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CHOP,
HALF VOLLEY, AND COURT POSITION.
Chop stroke.
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In Tennis, a chop stroke is a shot
where the angle towards the player
and behind the racquet, made by the
line of flight of the ball, and the
racquet travelling down across it,
is greater than 45 degrees and may
be 90 degrees. The racquet face passes
slightly outside the ball and down
the side, chopping it, as a man chops
wood. The spin and curve is from right
to left. It is made with a stiff wrist.
The slice shot merely reduced the
angle mentioned from 45 degrees down
to a very small one. The racquet face
passes either inside or outside the
ball, according to direction desired,
while the stroke is mainly a wrist
twist or slap. This slap imparts a
decided skidding break to the ball,
while a chop "drags" the
ball off the ground without break.
The rules of footwork for both these
shots should be the same as the drive,
but because both are made with a short
swing and more wrist play, without
the need of weight, the rules of footwork
may be more safely discarded and body
position not so carefully considered.
Both these shots are essentially
defensive, and are labour-saving devices
when your opponent is on the baseline.
A chop or slice is very hard to drive,
and will break up any driving game.
It is not a shot to use against a
volley, as it is too slow to pass
and too high to cause any worry. It
should be used to drop short, soft
shots at the feet of the net man as
he comes in. Do not strive to pass
a net man with a chop or slice, except
through a big opening.
The drop-shot is a very soft, sharply-angled
chop stroke, played wholly with the
wrist. It should drop within 3 to
5 feet of the net to be of any use.
The racquet face passes around the
outside of the ball and under it with
a distinct "wrist turn."
Do not swing the racquet from the
shoulder in making a drop shot. The
drop shot has no relation to a stop-volley.
The drop shot is all wrist. The stop-volley
has no wrist at all.
Use all your wrist shots, chop, slice,
and drop, merely as an auxilliary
to your orthodox game. They are intended
to upset your opponent's game through
the varied spin on the ball.
The half volley.
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This shot requires more perfect timing,
eyesight, and racquet work than any
other, since its margin of safety
is smallest and its manifold chances
of mishaps numberless.
It is a pick-up. The ball meets the
ground and racquet face at nearly
the same moment, the ball bouncing
off the ground, on the strings. This
shot is a stiff-wrist, short swing,
like a volley with no follow through.
The racquet face travels along the
ground with a slight tilt over the
ball and towards the net, thus holding
the ball low; the shot, like all others
in tennis, should travel across the
racquet face, along the short strings.
The racquet face should always be
slightly outside the ball.
The half volley is essentially a
defensive stroke, since it should
only be made as a last resort, when
caught out of position by your opponent's
shot. It is a desperate attempt to
extricate yourself from a dangerous
position without retreating. never
deliberately half volley.
Court position.
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A tennis court is 39 feet long from
baseline to net. There are only two
places in a tennis court that a tennis
player should be to await the ball.
1. About 3 feet behind the baseline
near the middle of the court, or
2. About 6 to 8 feet back from the
net and almost opposite the ball.
The first is the place for all baseline
players. The second is the net position.
If you are drawn out of these positions
by a shot which you must return, do
not remain at the point where you
struck the ball, but attain one of
the two positions mentioned as rapidly
as possible.
The distance from the baseline to
about 10, feet from the net may be
considered as "no-man's-land"
or "the blank." Never linger
there, since a deep shot will catch
you at your feet. After making your
shot from the blank, as you must often
do, retreat behind the baseline to
await the return, so you may again
come forward to meet the ball. If
you are drawn in short and cannot
retreat safely, continue all the way
to the net position.
Never stand and watch your shot,
for to do so simply means you are
out of position for your next stroke.
Strive to attain a position so that
you always arrive at the spot the
ball is going to before it actually
arrives. Do your hard running while
the ball is in the air, so you will
not be hurried in your stroke after
it bounces.
It is in learning to do this that
natural anticipation plays a big role.
Some players instinctively know where
the next return is going and take
position accordingly, while others
will never sense it. It is to the
latter class that I urge court position,
and recommend always coming in from
behind the baseline to meet the ball,
since it is much easier to run forward
than back.
Should you be caught at the net,
with a short shot to your opponent,
do not stand still and let him pass
you at will, as he can easily do.
Pick out the side where you think
he will hit, and jump to, it suddenly
as he swings. If you guess right,
you win the point. If you are wrong,
you are no worse off, since he would
have beaten you anyway with his shot.
Your position should always strive
to be such that you can cover the
greatest possible area of court without
sacrificing safety, since the straight
shot is the surest, most dangerous,
and must be covered. It is merely
a question of how much more court
than that immediately in front of
the ball may be guarded.
A well-grounded knowledge of court
position saves many points, to say
nothing of much breath expended in
long runs after hopeless shots.
THE DRIVE IN TENNIS.
The forehand drive is the opening
of every offensive in tennis, and,
as such, should be most carefully
studied. There are certain rules of
footwork that apply to all shots.
To reach a ball that is a short distance
away, advance the foot that is away
from the shot and thus swing into
position to hit. If a ball is too
close to the body, retreat the foot
closest to the shot and drop the weight
back on it, thus, again, being in
position for the stroke. When hurried,
and it is not possible to change the
foot position, throw the weight on
the foot closest to the ball.
The receiver should always await
the service facing the net, but once
the serve is started on the way to
court, the receiver should at once
attain the position to receive it
with the body at right angles to the
net.
The forehand drive is made up of
one continuous swing of the racquet
that, for the purpose of analysis,
may be divided into three parts:
1. The portion of the swing behind
the body, which determines the speed
of the stroke.
2. That portion immediately in front
of the body which determines the direction
and, in conjunction with weight shift
from one foot to the other, the pace
of the shot.
3. The portion beyond the body, comparable
to the golfer's "follow through,"
determines spin, top or slice, imparted
to the ball.
All drives should be topped. The
slice shot is a totally different
stroke.
To drive straight down the side-line,
construct in theory a parallelogram
with two sides made up of the side-line
and your shoulders, and the two ends,
the lines of your feet, which should,
if extended, form the right angles
with the side-lines. Meet the ball
at a point about 4 to 4 1/2 feet from
the body immediately in front of the
belt buckle, and shift the weight
from the back to the front foot at
the MOMENT OF STRIKING THE BALL. The
swing of the racquet should be flat
and straight through. The racquet
head should be on a line with the
hand, or, if anything, slightly in
advance; the whole arm and the racquet
should turn slightly over the ball
as it leaves the racquet face and
the stroke continue to the limit of
the swing, thus imparting top spin
to the ball.
The hitting plane for all ground
strokes should be between the knees
and shoulders. The most favourable
plane is on a line with the waist.
Never step away from the ball in
driving cross court. always throw
your weight in the shot.
The forehand drive from the left
court is identically the same for
the straight shot down your opponent's
forehand. For the cross drive to his
backhand, you must conceive of a diagonal
line from your backhand corner to
his, and thus make your stroke with
the footwork as if this imaginary
line were the side-line. In other
words, line up your body along your
shot and make your regular drive.
Do not try to "spoon" the
ball over with a delayed wrist motion,
as it tends to slide the ball off
your racquet.
All drives should be made with a
stiff, locked wrist. There is no wrist
movement in a true drive. Top spin
is imparted by the arm, not the wrist.
The backhand drive follows closely
the principles of the forehand, except
that the weight shifts a moment sooner,
and the R or front foot should always
be advanced a trifle closer to the
side-line than the L so as to bring
the body clear of the swing. The ball
should be met in front of the right
leg, instead of the belt buckle, as
the great tendency in backhand shots
is to slice them out of the side-line,
and this will pull the ball cross
court, obviating this error. The racquet
head must be slightly in advance of
the hand to aid in bringing the ball
in the court. Do not strive for too
much top spin on your backhand.
I strongly urge that no one should
ever favour one department of his
game, in defence of a weakness. Develop
both forehand and backhand, and do
not "run around" your backhand,
particularly in return of service.
To do so merely opens your court.
If you should do so, strive to ace
your returns, because a weak effort
would only result in a kill by your
opponent.
Do not develop one favourite shot
and play nothing but that. If you
have a fair cross-court drive, do
not use it in practice, but strive
to develop an equally fine straight
shot.
Remember that the fast shot is the
straight shot. The cross drive must
be slow, for it has not the room owing
to the increased angle and height
of the net. Pass down the line with
your drive, but open the court with
your cross-court shot.
Drives should have depth. The average
drive should hit behind the service-line.
A fine drive should hit within 3 feet
of the baseline. A cross-court drive
should be shorter than a straight
drive, so as to increase the possible
angle. Do not always play one length
drive, but learn to vary your distance
according to your man. You should
drive deep against a baseliner, but
short against a net player, striving
to drop them at his feet as, he comes
in.
Never allow your opponent to play
a shot he likes if you can possibly
force him to one he dislikes.
Again I urge that you play your drive:
1. With the body sideways to the
net.
2. The swing flat, with long follow
through.
3. The weight shifting just as the
ball is hit.
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