Improving Your Flow
by Steve Tourdo
Flowing smoothly on the court is a common characteristic of anyone who plays tennis well. In
this lesson you’ll learn to better harmonize with the coming and going action of a multi-hit rally.
The split step prepares you to make any sudden directional change.
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The flow of action on the court is as important to a tennis player as breathing is to a body.
And, to extend the comparison, both are comprised of three components. When you breathe,
you exhale, pause and inhale. In the flow of court action, there is an outgoing flow, a change
in direction, and an incoming flow. A ball in play is either moving away from your team toward
its target, being struck by an opponent, or moving back toward you.
Let’s use a serve and volley sequence as an example of how to flow with the action of the
ball. Begin by tossing the ball out in front of you. This will encourage the weight transfer
necessary to move forward toward the net. As you complete your serve, smoothly accelerate
forward.
Get as far as you comfortably can before your opponent strikes the ball. It is
not necessary to get in front of the service line. A nice composed volley from deep in the court is
preferable to a rushed volley from close to the net. The first volley is considered a “transition
shot” and is designed to smoothly facilitate your movement to the “net zone.”
Just before the opponent strikes the ball you do what is commonly called
a “split-step”. This is a momentary placing of both feet simultaneously
shoulder width apart. Your knees should be bent to enable you to push off in any direction necessary. Your racket is centrally located
in the ready position. The idea of split-stepping is like going into an unfamiliar corner while
driving a car. You tap the brakes to reduce speed as a precaution in case you need to make a
major directional change.
Exit your split step prior to the ball arriving and move forward and
toward it.
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It is important to note that this is not a STOP. Just a momentary pause recognizing your
opponent’s ability to require you to change direction. The split-step provides you with the
required "balance-base" from which to meet his challenge. As you can see from the
accompanying video, the feet are almost floating close to the ground so they can make
small
adjustments to the incoming ball.
Once the ball is on the way back toward your team, move toward the incoming ball. It is very
important that you exit your split step prior to the ball arriving. This movement should be
made in whatever direction is necessary to intercept the incoming ball. However, some degree
of forward motion is best.
To summarize: exit your serve smoothly, split step when your opponent is about to strike the
ball, and get back on the gas again to meet the incoming return.
For a more complete explanation of this concept, see Steve
Tourdo's book: Unlimited Doubles!!
The above article is an excerpt from the first chapter of Unlimited
Doubles! For more detailed explanation of this concept and to improve your doubles game
refer to the book.
Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Steve
Tourdo's article by emailing us
here at TennisONE.
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