Developing Tennis Stokes Process
When working on your tennis forehand or backhand groundstrokes there’s an order worth focusing on in the stuffs that you use. Certain outcomes of the stroke are generally more important than others and it’s also important that these are accomplished with the correct order. All the forehand and backhand lessons that I teach will fall under such types of categories. It really is crucial for you to decide what aspect of your stroke needs the improvement and never bypass steps to arrive at the rest which may be “cooler” to be effective on. For instance, if you are working with a problem getting the forehand in play, whether you may be hitting topspin or otherwise not is less important than developing skills to generate consistency. I am about to proceed through each component and explain each so that you can decide where to start.
Consistency – The primary foundation of most strokes is consistency. If you cannot have the shot in play, then all the other aspects usually are not important. Building consistency is about the least “sexy” part of a forehand or backhand nevertheless the most crucial. In case you have a tough time acquiring the ball in play, imagine what it’s going to feel like under the pressure of a third set tie breaker. If you are a consistent player, you will also have that to fall back on for those who are having a bad day.
Accuracy – Being able to consistently control the direction on the ball is the next most important part of the stroke. Having the ability to position the ball into your opponents backhand consistently can win you many matches. You need to have the ability to change direction of the the ball also. In the event the ball is on its way in from cross court changing direction so the ball goes down the line can often be difficult to accomplish on a consistent basis. Being in position to control depth of the shot also grouped into the accuracy category also. Keeping the ball deep so your opponent can’t attack the net or giving your opponent short shots to push them into the net when their volleys are weak are strategies it will be easy to consistently execute when accuracy is mastered.
Spin – The cabability to control spin on your own strokes is the next in the chain of importance. Using topspin and under spin to create your shots more appropriate is an important foundation to improve on the previous accomplishments. A ball hit with spin is a much more controlled shot and consistent shot. Using topspin to produce the ball drop in the air will improve consistency by permitting that you hit higher over the net, lower risking potential hitting it inside the net, and have it still drop into the court. Concerning direction, being a knuckle-ball in baseball, a ball without spin travels in an erratic path but a ball with spin is directed and controlled.
Power – Finally, we get to power. Power is exactly what everyone I teach seems to want even more of, but as you can see, without having the basis we’ve previously talked about, power is going to do you no good. I define power as the speed the location where the ball travels. Being able to increase your power will be a necessity when playing with advanced level players. You’ll use power to slow up the length of time the other person is required to respond to the ball including preparation time, movement time after reaction time.
Each forehand or tennis backhand lesson will fall in to one of these categories. You will need to identify which area you need to work on and find the lessons that are appropriate to your area of focus. If you need help with identifying your area concentration, please comment below and I will help you make that decision.
Developing your Tennis Forehand by learning the process of learning effective Tennis Strokes. Also published at Developing Tennis Stokes Process.