Tag: tennis

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Attack the short ball-forehand approach shot

One of the best ways to win points in tennis is to recognize and put away short balls(balls that bounce around the service line.) When you see a short ball immediately go on the attack. Move forward into the court, turn your shoulders, but keep your body facing toward the net. Keep your opposite hand on the racket as you rotate to help insure a full shoulder turn, and keep you balanced.


    As you close in on the ball, step into the shot with your non-dominant foot(left foot for right hander), and explode forward(pushing with your dominant foot and engaging your core muscles). The key is to time the forward push as you start the forward swing, making contact with the ball on the rise and/or above the net. Launch yourself forward not upward, but neither foot should be on the ground at contact. Put topspin on the ball to clear the net and keep the ball from going long. Down the line is a high percentage shot in this instance.

Next time we’ll discuss what to do if you can’t get to the short ball while it’s on the rise or above the net.

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Australian Doubles

In honor of the upcoming Australian Open, let’s look at the Australian doubles formation. The Australian formation is executed by the serving team and involves positioning the server’s partner across the net from the receiver’s partner.(Instead of across the net from the receiver). The server positions themselves very close to the center mark, because they will be covering the other side of the court, unless their partner pouches(more on that later).



Reasons to use the Australian formation

1. Take away the cross-court return from the receiver- if the receiver has been cracking your serves cross-court with ease or damaging effects, the Australian formation will force them to return down the line, a much more difficult shot.

2. Protect a weak stroke- let’s say the server has a weak backhand and their team is losing points when they serve to the add side(for right-handers) and the return is hit well to their backhand. Australian forces the return back to the servers forehand side in this instance.

3. Break receiving team’s concentration/rhythm- nine times out of ten the return is hit cross court because it is the safest and most natural shot. Returners don’t even think about the mechanics of it, but…if they are forced to alter their return (because their opponent is standing right where they’ve been hitting it) they begin to think a lot about how and where to hit it. Many times, they don’t even make the return.

Next time we’ll get into the specifics of executing the Australian formation successfully.

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Tips for the Lob shot

Lob the service line not the net man

To get your lobs deeper, lob over the service line not the net player.

If your lobs are consistently landing short, focus on making the high point(apex) of the lob happen over the service line.

Most people focus on lobbing over the net man. This makes the high point of the lob happen over the middle of the service box, or roughly, where the net man is standing. With a couple of steps, the net man can move back and hit the overhead from the service line. Not a desirable out-come for you.

By lobbing with the service line as the apex, you make the net man shuffle back to almost the base line to hit the overhead, or better yet, chase the lob and hit a defensive shot back.

So remember to lob against aggressive net players, use the service line as the focus.

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Forehand Power Zone 

 *improve forehand consistency and power

   The forehand is most players’ best offensive shot. To make it a more consistent, more powerful weapon, it helps to hit it from the same spot, relative to your body. This is the Power Zone.

   The power zone for your forehand (and backhand) is between your knees and chest, approximately two feet from your body. Hitting balls in this zone will allow you to add the most control, spin and power to your shots.

  The best way to insure that you hit balls from your power zone is with your footwork.

 *move your feet to position balls in your Power Zone

  • Stay light, on your toes, knees bent

  •  Split-step(bounce evenly on balls of both feet) as your opponent makes contact

  •   Take small adjustment steps as you get closer to the ball

  •  Use shuffle steps to recover quickly after shots

By practicing good footwork, you can turn different types of balls (high, low and wide) into shots you can hit from your power zone. Keep your feet moving to turn on the power!