CHAPTER 4

Basics and Definitions

The Racket

The development of the large tennis racket has made tennis much easier to learn and to play. Many top professionals use oversized rackets, with head sizes of up to 110 square inches. In these rackets the string area of lively response, called the "sweet spot," is several times larger than in the old racket types.

Read Chapter Eighteen, "Rackets and Balls," if you need help choosing a racket.

The Court

The tennis court is 27 feet wide by 78 feet long (both sides included), for singles play, that is, one player playing against one other player.

The heavy lines in the diagram show the boundaries of the singles court. The doubles court is used when two players play against two other players. It includes the singles court and it is the same length but 4 1/2 feet wider on each side (dotted lines in the diagram).

The net is 3 feet high in the center and 3 1/2 feet high at the net posts.

The main purpose of the game is to get the ball over the net and into your opponent's court.

The Groundstrokes: Forehand and Backhand

Only one bounce of the ball is allowed in your court before you return it over the net. Those strokes hit after the bounce of the ball are called the "groundstrokes."

When the ball comes to your right side and you stroke it, this is called a "forehand" shot because your stroke is led by the fore, or front part of your right hand. When the ball comes to your left side and you stroke it, that is called a "backhand" shot (whether you do it with one or with both hands on your racket), because the stroke is led with the back side of your right hand.

The Serve

The first hit in any point is called a "serve." The player having his turn at serving stands behind his baseline and has to hit the first ball, the serve, into the service court (shaded area in the next diagram).

The receiver may not return the serve before it bounces. There are four service courts, indicated in the first court diagram of this chapter by the thinner lines and shaded areas.

There is more information on the serve and the service sequence in Chapter Ten.

The Volleys and Smash

You may retrieve the ball before it bounces in your court, as long as it has cleared the net, except in the return of serve. When you hit the ball before it bounces your shot is called a "volley." If the ball comes to your right side it is a "forehand volley." If it comes to your left side, it is a "backhand volley."

If the ball is coming well above you and you strike directly overhead, your shot is called an "overhead" or a "smash."

This game in the frontcourt is called "the net game," or "the volley game."

Basic Concepts

The net is the main barrier between you and your opponent's court. Since gravity pulls the ball down at all times, you need to lift the ball over the net most of the time, especially from the backcourt. That requires an upward pull as you stroke the ball, rather than just a forward motion.

You could achieve the same effect by opening the racket face, but the combination of an upward pull and an open racket face usually sends the ball flying off the court.

The Flight of the Ball

The tennis ball can fly from very low speeds up to approximately 150 miles per hour in the hardest hits, but it usually travels around or under 50 mph in any rally.

Because of the size and the covering, the ball slows down considerably during flight. A player at one baseline hits a ball, for example, at 60 mph. By the time it bounces and gets to the opponent's baseline, especially on slow courts, it may be going 25 mph or less.

A player, standing behind the baseline, sees his opponent hitting the ball from the backcourt. Let's say the ball went to a height of 9 feet while crossing the net. He sees the ball curve down and bounce in his court, then come up to about six feet and start dropping again. This second curve is much smaller than the first curve and considerably slower (see illustration).

A slower ball coming from a shorter distance would look like this:

A tennis player needs to get used to these curves. In Chapter Five there are drills that develop familiarity with these curves, and the player's coordination and timing.

Racket Angle

The pros control the height of their shots with the racket angle. You can tilt the racket backwards, which we call "opening" the racket face, or you can tilt it forward, which we call "closing" the racket face.

These changes in racket angle are all done without any changes in your grip of the racket. They are just different ways of angling the hand, as if you were, for example, turning the hand upward to catch something falling, or downward to catch something coming up.

An open racket face will send the ball much higher. A closed racket face will send the ball much lower. A small difference in the racket face angle can vary the height of your shot quite dramatically. This will become apparent during practice.

While you are a beginner and are playing the ball at slow speeds, your racket face should be slightly open. As you progress you'll need to close the racket face quite a bit. After some experience you'll learn to work this angle automatically, according to the height you want on each shot.

The racket angle determines also the direction of your shot. This is explained further in Chapter Seven, "The Forehand."

Very simply, the racket angle is the main factor in determining where the ball goes, rather than the swing.

The Push

The racket is about six times heavier than the ball, and sometimes hits the ball too fast and without control. That is why tennis professionals develop a very strong push on their groundstrokes, rather than a strong hit like in baseball. In this push the pros almost touch the ball with their racket before they start exerting force, so they have maximum control while still generating plenty of shot speed.

One of the drawbacks to learning tennis in the U.S. is that most people know baseball, and they think there are similarities between the tennis stroke and the baseball swing. In fact, they are very different. The tennis stroke is more like a push, with the force being generated from the impact point onward, rather than prior to the contact with the ball, like in baseball. The tennis groundstrokes are also an upward move, rather than a forward swing. This will become clearer in the next chapter.

Why do I say push the ball rather than hit it? Wouldn't you lose power?

Do this simple experiment to understand how the professionals "push" their groundstrokes, sometimes in excess of 100 mph. Stand a pillow on a bed or a low table. Choose an open space or do it against a wall, since the pillow may take off pretty hard and break things in its way. With your hand open hit the side of the pillow hard. Observe how far it moves. Stand the pillow up again. Now put your hand on the side of the pillow, barely touching it, then push it with forward and upward force.

Observe how far it moves. If you put any force to it, you can send the pillow half way across the room with the push, considerably more than the movement you got with your hit.

There will be more definitions and concepts as this book advances. So as not to bog down the beginner with a myriad of terms and ideas, I will leave them for the time they are needed.

Each chapter also has sections that amplify and explain the techniques for the more experienced player.