B
Ball Control Tennis
Guest
Roger Federer’s forehand stroke is one of best examples of ball control stroke, whose advantages have been introduced by Ball Control Tennis previously, as given at the web page, which speculates on the future of tennis:
http://www.ballcontrol.net/bcfuture.htm
To complete the Ball Control Tennis discussion, we need to point out the disadvantages of ball control. Briefly, the ball control stroke may not be used effectively against a topspin because a topspin may have twice the forward speed as an ordinary shot with little spin, making the timing for ball control twice as difficult.
An incoming ball loses 40% of its forward speed after hitting the ground. The forward speed changes into rotational speed after hitting the ground without slipping. A 100 miles per hour ball changes into a 60 mph ball after hitting the ground. But, when there is topspin, the incoming 100 mph ball will have 100 or more mph after hitting the ground. To apply jumpulse (a sudden increase of force) at a precise moment of contact is difficult at 60mph; only Federer can do it on a regular basis. To mentally catch the precise timing in a ball control stroke to return a 100 or more mph topspin with a strange bounce due to the topspin is nearly impossible, especially, when one has to hit the ball on the run.
Topspin shot has the advantages that the sliding of the ball on the racket spreads out the impact force resulting in prolonged dwell time and that the topspin causing the ball to dip down resulting in higher probability of making a good shot. Topspin game had dominated table tennis for over a decade in the 1960s. The topspin style is just starting to show its advantage in tennis and can be expect to dominate in tennis as it had done in table tennis. However, the topspin game was wiped out almost overnight, after a world champion was beaten by a block player by the score of around 6 to 21.
The proper shot to return a strong topspin shot is the block, which is currently done in tennis only as a last resort, such as in returning a serve or in save a shot at the end of a long run, or in a volley or half volley. The block stroke has little follow through with a push motion. A ball control block introduces a constant acceleration or jerk, a rate of increase of acceleration, into the block stroke. The reason that the block is most effective against the topspin is that the topspin has large forward speed favorable to a block return and it naturally provide a upward component in the return shot, which has the same effect as the applied upward lift in ball control.
Ball control block, however, takes a long time to learn, probably longer than any other stroke, because a good block player need to be familiar with all types of attack shots. For example, one should block a topspin using a half volley and block a strong smash at about or over the net height. In a ball control smash hit, the key is the precise timing achieved through a mental image. And in a ball control block hit, the timing does not need to be precise, but the direction and the amount of "impact force" on returning the ball need to be very accurate. This take a great deal of drill in returning smash, serves, and strong topspin shots. Federer is already a very good block player, but he needs to improve his shot selection and perfect his block stroke as a part of his regular style.
Generally, in terms of the styles of play, the block is good against the topspin, which is good against the ball control, which is good against the no spin or slice, which is good against the block. Thus, each major style should be accompanied by a minor style which compensates for the weakness of the major style. For example, Federer should perfect his block style, especially, his backhand, which is a weakness on clay. He should not used the ball control stroke for returning strong topspin shots; he should block back strong topspin shots and ball control all the other shots. A historical note of caution for block players: the block style could not reached the world class in table tennis because they could not beat all other styles; it is the weakest of all styles, and it is good against the strongest. Tennis players are still not familiar with the block style, and for the next ten years, topspin will most likely become the most popular style. However, we believe that the combination of the ball control, which is key to consistency, and the block, which is needed against the topspin, will be the real formidable style. Thank you. [CYL, Y, LS] ###
http://www.ballcontrol.net/bcfuture.htm
To complete the Ball Control Tennis discussion, we need to point out the disadvantages of ball control. Briefly, the ball control stroke may not be used effectively against a topspin because a topspin may have twice the forward speed as an ordinary shot with little spin, making the timing for ball control twice as difficult.
An incoming ball loses 40% of its forward speed after hitting the ground. The forward speed changes into rotational speed after hitting the ground without slipping. A 100 miles per hour ball changes into a 60 mph ball after hitting the ground. But, when there is topspin, the incoming 100 mph ball will have 100 or more mph after hitting the ground. To apply jumpulse (a sudden increase of force) at a precise moment of contact is difficult at 60mph; only Federer can do it on a regular basis. To mentally catch the precise timing in a ball control stroke to return a 100 or more mph topspin with a strange bounce due to the topspin is nearly impossible, especially, when one has to hit the ball on the run.
Topspin shot has the advantages that the sliding of the ball on the racket spreads out the impact force resulting in prolonged dwell time and that the topspin causing the ball to dip down resulting in higher probability of making a good shot. Topspin game had dominated table tennis for over a decade in the 1960s. The topspin style is just starting to show its advantage in tennis and can be expect to dominate in tennis as it had done in table tennis. However, the topspin game was wiped out almost overnight, after a world champion was beaten by a block player by the score of around 6 to 21.
The proper shot to return a strong topspin shot is the block, which is currently done in tennis only as a last resort, such as in returning a serve or in save a shot at the end of a long run, or in a volley or half volley. The block stroke has little follow through with a push motion. A ball control block introduces a constant acceleration or jerk, a rate of increase of acceleration, into the block stroke. The reason that the block is most effective against the topspin is that the topspin has large forward speed favorable to a block return and it naturally provide a upward component in the return shot, which has the same effect as the applied upward lift in ball control.
Ball control block, however, takes a long time to learn, probably longer than any other stroke, because a good block player need to be familiar with all types of attack shots. For example, one should block a topspin using a half volley and block a strong smash at about or over the net height. In a ball control smash hit, the key is the precise timing achieved through a mental image. And in a ball control block hit, the timing does not need to be precise, but the direction and the amount of "impact force" on returning the ball need to be very accurate. This take a great deal of drill in returning smash, serves, and strong topspin shots. Federer is already a very good block player, but he needs to improve his shot selection and perfect his block stroke as a part of his regular style.
Generally, in terms of the styles of play, the block is good against the topspin, which is good against the ball control, which is good against the no spin or slice, which is good against the block. Thus, each major style should be accompanied by a minor style which compensates for the weakness of the major style. For example, Federer should perfect his block style, especially, his backhand, which is a weakness on clay. He should not used the ball control stroke for returning strong topspin shots; he should block back strong topspin shots and ball control all the other shots. A historical note of caution for block players: the block style could not reached the world class in table tennis because they could not beat all other styles; it is the weakest of all styles, and it is good against the strongest. Tennis players are still not familiar with the block style, and for the next ten years, topspin will most likely become the most popular style. However, we believe that the combination of the ball control, which is key to consistency, and the block, which is needed against the topspin, will be the real formidable style. Thank you. [CYL, Y, LS] ###
