tennisplayer
12-13-2005, 02:52 PM
This is such an interesting topic that I decided to start a separate thread on it.
In general, I prefer longer strokes if I have time. There are two things I get with longer strokes:
- good racquet head speed and spin control, for slice as well as topspin
- more "intention" - that is, I have a better feel for how much force and spin I am imparting to the ball, and where I want it to go.
I have two reasons for using shorter strokes. The obvious one is when the ball is deep and fast. In this case, the stroke may be short, but the execution is full, in the sense that the follow through traces the usual full path. The other occasion when I use a short stroke is when I want to hit a relatively slow ball that bounces really high. I do this when I am going for a straight winner - what I try to do is catch the ball way out in front, use a very short backswing, and use a huge amount of forearm to press the ball down really flat. The result is that there is topspin on the ball, but it goes down like a bullet and traces a pretty flat path. With some luck ;-) it will clear the net, and with more luck :-) it even lands in the court!
I'd like to hear other views on using short and long strokes.
In general, I prefer longer strokes if I have time. There are two things I get with longer strokes:
- good racquet head speed and spin control, for slice as well as topspin
- more "intention" - that is, I have a better feel for how much force and spin I am imparting to the ball, and where I want it to go.
I have two reasons for using shorter strokes. The obvious one is when the ball is deep and fast. In this case, the stroke may be short, but the execution is full, in the sense that the follow through traces the usual full path. The other occasion when I use a short stroke is when I want to hit a relatively slow ball that bounces really high. I do this when I am going for a straight winner - what I try to do is catch the ball way out in front, use a very short backswing, and use a huge amount of forearm to press the ball down really flat. The result is that there is topspin on the ball, but it goes down like a bullet and traces a pretty flat path. With some luck ;-) it will clear the net, and with more luck :-) it even lands in the court!
I'd like to hear other views on using short and long strokes.