In Tennis, a chop stroke is a shot where the racket passes slightly outside the ball and down the side, chopping it as a man chops wood. You will hear this type of stroke referred to as a Squash shot. It is really a defensive shot for the most part when the ball is struck too wide to reach for a normal top spin or drive shot, or when the ball bounces too high. It can be especially helpful for those high kicking shots to your backhand, but again it is a defensive shot because the ball will float back over the net. As a result, it can allow your opponent to rush the net, so use only as a last resort.
What about the Slice shot? The main difference between the chop stroke and the slice shot is in the angle made by the racket head's hitting plane and the flight of the ball. In a chop, the angle may be greater than 45 degrees. In a slice, that angle is less than 45 degrees. The slice can be a very effective shot to disrupt the opponent's timing. Since a slice is delivered with backspin, it can also be difficult to volley back since it will have a tendency to deflect downward from your opponent's racket. Keep your slices deep, but be careful, especially in higher altitudes and hot weather, because the ball will float more and have a tendency to go long. The slice should not be overused, but it can be especially effective when delivered both with back spin and side spin. Those of you with one-handed backhand strokes will find this easier to execute because you can strike down and across the ball simultaneously, producing some wicked spin. A well executed slice can be an excellent approach shot.
It is not a very good shot to use against a net person since it is too slow to pass and too high to cause muc difficulty. It is better used to drop short, soft shots at the feet of the net person as they come in. Normally it is best not try to pass a net person with a chop or slice, except through a big opening.
The drop-shot is a very soft, sharply-angled chop stroke, played almost wholly with the wrist. It should drop within 3 to 5 feet of the net to be of any use. The racket face passes around the outside of the ball and under it with a distinct "wrist turn." The resulting spin will cause the ball to not only check-up quickly, but to also spin away toward the sideline, making it even more difficult for your opponent to reach effectively. Do not swing the racquet from the shoulder in making a drop shot. The drop shot is not the same as a stop-volley. The drop shot is pretty much all wrist, whereas the stop-volley employs a somewhat relaxed wrist as you attempt to absorb the pace of the ball so it will rebound over the net with very little momentum of its own.
Use all your wrist shots; the chop, slice, and drop, merely as added weapons in your regular game. They are intended to upset your opponent's game through the varied spin on the ball.
The half volley
The half volley requires more perfect timing, eyesight, and racket work than any other, since its margin of safety is the smallest and its chances of mishap is pretty high.
It is really a pick-up shot. The ball meets the ground and racket face at nearly the same moment, the ball bouncing off the ground, then immediately off the strings. This shot is made with a stiff-wrist and a short swing, kind of like a volley with little or no follow through. The racket face travels along the ground with a slight tilt over the ball and towards the net, thus keeping the ball low. The angle over the net and the depth can be very difficult to control, so why practice this shot at all? The half volley can be very useful for those shots that land near your feet and leave you with no time to move back to allow for the ball to bounce. In some cases, it can actually surprise an opponent because it is a quick return taking time away from the opponent. It relies on your opponent's pace and merely reflects the pace back.
The half volley is primarily a defensive stroke and 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. Normally you never want to deliberately half volley. However, this technique can be useful to try to nullify a big kick serve, by taking the ball early before it has had a chance to bounce up too high. Timing and superb vision is absolutely critical if you are going to be successful at this technique.
Court position
A tennis court is 39 feet long from baseline to net. There are really only two places in a tennis court that a tennis player should be to wait for the ball. This is assuming we are discussing singles play.
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 baseline players. Players with big ground strokes who may not be as comfortable with the net position. The second is the net position. The net position opens up great angles for put-away shots, but with the speed of today's game, it is much harder to get there effectively than in days gone by. You need a good deep approach shot that stretches your opponent and forces them to hit a defensive shot. Once you have executed a good deep approach shot, or an out wide shot, then you must get into the net quickly and split-step and be ready to return your opponent's shot. Assuming your opponent is caught back at the baseline, you will have great angles and short shots that will make life very difficult on the other side of the net.
If you are drawn out of these positions by a shot which you must return, do not stay at the point where you struck the ball, but return one of the two positions mentioned as rapidly as possible. So what happens if your opponent's shot forces you to come in toward the net? The area from the baseline to about 10 feet from the net is referred to "no-man's-land." Never stay there, since a deep shot will catch you at your feet. After making your shot from "no-man's-land", either retreat behind the baseline to prepare the the next return, or better if you can, take a strong position at the net. Sound tennis principals that you should always keep coming forward to meet the ball. Whether you come forward or retreat is determined mainly by the quality of your shot. If you are drawn in short and cannot retreat safely, continue all the way to the net position.
One Tennis Coach tells his students that if they are not getting passed during a match, they are not coming in enough. In other words, you may sacrifice a few points by coming in to the net, but the number of points you gain by this strategy should far out weigh the losses.
A rookie mistake that many beginner's make is to stand and watch the shot they have just made. Never stand and watch your shot. this will simply insure that you are out of position for your next stroke. Try to anticipate a position where you think the ball is going to be 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.
Some players instinctively know where the next return is going and take position accordingly, while others will never sense it. For those players that have a hard time anticipating where to expect the next ball, court position as mentioned above will give you the best chance of being able to get to that next shot.
Here's a tip! If you are caught at the net, with a short shot to your opponent, don't stand still and let your opponent pass you at will, as he or she can easily do. Pick out the side where you think the ball will be hit, and jump to quickly. If you guess right, you will probably win the point. If you are wrong, you are no worse off, since you would have been beaten anyway with your opponent's shot.
You should always maintain a position so that you can cover the greatest possible area of court.
A well-grounded knowledge of court position saves many points, to say nothing of much breath expended in long runs after hopeless shots.
Let's talk a little about how to get into the best position in order to have the best chance at returning the next shot. Basically you want o get to a position that is at the center of the court behind the baseline or at the net position, however you also want to adjust that position based upon where you just hit your ball. Look at the following illustrations.
Fig 1 Fig 2 Fig 3 Fig 4
After hitting a shot, the player must “recover” to a court position that provides the best chance of getting to any possible return from the opponent.
In fig 1, we see that the opponent, here represented by an “o” is at the center of his or her baseline. You, player “x”, should also be near the center of your baseline where you can cover either of the widest replies (represented by the arrows) from your opponent. Fig 1 shows you "x" with the same distance to move either right or left to get to the next shot. Now in reality, most players favor one side a little more than the other, so you may be more comfortable just slightly to one side of center to adjust for a weeaker side, but you get the idea. You want to keep the distance you might have to move to the next shot as nearly equal as you can. In fig 2, we see that your opponent, “o”, is again at the baseline, but in this situation they are nearer to a sideline. Again the arrows represent widest possible replies. The blue line bisects the angle formed by the widest possible replies and places you, player “x”, in the center. You will notice that your position now is actually right of center just about half way between the centerline and the sideline. In figs 3and 4, we see a simlilar situation with you, player “x”, now at the net. Again, the blue line represents the center court coverage given the opponent’s court position. You will notice that when you are at net, when the ball goes left, you adjust to the left, whereas from behind the baseline you went to the right.
Remember, you are trying to recover to a position that is at the center of your opponent’s range of possible replies. If you follow the center theory, your chances of covering most replies will increase! Even if you hated geometry in school, put this into practice and geometry will become your friend.
Good luck out there and keep up the practice!
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