Tennis Tips

September Tip - How Big Is Your Back Swing?

Not that there is an ideal size, but unless you have seen yourself on video, you may not have any idea of your swing size which may have everything to do with your contact point. If you are a player that has more than occasional "late days", meaning you are hitting the ball behind the ideal contact point on your groundstrokes, have someone take a look at your back swing to let you know if your elbow is drifting a good distance away from your body on the back swing. If so, the loop will be bigger and take longer. While this practice will produce more power, it may also make you late. A powerful, down the line, but out of the court ball, will be the unwelcome result. To cure this, just be aware of where your elbow is on the back swing. Tuck it into your waist on the loop or the straight back swing, which will shorten the lever and get the racquet to the ball sooner. You may sacrifice a bit of power but only for the better result of control. For those lucky ones who are able to control a bigger loop due to early preparation, a dollop more of power will be your reward!! Not that there is an ideal size, but unless you have seen yourself on video, you may not have any idea of your swing size which may have everything to do with your contact point. If you are a player that has more than occasional "late days", meaning you are hitting the ball behind the ideal contact point on your groundstrokes, have someone take a look at your back swing to let you know if your elbow is drifting a good distance away from your body on the back swing. If so, the loop will be bigger and take longer. While this practice will produce more power, it may also make you late. A powerful, down the line, but out of the court ball, will be the unwelcome result. To cure this, just be aware of where your elbow is on the back swing. Tuck it into your waist on the loop or the straight back swing, which will shorten the lever and get the racquet to the ball sooner. You may sacrifice a bit of power but only for the better result of control. For those lucky ones who are able to control a bigger loop due to early preparation, a dollop more of power will be your reward!!

July Tip - Impact of the Service Toss

Talk about the domino effect, the impact of the service toss is monumental. If the toss is off, the server will have to chase it which most assuredly will reduce the power and accuracy of the serve, which in turn can drastically impact the outcome of the point. Since the toss sets up the course of the serve itself, it is imperative to minimize the major inconsistencies that are affecting it, which, most often, are rhythm, release point, and multiple joint involvement (fingers, wrist, and elbow, keep all of these relatively straight) from the toss arm. These factors determine the trajectory and height of the toss. If the arm extends rhythmically and smoothly, up and slightly forward, and the fingers gently open to let the ball float skyward at the arm’s fully extended position, your technique has put the ball on it’s ideal path. If left not struck, the ball would bounce inside the baseline, illustrating the need for the body to push up and forward to go after the toss at its peak rather than allow the ball to begin is descent before contact. The height of the toss should be just a few inches, give or take, above the height of the fully extended racket. This means that the ball travels only about 30" out of your control before it is struck, leaving only the wind to dismantle its ultimate height and direction. Oh, it sounds so easy..... PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!