How Do You Start Off A Rally?

[lordmanji]

when you're practicing with your friends or whoever, how do you start off a rally if you have the ball?

do you drop and hit or bounce then hit it? when i watch the pros, they let the balls drop very low like to their knees/shins before they hit it. and they look like they do that with a continental grip then change it back.

 

[Tennis_Gnat]

Now: Drop and hit with a continental, flat shot, change back to my normal grip.
A few years ago: drop and hit with a SemiWestern, but somewhat flat.
More years ago: drop and hit with semiwestern, topspin.
Even longer ago: Drop, bounce, hit.

by the way, when I changed to dropping and hitting it without bouncing it, I started going to a certain clinic. My coach kept yelling at me to use a continental grip and hit flat. It's kinda drilled into my brain.

 

[lordmanji]

Now: Drop and hit with a continental, flat shot, change back to my normal grip.
A few years ago: drop and hit with a SemiWestern, but somewhat flat.
More years ago: drop and hit with semiwestern, topspin.
Even longer ago: Drop, bounce, hit.

by the way, when I changed to dropping and hitting it without bouncing it, I started going to a certain clinic. My coach kept yelling at me to use a continental grip and hit flat. It's kinda drilled into my brain.

whyd you change it to a continental from a semiwestern? ive seen the pros do that too and have been thinking about changing my own way of starting off the rally. does it mess up your forehand or something?

 

[habib]

whyd you change it to a continental from a semiwestern? ive seen the pros do that too and have been thinking about changing my own way of starting off the rally. does it mess up your forehand or something?

Nah, I don't think so. I just recently stopped the whole bounce-hit thing and started just dropping it and hitting it about 3 inches off the ground. I think it's actually improved my forehand a bit, since you need decent control and pace generation abilities to drop a ball and hit it at a decent clip to the same point over and over.

 

[lordmanji]

it kills me when i start off a rally and the ball clips the net cord. it happens alot actually. i guess i needa start putting more low to high swingpath on it.

 

[Solat]

it kills me when i start off a rally and the ball clips the net cord. it happens alot actually. i guess i needa start putting more low to high swingpath on it.

you gotta feed down low under the ball so that you hit upwards, conti grip is most effective to get the racquet lower then the hand