The tennis drill book-2e

12 The Tennis Drill Book
When practicing groundstrokes, every player’s primary objective is to work
on better accuracy, control, and power. Sound groundstroking begins with
the player’s approach to an incoming ball. Players can use either a forehand
or a backhand to hit groundstrokes from baseline to baseline or service line to
service line inside of the mini-court area. Every part of the body is involved
in returning a tennis ball successfully. For example, if players attempt to hit
a shot crosscourt but the ball flies up and over the fence, their first thought
may be that they are hitting the ball too hard or just don't have the finesse
it takes to control the ball. The problem isn't too much strength or lack of
finesse, it's the approach to the ball and what happens when players actually
strike the ball. If players lift the chin or head while striking the ball, the ball
will follow the head and fly high. If players straighten the front leg, meaning
that they don't keep both knees down while hitting, chances are the ball
will sail over the fence. Many factors affect the direction and control of the
ball, which ultimately effects players' ability to hit effective groundstrokes.
The first stop on the road to successful ground stroking is moving the feet
and stepping into the ball while using the most effective stance.
A stance coupled with sound footwork is both an individual and a natural
extension of a style of play. The stance for any shot is influenced by the
player's position on the court, the difficulty of the oncoming ball, the grip,
and the player's physical conditioning. Thus, four different hitting stances
used in today's wickedly fast-paced tennis determine the player's potential
level. During the 1970s and ’80 s using the open stance in anything but an
emergency was virtually unheard of, but the fast pace of the game today has
dramatically reversed previous beliefs. One cannot play today's tennis using
the stepping-across or closed-stance footwork to execute a counter against
balls coming in at speeds greater than 100 miles per hour. The speed and
power of professional tennis has dictated the need for players to adapt their
games in an attempt to conform with and combat the intensity at which the
game is now played.
Thus, the open and semi-open stances are products of today's power
game. The widespread use of the semi-Western and full Western grips has
allowed players to generate tremendous racket head speed from the semiopen
and open stances. Players should adapt the use of both based on their
personal style of play, use of various grips, movement skills, and stage of
development. During match play, players must use a preferred stance and
sound groundstroking in all sorts of difficult situations depending on the
speed, spin, and direction of the opponent's shot. In any case, players should
remember the basic rules for proper footwork and combine them with good,
solid groundstrokes.
This chapter will help players become familiar with the four hitting
stances. Sound groundstroking rules combined with drills will help players
perfect their overall groundstroking (rallying) game.