury-rigged attempts to keep their shots from sailing out. Usually the first thing a player will try is rolling his racket over after hitting the ball. Unfortunately, this may work a few times, encouraging the repetition of the behavior. But inconsistency soon sets in because of the difficulty of knowing just how much and just when to turn the racket face. Next the player may try shortening his follow-through, or not stepping into the ball. Both these devices deprive the stroke of power and don't help much in keeping the ball in the court.

Common sense may then dictate taking the racket back higher and leveling out the swing; surely this will keep the ball lower. But though the ball may be closer to the ground as it passes over the net, it will lack topspin and tend to sail out—exactly the opposite of the intended result. The next common step is to take the racket still higher on the backswing, and soon the player is hitting the ball with underspin and has a very small margin for error. Contrary to common sense, it is a low backswing which helps to keep ground strokes from flying out. If a player takes his racket back enough below the level of the ball to produce medium topspin, he frees himself from the need to complicate his stroke with other devices for controlling the ball. Furthermore, when he discovers how difficult it is to hit a topspin ball out, he begins to hit strongly with confidence, stepping into the ball without fear that it will sail out.

In short, when hitting ground strokes, allow your body to turn sideways to the net, drawing the racket back below the level of the ball (between the knee and waist for a waist-high ball), pausing when it is about perpendicular to the base line. Then, keeping the racket as flat as you would if hitting it with your hand, let it swing forward to meet the ball at a point even with your front foot, and then follow through to about shoulder level. Consider the racket an extension of your arm, and the racket face your hand. Hit the ball as if you were hitting with your hand. Let the stroke be natural; let it remain simple. If you do, you won't get involved with varying the face of your racket, with flicks of the wrist, or with other complications that make for inconsistent strokes. Remember: simplicity is the key to consistency.

Summary

Even if you develop perfect footwork and racket work, it will be impossible to achieve consistency, power or accuracy if you don't discover a sense of timing. Timing is a complicated matter, so one shouldn't think about it. However, one should pay attention to it. For instance, hit several balls while giving close attention to where your racket head is at the moment the ball lands on your side of the court. Don't try to take your racket back early; simply observe how you naturally take it back in relation to the oncoming ball. Many beginners wait for the ball to bounce before beginning their swing; as a result they are usually rushed. Some players have trained themselves always to be prepared by taking their racket back as quickly as possible; these players often lose their natural sense of rhythm and find themselves waiting with their racket back before hitting. Next hit a few balls while observing where your racket meets the ball. Don't try to do what you think is "right"; merely observe where, in relation to your front foot, your racket meets the ball. Note this as precisely as you can. Perhaps at first the point of impact will vary, but before long it will tend to become consistent as you pay attention to it. For most people it comes to feel natural and best when the ball is met about even with the front foot on the forehand, and a few inches ahead of the front foot on the backhand.

  1. Backswing: Exactly where do you place your racket head on the backswing? What happens to the face of the racket?
  2. Impact: Can you feel the racket imparting topspin to the ball?
  3. Follow-through: Where does your racket finish? In what direction? Is the face flat?
  4. Footwork: Are you flowing into the ball with confidence? What is your weight doing at the moment of impact? Do you retreat as the ball approaches? What kind of base do you hit from?
  5. Timing: Where is your racket head (level and direction) at the moment the ball bounces? Where do you make contact with the ball relative to your front foot?

Remember to use the above checkpoints not to tell yourself how to hit the ball, but as points of observation. Simply pay attention to each of these elements one at a time, and allow the process to bring you to the most natural and effective way for you to hit forehands and backhands.

The Volley

To understand the volley it is helpful to take a good look at the situation that presents itself when you are standing at the net in volley position. From near the net it is possible to hit almost any spot in the court and at angles that are geometrically impossible when hitting from the backcourt. There is no way an opponent can cover all the shots that can be hit from the net. In addition, since you are almost twice as close to your opponent than usual, he has only half the time to react to the shot you hit. Hence, when you are at net, you are in an offensive position with many opportunities. The closer to the net you meet the ball, the more opportunities you have. Realize also that you too have only half the normal time to respond to your opponent's shot, so be very alert!

This fact governs the two cardinal principles of effective volleying. First, do not take a backswing; you seldom have time. Secondly, meet the ball as far out in front of you as you comfortably can. It's almost impossible to hit a volley too early. In front of you is where the ball can best be seen; in front of you is where you have the best angles; in front of you is where you will find power in your volley. If you really want to hit the volley in front of you, you will find that the most effective footwork and racket work will come into being quite automatically. It will also require of you the alertness that is indispensable to effective volleying.

The greatest problem most players have with the volley is that they simply do not enjoy the stroke enough. To volley well, you must really want to. Then you will become alert, will anticipate each ball, and will step forward to meet it. But if you have the idea that you don't volley well, you are apt to hesitate, and if you fear it, you are apt to step back instead of forward.

Volleying can be the most exciting part of tennis, and the most fun. If you do not find this so, I recommend a little practice of the art of programming by identity. Do some role-playing, acting the part of a confident, quick volleyer. Get into the role, and if you give it a chance, the necessary behavior will follow your assumed attitude.

Try the space theory of the volley. As you are about to volley, not only watch the ball but be aware of the top of the net. See the space between the ball and the top of the net extending as a rectangular corridor to the court and punch the ball through that space. The higher the ball is over the net, the more space you have to punch it through, so get to the ball early. Let yourself be quick; let yourself punch the ball through the space and down into the court.

The Serve

However, sometimes it is impossible to reach the ball before it has dipped below the level of the net. In this case you have to bend your knees, watch the ball, be aware of the top of the net, and let yourself be firm, yet more delicate. Compare how it is to hit a volley from below with hitting it from above; this will increase your incentive to meet the ball before it has time to drop. Never wait for the ball to come to you when at net; ask your body to spring forward. Be very alert.

Compared with the other strokes of tennis, the serve is the most complicated. Both arms are involved in the stroke, and your serving arm is making simultaneous movements in the shoulder, elbow and wrist. The movements of the serve are much too complicated for Self 1 to learn and to try to apply. Let Self 2 watch some professionals serve. Stan Smith's serve is an excellent model for men, and Billy Jean King's for women. Watch these serves carefully, then imitate the motions and rhythm with your own racket. If you are watching TV, practice right in front of your set.

If you find this imitation difficult, perhaps you are thinking too hard about it. One way to get into the natural motion of the serve is to experience how much serving is like throwing. Throw a tennis ball over the net with your serving arm. Then repeat the motion very slowly, experiencing the movement of your arm. If you have an old racket, go to an open area of grass and wind up and throw your racket high into the air with an overhand motion. The way one throws is usually the most natural way to serve.

The key position in both throwing and serving is with the elbow high, and with the racket dropping down your back. Realize that as in throwing, most of the power of the serve comes from the snap of the wrist. Most people serve with less power than they are capable of because they do not allow the wrist to snap fully. There are two common reasons for this. One is that the player is often trying so hard to hit the ball with force that he grips his racket too hard. Grip your racket handle with all your strength and see how inflexible your wrist becomes. The racket must be held firmly, but not so tightly that your wrist becomes inflexible. Grip your handle as you would a bird: not so tightly that you squeeze the life from it, and not so loosely that it will escape.

The second common reason for limited wrist snap is the use of a grip that locks the wrist. The closer you are to a backhand grip, the more wrist snap is possible. People who serve with a Western forehand grip will find they can rotate their wrist only 90 degrees. Their racket extends back a little farther than to a vertical angle relative to the court and snaps through a 90-degree arc until the racket is parallel to the court. With an Eastern forehand grip—that is, with the "V" between thumb and forefinger centered on top of the racket—most wrists are able to cock back an additional 20 degrees and to follow through fifteen degrees below the horizontal. With a backhand grip, as much as an additional 30 degrees of arc is possible. The greater the arc of wrist snap possible, the greater the force that can be generated, so allow your wrist to be flexible and swing in its greatest possible arc.

Beginners may not find it a simple matter to begin serving with the backhand grip. I would recommend that they start with an Eastern forehand grip and slowly edge over toward the backhand grip as it grows more comfortable. Allow at least a year to complete the change.

A consistent toss is indispensable to achieving a consistent serve. If the body has to swing differently on every serve to go after tosses which vary in height and placement, how can it develop a uniform motion and rhythm? To toss the ball consistently, let your movement be as smooth as an elevator. Hold the ball in the cushions of your first three fingers, drop your arm to your leg, then lift it as slowly and evenly as an elevator. Release the ball at the top floor by opening your fingers. Ask your body to lift the ball just a little higher than the full extension of your arm and racket. Ask yourself to place the ball slightly in front and to the outside of your front foot. Visualize the spot in the air where you want the ball to be tossed, and then ask yourself to put it there. Don't try to correct faulty tosses—and don't hit faulty tosses. Simply reprogram and let your body do it. Self 2 will make all the necessary corrections. The problem of rhythm in the serve is complicated because the two arms must move in coordination with each other.

Watch Stan Smith serve. Starting with his right and left hands together, both drop at the same time. The right arm drops down until the racket is just past the vertical with the court, and at the same time the left arm drops down toward his left thigh. Then both arms rise together at approximately the same rate of speed. Moving the arms together in this manner achieves a natural rhythm and allows for an unrushed yet powerful motion. Many players fail to take the tossing arm down to the leg, and are therefore forced either to move the serving arm very fast, or to throw the ball very high to give the serving arm time to complete its full swing.

The Overhead Smash

When serving, don't simply aim for the court; get into the habit of aiming for a particular spot. Imagine clearly the entire path of the ball, noticing exactly which square in the net the ball should pass over and at what height. Don't worry whether you hit your spot, but if you give your computer a bulls-eye to aim at, your percentage of faults will decrease appreciably. Remember: after aiming for your spot, don't try to hit it. Let Self 2 take care of that. Self 1 picks the spot and then simply observes how Self 2 performs. Eliminate ego involvement in your serve and you will eliminate frustration. Eliminate frustration, and you will find yourself serving accurately. The overhead smash is even more complex than the serve, but the motion is very similar. I have only a few things to say about the smash other than that again you should try to imitate the stroke and rhythm of an experienced player.

The smash is similar to the serve, the only difference being that your opponent has tossed the ball up for you. Usually it is high, and far from where you are standing. This creates a difficult problem of timing which only your built-in computer is capable of solving. How fast is the ball coming down? When must I begin my swing in order to meet the ball at the highest point? Self 2 can only solve this problem with consistency if it has experienced a lot of balls dropping toward it from different heights and trajectories, so practice is required. Let your computer learn. Don't jam its system by trying to figure it out yourself, or by getting discouraged if you miss a few. Watch the ball carefully; watch its seams spinning above you. It's a good idea to let your left hand point toward the ball as it falls. Make the timing easier by taking an abbreviated backswing. Take your racket directly behind your back and keep it cocked and ready for the right moment to swing through. Let your body decide when the time is right; it will learn quickly if you let it.

You can also help yourself hit decisive smashes by never being surprised when your opponent lobs. If you expect him to lob, you will have a split-second more to get into position. As soon as you see a lob, turn sidewise and take your racket back; then let your body move quickly under the ball, skipping backward or forward in a sidewise position. Let your body be aggressive. Smash the ball; don't pat it back. There is something in Self 2 which wants to let out all the stops. The overhead smash is one of the few strokes it can hit with abandon, without worry about hitting it too hard, so let it. But don't try to help it hit hard by using all your arm muscles. Self 2 knows which muscles to use. Let it experiment, and you'll find yourself hitting smashes that don't come back. Trust yourself and have fun.