First Strike Capability — The Transition Game

Marcus Paul Cootsona

Let’s start with a multiple choice tennis question. What’s the first thing you do after you hit a successful serve? A) Thank the tennis gods it went in? B) Watch in shocked amazement as it does go in? C) Stand gape-mouthed at how perfect and accurate it was? or D) All of the above?

If you answered “A”, “B”, “C” or “D”, we’ve got some work to do. And this is why we’re here. The answer of course is, E) Split step on balance, focus early on your opponent’s movements, compose yourself and prepare to hit the first groundstroke. Mastering this transition from serve to first groundstroke is how you acquire First Stroke Capability.

Transitional Administration

If your game has progressed to the point where you don't want to just hit the ball, but instead play matches, or, if you have reached the stage in your matchplay where you want to win more by holding serve more often, or if you've never really thought at all about the various transitions in tennis, but you're intellectually curious and have idle time, then you are ready to improve your Serve-To-First-Groundstroke Transition.

All transitions are challenging. Not just Serve-to-Groundstroke, but also Return-To-Groundstroke, Groundstroke-To-Volley and Volley-to-Overhead; Riding a two-wheeler, Marriage, Empty-Nesting or Rafa losing early. In tennis, switching from one type of stroke to another is one of the things that make match tennis more difficult than rally tennis. Of the various possible transitions, Serve-To-First-Groundstroke is the most difficult. It not only involves two dissimilar shots, but the two most dissimilar shots; Serves and Groundstrokes. This transition as much as weak serving (for that, see: many WTA matches and most recreational matches) is what makes winning games as a receiver easier than winning games as a server, at least at first.

Siege the Initiative

To win more tennis matches, you need to hold serve. The Serve-To-First-Groundstroke-Transition is vital to this cause. Lacking command of this shot sequence puts you on defense at the precise time you should be on offense.To quote Roy “Tin Cup,” McAvoy, “Define the first stroke or the first stroke will define you.”

Here’s why. In the disco-simplistic arithmetic of tennis, if you hold serve every time, you only have to win one or two games or a tie-breaker to win every set you play. This calculus made Mr. Pete Sampras number one in the known world for six straight years and led to his marrying a beautiful actress, having two wonderful children, then settling into a life as a writer, elder statesman of tennis and Champion’s Tour spoiler. And all because he possessed first stroke capability. (Okay. There were a few other reasons.)

Anyway, to make this transition recipe really cook, you’ll need to gather some high-quality, homegrown ingredients. First and foremost, you’ll need a serve that can go in 70% of the time or more. If it’s a booming monster, that’s great. If it’s a medium speed reliable set up shot, that’s good too. It just needs to go in a lot; preferably on the first attempt. The mental energy used in trying to correct an inconsistent serve leads to significant distraction and reduced effectiveness of all of your strokes.

The Calm before the Closing Shot

Since hard serves returned well can actually be a liability for the server, strive for consistency and placement more than just mph. That way, if you don’t smack an ace in their face, you can still make your first serve the best set-up shot it can be and you won’t end up dodging your opponent’s canon blast returns. Placement is more important than pace.

After the serve, you’ll need solid balance and good position. Balanced recovery saves you steps and increases preparation time. As in all sports, you want to be in a state of calm, not a state of emergency. That’s for the other player. Early preparation is calming. Just-in-time stroking creates needless emergencies. The only quick movements in tennis should be your first step and your racquet take-back.

Next, you’ll want a forehand and a backhand that can both find specific areas of the court reliably. And as for your general mental outlook, you want to focus entirely on your serve, not thinking ahead to the next shot, and once you’ve served, change focus and look for your opponent’s “tells” on their return. Move early to first stroke position based on the speed, spin, and angle of the return shot.

Credible Deterrence

As much as these requirements are important, once you have them, it is equally important to practice the serve-to-groundstroke transition as a unit. It’s not just the strokes involved; it’s the sequence of strokes. Just as a well-made stroke is the product of a series of movements rehearsed and sewn together, a transition sequence is a series of strokes and moves combining to make one flowing, thrilling fusion – one that needs to be well-practiced and automatic.

Here’s how it should go. Hit the serve into the opponent’s service box (but you knew that), ideally knowing where it’s going to go, thus narrowing the range of return options you have to react to. (Remember, no shot is an island. The shot you’re about to hit is made possible by the previous shot you just did hit.) Finish your serve on balance and make a transition move – a split step, for instance – to signal to your head and body that “we are switching strokes." Now, dudes, read the other player’s body position, swing speed, and direction to predict the return depth and direction for an early move to the ball. That’s it. Simple to describe, harder to actually do. Just like the rest of the game.

And on the flip side, be aware that despite the best planning, practice, and money spent, no one post-serve recovery position can cover the entire court. You will practice and get very good at this skill and still; balls will be hit for winners off your serve. But it’s okay. If you do it right, you’ll cover most of them. Tennis is a game of percentages, not perfection.

Bunker Mentality

Back in his earlier, dominant days, Tiger Woods was asked how he was going to handle the many sand traps at St. Andrews, and he answered, “By not hitting into them.” Same idea here. Stay out of trouble by staying out of trouble. Every first stroke you hit must make it difficult for your opponent's second stroke. Let them hit into the bunker, not you. How does this work? Keep your eyes open and hit the smart shot.

At the beginning of a match, when both players are experiencing dealing with, and trying to dispel their jitters, it is best to let the other player make the mistakes instead of making yours for them. By putting a good, deep, solid shot in play off this first groundstroke, you force your opponent to respond to your shot with another shot. Watching as your first stroke repeatedly comes back to them is not going to calm them or reassure them, except of the fact that they’re in for a long match.

And as the match rocks on, you’ll see tendencies and patterns from any opponent that will give you quicker insights as to where the return will land. So as you go, make some mental notes and adjust your recovery position as you observe and catalog your opponent’s typical return depth and angle. Put the first groundstroke in play and then settle into the point. It’s not necessary – unless it’s a short ball closing opportunity – to put this first ball away. In fact, statistically, and in real match situations, you will win more points not by crushing the first groundstroke, but simply by making your opponent hit one more shot. Put this first groundstroke somewhere specific – deep to the backhand, for instance – to set up the rest of the point or the immediate error.

As the match further unfolds and you find your rhythm, you can hit more aggressively on the first stroke. But to get there, you need to be consistent. Give your opponent ample opportunity to make a bunch of goofy, irritating unforced errors and just play your way into the match. The wildly quotable Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds…” Maybe. But in tennis, no amount of consistency is foolish. And the minds that understand this will banish the hobgoblins and embrace their inner winner.

Serving the Net

All pretty deep stuff, and uniquely a modern problem. You see, for much of tennis history, this transition from serve to groundstroke wasn’t a problem or even a concern. In the 15th century, the royals who played the game would have a servant put the ball in play and start the point for them. This is where the terms “serve” and “the 1%” come from. Because of this, the royals were always happy in their lessons and clinics. On top of that, they never lost serve. Their opponents were unfailingly nice to them (fearing banishment, beheading, or the royal let), made ridiculously benevolent line calls, and they never hit to the backhand. Players hitting their own serves doesn’t emerge until a century later. Returning to this medieval method today would warm the cockles of many players and probably triply quintuple U.S. tennis participation.

Sadly, in our representative democracy, we must serve and follow it up for ourselves; confronting the uncomfortable, egalitarian challenge that is the transition game. But that’s the hand we’re dealt. Sure, we’d all like to hit aces or un-returnable non-aces, hit particularly devastating service angles for winners, step into the court on any return of serve and unload a monstrous hobgoblin of a court-singeing winner or even just generally compete with such ferocity that the shock and awe of it all psychically deflates and incapacitates the other player. However, we have the game we have and the serve we have most likely will be returned and then we will have to deal with the stroke we’ve been dealt. To rule over an otherwise equal environment, we need to get better at this skill. We need to practice it. But how exactly? Alone or accompanied, here are some possibilities:

Private Practice (On Your Own)

Tennis is a social game and match tennis is impossible without an opponent. Fortunately, for those times when one isn’t available or you just want to be alone with your game and its perfection, take heart, you can still perfect it.

Practice Your Serve — Practice it until you find a serve delivery and pace that can land in the square you're aiming at 70% of the time or more. Once you've done that, work more specifically on placement within the square. Andre Agassi said that he believed his serve became an effective — and I would say, underrated — weapon as soon as he could willfully hit both corners of both service boxes. Andre was right. At most any serve speed, placement is everything.

Practice Serving to a Spot, then Making Your Recovery Split Step Move — In case that title doesn't say it all, here's more. A successful serve is one that goes in where you intended it to go and allows a quick, balanced recovery. Practice serving to a target like a cone or a towel and then as you split step, visualize the probable return shot. As you practice this, notice if your serve toss or other movements are causing you to have to re-jigger your position after the serve or if you are able to keep your footing and position on your serve follow-through. If you are forced by deficient technique to the left or right or into the court or back away from the baseline, spend some time improving your ball toss and your posture.

Practice with a Partner

Find a practice partner who likes to drill, laughs at your jokes, and buys you lunch, then spend some time working with him each week until your serve game hold percentages improve.

Practice Your Groundstrokes — Engage in long rallies with the goal of consistent hitting. Watch your upper body posture here and make sure your adjustment to low balls are with your knees, not your torso. Work on placement crosscourt and down-the-line. Also work on early move-away steps for those times when the ball is hit annoyingly hard and deep right up the center of the court at you.

Practice Your Serve and First Stroke — With a hopper of balls on your side, practice serving and then making the transition to first groundstroke with a partner returning your serves. Here's the Drill. You serve. Your partner returns your serve. You hit the first groundstroke. You don't need or want to play out the points any farther than this. This exercise is all about and only about the Serve-to-First-Groundstroke sequence. Do this for both the deuce and ad squares, concentrating particularly on whichever box gives you the most difficulties during a match.

Variation 1: Do the exercise above and have your partner count the amount of serves you hit in out of every ten. (Math Note: 7 out of 10 = 70%. But you knew that.)

Variation 2: Do the exercise above and notice which serve locations in each square produce the most easy-to-handle first groundstrokes. (Math Note: More easy-to-handle strokes are better.)

Double Hopper with Knees — This is the most equipment intensive drill in this series. You have a hopper of balls at the serving end of the court. Your willing partner also has a hopper of balls and is stationed almost directly opposite you on the other side of the net. You hit your serve and they push the tempo and feed you a groundstroke from their hopper that you have to respond to a little sooner than you would in a match. You intentionally and directionally send your first stroke back into their court; even to a target if you like. Do this for both the deuce and ad squares. Concentrate more on whichever square is most challenging in an actual game.

Conclusion

Watch the pros on TV. See what they do after they serve. Watch only their feet for a few service games, then watch only their racquet preparation. Then see what they’re wearing and if it would look good on you. Watch players at tournaments where you live or play. See what they do that works and what hurts.

Hiring a teaching pro to watch your technique while returning your serves can be a good way to speed your progress along, check out the pro’s consistency and skill level and reduce your discretionary cash.

Are there good reasons to ignore all this advice? There are. Let's see — You ace every time. You play very weak opponents who keep offering up returns that are mid-court, sitter juice-ball put-aways. You don't want to win more matches. You serve and volley. You are a 15th century royal.

Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Marcus Paul Cootsona's article by emailing us here at TennisOne .

Marcus Paul Cootsona

Marcus Paul Cootsona is a teaching professional and author of Occam’s Racquet – 12 Simple Steps To Smarter Tennis. Contact him at: marcuscootsona.com.