First of all, use a Continental grip—the same one you’d use for your serve and volleys. (It’s like the grip you would use if you were grabbing a hammer and planning to pound a nail into the floor.) Bring your racquet up using a slightly bigger backswing than you would for a volley. As you prepare to strike the ball, shift your weight to your front foot and then slowly move your racquet from high to low, brushing down the back of the ball and then scooping under it as if you wanted to lift it straight up into the air. Keep in mind that there are many different degrees of spin. Practice making your scoop bigger or smaller to develop the appropriate feel for the shot.
When you take to the practice court to work on your drop shot, use the five bounce rule: If you've hit the ball with sufficient backspin, it should bounce five times before reaching your opponent's service line. Also remember that a well hit drop shot will actually be on its way down as it crosses the net. —By Greg Moran
Greg Moran, the director of tennis at The Four Seasons Racquet Club in Wilton, Conn., is the author of Tennis Beyond Big Shots (Mansion Grove House).
Credit: Article by Greg Moran reproduced with permission of Tennis.com
]]>I’ve got to tell you, I’m sick and tired of hearing about “Modern” tennis.” I’m sick of watching it, tired of reading about it and I’m particularly fed up with seeing recreational players struggle to play it.
“Tennis has changed” is the sales pitch and if you’re not playing the “modern” or “new” game you can’t compete is the message. I vehemently disagree with this premise and loudly proclaim that for the vast majority of tennis players the game has not changed. In the world of recreational tennis (where most of the tennis playing population happen to reside) “new” definitely does not mean “improved.”
Yes, at the professional level the game has changed significantly over the past twenty years.Through advances in racket technology, training methods and the mere evolution of the elite athlete, professional tennis players today are able to hit balls at supersonic speeds, strike winners from virtually any area of the court and create angles that make our jaws drop.
“Hit big to win big” is the credo of this “modern” game and virtually all of today’s champions possess big groundstrokes and monster serves as their signature shots. They truly play a bigger and faster game than their predecessors.The bad news is that everyday players see this and their mouths start watering.
"I can't believe how hard they hit the ball."
These are the words that most recreational players will use when you ask them to describe the pro game. After seeing ballistic serves and Richter scale forehands being hit by their tennis superheroes, mortal players around the world develop a serious case of "I can do that too" disease.
They grab their racket, don their capes and attempt the tennis equivalent of leaping tall buildings in a single bound: big serves and monster forehands. This "I can do that too" approach brings a few fleeting flashes of brilliance, many more moments of frustration and often enough shoulder, elbow and back injuries to make an orthopedic doctor salivate.
Now, we all know that there is much more strategy going on out there with the players on the tour than simply hitting big shots. However, many recreational players do not pick this up.They only notice how hard the pros hit the ball and the number of aces they serve in each match. They then head out to their weekly game and try to emulate their hero’s brilliance.
The fact is, the game, as it’s played at the professional level today, bears such little resemblance to the sport that the majority of us play that comparisons are few and far between. Therefore I say that the modern game is not for the masses. Here are a few reasons why. 1. It’s too difficult for the average athlete to play. 2. It often causes more pain than pleasure. 3. It has brought down the level of recreational play.
The Modern Game is too Difficult for the Masses
Former French Open doubles champion Sandy Mayer recently wrote in Tennis Week magazine that “We've never been in an era where the gap between what the pros do and what you can learn from them is so wide." Mayer went on to say that,“I think it's absurd for a kid or adult to try to hit their forehand like Andy Roddick. I cringe when I see teaching pros telling their students to keep ripping the ball and saying, 'In time, it will come in.' Well, guess what? It won't."
In today’s pro game bigger is better and two shots that seem to best exemplify this are the forehand and serve. With extreme grips, open stances and jarring hip and shoulder rotations, all designed to provide more racket head speed, players must possess superb skill and athleticism to execute the “new” version of these shots on a consistent basis.
The “modern” player hits their forehand with either a semi-western or full western grip. Both require that the player bend his wrist at just the right time so as to present the racket face vertically (as it must be) at impact. If the player’s timing is off just a bit, the risk of a mis-hit increases dramatically. This is particularly true with the western grip which requires a significant adjustment.
Conversely, the traditional eastern forehand grip already has the wrist and racket head positioned in the proper manner for impact,making the racket an extension of the arm. This is not to mention that the eastern forehand is a more versatile stroke than the semi or full western grips.
The other key ingredient of the modern forehand is the open stance where the player coils his body and then uncoils it as he hits, employing his shoulders, trunk and hips to rotate into the shot. Frequently, this “uncoiling” will cause the player to actually jump up off the ground during his shot, generating more pace and topspin. Between the grips, open stance and quick, whipping type of swing that is advocated, there are so many moving parts that a player needs superb timing to consistently hit the ball cleanly.
Do you honestly think that Betty from Buffalo, who has three kids and a part-time job, has the time, talent or dedication to succeed with this difficult approach to the game? How about Walt from Wilton who travels the world on business and is lucky if he can get to the court four or five times a month.
Touring professionals are exceptionally gifted athletes who have spent thousands of hours hitting millions of balls to fully develop the very special and rare talent that God has given them. As a result, they are able to successfully, and brilliantly, execute the “modern” game. The vast majority of those who reside in the world of recreational tennis (our customers) cannot.
Wouldn’t you like to serve like Andy Roddick?
Of course you would,we all would. I’d also like to beat Barry Bonds to Hank Aaron’s home run record and sing like Elvis but neither is likely to happen in this lifetime.The fact is to hit a consistent 100 M.P.H. serve, which exemplifies the modern game, on a consistent basis, is as likely for most recreational players as winning the lottery. Milton Ossorio, Senior Teaching Professional at the Four Seasons Racquet Club in Wilton, Ct, says that “the bending, torque and toss required to hit a 100 M.P.H. serve is far beyond the skill levels of the average recreational athlete.”
Oh, I almost forgot. The swinging volley is another shot that’s associated with the modern game. In fact, the world just saw Rafael Nadal hit a fabulous one to close out Roger Federer in this year’s French Open. Given the athleticism required to hit the modern forehand and serve, I think you can probably figure out my feelings in regards to having one of my student’s charging the net and taking a full swing at a volley. It’s an impatient shot which the average player will not be able to execute on a consistent basis. Enough said, let’s leave the swinging volley to Nadal and his touring pro cronies.
The vast majority of us are not elite athletes who will be able to spend hours on the court developing the difficult techniques that define the modern game.Yet, through television, magazines and technology,they’re encouraged to try. Walt, who happens to play at my club, takes to the court, with a racket named “turbo of thunder”, moves his grip over a bit ("Because I noticed that's how Andy holds it"), opens up his stance and proceeds to fire away. As ball after ball flies over the baseline and/or back fence, he ignores them, squeezes his grip a bit tighter and keeps swinging away. When I try to convince him that his approach may not be the best,Walt smiles and says, "Greg,my serve is unbelievable...when it goes in and they can't touch my forehand...when it goes in," he assures me.Of course,“when it goes in” is the operative phrase.
Unfortunately, despite Walt’s occasional moments of brilliance, he’s yet to make it out of the first round of his club championships and has wrapped several rackets around net posts in the process. Sadly, the last time I saw Walt he said he was getting sick of tennis and considering taking up golf. The reality of it is that, for the millions of players like Walter and Betty, the “hit big to win big” approach usually translates into “hit big to lose quickly” and become frustrated in the process. This is not to put down the skills of the recreational player but the fact is Betty and Walt are solid representations of the tennis playing public. That being the case, the best method for them to approach the game is the one with the least amount of adjustments which means the more traditional approach.
More Pain than Pleasure
The modern game can be extremely hard on the body. I’ve seen far too many junior and club players develop injuries as a result of their attempts to execute the modern serve and/or forehand because they simply do not possess the physical strength,flexibility or skill of the pros. A human’s hips and shoulders were not built to viciously rotate hundreds of times during each match. These jarring rotations put tremendous pressure on the
player’s back, hips, legs, and knees which can ultimately lead to a breakdown. Even the pro’s bodies collapse under the stresses of playing this new game. Here’s a partial list of some of the top pros recent injuries:
Roger Federer: Ankle
Maria Sharapova: Pectoral muscle/shoulder problem.
Andre Agassi: Bad ankle, hip
Rafael Nadal: Foot fracture.
Venus Williams: Left hip.
Andy Roddick: Back
Lleyton Hewitt: Groin and foot
Serena Williams: Knee and ankle injuries
Lindsay Davenport:Back problems - she’s had other problems,too
Justine Henin-Hardenne:Leg,back and tendonitis problems.
Granted, the pros are playing 2 to 4 hours a day and competing week in and week out at the highest levels of the game. And yes, some of these are acute injuries yet 20% of these injuries are attributed to the demands of playing the modern game. If the greatest, most finely conditioned, athletes in the world are becoming injured due to this approach what does that mean for the average recreational player? I suspect that 20% would at least double if not triple.
Also, keep in mind that these athletes are in their physical prime. What happens when the aging process begins to kick in? After age 30, humans begin losing muscle mass and after age 40, bone mass declines. Tendons and ligaments become less elastic and easier to tear.
These changes and others affect the way we’re able to play the game. All of the twisting turning, bending and timing that is inherent in the modern game cannot, in most cases be achieved by the average older player. California teaching professional Scott Harris wrote in the June 2006 issue of Tennis Week magazine that “Baseline bashing loses its luster when the strength of youth departs us.What foundation of lasting tennis skills are students left with when that is the only game they learn?”
Too many coaches are busy preparing students for early retirement from tennis due to injuries inflicted on their bodies by less than perfect execution of the pristine instruction referred to in the letter. The “letter” Harris was referring to was one written by another teaching pro chastising those who do not teach the modern game. By way of comparison, Harrison concluded,“old fogeys like me are preparing our young students for a game they will be able to play for the rest of their lives. And if that involves some closed stance forehands and wrist snap on the serve, then that’s what it will take”
Winning beyond the Score
The success of recreational players should not be measured in wins and rankings but in years played enjoying the game.The modern approach to tennis threatens this longevity, which is why I say out with the “new”and in with the “old”. I realize these are bold, and I suspect among some, unpopular statements, but to those of you that say the “traditional approach” is yesterday’s news, I think that 47-year-old John McEnroe (who recently captured a doubles title on the ATP tour with his “antiquated” game) and 49- year-old Martina Navratilova would disagree. I wonder if Andy Roddick or Serena Williams, with their “modern” games will still be able to hang in there with the big boys and girls when they are in their late 40’s?
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Though we may try to deny it, at some point we’ll all begin to feel the effects of aging. Our clothes become tighter, but we're much more willing to go along with the discomfort than we are to admit that our bodies are perhaps spreading out a bit. We're stiffer after a tough match, but we rationalize that by saying that we really did a lot of running.
For some players, this inevitability is too much to bear and, as soon as their performance on the court begins to decline, they get frustrated and say, "What’s the point? If I can't play as well as I used to, why play at all? It's time to try golf." Bite your tongue! Middle age and the years that follow should be the most enjoyable time of your tennis life. By the time you hit your late 40s or 50s, the kids have probably flown the nest and you’re relatively secure in your career. Now it’s your time!
Experts at the American Anti-Aging Society say that as science progresses, those of you reading this book can possibly live to be 120-130 years old! That’s a lot of years to enjoy roaming the courts. Here's one advice to take father time deep into the third set. Adjust your equipmentIf you begin to notice that your eyes aren’t as sharp as they once were, try switching to an oversized racket with a bigger sweet spot. Also, an extra-long frame will make some of those harder to reach shots more reachable.
Two experts in the area of racket technology offer some additional helpful hints: David Bone, the Executive Director of the U.S. Racquet Stringers Association (More info: usrsa.com suggests that “if you find that your shots aren’t as powerful or as deep as they once were, try stringing your racket a few pounds looser.”
James Martin, the Editor-in-Chief at Tennis magazine (More info: Tennis.com) says that “another key factor as you get older is using racquets that are easier on the arm. Most of the major companies have specifically designed rackets to create a softer feel.” Regardless of what type of racket you use, be sure to keep your strings and grips fresh as both will provide cushioning for your arm, wrist and shoulder. A general rule of thumb says that you should get your racket restrung as many times per year as you play each week. Your grips should be changed at least that often.
Finally, make sure to use new, lively balls every time you step onto the court. Balls become heavier the more they’re hit and, as a result, become more stressful to your arm, wrist and shoulder. Finish your match and then give the balls to the pro for his lessons.
I would love to know your thoughts on how we can play our best tennis through our golden years.
Until next time, aces to you!
Greg Moran
Author Tennis Beyond Big Shots