Juniors Lessons

Focus On Contact

by Jack W. Broudy

Why is it that one day you can be hitting the ball so well from the backcourt, and the next day you completely fall apart? Why is it that against certain players, you can hit the ball with confidence and authority, and against others you feel completely out of synch. In a nutshell, your backcourt game can range from good to horrible, and you can't figure out why.

All styles of groundstrokes have three things in common:

The starting point
The middle
The finish

Most tennis instructors emphasize and re-emphasize the technical aspects with respect to backswing and follow-through. If a student takes their racquet straight back, they're told to take a "loop." If they finish with their arm bent, they are informed that their arm should be straight in front of them or pointing at some fence, and so forth.

Have you ever watched the pros on TV, or good players at your club? There seem to be no two players that hit the ball alike. Look at Michael Chang next to someone like Pete Sampras, or Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis. They look like they were taught on different planets, not just by different coaches. My whole life I was taught by some of the most highly reputed pros who all said to finish looking "over your arm, not under" on forehands. I think someone better tell Chang that he's doing it all wrong. The way you take the racquet back and the position you hold your follow-through will not necessarily affect your strokes in a match.

What is crucial at any level of play however, is your middle--the contact point. The angle of the face of your racquet when it strikes the ball, combined with the speed of the swing, will pretty much tell the story as to where the ball is going to land. Similar to a "putt" in golf, the action doesn't happen at the hole, but at the contact point with the ball. To tell a student to "watch the ball" is certainly the understatement of all time. It's not just a matter of watching the ball, it's a matter of seeing your strings contact the ball in a specific way.

The Secret to Successful Groundstrokes

Begin at the middle, where it all happens. All the strokes should first be learned, or be reacquainted with, from the middle; then you work your way out to the rest of the swing. This also allows you to develop the your own style, the one that works best for you, in addition to a solid hit.

First, discover the middle of the "spot" where contact happens. The following is an imperative exercise for learning both forehand and backhand.

(Since my model here, Kelsie Clark, is left-handed, I'll explain this for lefties. For righties, reverse the directions).

Stand with your right foot almost against the net. Now, with your right hand, place a tennis ball against the top of the net. Next, press your racquet up against the ball so the ball is wedged between the net and the center of your racquet strings. Notice how your racquet looks: parallel to the net, top edge pointed almost straight up. Look at it!

Press the ball against the net, edge up. Get a good look at the contact point. This is where you want to be, every hit. Next, roll the ball over the net by simply lifting the edge up and keeping the racquet pushing forward. That is everything. It is the key to life for a backcourt player! Once you can make that happen, master that contact point, and do it consistently, you'll have the groundstrokes down. Now do it on the backhand. That "spot" you see, from the time you contact the ball to the time you roll it over the net, is the most important three inches in tennis. That "spot" (those few inches) is always your main focus on each and every groundstroke, except, of course, chips and drop shots. So use your imagination, see the spot, and focus on contact. Your groundstrokes will undoubtedly improve. This focus on contact has a cumulative effect. You'll find that your focus and your game get better every time you play.

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