TennisOne — Implications of the Contact Point and Follow-Through

If you have taken lessons, your teaching pro or coach will have probably mentioned some very common corrective cues — "contact the ball waist high,” “finish with your racquet by your ear,” or “follow through over your shoulder.” In trying to perfect strokes, often teaching pros give verbal corrective cues that help shape the low to high stroke. Often students use the short court warm-up with a full loop and follow-through over the shoulder. However, let’s step back and reframe strokes in the context of the game of tennis.

Within the game of tennis, strokes are a delivery method,a vehicle or way of “sending.” Other talents of a tennis player might include great foot speed or a smart game plan. Foot speed and consistent contact is a way of “receiving” in tennis. Playing tough and smart is way of winning in tennis. Most people are preoccupied with stroking the ball, hence they look for power and a nice stroke. “Receiving” tends to be neglected since it requires running. In addition, whether sending or receiving, we feel good when they work well together. And we feel even better winning.

We often feel good about hitting balls from the baseline with a nice "C" loop and a follow-through at shoulder height. But what purpose does it serve? Once the ball is struck, the rest of the stroke doesn’t matter. The follow through is merely the deceleration phase of the stroke. That is why many coaches focus on preparation, loading and the acceleration phase of the stroke.

You’ll often hear a coach shout out, “split and turn” or “turn early.” Figure 1 shows a photo sequence of Federer going through the hitting phases of the forehand. Every stroke has a preparation, acceleration and deceleration phase. Loading refers to the weight on the back leg accompanied by trunk rotation. Federer is admired for his beautiful, smooth strokes. He finishes near the shoulder in this sequence of photos. So does that make his forehand perfect?

We do see some players like Nadal follow through high and sometimes behind the head. Nadal does this to add more topspin to the ball. However, some coaches criticize that. They want you to hit through the ball more and follow through around the shoulder. You probably were told to make contact near waist height. But what about players who don’t seem to make contact at the waist. Is that less than ideal?

Perhaps the so-called ideal C swing with the waist-high contact and the shoulder-high follow through isn’t the only thing you should be practicing. We already know that all forehands are not created equally. So is there more? What do pros do?

Figure 2 shows Grigor Dimitrov, many people’s choice for a future number one player. In contrast to Federer’s swing above, Grigor comes off the ground and makes contact probably seven feet high. Maybe higher, and the contact point is well above his head. His follow through is around the height of his left elbow.

Now we’ve all see Federer, Dimitrov and others use this type of follow through. Some call it the windshield wiper. And many coaches say, ‘too many players are using this swing and not going through the ball.’ Well, in fact, Grigor is hitting well through the ball along the contact zone as we see closer in Figure 3.

Let’s consider the most aggressive shot in tennis. the overhead smash. It has the highest contact point and lowest follow-through. Also consider the shot with the highest follow-through? It is the reverse forehand as popularized by Nadal. It is an alternate way of producing topspin. This high follow-through tends to lead to consistency if not aggressiveness.

Figure 4 shows Victoria Azarenka and Novak Djokovic both hitting reverses forehands. They are actually in slightly different situations. Vika is off the court near the doubles alley and well behind the baseline. She is looking for quick recovery and extra spin to keep the ball in play. Djokovic is playing off a low ball and adding extra spin. Low balls and wide balls are both fairly defensive positions. Their primary mission is to keep the ball in play. Nadal, the king of the reverse, is also the king of consistency.

Let’s take another look at the high ball windshield wiper. Figure 5 shows Genie Bouchard and Gael Monfils. Note how high their contact points are and where the follow-through ends. What is the significance?

Both Bouchard and Monfils are playing high balls and we already mentioned that the highest contact point and most aggressive shot in tennis is the overhead smash. (If you have a big serve, that also is one a very aggressive shot.) The other three very aggressive shots are: 1) swinging volley, 2) high volley and 3) high forehand (and the high backhand to less extent). All these aggressive shots are played well above the waist and often at the shoulder height or higher.

Among touring pros, we see more high swings and an increase in offense and net play. Why? They hit with considerably more spin than a decade ago due in part to the poly strings. Therefore, the higher contact points are a result of higher bouncing balls.

They are also more aware of tactics and can get access to data on their game. Statistics on court position and playing inside the baseline can now graphically show touring pros how they are winning. Therefore, pros look for offensive patterns and winning chances more often.

So when you are practicing, are you using a nice C loop, contact at waist high, and follow through over the shoulders? Or are you are practicing to take the ball at the shoulders or higher?

One reason why few people practice these higher shots has to do with comfort level. Another reason is that many coaches don’t stress these strokes enough. Most tennis players are more comfortable practicing what they already do well. After all, the stroke you use most often may be the neutral waist-high groundstroke. And then again, it may not. Serves and returns are almost as frequently played as the forehand.

Neutral groundstrokes are the most comfortable to practice but they may not win a match. Creating offensive opportunities inside the baseline are vital. The problem is that offense is never as consistent. And many players prize consistency.

Shoulder-high balls are not as comfortable because we don’t practice them enough. When practicing, realize your follow-through doesn’t need to be above the shoulders. Try standing inside the baseline and take the ball early. It’s harder in part because the ball is traveling faster. For example, a 110 mph serve when it crosses the net is moving around 85 mph and around 60 mph at the baseline. If you move ten feet behind the baseline as opposed to 3-4 feet inside the baseline, you are playing a ball that might be moving maybe 5 mph less. That’s part of the reason volleys are so tough. The extra speed is harder to control at the net. But your comfort is only a part of the game. You can make your opponent much less comfortable by giving them less time. Hence, stepping in and taking the high ball might result in more errors for you but ultimately more winning points.

Sometimes, you have to make a decision: whether to continue to hit nice, neutral strokes or step up and take the ball above the shoulder. Both are tactical parts of the game — neutral phases and offensive phases. A good portion of your points will be earned by patiently rallying until either your opponent makes an error or you have a good chance to attack. Rather than thinking about your strokes, consider what you are trying to do, rally to stay in a point or attacking? The question you need to ask yourself is what kind of player you want to be? Are you missing offensive opportunities because you are too comfortable at the baseline?

Doug Eng EdD PhD coaches men's tennis at Tufts University. During the summer, he directs the Tennis Camps at Harvard. He has received divisional Pro of the Year honors from the PTR and USPTA and several national award.

Doug completed the USTA High Performance Coaches program and frequently runs educational and training programs for coaches. Doug also writes and speaks on tennis and sport science.