NON DOMINANT ARM USE -- FH

Use the non dominant arm/hand for spacing when turned or turning to the forehand side. The contact point should be well outside the length of the non dominant arm when turned prior to contacting the ball. Tips to remember about the non dominant arm when turning: Reach across the body with the non dominant arm when turning. Keep the arm below the shoulder and extend the arm, but not stiffly. afdd

LEG DRIVE -- A Critical Component for the Power Serve.

A critical component of the power serve is the effective use of the leg drive. One must drive with the legs from the loaded position to get additional power behind the serve. First, there must be a sufficient leg/knee bend, then there must be an explosive push up with the legs into the court to where the ball is contacted close to its toss height. One would land inside the baseline with the front leg first with the back leg coming in and through after. There may still be some servers that do the scissor kick landing with the back leg landing first, but a majority of servers in the game today will land with the front leg first. But, for foot up style servers, the leg push can be quite important as these servers are not as effective vertically as the foot back servers are. Remember the ideal degree of leg bend is somewhere close to 110 degrees plus or minus 5 degrees for optimum use. The effective use of the legs lends itself to a strong body core and of course strengthened calves, quadriceps, and hamstrings. goyc

FOREHAND -- Critical elements of a Great Shot

These elements are critical for a great forehand in today's modern game: a) a high hand or high racquet take back b) an extended wrist c) separation distance of the elbow from the body d) significant hand speed to swing e) leg use or leg drive. To briefly comment on the importance of each element above I will begin with (a) the height of the hand allows for more speed and momentum to build up to contact. Shoulder height is minimum with top of human head level extreme, but still excellent. An extended wrist is critical for prestretching the hand for maximum acceleration AND for bloody racquet head control. Regarding (c), the elbow separation from the body allows for greater length of stroke! The longer the stroke the more powerful the stroke. The speed of the hand is quite important but must be practiced by swinging fast. Just swing faster! The legs are very important because with the open stance forehand, the drive or loading down into court allows for more rotation speed and 'torque' when swinging. When closing one's stance the greater leg bend allows for more proficient shifting of weight into the forehand, hence more power. afdd

Doc's Tip -- Serve

Remember, when serving and reaching up to swing at the ball the non dominant arm will drop and as it drops down you want to tuck that ARM into your stomach to facilitate the shoulder over shoulder rotation speed as well as upper arm elevation. The tucking of the tossing arm reduces the inertia up and forward which allows the shoulders to rotate faster. afd

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- movement/positioning.

Moving your feet and getting into position to hit the ball is probably the most important factor in the game of tennis once your strokes become proficient. Moving your feet means running to the ball and judging the correct space or distance you will need to establish body balance prior to striking the ball. Always run or get into proper position before starting to swing at the ball. Even when the ball is hit right to you there is footwork to be done to position properly before starting your swing. Usually the footwork done once you are at the ball is referred to as adjustment footwork. Jkd

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- Two handed BH stance

If you have a two handed backhand, the easiest foot stance to use on a ball hit towards the sideline is the OPEN stance. The key is to get your outside foot(if facing the net) behind the ball or back at a substantial angle to the baseline. This stance allows you to prepare quicker than a closed stance and gives you more distance space from your body to contact the ball. Remember to load the back leg or outside foot so you can turn your hips when starting your swing. bhut

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- FH drop shot

When hitting a forehand drop shot, remember disguising the shot is the most important factor. This means when preparing try to stay in your forehand drive grip when turning. You will first need to compact the turn or preparation a bit, like when you make the adjustment attacking a shorter lower forehand. Then you will probably need to change into the continental grip as you drop the arm down and bring the stings in behind the ball. If you have more of a eastern grip, you may not need to change grips as you start down to contact the ball. There will be some ulnar deviation of the wrist but very little prior to and after contacting the ball. But, overall I would not characterize the wrist as loose AT ALL on this shot. Remember, to stop your follow through very succinctly after contacting the ball. The bottom edge of the racket should slightly cup underneath the ball after contact. afdd