Attention to the Start
Just the other day I was giving a lesson to A.
A. is a charming gentleman over 70 years old with a passion for tennis who doesn’t just want to “rally” but wants to learn the correct way to do things on the tennis court, driven by his incredible passion.
For the past few months, we have tackled all the strokes, and finally, we have reached net play with volleys, where he has made notable technical progress, and now the smash.
And it was during the smash lesson that this technical detail, which is truly the first and indispensable thing a beginner must do if they hope to have a “devastating smash” in the future, came to mind 😊
Well begun is … three-quarters of the way there!
I know that’s not exactly how the saying goes, but in my opinion, it fits perfectly for this aggressive tennis shot, which has indeed made my fortune on the court: I indeed had a very sharp smash from any part of the court, then old age…sigh 😔
Yes, because starting with the “first move” correctly will allow you to set up the right body loadings and position your feet much more easily to go “hunting for the lob” from the opponent, and being inaccurate in this start will definitely compromise the effectiveness of the stroke you will perform and will put you in a position to turn a potentially winning shot into a “free gift” to the opponent.
Let’s see then the wrong ways and the right way to start properly.
1 – the “belly” smash
This is certainly the most common mistake among all self-taught players because it’s the most instinctive movement you can make if… you have no idea how to perform a smash!
It is almost always accompanied by the basic Eastern forehand grip (while by now you should know that the most effective grip is the Continental) and very often this shot simply translates into putting the ball back into play without power and control.
This is because playing the smash without rotating the trunk does not allow your body to charge and then discharge the energy accumulated on the ball, and this will certainly not lead to powerful smashes.
Moreover, moving backwards in the field with the belly to the net is uncomfortable and sometimes a bit dangerous: tripping in a rapid movement is always around the corner (I’ve seen quite a few landings on the buttocks in my career). 😄
2 – the incomplete preparation
It’s typical of a somewhat lazy player who “does 30, but not 31,” meaning that, even though they turn sideways correctly, they then fail to open up as they should.
As you can see from my example, I turn sideways but I move back while keeping the racquet low, thus making a preparation more similar to that of a serve: this results in a delay when going to hit the incoming ball as it still requires moving the racquet up behind the head and very often this results in a delayed and lower than optimal impact.
3 – the true first move
The correct preparation is the one that allows you to reach the correct position as quickly as possible and should be done before moving to look for the ball.
This type of preparation is called over-the-top because the racquet in the first move passes outside the body (photo 1) before rising behind the head (photo 2), as you can see this initial phase is different from that of the serve because in this case the time available is less and the movement becomes shorter and more compact.
All this will greatly facilitate the task in the subsequent phase of searching for the right position under the ball for the smash and will also allow you to move more coordinatedly and avoid damage… to your buttocks! 😄