TennisOne Lessons

The Secret to Controlled Power, part 3

Doug King

This is the third segment in a three part series on how to hit with control. The main argument of this commentary is that the model that has been the standard by which all tennis theory has been based for the last fifty years is flawed. That theory, called the Kinetic Chain, is based on a model that breaks the body into independent segments (feet, ankles, knees, hips, torso, shoulders, upper arm, lower arm, and hands) and presents a system of energy transfer from the legs and core outward to the arms and hands. This transfer of energy from the large body segments to the small body segments increases in speed as it travels outward.

In this series I have argued that a better system of energy transfer is represented by a wave model. The way that energy is transferred in a wave is much more fluid, dynamic, and continuous than a “chain” system. The wave is based upon a continuous flow of energy that always builds first with the large parts and then collapses into itself through gravitational rotation to increase speed and torque. This is much more representative of how a tennis ball is stroked since tennis balls are never actually struck in a concussive manner but are always stroked and rolled with some spin; either being gradually turned for guiding shots (volleys for example) or turned forcefully for power (serve for example). In tennis the body does move in a linked system but not by passing energy along in a linear fashion (which is more whip like). Instead it rolls energy in cohesive, integrated, fluid swirls.

The first two of these three articles (part 1 and part 2 are in the TennisOne Lesson Library) covered the basic premise of the wave model and how the large wave segments were developed (body shifts and “weight transfer”). In this article we will look at how the small segments of the body, specifically the hands, work in the wave system.

The “Sleight of Hands”

The hands are perhaps the most difficult part of the stroke to clearly define. This is because the hands are doing the most delicate, subtle parts of the stroke. By their very nature they are the master deceivers and manipulators; they are illusionists and seducers. And they are also fickle and whimsical.

The job of the hands is to do all of the most delicate aspects of stroking; the fine tuning and timing. The hands siphon all of the energy from the larger body parts and then convert that into a fluid and momentary amalgam of dynamic change. First, they must align the racquet in the hand which represents one of the most delicate and precise turns in the game. Secondly, they must align the racquet to the ball and target. Third, they must create a proper connection between the ball and the body, and through that connection they must transmit energy onto the ball in a way that directs the ball to the target with intended speed and trajectory. Let’s look at these different roles more closely.

Catching the Breaks

The small parts of the Wave Model involve the forearms and the hands. The hands have a couple of roles: one is to create “connection” which we will look at later. The hands/wrists are also critical in adding the final power moves in the Wave Model; that is, they create the “break” in the wave, the tightest and fastest turns of the wave. The hands take the energy of the larger body rotations and tighten them into faster and smaller rotations. Let’s look at how this occurs.

The initial movement of any stroke always starts the same way. This is true whether it is a serve or a volley or a groundstroke. The first move always starts with a lift of the shoulders, a spreading of the elbows and a turn of the body. This is the first move which is called by some the “unit turn.” It is the first “winding” in a stroke. The big parts of the body need more time and more force to wind up so they must always start first.

This is why you should never prepare the racquet quickly – because the fastest way to prepare the racquet is with the hands (the small parts) and if this happens it will actually throw tension into the body and will inhibit the body from turning at all. The result of this type of hurried start is a back and forth slap with the arm or a quick whip-slap with the hand (bad form, needless to say). So it is critical to start with the big parts and then follow with the second winding action – the arms and hands. This is a totally “organic” way to move and is represented in nature all around us.

When the buildup or windup of the big parts of a wave is large enough it will naturally collapse back and inward on itself. As the big parts lift and extend away they lose energy and at a certain point they are pulled back down and in by gravity and rotational force. This rotational lift and buildup is part of the natural shape of a stroke (and a wave) and it is through the construction and deconstruction and reconstruction of this “shape” that energy is shifted in a controlled and continuous flow. When the big parts collapse back and into the body the rotational shifts are transferred into the smaller segments, the forearms and hands. As the larger rotations move in closer to the body, the rotations get smaller and faster until they reach a point of maximum speed and minimal size.

This point is a point of leverage and this is a critical aspect of understanding the dynamics of rotational force and torque. As the rotations become smaller, faster and tighter they eventually almost disappear onto a point. This point is slightly in front and fairly close to the body. This is the point of maximum leverage. As the rotations move out from this point they get bigger and slow down again – reversing the order from which they came in.

Another implication of this system is that we do not actually “swing out” at balls but more precisely we collapse inwards to meet the ball at a point of leverage. As we rotate into and out of this point of leverage we meet and then torque the ball. This “squeezing” of the ball between the in and the out is similar to how a ball is shot out of a ball machine, caught in between the turning of two opposing forces; or perhaps easier to think of is how a pea is squeezed out of a pod by the pinching of a thumb and forefinger – the two digits moving in opposite directions.

By utilizing this process of rotational force, torque and leverage we avoid “hitting” the ball. Anytime we swing on “paths” we are going to end up with the racquet and the ball “colliding” and all we get is “concussion and repercussion.” Through torque we are able to “drive” the ball. This gives us much more control over the ball (think of driving a car). We also call this stroking. Most people think of spin as simply a means of controlling trajectory. In reality, it is an indispensable and integral part of proper contact with the ball.

“Path swinging” (behind the ball, “through the ball”, and out to the target) is a relatively inefficient way of approaching tennis. It leads to slow, stiff movements and produces collision or “pushing” hits. It also introduces huge timing difficulties as the probability of timing the meeting of two projectiles approaching each other on divergent paths at a single point is incredibly small.

Instead we should be thinking of rhythmic, rotational movement around a point,. Rather than hitting “thorugh the ball” we should be thinking of “turning on the ball”. Tennis is not a “back and forth” motion, it is a winding/unwinding motion. The body is wound and then the arm is wound. Both of these windups occur around a certain point. That is the “point of contact,” the point of leverage. There is a backwards “aspect” of a windup – but there is also an upwards and a downwards, and an inside and outside aspect of a windup. In reality a windup involves multiple directional movements – all of it centered on a point.

I believe we really only address this properly in teaching the volley. In the volley stroke we are taught not to “swing”. In reality we should never swing, we should “meet” the ball and turn it. The only difference between the volley and other more powerful shots is the amount of windup that is built up and released upon the “meeting” of the ball. In a volley we have very little windup and we meet the ball ina position of minimal leverage. Thus the resultant torque on the ball is not so great. In the case of a more powerful shot the windup is greater (more stored energy) and the contact is at a point of more leverage. Iin this case the resultant torque on the ball is great. In both cases the ball is not actually hit but it is “met” and turned. Even in baseball they describe how a great hitter will meet and “turn on the ball.”

Also, as you “swing out” at a ball you are throwing energy out away from the body and you are losing energy and balance, and as a result you are increasing tension in the body. This stiffening of the body inhibits the body from either adjusting to the contact point or contributing to the drive of the ball at contact. When you collapse into the ball then you are actually drawing energy from the outside and bringing it into the body (think of how an ice skater spins by drawing the arms in). This makes the body more energized, more mobile, and more active. Initial energy is drawn from the ground with the initial turn of the body and then it is lifted and spread like casting a net that gathers more energy from outside and then pulls it back down and in and onto a point, increasing in speed as it decreases in size. This is the nature of a funnel or a wave and good players know how to actually “suck” the ball into this vacuum (the pipe of the wave) by properly timing the rotation of the backswing to the oncoming ball. It is almost as though they are using the racquet to draw the ball into the hand; to grab the ball with the hand and torque it. This gives the stroke a certain “stalking” feel and is the only way that proper, consistent timing can be achieved.

Another important consideration that is made evident by the wave model is that every single movement of the game has relevance in the “natural” way that energy is developed, stored, transferred, and recovered. From the very first shift of the body to the last part of getting back into ready-position, every movement has design and purpose, to accomplish all of the aspects and demands of stroking in a controlled, dynamic, continuous flow. To break it apart into segments only interferes with the flow of the motion and this flow is a critical aspect of the overall integrity of the motion. To overemphasize a single aspect of the motion only serves to undervalue another – and all parts have mutual relevance and dependence on each other.

What is critical to take away from this understanding of the wave model is how top players will give just as much value to the shape, the  flow, and the timing of  the winding up and the folding back of the stroke and the “meeting” of the ball as they do to the actual propulsion of the ball. In fact it is my belief that top players pay more attention to the “catch” of the ball than they do to the “hit” of the ball. It is inferior players that are always putting more emphasis on getting ready early so that they can “hit” the ball. The hit of the ball is almost an involuntary reflex if the catch of the ball is done right.

Grips and Gripping

Grip is one of the most critical aspects of the hands. Grip creates an “alignment” between the racquet and the hand, and of course, to the ball. This alignment also aligns the contact of the ball into a certain phase of the stroke. If, at the start of stroke, the racquet is “lined” up (Continental grip, “Hammer” grip, or “Shake Hands” grip) then very little further winding up will be required. This is the poroper alignment at the net position. When players are at the net they hold a grip (more Continental) that keeps the racquet very “lined up” (racquet on edge to the ground) and requires minimal (if any) grip change. In this position all that is required is a simple body shift and the racquet is set in contact position. Very little windup is required (and virtually no windup of the small parts). All you get is a very slow swell of a wave – no break. This contact is a “non-leveraged” contact; that is, it is weaker allowing more “catch” or absorption of the ball by the racquet. The Continental grip eliminates windup of the forearm and wrist and creates an “open hand” catch of the ball. These volley or underspin rotations are generally the slow “guiding” turns of the ball (riding the swell of the wave) caught and shifted by the big parts of the wave.

But when the grip is changed to something more extreme (a semi-Western for example), then we see the racquet out of alignment at the start of the stroke. This means that the forearm and hand must be “wound up” in order to get the racquet into proper contact position. The more windup that is performed the more power that is developed. And if this windup has proper shape and rhythm it takes on all of the qualities of a wave action. Contact in this phase of the stroke involves very dynamic torquing of the ball on a single point (getting caught in the break). The semi-Western grip will force windup and will bring the knuckles to the ball in a striking motion as opposed to the open-palm/catching pposition of the underspin strokes associated with the Contiinental grip.

This is why we see the racquet “lined up” at the net with a more Continental grip (racquet face perpendicular to the ground) and we see the racquet very “de-aligned” at the baseline, or for all power shots including the serve and overheads (racquet face to the ground).

The Wave, the Touch, and Fluid Connection

Gonzales lets his racquet head become weightless and then drives the handle in a lifting drive.

In a very simplistic view we see the hands as the things that add the final “swing” to the hit of the ball. In reality, the hands have to do so much more. The hands must have both catch and throw. The hands are the things that create “touch” and this is the secret of proper energy transmission.

In tennis energy is transferred through a contact with the ball or a connection with the ball. We “meet” the ball, we do not “hit” the ball. This is the essence of “stroking.” This is another reason why the Wave Model is more representative than the Kinetic Chain Model and that is because a wave doesn’t hit objects but instead it makes “fluid connection” with objects. Whether you catch a wave in the big swell and ride it or whether you catch the wave in the break and get violently tossed around, in either case you are being “caught” in water. You become part of this energy flow and are carried in it. Instead of concusion there is compression, that is, you are absorbed at contact to merge for a time with the opposing force. This is the essence of “touch.” It is the ability to delicately monitor the impact between ball and racquet. It is dependent upon the ability to make the racquet become part of the hand and not something that the hand is swinging.

Good tennis players always feel the contact of the ball in the hand. This means that they feel as though they are catching the ball in the hand. The handle of the racquet is the only part of the racquet that is actually part of the hand, and this is the part of the racquet that top players feel is actually driving the ball. The head of the racquet is the softer, catching end of the racquet while the handle is the driving (pushing and turning) end. Think of how a wrench works. The head and jaws of the wrench “fit and grip” while force is applied to the handle.

When the head of the racquet becomes the driving end of the racquet then we say we are slapping at the ball. The idea of good stroking is to make the racquet feel like the hand (more precisely the knuckles for adding force and the palm for reducing force). Remember, the head of the racquet “fits and does not hit” and the handle drives.

I believe that great players learn how to make the racquet “disappear” in the stroke at a moment just prior to contact. I call this an “un-weighting” of the racquet in the hand. This is seen as a momentary folding back of the wrist just prior to contact. Most coaches see this as a “cock and release” in the wrist that shoots speed into the racquet head. In my mind what happens is that the racquet head folds back (almost falling backwards) and becomes weightless during this “gravity drop” and at this moment it is as though there is nothing in the hand at all. This allows the hand to accelerate. This is because the hand can swing faster if there is nothing in the hand. It is very much like a ping pong player (a “table tennis” player) whose paddle is actually one in the same as the hand. When they stroke the ball they are not “swinging” a paddle – the paddle is simply the hand. They are stroking the ball with their hand.

I believe that great tennis players have this ability, to use the hands in a way so that they do not feel as though they are “swinging” the racquet but that they are swinging the hand (catching the ball in the hand and torquing it). This is done by getting the head of the racquet to “lag” and then to speed up the handle and in so doing the head and the handle actually sync up to create a perfect contact with the ball (a perfect contact being a perfect “roll of the ball versus a “hit” of the ball). So in my opinion we should never talk about racquet head speed but instead we should talk of “hand” speed or racquet handle speed. To emphasize racquet head speed, what a player will naturally do is stop the hand in its stroke path in order to accelerate the head of the racquet. This would have absolutely disastrous results in the contact of the ball. When the hand lets the racquet head fold back and lag the hand also becomes suppler in making fine adjustments and the racquet head becomes more able to absorb the ball – what we call “good touch.”

Final Comments

I strongly believe that the “Wave Model” is a preferable alternative to the “Kinetic Chain” model. Although the Wave Model is not perfect it more closely describes the rotational, continuous, fluid form and rhythm that the game is based upon. It represents the essential elements of connection and torque and leverage – elements that are absent in the Kinetic Chain. It is also self-sustaining, extending energy out and then back in through controlled, rerpetitive, rhythmic rotations of force. The Kinetic Chain is more focused on taking energy from the inside and sending it outwards. The Wave Model incorporates the dynamics of all strokes that we find in tennis, as a wave goes through continuous change and within those changes has varying potentialities.

In the end, what do all these model theories have to do with you and your game? I’m convinced that you should start evaluating your game by this new Wave Model to reach the goal of playing like a top level player, feeling, as the slogan goes, what the pros feel. Critical to achieving this goal is to develop a teaching model that accurately interprets what good players feel and do, not just a system that seems comfortable, non-threatening and “safe” to the student. Yes, there are changes to be made to get there, but the first thing is to change the way we’re thinking—start thinking wave.

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

Doug King studied with legendary tennis coach Tom Stow and was a former California State Men's Singles Champion and the former number one men's player of Northern California.

Doug is one of the country's foremost tennis teaching innovators. Founder of Acceleration Tennis, a revolutionary teaching system, King is leading the way in reinterpreting the traditional tennis model.

Doug King is currently Director of Tennis at Meadowood Napa Valley ( www.meadowood.com ), a Relaix Chateau Resort in St. Helena , CA .

For more information on Acceleration Tennis please email Doug King at dking@meadowood.com.