Good Judgement and Time (Part-2)
On paper it is hard to explain these positions, but take note when you are receiving a service how awkward it is to return a ball on your backhand. Players could score many an ace by serving to your backhand while you are faced to the right. Your position is wrong because it favors your forehand at the expense of your backhand. Your eyes are facing to the right of the court, which prevents you from judging the ball well on your backhand. Reverse your position in facing and you will find your forehand stroke will seem just as hard as your backhand. Your eyes should at all times be facing the ball squarely. Then you can judge the ball on either side.
By facing sideways, however, before you make your backhand stroke you will find it an easy stroke. That shows you that it is not your stroke, but your position, that makes a backhand shot hard to make. To have a good backhand one should remember that the essentials are the same as on the forehand strokes. That is:
1. Your position should be correct.
2. Start well back with your swing.
3. Meet the ball the same height and distance from you as one does on his forehand stroke.
4. Keep a steady swing all the way through.
5. Follow through on stroke.
The success that will follow your efforts on backhand strokes if made with these points observed will give you confidence, without which you cannot do anything well in tennis.
Do not let the ball drop too low when about to return it. It makes a return more difficult and harder to keep in court. A ball is too low when it is below one's knees. The higher you meet the ball the less height you have to get on it. Furthermore, on a high ball you have more angle for cross court returns or placing. Many wait for the ball to come to them instead of stepping forward and meeting the ball higher. The right height for a follow through stroke is a little above one's knee. Anything about waist high or above can be "topped." When meeting ball knee high one makes a good return by putting it about two feet above the net, for at that height it will still have room to drop in court. By letting the ball drop too low you also give your opponent more time to come up to the net, or to get in position for your return. If you have time always step forward and meet the ball sooner. The higher you meet the ball the quicker your return is going to be, which forces your opponent more. It also gives you more chance of keeping the ball in court.
The remarks on the fault of letting the ball drop too low also apply in volleying. When about to volley don't wait for the ball to come to you, but meet it higher if you can. The lower the ball is volleyed the harder it is to return. The higher one meets the ball on a volley the less he has to worry about putting the ball over the net or putting it out of court, because you can hit it downward more.
|
