Four Racquet Parts for Fixing Tennis Errors
First published on 9-09-2009. Bookmark & share
by Randy Lynn Rutledge - a previously certified USPTA Tennis Teaching Professional
( Note: retired in good standing, but stopped making USPTA dues payments )
( Note: retired in good standing, but stopped making USPTA dues payments )
This article offers specific details about a tennis racket for correcting tennis errors.
There are four parts of the tennis racquet to consider when making corrections for groundstroke errors:
Racquet Tip & Butt Problems Contribute to Early or Late Contact Point Errors (adjust shoulder turn)
Early Contact
A too early racquet-to-ball contact positions the tip of the tennis racquet closer to the intended target than the butt of the racquet.
Increase the amount of shoulder turn away from the target to fix a wide error caused by contacting the ball too early.
Increase the amount of shoulder turn away from the target to fix a wide error caused by contacting the ball too early.
Late Contact
A too late racquet-to-ball contact positions the butt of racquet closer to the intended target than the tip of the racquet.
Decrease the amount of shoulder turn away from the target to fix a wide error caused by contacting the ball too late.
Decrease the amount of shoulder turn away from the target to fix a wide error caused by contacting the ball too late.
Find Your On-time Contact Point
1. Stand behind the baseline.
2. Hold both hands horizontally to make a line through your shoulders.
3. Use small steps to adjust your horizontally raised arms to point at and away from your target. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart so that a straight line across your toes is parallel to the line through your shoulders.
2. Hold both hands horizontally to make a line through your shoulders.
3. Use small steps to adjust your horizontally raised arms to point at and away from your target. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart so that a straight line across your toes is parallel to the line through your shoulders.
Try to hit a tennis ball straight down the center line which divides the deuce court from the ad court. Aim straight down the center line to find an on-time contact point near your front shoulder for a one-handed forehand ground-stroke. Adjust your degree of shoulder turn more towards or more away from the net until you find a contact position which allows the ball to land within a couple of feet of your intended angular target. Use this same procedure to find an on-time contact point for forehands and backhands.
After finding an approximate string-to-ball contact point to hit straight ahead, experiment by adjusting your shoulder turn farther away from or more toward the net to find an on-time contact for all possible court angles.
Top Edge & Bottom Edge Problems Contribute to Net Errors & Long Errors
NOTE: This section deals with relatively flat or square hits.
NOTE: This section deals with relatively flat or square hits.
Beveling Back & Too Much Speed
Beveling the tennis racquet back (leading with the lower edge of the racquet head) and swinging on a path which begins lower than the ball and continues on a path which becomes higher after contacting the ball will cause the height of the tennis ball to increase.
Hitting a tennis ball up an incline with too much speed can cause a tennis ball to travel beyond the baseline, or sail across a side line (even if the hit was on-time).
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No Bevel or a Forward Bevel Using Too Little Speed
Slanting (beveling) the tennis racquet strings (face) forward and allowing the upper & lower edges to get to the tennis ball at about the same time (hitting squarely) causes the height of the ball flight to decrease.
Hitting a tennis ball straight ahead or down an incline with too little speed can contribute to a net error, even if the ball was contacted at a height above the net.
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Note: Tennis racquet speed must be adjusted for each variation of string bevel, when using relatively flat strokes.
Using the Tennis Racquet
The game of tennis allows a tennis player to choose from a variety of ways to position their body and the tennis racquet before, during, and after the process of propelling the tennis racquet forward to stroke a tennis ball.
There is no "correct way" which the tennis racquet must be used from start to finish during the execution of any stroke. To execute a repeatable stroke there must be a precise combination of racquet speed, face bevel, and court angle at the exact point of string-to-ball contact.