Five Strokes and You Win

Greg Moran

Your groundstrokes are the foundation upon which the rest of your game is built and, whether you hit them with an Eastern grip and a closed stance, a Western grip and an open stance or a Southern grip standing on your head, your approach should always revolve around the word consistency.

This requires a mental shift because much of what we hear, see and read about tennis tells us to “go for it” with our groundstrokes. While this approach may light up our tennis lives for a brief moment, over the course of a long two or three set match, this strategy usually brings far more pain than pleasure.

For most of us, groundstrokes are not meant to be point ending shots but rather point building shots. Winners hit from the baseline are extremely rare plus trying to end the point from the backcourt will wear you out physically and emotionally.

When you watch a boxing match between two great champions, you see each fighter circle the ring, probing for openings. This is the approach to bring to your groundstrokes. Let your opponent go for the Mike Tyson, big shot, style, while you emulate boxing legend Muhammad Ali and build your attack with consistency and shot combinations. This approach will slowly but surely wear your opponent down and allow you to ultimately move in for the knockout.

Refuse to miss

Consistency is a mind-set so, the next time you step on the court do so with a “refuse to miss” attitude. Forget about the big shots and keep the ball in play. If you can hit the ball in the court five times each point, you’ll probably beat 90% of the players who are beating you now

Here are a few, easy to implement, strategies that will immediately make you a steadier player from the baseline:

1. Clear the net. Clearing the net is your first concern so I want you to develop three different heights with which you can hit your groundstrokes. First is a "rally height" (5-6 feet over the net) for when you are in a baseline exchange where no one has the advantage. Next is a "defensive height” (15-20 feet over the net) used when you are in trouble. Finally develop an "offensive height" (1-2 feet over the net) for when you are attacking a short ball or hitting a passing shot.

2. Stay away from the lines. Never, ever aim for the lines: Australian coaching legend Harry Hopman was famous for telling his players to “hit for the lines.” With all due respect to “Hop,” I say that unless your name is Laver, Sharapova, or Federer, forget about the lines. Always give yourself at least a 3-to-5-foot margin of safety.

3. Click photo: Even at the pro level, most groundstrokes are hit crosscourt with plenty of net clearance.

   Hit the majority of your groundstrokes cross-court. You’ll be hitting over the lowest part of the net, the middle, plus the court is longer on the diagonal giving you a larger margin for error. Be sure to use a long follow-through.

Spin your way to the next level

If consistency is the hallmark of a good tennis player (and it is) the ability to add spin to your groundstrokes is what will take that consistency to the next level.

Spin has the reputation of being some kind of mysterious, complex trick that only advanced players can use. Actually, the physics of spin are quite simple, and believe it or not, you’re already using spin now.

Many players think they hit a "flat" ball but the fact is that it’s virtually impossible to hit a ball that has no rotation. Coaching legend Vic Braden says that a ball that is moving through the air "generates air pockets, and air friction from those pockets makes the ball do certain things. Good tennis players deliberately control this ball rotation and use it to their advantage." In other words, if you can learn to use the various spins, your levels of both control and consistency will rise dramatically.

Flavors of spin

Topspin is king today and virtually every player in the world uses it to some degree. To put topspin on the ball you need to swing your racquet in a low-to-high motion. If the ball were the face of a clock, topspin rotation would bring 6:00 over 12:00 as the ball moved away from you.

A ball hit with topspin will initially rise and then, very quickly, fall. The nature of the spin pulls the ball down, so topspin allows you to swing harder, aim higher, and still keep the ball in the court. When the ball does bounce, your opponent will feel as if it’s jumping right on top of them. This is why many people refer to topspin as the "power" spin.

Topspin should be your spin of choice for a vast majority of your groundstrokes because it allows you to hit a strong ball, four feet or more above the net, and still keep it deep in your opponent’s backcourt.

If you are primarily a doubles player, you do need to be careful how high you hit over the net due to the opposing team’s net player. Anything more than a foot or two above the net is likely to get picked off and volleyed away by an alert opponent. When playing doubles, keep the majority of your grounstrokes at either the offensive (1-2 feet over the net) or defensive (15-20 feet) heights.

Slice is nice

In our power obsessed world, topspin gets the glory however slice, though not as fast moving, can be just as devastating a weapon as a ball hit with topspin. Steffi Graf proved this as her slice backhand helped her to become one of the most dominant women players in history.

As a ball hit with topspin falls, a ball hit with slice will rise, which means that the harder it’s hit, the more likely it is to float up in the air. This is not a good thing as floating balls are easy prey for an aggressive opponent.

In addition, a ball hit with slice will travel through the air slower than one hit with topspin, which is why slice is more of a control and finesse spin. Plus, when a ball hit well with slice bounces, it stays low, making it great for approach shots and drop shots, as the spin will pull the ball back toward the net after it lands.

Topspin gets all of the press today but don’t ignore the potential of slice to enhance both your control and consistency. A few years ago, I was teaching at a corporate event in California. A friend of mine named Larry, who was coaching several touring pros at the time, was also at the event and was working with a middle-aged salesman named Barry.

Barry, a 3.0 level player who played once or twice a week, was terribly frustrated because he couldn't hit his backhand with any type of consistency. He'd taken hours of lessons at his local club to no avail, and it was widely known that if you wanted to beat Barry, all you had to do was hit the ball to his backhand and he would self-destruct.

For three days I watched my friend try to teach this man a topspin backhand. They hit thousands of balls, with about one out of 50 successfully going over the net and in the court.

Both of their frustration levels were rising. Finally, on the fourth day as we were walking to the courts, Larry said to me, "I can't face another day with this guy. You give it a try." Okay, I'll take a shot, I told him. When Barry walked onto the court and saw me, he immediately smiled and said, "What's the matter? Larry couldn't take it any more?" We both laughed.

Then we began to hit back and forth, and right off the bat, Barry told me about his "backhand issue." He was right, his backhand was terrible. Each time I would hit to Barry's forehand, he looked relaxed, confident and stroked the ball back with consistent depth. As soon as I hit one to his backhand, I could see the panic in his eyes as he tried to remember everything his pros had told him and anything that might bail him out. He hit the frame, the fence, the lake behind the fence, you name it and Barry put a ball there----anywhere but in the court.

I looked over to the next court at Larry, who was smiling and winking at me as he was hitting with a couple of pretty women. He was mouthing the words, "Are you having fun yet?"

After breaking the ice with a few jokes, I asked Barry about all of the instruction that he’d received. He said that he'd tried everything to improve his backhand. He’d tried both a one-hander and a two-hander. He'd gotten into tremendous shape so that he could run around his backhand and avoid hitting it altogether. He even tried a left-handed forehand. That was how desperate he was.

It seemed like he'd tried everything--everything that is, but a slice backhand. When I suggested the slice to Barry, he immediately made a face as if he smelled a skunk. “Slice is for wimps,” he said.

After showing Barry a few of my slice backhands which, though not as good as Steffi’s, has always been one of my better shots, and convincing him that ”real men” do hit with slice,” he agreed to give it a try. After all, what did he have to lose?

I showed him the basics, and after about 50 balls he started to get a bit of a feel for it. Within 25 minutes, he was actually able to rally back and forth with his new backhand. Was it pretty? No. Did it go in the court? A vast majority of the time. Needless to say, he was thrilled and couldn't wait to try out his new backhand on his buddies back home.

There’s a cute ending to the story. Three months after our lesson, I received an envelope in the mail. In it was a picture of Barry holding up his 3.0 league championship trophy. At the bottom of the photo he had written the words, "Match point--slice backhand down the line for a winner. Real men do hit with slice. Thanks!"

Give it time to develop

When you venture into the world of slice and topspin, keep in mind that there are varying degrees of spin. Trial and error will help you develop the proper feel so that you can put as much (or as little) spin on the ball as the situation dictates.

You may be in for quite a few laughs when your first attempts at hitting topspin hit you in the foot or your first attempts at slice come back and hit you in the chest. Remember, it’s all part of the process of learning, and with practice you’ll master the techniques of hitting with spin. As you practice you’ll begin to see that there are more and more things you can do with the ball depending upon how much, or how little spin you apply.

Whether it’s Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, or Betty from down the block, the best players in the world, and at your club, all have one thing in common: a strong base of consistency and an understanding of how slice and topspin contribute to that consistency.

The next time you take the court with that annoying rival who’s beaten you the last four times, remind yourself to aim higher over the net and stay away from the lines. Use topspin and slice to help you control the ball and let your opponent go for the “big” shot. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the results.

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

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