1. MAINTAIN THE ANGLE Instructors always tell you to keep your racquet head about your wrist when you volley. It’s good advice, but when misunderstood it can lead to awkward, effective volleys on low balls. Rather than worrying so much about your racquet head, concentrate on maintaining the same angle between your racquet and forearm – in the correct position, it’s about 120 degrees – for all volleys, no matter how high or low – PETE COLLIND, PTR, AUGUSTA, GA.
2. POINT IT OUT On the forehand, point your nonplaying hand at the ball while it’s on the way to your side of the net and track it with your hand toward to your desired contact point. This will promote a good shoulder turn while you bring your racquet back and coil your upper body. – ANNI MILLER, USPTA & PTR, LAKE OSWEGO,ORE.
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3. SWING WITH NO STRING Racquet acceleration, or swing speed, is the key to hitting harder shots. One way to get the racquet around faster is to relax your hitting hand and arm enough to swing freely. Here’s a trick that will help you learn to do it. Bring two racquets to the court, one strung, one unstrung. Hit three balls with your strung racquet and then “hit” three with the unstrung one. When done correctly the ball will simply pass through the open racquet face. Keep alternating between the strung and unstrung racquets until your swing speed with both frames is the same. – JOE DINOFFER, USPTA & PTR, DALLAS.
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4. DRAW THE LINE Changing the direction of the ball and going down the line at an inopportune moment in a rally is an elementary mistake. You should only choose to go down the line if three conditions are met: Your opponent hits a short ball; you reach the shot in a balanced position with the ball in your hitting zone; and you feel you can hit an outright winner or put your opponent in serious trouble. – JACK THOMPSON, PTR, WILLIAMSBURG,VA.
5. GET HIP To learn where to make contact with the ball on an open-stance forehand, place your dominant wrist at your at your hip on that side and have someone bounce a ball to you. Catch the ball at hip level without moving your hand – you’ll have to get your back foot behind the ball. Next, add the racquet and hit the ball, keeping your wrist near your hip. This forces your stroke to be out in front, producing more power and enabling you to push off your back foot for a quicker recovery. – JOSEPH THOMPSON, USPTA MASTER PRO, ROLLING HILLS COUNTRY CLUB, GOLDEN, COLO.
6. DON’T SPIN OUT It’s a common mistake on the one-handed backhand to open your hips as you hit the ball. This causes you to swing across the ball and produce an unreliable stroke. Here’s a quick fix: Hold a hopper full of balls wit your off hand and have a partner feed balls to your backhand. The weight of the basket will keep your hips from flying open and force you to use your shoulders to drive through the ball. If you don’t have a basket of balls, use a heavy tennis bag. – DR. LOUIR CAP, PTR, HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.
7. DIVIDE AND CONQUER I like to divide a set into thirds. In the beginning, I hit crosscourt, following the natural hip and shoulder rotation of my body to get a rhythm, and feel out my opponent. In the middle, I try to play my strength to my opponent’s weakness. At the end of the set, when it’s time to close it out. I think “aggression with discretion” and play aggressively but under control. – RICK VETTER, USPTA, MEQUON, WIS.
8. GO THROUGH THE WINDOW One key to winning more matches is to minimize your unforced errors. The net is your first obstacle to overcome, and the easiest way to beat it is to imagine a window that’s 2 or 3 feet above the net. Aim every shot into that space for a greater margin of error. Take a similar approach when dealing with your other obstacle, the lines. Again, imagine a zone 2 or 3 feet inside the lines and keep your shots in that area. – JORGE ANDREW, USPTA & PTR, LEXINGTON, S.C.
9. OVERHEAD BREEZE You have a strong breeze at your back, but you just hit an overhead into the net. Surprised? Don’t be. Wind at your back can cause your opponent’s lob to hang up in the air and throw off your timing. You end up hitting the ball too far out in front and dumping it into the net. The next time the wind is at your back, concentrate on hitting your overheads deep into the court. You’ll be less likely to hit into the net and give your opponent free points. – DR. LOUIE CAP, PTR MASTER PRO, VAN DER MEER TENNIS CENTER, HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.
10. GO LEFTY FOR A BETTER BACKHAND Assuming you’re right-handed, your left hand should drive the stroke when you hit a two-handed backhand. To get used to this feeling, practice hitting left-handed forehand (right-handed forehands for lefties). – ROBERT LANSDORP, FORMER COACH OF FOUR WORLD NO.1 PLAYERS
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11. POUR IT ON To learn how to follow through on a topspin forehand, imagine that you have a cup of water in your dominant hand and a cup perched on your opposite shoulder. Your goal is to swing all the way around until you could pour the water from one cup into the other. – JEFF HAWES, USPTA, BURLINGTON, N.C.
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