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Positioning for the ball

Jim McLennan

Though I am not really a golfer, the phrase, “Drive for show and putt for dough” captures the all to common fixation with the length of drives from the tee and the interrelated preoccupation with designs and materials that increase power, as compared to the unalterable truth, that the game is won and lost on the putting green. The simple test when “putting for dough” is accuracy.

I believe the same occurs in tennis, but with a slightly different twist. Somehow footwork is equated with court speed and with the willingness to run and cover the court, but less obviously with the precision required to place and move the feet for ground strokes and volleys. In this regard, “putting for dough” equates with the willingness and ability to get into just the right position to strike the ball. Are you one of those who move well but are rarely in position or on time to contact the ball in the optimum strike zone? If so, read on.

Adding and Borrowing Pace

Before we look at the difference in footwork methods for groundstrokes and the volleys, consider court position and the momentum of the incoming ball.

When volleying, we are generally closer to the net (in the case of the Bryan brothers, practically on top of the net), groundstrokes occur from the back court if not well behind the baseline. We volley a ball that has retained nearly all of its original momentum, we groundstroke a ball that has slowed down appreciably. So in this frame, one can truly borrow the pace or energy from the ball when volleying, but in general, add to or increase the pace of the ball from the back court.

Clearly then volley moves are more about short strokes and coming against the ball with body weight, sometimes called a “bump” and groundstrokes are longer swings generated more from the hips than from a “bump.”

Therein lies yet one more challenge of the game – to use your feet to move through the volley, and to use your feet to be more grounded and rotational when playing from the back court. And whether playing for recreation, in a tournament, or at the professional level, these footwork moves and the resulting hits look, feel, and are constructed differently.

As regards the forehand volley, perhaps there have been none better in recent memory than Pete Sampras. Always moving forward, whether on the grass, the hard courts. Even on his less than successful French Open endeavors, Pete had a knack for the net and a firm, well placed volley. But in addition to his stroking prowess, the key to his volley was his footwork, how he quickly and smoothly moved both to and through the ball. 

In the example below, shot at a recent exhibition, Pete follows his serve to the net (as ever) and nicely covers the forehand volley with a dancer’s grace. But look more carefully and I believe you can clearly see the “bump.” Note how he is moving at contact, the brief racquet work, but most importantly how his weight moves against the ball. This type of footwork also enables him to get as close to the net as possible, improving his angle of play, and enabling him to cut off many of the passing shot attempts. I know I continue to be the dinosaur, but somehow it still comes down to who controls the match from the net) 

As usual, when it comes to forehands I revert back to our old friend Roger. And though Nadal is pretty darn good, as well as Number One in the world, I am always partial to examples that appear more fluid and smooth and, in this respect, federer appears almost effortless.

Roger drives his forehand from nearly every stance, sometimes open, sometimes square, sometimes on the run or moving forward. In fact, McEnroe (both Patrick and John have mentioned this) considers the best shot in the professional game to occur when Federer is moving forward and inside the baseline on the forehand wing. But that said, Fed’s use of the hips provides the key to this stroke, and the same can be said of nearly every other big forehand in the professional game.

On the forehand, some players use their arms to swing the racquet (ouch) while others use their bodies to swing their arms (better). And when using the body, note that the largest muscles are mounted to the hips (abdominal, gluteus, quads, and hamstrings). Further, as regards moving the hips, two legs are better than one. In other words, two legs more or less equally weighted, provide more hip rotation than one leg.

I know many open stance advocates will disagree with this statement. And to those strenuous objectors, I refer you to the scientific material in Batting Basics by John White. But to get back to rotating the hips on the forehand side, note (in the videos above) how Roger establishes his back foot, steps to spread his weight onto both feet, and powers through the ball. Certainly there are many instances where he (as well as you and I) may jump at the ball, but all things being equal, a grounded forehand works best.

Guidelines on Foot Placement, Timing, and Movement

Forehand volley – Moving forward with the racquet already prepared behind the ball, make certain that the ball is both away rather than on top of you, but equally so you can meet the ball mid stride. The moving sequence should be right step – hit – left step, meeting the ball essentially mid stride, as Sampras clearly does in our example. Too often players crowd the ball, come to a dead stop, or worse move through the ball but off balance.

It is fine to move through the volley, provided you are not reaching, rushing, or leaning. Move through the ball much as you would bump into someone (hopefully by accident).

Forehand ground stroke – Get to the ball early to establish your position with your weight balanced on the back foot. For right-handers this is the right foot, which coincidentally is the foot the pitcher places on the pitching rubber, as well as the foot on which the batter waits for the pitch. As the ball nears the strike zone, the step redistributes the weight evenly onto both feet so that both legs get involved in the hip rotation into the hit.

In either the volleying or groundstroke scenario, small quick steps are used to time the ball either mid stride (volley) or to position for the dual leg drive (ground stroke).

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