WATCH THE BALL;
Focus on the ball from the instant it leaves your opponents
racket, and follow it until you can practically see it's
individual hairs.
PREPARATION;
Prepare early, turn your shoulders, and get racket back early.
READY POSITION & SHOULDER TURN;
Leaving your left hand on the racket, turn your shoulders to the
right. The racket automatically turns with you. Strive to read
the direction of oncoming shots as they leave your opponent's
racket. The quicker you turn, the more time you have to make the
return.
POSITIONING & FOOTWORK;
After you turn, your weight is on the right (back) foot. Ideally,
you step toward the net with the left foot before hitting. On
ground strokes, check your position at the end of the follow
through. If your weight is firmly on your front foot, and the
heel of your rear foot is "up" so that the bottom of
your shoe faces the fence behind you, your balance and rotation
are perfect.
BACKSWING;
Your swing should trace the capital letter C.
BALANCE-CONTACT FOLLOW THROUGH;
Once you decide to play the ball, get the racket back and get
into a balanced position. Before hitting, try to step toward the
oncoming ball with your left foot. Try to step just as your
racket begins to move forward. Bend the front knee on low
bouncing balls. The racket moves upward, contacting the ball just
in front of the left hip. For a bit more control and pace,
accelerate the racket as it hits the ball. Remember, hitting
upward gives you some top spin, an essential for control.
Keep the racket face moving as long as you can in the direction you're aiming the ball. The racket keeps going until it points above the fence on the far side of the court. Your arm is slightly bent, and you look just over your forearm. The racket face is perpendicular to the ground. A smooth follow through keeps the ball on the strings longer allowing the ball to go where you want it to. If the racket face stops for only a instant, the ball may go anywhere.
THE SWING;
Before the tennis player can begin his stroke, he must get into
proper position to execute his shot, & this position is
sideways, perpendicular to the net. Having maintained the ready
position of the arms with the racket head still decidedly above
the wrist, the player should be looking over his left shoulder as
he watches the ball approach. One can arrive in this position
most effectively by pivoting the shoulders from the waist &
the right foot. The feet do not move during the pivot; rather,
they remain stationary, with rotation from the waist &
shoulders being the primary source of movement. From this
position, the racket is carried back shoulder high, a move that
arcs the shoulders inward, thereby creating a coiling action into
the ball, similar in theory to the striking coil of a snake. At
this time the left hand, which has been supporting the racket
head, is extended toward the net, a move that serves to counter
balance the weight of the racket as it enters the backswing. At
this point the racket is lowered to a position approximately
parallel to the ground. This action does require some rotation in
the wrist and it is through this portion of the swing that the
momentum of the racket head begins to accelerate. As the racket
head comes forward toward impact with the ball, a step with the
left foot should be taken. This move serves to shift one's body
weight into the ball, thereby allowing the player to execute the
shot with considerably less effort. Learning to step with the
swing is particularly useful since it instills even to the
beginner the sensation of hitting on the move. The ability to do
this successfully is critical if one is ever to play high level
tournament tennis. As one steps with the left foot and as the
positive force of the racket proceeds forward, the player must
remain in balance in order to maintain control of the shot. It is
impractical and a common error to allow the right foot to be
pulled around by the forward motion of the swing, since such a
move would necessarily have the secondary effect of mis-aligning
the position of the shoulders. It is similarly impractical to
retain the right foot flat on the ground since the momentum of
the racket would be retarded, consequently negating much of the
value otherwise to be gained from stepping into the ball. The
solution to this problem is rather simple and is done naturally
by many players. When one drags the right foot in the latter
stages of the swing, especially during the follow through,
balance is maintained and the forward motion of the racket not
impaired. A drag of this type gives way and acknowledges the
forward pull on the body, while at the same time retarding the
excess undesirable shoulder movement that results when a player
loses control of the trailing leg. At the point of contact, your
body should be stable and leaning slightly forward in the
direction you are hitting.
DEPTH;
Keep the ball deep as much as possible. A looping ball that
bounces up around the shoulders is often more difficult to hit
than a crisply hit waist high ball.
TOP SPIN;
You get top spin by swinging from below the level of the ball to
above.
PACE AND SPEED;
A player who leans into the ball and accelerates the racket hits
with pace and speed.
PLACEMENT;
To hit cross court, contact the ball a few inches farther in
front than when hitting down the line.
ACCURACY;
Accuracy is the most crucial part of good serving.
GRIP & STANCE;
In the service stance, your body is sideways to the net, allowing
your hip & shoulders to turn & transfer your weight as
you hit. Standing sideways, hold the racket shaft with the finger
tips of the left hand so that the racket head is just above your
waist & points toward the net.
Relax your right arm & squeeze the racket just enough to keep it from flopping around or twisting in your hand. Position your feet about shoulder width apart. Place the right foot parallel to the base line & the left foot a couple of inches behind the baseline, with the toe pointing toward the net post to your right. Keep your body weight on your back foot.
TOSS;
The proper toss begins with the ball resting in three fingers of
the hand. It is not advisable to toss the ball from the palm of
the hand, since the ball is likely to roll out of the hand,
becoming erratic and inconsistent.
BACKSWING;
To start the motion, move the hands in unison a "down
together, up together" pattern. The left hand drops down to
prepare to toss the ball & the right takes the racket back
into the hitting position. Move the hands slowly. The racket
obviously cannot begin moving toward the ball until the left hand
tosses it. The left hand goes down to a point a few inches from
the left thigh & sweeps upward without a hitch to start the
toss. Keep the arm straight as it rises. Avoid jerking the
fingers or wrist. Lift the arm smoothly, releasing the ball when
the arm is fully extended to a point just above the head. Don't
heave the ball, toss it no higher than your outstretched racket.
Contact the ball about 1 foot in front of you & slightly to
the right of your head. While the left hand puts the ball in
position to hit, the right hand carries the racket back. The
racket moves in a pendulum arc, dropping down & then rising
toward the fence behind you. If you relax, the racket opens
naturally, allowing your arm to move smoothly. The timing is
correct if your right arm is roughly parallel to the ground when
the left hand releases the ball. This position marks the end of
the backswing.
FOLLOW THROUGH;
The follow-through, like the backswing, is semicircular. After
contact, the racket continues in a full arc, passing the left
side of the body. For added power, step into the court with the
right foot. Good servers, of course, add some sophisticated
touches to the basic motion. For example, most of them bend the
knees & arch the back a bit. If you don't do these things
naturally from the beginning, don't try them until your motion is
sound & your serve consistent. Such movements give good
serves a more athletic or graceful appearance, but they detract
from the efficiency of the swing if not smoothly integrated into
the motion. Your goal is to keep the service motion continuous
& economical. A pause, hitch, or flourish may be costly.
PLACEMENT;
On the first serve, direct it to your opponent's backhand. By
hitting close to the corners, you create openings where you can
place your next shot.
DEPTH;
The depth on both 1st & 2nd serves is as important as the
direction.
SPIN and POWER;
Once your serve is consistent & fairly deep, add spin.
ADDING SPIN;
The slice is the easiest spin serve to learn. You might be able
to hit a slice on your first attempt simply by changing your grip
farther toward the backhand. With this small adjustment, the
racket face contacts the ball at a slight angle, usually
directing the first few dozen serves much lower than your flat
serve & farther to the left. This is exactly what should
happen. The trick is to alter your aim, directing the ball higher
& farther to the right than usual. Your serves will gradually
zero in on the correct service box as your grip becomes more
comfortable, ending the need to overcompensate.
If you already use the continental or backhand service grip, visualize the ball as the face of a clock. On the slice serve, you hit it on the right side, at 3 o'clock. Although slow motion studies show little change in where the racket contacts the ball on the various serves, the server can definitely feel a difference. As on the ground strokes, you direct the ball by hitting with the racket face at the angle you want, & choose the type of spin by adjusting the racket's path. You may find the slice easier to learn - & to put more spin on by tossing out to your right. But for disguise, try to keep your tosses uniform.
The slice serve tends to stay low & skid along the court. Moving like a curve ball in baseball, it shoots out to the server's left. It works best when hit to a right handed's forehand, a lefty's backhand, or right at the receiver, where it cramps the return.
The classical American twist serve bounces sharply to the server's right. The American twist has it's short comings. Since the toss is far to the left, you must arch your back to hit it, which is tiring & makes the spin & direction easy for your opponent to anticipate. And the ball moves slowly. More valuable is the topspin serve, a combination of twist & slice. It has many advantages; (1) the ball clears the net by a wide margin, (2) the ball jumps forward after the bounce, and (3) you hit the serve with essentially the same toss as you on a flat or slice serve. On the topspin serve, the racket meets the top right part of the ball, or at roughly at 1:30 on the clock. Good players use some spin on most first serves & all second serves.
FLAT SERVE;
When serving a flat serve, the toss should be placed directly
over the head and slightly in front.
SLICE SERVE;
The slice serve is attained by using the eastern backhand grip,
and by tossing the ball to the right.
TOP SPIN SERVE;
Top spin turns the ball straight over, exactly as it's name
implies and is attained by brushing up the backside of the ball.
The service toss must, therefore, be placed over the players head
to the left head, so as to allow the racket to come over the
ball, rather than to its side as witnessed in the slice. The
eastern backhand grip becomes more of a necessity as one
progresses to the topspin and twist serves, the toss of which is
to the left, over ones head. Note: the arched back is necessary
in order to reach such a toss. Other than this slight variation,
the basic motion of the serve remains the same, with the action
of the unfolding coil being fundamental to all, regardless of the
type of serve being used.
AMERICAN TWIST SERVE;
The American Twist service is most difficult spin serve to learn
because of its particular combination of top and side spin. Use
of the wrist is necessary to attain this difficult combination of
spins, and is accomplished by effectively brushing over the ball
at a diagonal from left to right. As was the case with the top
spin, it is necessary to arch the back in order to reach the toss
placed over the players head.
POWER LOOP;
The "Power Loop" follows the backswing. The term refers
to the path of the racket head as it loops & accelerates
behind your back. The backswing has been slow, but now the racket
head is ready to pick up speed. From the end of the backswing,
simply bend your elbow to drop the racket head, which then
travels over your head, past your left shoulder, down to your
waist, & finally as your elbow comes forward & the arm
straightens up to meet the ball. When you drop the racket, the
hitting side faces your back. The entire loop takes only a
fraction of a second.
Most of the pitfalls in serving occur during this looping or "back scratching" motion. If you do not complete the loop, you rob yourself of power. If you stop the loop at any point, you lose the momentum you've accumulated. But the biggest mistake is failing to drop the racket behind the back at all. Like many players, you may fear that you can't make the loop & still have time to hit the ball, so you stop the racket above your right shoulder & wait for the ball to descend. Drop the racket; you have plenty of time. Ideally, as the racket head rises to meet the ball, the edge, as opposed to the face , approaches the ball. To hit a flat serve, turn the face into the ball just before the hit by rotating the hand. To hit a spin serve, angle the racket slightly at contact & alter the path of the swing.
CORRECTING ERRORS;
You can trace many problems to your toss. If the ball is going
consistently long, you are probably tossing to far behind you so
that, at contact, the racket face points up toward the sky rather
than toward your target, the service box. Tossing a bit forward
into the court gives your serve a lower arc. If you net the ball
consistently, you probably toss to far in front of you. The
racket head comes down as it meets the ball, driving it into the
net. A very low toss may cause the ball to go either long or
short. It goes long if the racket face gets under the ball (the
way you'd hit a pop fly in baseball). It lands short if you flick
your racket down over the ball. The ideal toss is about as high
as your out stretched racket, giving you time to complete the
power loop & the follow through.
If your serve is erratic but there is no pattern to your errors, your toss may be moving around to much, preventing you from developing the serving rhythm that is the key to consistency. To improve the toss, hit practice serves while trying to keep the right foot stationary. The toss must be in the right place if you are to hit, because you can't chase it. Let the heel come up, allowing the body weight to shift forward, but don't take a step. If you find this drill difficult at first, you may discover that you've been moving the foot more to adjust for bad tosses than to add power.
Watch the ball carefully. If you miss-hit regularly, especially into the net, you may be pulling your head down just before contact, perhaps because you're overanxious to see where the serve is going. Hit a few practice serves, leaving your head up until you hear the ball hit on the other side of the net. Your miss-hit problem should disappear.
RETURN OF SERVE;
Regardless of the speed of the serve, turn as soon as you can see
which side the ball is coming to. To check if your turn is quick
enough, freeze your position at the instant one of your
opponent's service faults hits the net. If your shoulders are
sideways & your feet are ready to step into the ball, you're
turning on time to hit back the hardest serves. If not watch your
opponent's toss & contact point more carefully, to pick up
the serve's direction, & turn that way the instant after the
hit.
Against a very hard serve, players often block the ball & make the mistake of stopping the racket at the point of contact, which results in hitting a high floater. A short follow through will eliminate this tendency.
HOW TO VOLLEY;
There are 3 fundamentals of volleying; (1) Take a short
backswing, (2) keep the racket head & your eyes as close as
possible to the level of the ball, and (3) hit the ball in front
of you.
As soon as the lob is recognized, the player should, first and foremost, position himself correctly, sideways to the net and under the ball.