tennis shots
There
are eight basic shots in the game of
tennis: the
serve,
forehand,
backhand,
volley,
half volley (pick-up ball),
overhead smash,
drop shot, and
lob. Each
shot is made by using a
racquet to strike a ball with the intent to hit the ball over the net. Tennis
shots are therefore named for when
they are struck (in the case of the serve)
or the manner in which they are struck.
A
serve (or, more formally, a service) in tennis is a shot to start a point. The
most common serve is used is an overhead serve.
It is initiated by tossing the ball into the air over the server's head and
hitting it when the arm is fully stretched out (usually near the apex of its
trajectory) into the diagonally opposite service box without touching the net.
It may be performed underhand or overhead.
The
serve is the only shot where a player can take his time to set up, instead of
having to react to an opponent's shot. The serve is one of
the more difficult shots for a novice, but once mastered it can be a
considerable advantage. Advanced players can hit the serve in many different
ways and often use it as an offensive weapon to gain an advantage in the point
or to win it outright. Because of this, professional players win most of their
service games, and breaking serve
plays a crucial role in a match.
If
the ball hits the net cord but lands in the service court, this is a
let service, which is void and
the serve is replayed, and the server is allowed either 1 or 2 serves depending
on whether the let occurred on the first or second serve. A ball that hits the
net cord but lands out is a fault.
The
server is required to keep his or her feet in nearly the same position during
the serve. The server's feet may be raised off the ground, but walking or
running is not permitted. This prevents the opponent from being misled as to
where the serve will originate. Breaching this rule or exceeding the permitted
part of the court constitutes a foot fault.
A
server unsatisfied with the toss can let the ball fall to the ground, and can
try again without there being a fault. Also, the server can catch the toss with
e.g. the hand or racquet, and can try again; if the server makes any contact
with the ball it is only a fault if the server had attempted a swing. If the
server swings and misses the ball, it is a fault.
TYPES OF SERVE
FLAT
SERVE: A flat serve (in the old days sometimes called a cannonball serve)
is hit with an Eastern or Continental grip and a swing path
directly through the ball so that it doesn't spin and cuts through the air very
fast. A flat serve must come close to the net, so it has a small margin for
error. Therefore, flat serves are most often hit straight down the center, where
the net is lowest, and they usually are delivered as first serves, when the
server can afford the risk of faulting.
TOPSPIN
SERVE: A topspin serve is hit with forward spin imparted by brushing the
back of the ball upward at contact. Like all spin serves, the topspin serve
travels slower than a flat serve. The topspin on the ball makes it dive
downward, so that it can be aimed high over the net and still land in. The
topspin serve therefore is a relatively safe serve often used as a second serve.
The topspin serve should not be hit weaker than the first serve, but with the
same amount of, or even more power than the first serve in order to generate the
necessary spin. The topspin on the ball also makes it bounce high. Many
receivers handle the high bounce well on their forehand side but not on their
backhand side. Therefore, placed to the backhand, topspin serves are useful for
serve and volley play,
even on the first serve. The topspin serve is harder to
learn than the flat serve and the topspin-slice serve, as the contact point is
directly over the server's head or perhaps even a little behind it, requiring
complex body mechanics. It is hit with a Continental grip or an
Eastern Backhand grip (using the forehand side of the racket face).
SLICE
SERVE: A slice serve is hit with sidespin, imparted by brushing the back
of the ball rightward at contact. (A left-handed server brushes the back of the
ball leftward at contact.) It is commonly hit with the Continental grip or the
Eastern backhand grip (using the forehand face of the racket). A sliced serve's
sidespin causes the ball to curve leftward and skid when it bounces, curving
further leftward after the bounce. A good slice serve curves so much that it can
draw the receiver ten feet wide of the singles sideline to play the ball. A
severely sliced serve is sometimes called a "sidespin" serve or a "slider."
Since a slice serve has little or no topspin on it, it cannot be aimed high over
the net and has little margin for error. So, it is generally used only as a
first serve. It can be used to ace the receiver, to draw the receiver off the
court and out of position, or to "jam" the receiver with a serve curving sharply
into his or her body.
TOPSPIN
SLICE SERVE: A topspin-slice serve is hit with a combination
of both sidespin and topspin, imparted by brushing the back of the ball upward
and rightward at about a 45 degree angle at contact. This is the spin beginners
naturally serve with, though they don't get the ball spinning very fast. This
blend of topspin and sidespin makes the ball curve downward and leftward in
flight, bouncing high and continuing to curve leftward. Because of the topspin
on it, a topspin-slice serve can be aimed higher over the net than a slice serve
or a flat serve. So, it has a greater margin for error.
AMERICAN
TWIST/TWIST SERVE: The twist serve was originally known as
the "American twist" serve, and it is still sometimes referred to by that name.
It is a special kind of topspin-slice serve that behaves differently after the
bounce because it has much more topspin than sidespin on it. So, instead of
skidding and continuing to curve leftward after the bounce like a slice serve,
it "grabs" the court and breaks rightward in the direction of a right-hander's
backhand. Like all spin serves, it is hit higher over the net with a larger
margin of error. This along with the awkward bounce, make it a popular second
service choice. To create this action the ball needs to have a twisted axis of
rotation, so that the ball's spinning is out-of-line (axis of spin rotated
slightly clockwise from a top view) with its flight path. To execute this serve,
a continental or, more commonly, an Eastern backhand grip is used. The ball is
thrown somewhat behind and to the left of the server's head, and the racquet
brushes the ball from the 8 o'clock position to the 2 'clock position (although
other players can have a 7 o'clock to 1 o'clock stroke), imparting a combination
of topspin and sidespin. Different angles of attack by the racquet on the ball
varies the action of the kick, making it less predictable.
The
forehand is struck from the dominant side of the body by swinging the racquet in
the direction of where the player wants to place the shot. It is called a
forehand because the racquet is held in such a way that if one were to strike the ball without the racquet, it would hit the palm of your hand. This is the
opposite side from a backhand. It is considered the easiest shot to master,
perhaps because it is the most natural stroke. Beginners and advanced players
often have better forehands than any other shots and use it as a weapon. Most
forehands are hit with
topspin
because it helps keep the ball from landing outside the court. On some
occasions, such as an approach shot, a player can opt to hit with
backspin,
which can also be called a
slice. There are
various grips for executing the forehand and their popularity has fluctuated
over the years. No matter which grip is used, most forehands are generally
executed with one hand holding the racquet, but there have been fine players
with two-handed forehands.
TYPES OF GRIP
WESTERN:
The western was widely used in the first two decades of the 20th century.
Few top players used the western grip after the 1920s, as many of them
moved to the eastern and continental, but in the latter part of
the 20th century, as shot-making techniques and equipment changed radically, the
western forehand made a strong comeback and is now used by many modern
players. Some consider it to be an extreme or radical grip, however. The maximum
amount of topspin can be generated with this grip, and as such, it is used to
great effect by many clay courters, most notably by
Rafael Nadal.
SEMI-WESTERN:
The semi-western grip is also widely used today, and falls in between the
western and the eastern. It is popular with players who want to
hit a fair amount of topspin.
EASTERN:
The eastern grip widely replaced the western in the 1920s. Many
beginners start with the eastern grip because of its comfortable feel. It
is often described as shaking hands with the racquet. Forehands hit with the
eastern can have either topspin or backspin, as the gripping hand is on the
same plane as the racquet, and can thus be tilted up for topspin or down for
backspin rather easily.
CONTINENTAL:
The continental grip was popular with many Europeans of the 1920s and
1930s and with many Australians of the 1940s and 1950s. The continental
has the advantage of being used for all strokes: serves, volleys, forehands, and
backhands, without having to be shifted in the player's hand, as is the case
with all the other grips. It is particularly well-suited for hitting low balls —
"taking the ball on the rise" — but is generally considered inferior for most
forehands.
The
backhand is struck from then non-dominant side of the body by bringing
the racquet across the body (sh
owing the back of your hand to the
opponent) and swinging the racquet away from one's body in the direction of
where the player wants the ball to go. It can be executed with either one or
both hands. Because the players dominant hand "pulls" into the shot, the
backhand generally lacks the power and consistency of the forehand, and is
usually considered more difficult to master. Beginner and club-level players
often have difficulty hitting a backhand, and junior players may have trouble
making the shot if they are not strong enough to hit it. Many advanced players
still have a significantly better forehand than backhand, and many strategies in
tennis aim to exploit this weakness. The Two handed backhand was used more often
since it allowed easy access to
power and control. Two hands give the player
more power so it provides the player with an advantage on power-focused shots.
However, one hand is useful in that it can generate a slice shot, applying
backspin on the ball to produce a low trajectory bounce.
VOLLEY:
A volley is made in the air before the ball bounces,
generally near the net or inside of the service line. It is usually made with a
stiff-wristed "punching" motion to hit the ball into an open area of the
opponent's court.
HALF
VOLLEY: The half volley is made by hitting the ball
on the rise just after it has bounced, once again generally in the vicinity of
the net.
LOB:
From a poor defensive position on the baseline, the lob can be
used as either an offensive or defensive weapon, hitting the ball high and deep
into the opponent's court to either enable the lobber (the player hitting the
lob) to get into better defensive position or to win the point outright by
hitting it over the opponent's head.
OVERHEAD
SMASH: If the lob is not hit deeply enough into the other
court, however, the opponent may then hit an overhead smash, a hard,
serve-like shot (hit over the players head), to end the point.
DROP
SHOT: If an opponent is deep in his court, a player may
suddenly employ an unexpected drop shot, softly tapping the ball just
over the net so that the opponent is unable to run in fast enough to retrieve
it.
