Is Open Stance for You? (Yes)

Open stance is an option players at all levels should master.

I was taught to play tennis according to the traditional progression that dominated coaching for generations. Turn sideways, take your racquet back, step into the ball, swing, and followthrough.

As a player, the impracticality of this "system" quickly became apparent. Like most players, I found I did not have time to step into the ball consistently when my opponent hit a powerful shot or I was on the run, and in various other situations as well. Like many other players I found I began to hit open stance naturally.

If you were taught the traditional footwork pattern, you may have adapted the same way I did and have begun to hit open stance naturally, possibly without even knowing it.

But there is a different possibility. You may have more recently encountered the new "modern" approach to teaching. You may have been taught that open stance is superior on every ball, and that stepping in to the shot is strictly old school.

Mastery of different stances means more options.

Neither of these extreme views reflects the reality of the way players use stances in pro tennis. I believe that taking…