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TennisOne Lessons
Rounding Out For More Fluid Play Doug King
I recently returned from the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells, and one of the great things about attending this event is that the practice courts are on the grounds and easily available for comfortable viewing. Some of my friends actually prefer to watch the players practice rather than play. While the matches are filled with drama and spectacle the practice sessions better reveal the inner rhythms of the game. As you watch players methodically rally twenty or thirty shots with power and grace you cannot help but be mesmerized by the fluidity of their movements. Everything seems to flow in such harmony — nothing rushed, nothing disjointed, and everything in perpetual motion. To me this is a deliberate and dedicated objective of the top players — to achieve a feeling of rhythm and fluidity in their play. And although by the very nature of what they are trying to accomplish, they look as though it is insignificant and haphazard, it is in fact approached with discipline and attention. The pros understand that with fluidity comes a natural synthesis of power without effort, speed without rushing, focus without tension. I like to refer to fluidity as “organized movement.” It is about understanding how the body moves and how the various parts of the body are synchronized. It is about being able to break those individual pieces into distinct movements and then put them together into a seamless flow. In a certain sense the goal is not to become faster or more powerful but to become better organized - speed and power will be the natural results of fluid movement, and however fast or strong we are, the ultimate goal is still to be in synchronization with the ball. The subject of fluid movement involves a wide range of issues and some of these I (and many others) have tried to address in previous articles. In this article I would like to focus on two issues of fluidity, “timing” and “lining up.” These two themes will provide the keys to how we can better organize our movement and achieve more fluid play.
Timing — Stop the Stops We’ve all ridden with bad drivers who do not have good control of the brake and the accelerator. We know the irritation and discomfort of herky-jerky stops and starts. Well, there are bad drivers on the tennis court as well. They hit the accelerator and the brake too late and too quickly, causing jarring stop and start movements. In tennis, these quick stops and starts result in a loss of balance, control, focus, power, and an increase in stress. Jerky motion is more fatiguing and injurious than more fluid movement. The way you move on a tennis court should feel like a roller coaster ride with natural lags and accelerations coming out of lifts and drops and twists and turns, but never any complete stops. The underlying cause of jerky motion is stopping. Stopping in itself is not a bad thing, in fact, it can be very good. When we keep things still we can focus better - that is, we can watch the ball better and we can concentrate better. We have a feeling of more control. Another effect of being stopped is relaxation. When I still myself I “come to rest.” I can flatten my feet and better relax my body. There are many good things that come out of being still - but the problem isn’t so much in the being stopped as it is in the getting going again. Getting going from a dead stop can be difficult - especially if I want to get going fast. The trick to fluid movement is to never eliminate movement entirely and to know how to increase and decrease movement gradually and in sequences.
A jerky motion is more likely to occur at the start of our stroke since this is the time we tend to be the most still. The two common problems we create for ourselves at this time is that we come to a complete stop when our opponent is hitting the ball (we plant), then we tend to try to do too much too quickly in reacting to the ball (over-react to their return). There are good reasons why we make these mistakes. We want to be extremely focused when we see the ball come off of the opponent’s racquet and the best way of focusing is to be planted. We also want to get ready quickly so that we can be stopped and focused on our own shot so naturally we get going as quickly as possible. It all makes sense on some level but of course what we end up with is a series of dead stops, quick starts, and a herky-jerky, inefficient, erratic movement. A better way to move is to keep some movement going at all times. This takes organization and timing. There is always some holding back, some restraint, or patience in properly organized movement. Fluid movement must be given time to develop and shouldn’t be rushed. And although we are constantly told to prepare early the real goal is to prepare “in time.” Preparing “early” can be considered a timing error just as preparing late is a timing error. And although I agree that most people have a sense of preparing late it is more often due to improper technique rather than a lack of time. Let’s look at how well organized stroke movement is allowed to develop by breaking down a typical stroking rhythm. While the ball is being hit by your opponent you want to be at a very high level of a focus on the ball. To accomplish this you want to minimize movement - but you don't want to come to a complete stop. You must maintain some movement because not only do you have to see and judge the ball coming off of your opponent’s racquet you must also react to it and you must react by performing a highly complex action. This minimization of movement at the time of your opponent’s contact is accomplished with the split step. The split step puts the body in a quiet neutral state without creating a total stop (plant). Bounce a ball on the court and you will get the idea of what our bodies should do and feel in a split step. The ball hits the ground and lifts and then hits the top of the bounce and is quiet for a moment, before dropping back down and bouncing again. There is a natural lag and stillness coming out of the bounce and yet a continuous flow of energy. When timed properly you should see the ball coming off your opponent’s racquet while you are airborne and at your most neutral state. While coming down from your jump you should already know which direction you are going to be moving and in some cases the feet are already making adjustments before they even touch the ground.
In the split step, the body is kept relatively still while it waits for the feet to touch down, facilitate the turn, and drive towards the ball. To do this, you should land with your weight on the drive foot. The turning foot is held in the air a bit longer and turns and shifts in the direction of the intended movement before touching down. The body is kept passive for a brief moment until the feet have time to execute these preliminary movements. Keeping the body forward (towards the net) during this time allows you to maintain good focus on the ball since the ball is still quite far in front. Once the feet touch down the body can shift and turn. As the body lands there is an automatic bending of the toes, ankles, knees, and back (in that order) to absorb the shock of the landing. These bends will store energy and provide the natural propulsion to the ball in a very continuous rhythmic flow. The trick is in the timing. Just as the body had to wait for the feet to “set up” the winding of the body (the “turn”), the arms have to wait for the body to “set up” the winding action of the arm. The proper organization of this “observe and react” stage of of the stroke is based upon a series of individual events and reactions that are both separated and then put back together into a well choreographed, continuous, rhythmic flow. A good deal of patience is required to let this rhythm flow properly. This is especially true in the racquet take-back phase. Remember, you must let the body turn first to set up the arm movements that will follow. A good way to accomplish this is to simply hold onto the racquet with both hands (as you would in the ready position) while you turn the shoulders. After the split step and the turn of the body, the next move in the sequence, and the first action in the winding of the arm, will be a lift of the elbow from the shoulder followed by a lift of the racquet from the hand. Each of these moves is linked to the previous move but should also have its own awareness and timing. No single move should be executed so fast so as to result in an uncomfortable delay before the next move. This is especially true as we get to the smaller movements of the wrist and forearm, since this is where the real fine adjustments to the ball must be made. These fine adjustments need to be done very late in the stroke, as the ball gets close to the contact point, and they represent the final coiling stage of the stroke. Being able to execute these smaller muscle actions later in the swing is the key to a “compact” stroke and is critical to overall timing and fluidity. This is sometimes referred to as “saving the hit” as we let the stroke develop smoothly in stages, and save the final part of the stroke as an action that involves the smaller muscle groups (wrist and forearm). What I have described is“typical” stroke timing for a fully wound stroke. A fully wound stroke will result in the racquet being cocked back behind and below the hand ready for a topspin approach to the ball. This is not always necessary or advisable but it does take us through the full sequence of movements and describes the timing of it. If you were to watch the pros practice, you would definitely see this kind of regular pattern being executed. The bottom line is that your preparation cannot be rushed but must develop rhythmically if your play is to be fluid and “in time.” Getting Lined Up Another aspect of fluid movement has to do with “shape.” When we stroke we use movements consisting of a series of rotations, and bends. We turn our bodies and bend our knees; we bend our elbows and rotate our forearms. The circular movements of the stroke are indicative of fluid movement. They are combined also with flex movements or bends, which are more linear. Both are important but too often in tennis we over emphasize getting things “lined up.” We get our bodies lined up for balance, we get our racquet lined up to the ball, we get our swing lined up to the target, and so on. If our movements get too “lined up” they will tend to lack fluidity and they will tend to be stiffer and jerkier. Fluid movement involves more turns and winds rather than straight actions. When our movements get too straight, too lined up, we lack power and responsiveness. This is the problem we experience when we try to control things too much. To insure control, we get things very carefully “lined up” but our movements become labored and ineffective. Lining up our movements will keep them on a straighter path so to keep our movements flowing we must be willing to let them get out of “alignment” and this takes some confidence. In fact, with top players, there is an extreme “de-alignment” of the racquet that occurs in the wrist and forearm just prior to contact (as described above). This flex out of position is the cocking action indicative of a flowing, powerful stoke – but it is anything but “lining up.” It is a whip like effect caused by a series of bends and coils that are also a series of controlled de-alignments. Most players lack the timing and the confidence to produce these actions – but in fact, it is the secret to consistent, effortless power. Instead we tend to get our stroke fixed on a straight path. We see the swing in terms of a starting point (at the end of the backswing) and a finishing point (at the end of our follow through) and the contact of the ball as just another point in this continuum. This is what is often conjured up when we talk about “hitting through the ball” and keeping our swings “linear.”
Instead, I sometimes like to think of the stroke as a series of circular shapes that are interrelated and that share a common “nexus” or “vortex” that is the contact point. The separate rotations are represented by the body and the arm. The body rotates around the axis of the spine which causes a back and forth action of the arm. The racquet also rotates around the arm due to the back and forth twisting of the forearm. So we end up with a series of independent and yet connected circular motions that have their own axis and pivot points - and they have their own timing, as discussed earlier. The body rotation takes longer and so must start earlier while the forearm/wrist rotation is much quicker and so it comes in later. In perfect timing, we get the two rotations to link up in time for the contact of the ball. In a way I can see the contact point as a point that we shift around rather than actually try to hit through on a relatively straight path. More circular movements rotate around a point while linear movements extend from point to point on a straight line. These points that fluid movement rotate around can be referred to as pivot points. When we wind up the body, for example, the feet can be points that we pivot on, and then there is also a central pivot point - our “center.” I think the contact point can be a center pivot point that you rotate both your body and your racquet on. We see this clearly among top players by the way that they use their non-hitting arms to help reference the contact point. It is almost as though they are holding onto this point with their non-hitting hand and rotating themselves around that point. In this respect I think that it can be useful to think of winding up to the ball and unwinding on the ball as this describes both the circular shapes of fluid movement and also the flowing timing of a more gradual buildup and an accelerated release through contact. I try to emphasize to my students to “wind up” rather than “line up.” Of course there are important lines that we recognize in the game; the path of the ball, the court itself, and the axis which the circular motions of the body rotate around, but the feel of movement should be circular in nature in order to keep the movements fluid.
The circular movements of the body and the arm breakdown into the various timing sequences, with the larger and slower turns of the body starting sooner and finishing later than the smaller and quicker turns of the forearm. Therefore we see the body turn first followed by the smaller turn of arm and a feeling that the stroke gets smaller and smaller as the ball gets closer and closer, breaking down into tighter and naturally quicker circles. If done properly, we should have the feeling that our energy and our focus get progressively narrowed to the point of contact as a natural result of the technique. Of course this is very dependent upon precise timing and judgment but this process has potential for power and precision that exceed a more linear approach, which has a more constant speed and a singular direction. In a certain respect the swing starts large and then collapses, or “breaks down” into smaller and smaller circular actions. Most people make the mistake of trying to keep their swing “compact” by using a tight small motion at the start and then making a bigger follow through. This is a totally in efficient way to produce power and will actually take longer than making a larger backswing that breaks down into a tighter follow through. Rotational motion around points is generally more challenging than linear motion on straighter lines. It requires more flexibility and balance and so this is something that is learned and developed through increased training. Of course, there are varying degrees of “winding up” depending upon the situation. For situations where there is less time, or when we are in stressed positions, our strokes become less coiled and so they feel more linear. Circular vs Linear Strokes
Some strokes, like the volley and underspin strokes, feel more linear naturally. Still even on these more conservative linear strokes, there is fluid, rounded movement and I still like the idea of the body “pivoting” on the ball to convey how the body shifts through contact. If you look at the video of Ivanovic's underspin backhand you can see how she isn't simply swinging through the ball as though the contact is just another point on a downward linear swing path. Her stroke has definite curve and you can see how she seems to use the contact point as a singular point that her body rotates and shifts around and onto. This is what we refer to as “staying into the hit” and gives us the feeling of holding the ball longer on the strings. The more linear shots are sometimes called blocking, steering, guiding, or holding shots but even a properly blocked shot has some “shaping and pivoting” on the ball. Typically as we need to generate more speed in our stroke for spin or power, we need to do more coiling and bending. As with the serve for example, the need for more fluid, circular motion is greater and so we will see more coiling, or windup in the smaller muscle groups of the forearm and wrist. Still the serve will follow the same formula as the groundstrokes where we will have a large slow windup of the body followed by a smaller quicker windup of the arm. All strokes will follow this same formula and vary only in the amount of power that is desired. A full wound-up position will result in the racquet being back and down in the wrist. While a neutral wrist position will keep the racquet above and more forward. This is why we are told to keep our racquet head up on a volley - to avoid windup which requires time and creates more power. The result is that the volley and underspin strokes have less windup, take less time, are more linear, and have less potential for racquet speed. Putting It Together
As much as we are constantly told to “prepare early,” the truth is that we must also prepare fluidly. This is especially true of the movements of the racquet controlled by the hand. The racquet is not so much “swung back and forth” as much as it is rotated into position to the oncoming ball in a series of descending circular movements culminating in a rapid release of energy, all produced in a continuous and rhythmic tempo. The hand should never abruptly pull the racquet back and forth but instead carefully “rotate” the racquet with controlled timing and fluidity. There is a natural energy cycle in the rotational movement of the arm - a buildup and release. This rotational movement of the racquet, the “windup” of the forearm and wrist, create a look and feeling as though one is shaping the stroke around the ball. It is as though the player is stalking the ball and creating a trap or a pocket to ensnare the ball in. Sometimes players will talk about trying to “cover the ball” with the racquet. This occurs when there is a great deal of speed coming from fine rotational movement in the wrist and forearm. Thus we hear players refer to hitting “up and over” on a serve which conveys this swirling coverage of the ball. The multiple circular system (body and arm) has natural acceleration though the dynamic of a decreasing swing radius. At the same time the circular movements of the body and arm allow for more flexibility in adjusting to the ball as opposed to a more fixed linear swing. This makes it much more adaptable to the demands of tennis where a player must be able to constantly adjust to the ball even while actually contacting the ball. If we look at the stroke in two basic moving components, the body and the racquet, we will see both synchronized movement and independent movement. In a broad sense, the body movement is controlled by the feet and the racquet movement is controlled by the hand, and although they are connected they retain independent motion and timing. We see this in the timing of these two components. The feet react first to turn the body and this is generally done as soon as possible while the movement of the racquet controlled by the hand is executed on a different timetable, dictated by speed of the ball. The objective is to use both the feet and the hands to keep movement going and to avoid disruptive stops. The loop of the racquet in the backswing may occur simultaneous to the turn of the body or it may be delayed and produced slightly later depending on the time available. Also the size of the turn of the body and the loop of the backswing can vary depending upon the individual situation. For example, you can wind up the body which will naturally take back the arm, but you can also deliberately minimize and delay the take-back of the arm by holding the racquet more forward. You can also independently rotate the forearm. If you keep the forearm neutral (no windup) the racquet will stay up in the hand and not go back. This is the preferred position for a volley and underspin strokes. On the other hand, you can increase the rotation of the forearm which will move the racquet behind and below the wrist, which will increase energy and produce a natural topspin. All of these fluid actions allow for a wide range of variations in size, shape and timing.
Fluid Players All professional players have great fluid movement, but some are better examples than others. Anna Ivanovic, this year’s Australian Open Champion, is a player with great fluid strokes and timing. Although she is not blessed with natural speed she is very light on her feet (an essential for fluid movement) and covers the court quite well. You can see the various components in her stroke preparation starting with the body turn and then the fluid continuous racquet loop controlled by her hand culminating in a powerful release right on contact. She always seems to relate well to the contact point in all of her movements, which is most evidenced by the use of the left hand on her forehand side. She has beautiful shape on her strokes and can generate power without undue stress. Andy Murray is a tremendous mover and very fluid. He gets to balls with deceptive ease and can generate power the same way. Some top players can lose their fluidity from time to time. Serena Williams has unparalleled stroking and moving abilities but at times she can press and lose rhythm. We can see this in both Williams sisters when they make the conspicuously fast backswings which is neither technically sound nor particularly fluid. This fast backswings tend to happen when they are pressing and not noticeable when they are more relaxed and in a good rhythm. Sometimes we will hear announcers talk about how Venus and Serena, as great as they are, also could get better. It is scary to imagine that they can get better and in my opinion there is no one who can touch Serena when she is on, still I think this is a part of her game that could be more consistent. Andy Roddick is another example of a player with uncanny abilities and yet he too can get a bit jittery and rush his movement. In his case I think it is more a matter of nerves playing havoc than a conscious thought that “faster is better.” Still the result is a loss of fluidity. Every player, for that matter, is subject to losing fluidity as they either get tired or anxious. After all, they are only human. Developing More Fluidity in Your Game Learning to become more fluid is partly a matter of attitude. If you try and control things too much you will tend to get straighter and stiffer with your movement and lose fluidity. Over thinking, instead of simply reacting to the ball, may cause your movment to freeze up as you try to hold things steady in an effort to better analyze situations on court. Or you may be too anxious and afraid of not having enough time and rushing your reactions.
I find that at times it may be easier to develop a better sense of fluidity off the court. Sometimes the linear nature of the court and the fact that we have already programmed patterns built in to our play makes it hard to loosen up and experience new movements. This is partly why so many players like to kick the soccer ball around during tournaments as part of their practice. It is a fun way to be playful with movement and develop a better sense of fluidity and footwork, away from the more regimented moves on the court. A fun way to develop a feel for fluid shifting on the ball is to keep the ball on the strings while you pivot the handle of the racquet around the ball. This gives you a feeling of shifting the body around the ball and making the “contact point” the pivot point of the swinging movement. It will help you to get the feeling of winding up to the ball and unwinding on the ball rather than simply swinging on a straight path. If you notice in the demonstration on the accompanying video I rotate the handle of the racquet around the ball and at the same time I can push up or drop with the ball. This gives me a full range of movement that is very fluid and dynamic and develops a sense of multiple pivot points. Another fun exercise I like to use is called Hockey Tennis. In this exercise you have to try and roll a large exercise ball through a slalom course using only your racquet to direct the ball. This will help develop the feeling of being light on the feet and shifting the body around the ball while also always keeping a proper alignment, or relationship, to the ball. You will also have to learn to time the movement of the racquet to match the roll of the ball and be able to accurately direct the ball by nudging the edges. This will give you a better sense of moving around with the ball rather than trying to get planted and hit through the ball. Rolling the ball will give you a better sense of the circular shape of the stroke and help you develop a more natural feel for spin. Another good way to develop fluidity, rhythm, and timing is to “shadow play.” Much like a boxer will shadow box to develop better footwork and timing, a tennis player can do exactly the same thing. Going through the motions of stroking off the court, being sure to keep the feet and the racquet flowing in continuous patterns will help you to develop more fluidity into your game. Conclusion Although getting faster on the court is critical to playing at a higher level, the real goal of good movement is to become more fluid. This means to be able to better adjust to the speed of the ball, to be “in time” or in rhythm. Of course much of this has to do with getting more physically fit, but quite a bit is learning the technique of movment. Learning how to organize your movement and to let it flow in a more natural way is critical to mastering the skill of good moving. Developing patience and more circular movements in your game are two ways to increase fluidity. Remember these points to help you develop your movement skills:
Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Doug King's article by emailing us here at TennisOne.
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. |
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.