A Focus on Fitness

Many people think tennis is all about the strokes. Swinging smoothly and confidently is key to executing a good shot, but it doesn't happen without consistent, solid footwork.

A player who is quick to the ball maximizes his stroke-making potential. Work out strong, play like Federer, and watch your game grow and expand.

The Role of Footwork

Certainly, good strokes are critical to consistent play. Yet, there is more to it than just strokes. 

Footwork, aided by intelligent court position, is an underrated and critical aspect of playing good tennis. Good footwork depends on balance, natural movement and controlling your body before setting up to swing. Making workouts count is the proper accompaniment to practicing tennis footwork.

When teaching footwork, tennis coaches like to teach 'small steps.' The small steps are about establishing balance before the shot. Yet footwork accommodates 'big steps' as well.

Most tennis footwork is common sense. The piece that is technique is logical and can be acquired by coaching, self-coaching and practice.

Tennis is a game of angles. Some writers call it a 'game of geometry', and this is basically stating the same premise. Whether you're involved in an enthusiastic practice with a friend or playing a competitive match against a key rival, the percentages favor the player that understands the court's structure and executes smart shots. That means playing cross-court, emphasizing depth of shot, and avoiding the temptation of hitting a great shot.

The point usually ends when one of the players makes an error, hitting the ball into the net or outside the boundaries of the opponent's court. It is easier in some ways to go for an unlikely winner, end the suspense and save some energy for the next point or rally. It is smarter in most situations to hit the percentage shot, and gradually turn the rally to your favor. Eventually, your opponent will miss.

Tennis is also a game of attrition. It rewards patience and fitness. It requires strong legs, and appreciates a slender frame. There are lots of stops and starts and quick acceleration in a skilled rally between two good players, so if that is your destination, focus on fitness. Do speed work.

Great fitness is a platform upon which pros build their games.

A ground stroke is really any shot where you swing and contact the ball after it has bounced once on the court surface. Passing shots, returns of serve and half-volleys are all groundstroke variations, though tennis people think of them as unique strokes.

Still, the basic groundstrokes remain the forehand and backhand. Especially in today's game, where powerful racquets, slower surfaces and strong players predominate, learning solid groundies is a critical building block towards a superior game.

Forehands and backgrounds further divide by type of stroke, where topspin describes a stroke where the racquet sweeps up as it goes forward, causing forward spin. A flat stroke is one where the racquet swings forward while remaining nearly parallel to the ground, and slice groundstrokes require a high-to-low racquet path.

Volleys. A volley combines some elements of the groundstroke and the serve, but loosely. The racquet strings pick the ball out of the air, just as with the serve. There is a short forward swing, though little backswing. The volley resembles a groundstroke in that the player sets up a partial platform, or at least balances himself and turns his body towards the side on which he volleys. A drop volley is a unique stroke in which the racquet ‘cups’ the ball and there is little follow-through. The intent is to have the ball land short in the opponent’s court and ‘die’ there. Unlike groundstrokes, the concept of a topspin volley is absent, though volleys hit in response to topspin strokes will naturally include some topspin.

Half-volleys. The half-volley is a variation of the volley involving the same basic footwork sequences and body/racquet preparation. The critical difference is that you hit the ball (soon) after it bounces. This stroke is a mixture of volley and groundstroke, but is much closer to a volley in spirit and execution.

Overheads. The overhead is another specialty shot, critical in doubles and for serve-and-volley singles players. It comes into play any time a player rushes the net. The overhead mimics a serve. It requires the player to turn and prepare his racquet similarly, with the racquet cocked and the hitting arm bent.

Lobs. The lob is the partner to the overhead, a shot that is an effective weapon against a net-rusher. It is particularly useful in doubles, where both opposing players look to charge the net. The lob is really just an adjusted ground stroke, either ‘skied’ for depth (a defensive lob) or hit lower and with topspin (an offensive lob). The keys to making this stroke work are 1) maintaining disguise, so your opponent expects a standard groundstroke, 2) commitment to the shot. This shot requires precision, so deciding early that it is your shot of choice increase the chances of success.

Returns of Serve. The return is really a combination of a ground stroke and a half volley. Against powerful servers, an effective return is a block or bunt of the ball – just enough pace to drive the ball deep or at an angle into his court while still controlling it. Keys to this stroke are 1) watching the ball off the server’s strings, 2) turning quickly and preparing the racquet, and 3) swinging within yourself.

Drop shots. This is a finesse shot, used for change of pace. A drop shot is appropriate when you are inside your own baseline and the opponent is behind his. As with a lob, the preparation is identical to that of a groundstroke until the last moment. This enables disguise, which is even more critical to this stroke. The stroke itself is an abbreviated slice motion.

Approach shots. These are adapted groundstrokes, forehands or backhands hit for the purpose of facilitating a net approach. Approach shots are 1) hit off relatively short balls, 2) hit for depth or at an extreme angle in order to force a ball that you can volley, and 3) always followed by a volley (unless your opponent misses). The approach shot properly executed is an art form, and an indispensable part of any all-court player’s arsenal.

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The Serve

The serve starts each point in tennis, and befuddles many. This need not be the case – the serve can be a great ally, especially with today’s modern racquets. Don’t try to overpower your serve. Work with its natural motion, rhythm and timing.

You hit the serve from a static position that quickly becomes dynamic when you lift your arm to toss the ball. Thus begins the kinetic chain that is key to the serve’s fluidity and power. You build the chain from the ground up. As you lift your left arm to toss the ball, you lean forward. The knees are slightly bent. Your body faces the opposite court at a 45-degree angle or more, creating the basis for hip, torso and shoulder rotation.

The serve relies on both the chain itself and the power that comes from the wrist snap. Without a loose, snappy wrist the chain’s energy is largely wasted. The effectiveness of a serve is really dependent on timing and sequence, and on creating energy to be unleashed at the point of contact.

The Stance

The stance is the first element of serve preparation. The stance is like the groundstroke platform. It creates a base for the stroke to follow. It aligns you for the kinetic chain that is critical to good serving.

Your left leg naturally goes forward and the left foot points away from the opposite baselines at about a 45-60 degree angle. This creates a body angle to prime the left rotation that occurs during the kinetic chain.

The Grip

The service grip, like grips for other strokes, comes in different flavors. The basic service grip is the Continental, which naturally promotes a loose wrist and arm and helps generate the snap critical to serve power. The Continental is also widely popular because it facilitates the three basic types of serves – flat, slice and topspin (‘kick’).

You can use different grips depending on the situation. For instance, some players use a Continental grip for first serves and switch to a backhand grip for second serves. Since the safest, most effective ‘second’ is a kick serve, this grip is a natural choice.

The Toss

The toss is simple enough, or should be. (We use a righthanded player as the model here). When you have set your stance and grip, release the ball with your left hand. The idea is to toss the ball slightly above a position where your racquet strings intercept it.

You can hold your hand at different angles as you hold the ball. Most coaches teach the ‘palm up’ position. Your fingers curve around the ball. It is important that the ball not slip down into the palm of your hand, for this results in a loss of control.

The proper way to toss the ball is by lifting your arm. With your shoulder as the hinge, you lift your arm and release the ball from your grasp. Try not to bend your elbow. The two factors that ruin a good ball toss most often are 1) incorrect position of the ball before release, 2) hinging of the elbow.

The factors that determine toss height are pretty straightforward. You want a toss that lets you extend your racquet through the ball. It takes time to finish your kinetic chain and ‘throw’ the racquet head forward to contact. A very low toss won’t allow that. At the same time, you should avoid a high toss that forces a pause while you wait for the ball to drop into the hitting zone.

There are many different ways to work out. An advanced tennis workout is really any set of drills and combinations to improve specific aspects of your game.

You can do advanced baseline drills, volley drills, volley-to-baseline drills, footwork drills, serve and return drills...the list is finite but very large indeed.

Here are some of our favorites:

•  Crosscourt groundstroke rallies. This is a straightforward drill at first blush. If done with proper attention and with adequate variety, it becomes a very useful drill for practicing control and footwork. What makes this an advanced drill is if each player positions himself near the center line, moves to the side to hit the ball, then moves back again after striking the ball.

•  Overhead drill. Movement is again a great benefit to doing this right. One player is on the baseline, and feeds the second player lob after lob. The net player stands around the service line, moves back to hit each overhead and forward again after striking the ball. The same principle is involved here - the drill becomes 'kinetic'  most useful when the mobility factor is added. Extra punch is provided if the net player aims for different parts of the court with each stroke.

•  Sliced-court volley-return drill. One player plays the net, and is responsible for covering the area between the singles sideline and the interior service line that begins at the net. The second player starts each 'point' on the baseline, and 'serves' groundstrokes to the net player, who must hit each shot in the quadrant from the partner's baseline to his service line. Meanwhile, the 'feeder' can hit shots anywhere on the vertical half, or slice, on which the net player stands. He can also lob. This is a great drill to instill control on volleys and passing shots.

Naturally, every drill that involves specific complementary roles should have players exchange roles to gain the full rewards of the exercise.

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Resistance Training for BETTER Tennis:

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