Holding the Racquet, Feet Position and Making the Strokes in Tennis Articles | Tennis

By: Darren Williger

Proper tennis footwork is all about weight control. With proper footwork, you achieve proper body position from which you should make all tennis strokes. The following are for right-handers, for left-handed individuals simply reverse your feet position.

One very important ingredient of any tennis stroke is the racquet grip – it is the building block of all strokes. Having the correct grip for any type of stroke – service, volley, half volley, forehand and backhand would greatly contribute to your enjoyment and thrill of playing the game.

For right handed persons to achieve the correct forehand grip, hold the racquet’s face perpendicular to the ground with the handle towards the body; shake hands with the racquet handle and allow it to settle naturally into the hand and close your fingers. To check if your grip is correct, your arm, hand and racquet should be a straight line. The racquet should be an extension of your strong arm with the face as the palm of your extended arm.

For the backhand grip, hold the racquet at the throat with the weak hand and make a quarter turn of your strong hand on the handle, making sure that your knuckles are aligned with the edge of the racquet face.

The forehand and backhand grips described above are the best possible way to hold a tennis racquet; however, your natural grip (the one you are most comfortable with) may differ slightly but should follow the same principles. Practice your grip in front of a mirror any chance you get until you automatically and instinctively hold it correctly.

The next thing you should know is how to position your feet in order to develop you’re your offensive and defensive strokes.

When hitting the ball, the cardinal rule in tennis is to hit the ball ALWAYS with the body at right angles to the net and shoulders parallel to the line of flight of the ball with the body weight shifting from the back towards the front to point of impact of the racquet and the ball. This weight shifting motion ensures that a player’s weight is behind the stroke in order to give the ball indispensable pace.

Pace is not the same as speed. Speed is the rate at which a ball travels through the air when struck by the racquet on the other hand pace is the force with which the ball comes off the ground.
There is a set order of how to learn the basic strokes of tennis.

You should practice the drive first both forehand and backhand. These strokes are also commonly called your ground strokes, the foundation of good tennis player. Mastering your ground strokes allow you to attack and defend the net and the baseline at the same time.

A good service is an indispensable skill in tennis. Practice your serve by taking up several positions just outside the baseline and try to hit the ball in the direction you choose at will. Strive to have accurate ball placement by aiming at a particular area of the court while practicing your serve to gain accuracy. Make sure to vary the pace of your service so that your opponent can not anticipate and predict the point of contact of your service ball.

Have somebody hit high looping balls so you in various areas of the court so you can practice your volley and overhead smash.

Lastly, learn how to make the chop or half volley initially in a standing position and then as you run.

When you have a pretty good mastery of the basic shots, the other accompanying trick shots or showy strokes will come naturally as you play.