One of the basic tennis skills and techniques is footwork which is basically weight control. It involves positioning the body in the correct position for appropriate strokes which should be worked on until they improve significantly. In illustrating the many types of strokes as well as footwork, I will write in terms of a right-handed player. Those who are left handed need to just reverse their feet. The grip of the racquet is a vital component of the stroke as a poor grip is bound to spoil any good serve. It is the natural grip that is used for a forehand top drive. It is naturally weaker when used for a backhand because the chop stroke is the most natural.
To get a good forehand grip grab a hold of the racquet with the frame’s edge facing downwards while face remains perpendicular. The racquet handle should point towards the body and the player should grip it like a handshake. The handle needs to be well settled and comfortable in the hand with the arm line, racquet and hand all parallel. The swing puts the head of the racquet parallel with the player’s arm and basically the racquet becomes an extension of the arm.
According to the tennis skills and techniques, the grip for the backhand forms a quarter of a circle hand turn using the handle and taking the hand to the handle’s top with the knuckles positioned directly up. The shot will then travel across the player’s wrist. This happens to be the most appropriate starting point for proper grip. I would not advice players to exactly copy this grip; however, they should modify it according to how comfortable they are, so as not to compromise any individuality. Once the racquet is settled in the palm of the hand, something to ponder is the body positioning as well as the organization of the developing strokes.
All the strokes in tennis need to be executed with the player’s body positioned perpendicular to the centre net as well as the shoulders parallel to the ball’s flight path. The weigh needs to constantly move forward passing the back foot and to the foot in front just as the ball is struck. The weight should never be allowed to move out of the stroke. The weight is what establishes the stroke ‘pace’ while the swing establishes the ‘speed’.
Let me expound on meanings of ‘pace’ and ‘speed’. ‘‘Speed’ is described as the precise rate at which the ball travels in the air while ‘Pace’ is described as the momentum that it comes off the court with. Pace is the amount of weight or the ‘sting’ that the ball contains once it comes off the court. This also gives the unsuspecting or novice players a surge of force that is hardly noticeable in the stroke. A large number of players ensure that they have both ‘pace’ and ‘speed’. Certain shots could have both these
Learning Tennis strokes should be done in this order:
1. The drive. Backhand and forehand. This happens to be the basis of tennis skills and techniques. It is impossible to set up any significant net attack without having a ground stroke with which to open with. Neither will it be possible for you to confront any net attack effectively without a good drive, because it is the one and only fruitful passing shot.
2. The Service
3. The Overhead Smash and Volley.
4. The Half Volley or Chop as well as other ornamental and incidental strokes.
Once these guidelines are followed there will be a significant improvement in the tennis skills and techniques.
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