Short Angle: A Tennis Book, Simon and Schuster 2016, 504 Pages

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Have Got to Try This

A little round sideways and lower register loop the precise direction of which is determined only by successful hitting of the target in self-feed. What is the initial direction of arm motion in other words? Be open to going to any compass point.

Characteristics of this particular shot or experiment.

. mondo/flip or not depending on desired angle of ball departure from racket

. forceless counterclockwise body turn for right-handed player

. forceless roll of arm simultaneous with body turn

. stopped shoulder to start arm swing. Sequence of forceless body to full arm (straight) is opposite of a McEnrueful/Ziegenfuss, which is forceless arm (bent) to full body. Operative image for a McEnrueful (a shot where most likely you hit out into the court): Touch the back side of a beach ball and then shove it.

. arm forces in the short angle being discussed here then are simultaneous and several but arm roll is done and gone and out of the way. They are: elbow throw and scissoring with biceps muscle and whatever increased zing you can drain from relaxed forearm and wrist any effective way you can.

. the little round loop goes first away from and then toward the ball melding rhythmically forcelessly and easily into the task of putting racket head into perfect position for the subsequently vigorous 3-jointed arm work.

. the little round loop involves straightening of the arm. Straight arm is essential to a large scissor stroke.

. followthrough is over or around left shoulder.

. the body turn in both directions is minimal. Left leg can kick through the air toward the net to help stop the shoulders and balance the concluding arm swing (although I haven't tried this yet-- it's raining).

. the middle section of the shot-- I've repeatedly asserted-- is "forceless." That being true, let's add slow wrist closing after a mondo to put more swing into the shot. Slow wrist closing or "free-wristed shots" used to exist in the dawn of tennis according to tennis theorist Paul Metzler of Australia. Well, here is a place to use that intelligence without interfering with the rest of one's game.

.there is a chance that, although the basic form of this shot is open stance, one can imagine-- with success-- that one is hitting the ball off the front foot or rather in this case off the sideways foot. This is just a fanciful idea (that might work). Combined with an airborne kick, left toes might point at contact point. This would be useful reference in years to come.

Note: If you can't deposit yourself this much to outside of ball, perhaps you should "play like the pros" and make another choice. They almost never hit a short angle as sharp as the one I investigate in this thread, do they? They just don't know how to take the speed off the ball to hit such a nefarious angle and perhaps are oblivious to the truth that mastery of such a shot would improve ANY TENNIS PLAYER by one full notch.

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Maximum RHS vs. Straight Hitting Tract on the SA

That translates as maximum racket head speed versus long straightaway on the short angle.

GRIP: Bent thumb comfortable on a diagonal on 8.5 pointy ridge. The rest of the grip can loosen and readjust to this compass mark but most of all needs to remain loose. You carry a bird's nest.

FOOTWORK: Can be a last hitting step with outside foot that turns the hips and shoulders toward the shot (rather the opposite of what normally happens). At same time straight or still straightening arm loops down to depart from and return toward the ball. Remain an ignoramus about initial direction of this arm work until you are actually ready to hit the shot-- do not in other words commit too soon.

SMALL LOOP (1)'s straightening of arm means that racket tip is already traveling faster than the elbow, which in fact is not yet traveling at all.

ELBOW (2) now starts to move but mainly from rotation of the body core. In a sense elbow stays in place while it rolls. The wrist meanwhile mondoes and rolls and closes which all is part of slowly slinging the racket tip. Some of these actions are no-no's in other strokes but rules here are made to be broken by those who know them.

SLUNG RACKET TIP (3) now takes off at a new rate of acceleration. The racket tip now is flung on a longer lever. The best cues are a satellite pushed out into wider orbit and elbow as central agent to move the portions of arm to either side of it. When then does arm begin its scissor? First guess (hypothesis) is not until the straight arm action has bracketed the ball.

THE TERRIBLE ODDS in the big bad world of hitting a great short angle-- about the same as a lousy bowler making a strike-- are at least partially due to too much arc of any kind at time of contact. The stopped shoulders and arm roll already done and gone here and the lengthening of lever achieved give one better repeatability in hitting one's target.

UNIFY the stroke by feeling what the racket tip is doing at all times. Delayed arm extension is great arm extension. This is the metacue to remember after you have forgotten the others.

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Normal vs. Buggywhip Shot

The buggywhip I plan to explore today will break all the rules. I should find delicious freedom in that.

The exploration will include limiting discipline as well-- sounds like the ideal combination at least to me.

Federfore, my normal shot, consists of three parts: racket tip going up, racket face closing on high plateau, unity of hitting tract that includes drop and mondo and horizontal adduction and big followthrough.

McEnrueful, my second normal shot, consists of three parts too: short lift of bent arm, centering downward feel with bent arm, full bent-arm push of an imaginary beach ball with whole body uppercutting the racket past ball into followthrough.

Wrist in the Federfore, once mondoed, stays laid back until after contact.

Wrist in the McEnrueful never lays back in the first place and is straight throughout.

Buggywhip now is to consist of two parts both long enough to make total duration of each of the three forehands about the same.

The first half of this buggywhip shall be freewristed with definition of "freewristedness" coming from Paul Metzler of Australia.

He wrote that a freewristed shot closes the wrist gradually as part of the forward swing.

Me, I'm going to open the wrist gradually as part of the backward swing, which will include a mildly curved and economical and downward and arm-straightening loop that finishes by taking the racket vertically toward the court rather than toward the ball.

END OF ACT ONE.

Act Two begins with quick body, wrist and rolling arm (SIM!) throw. Arm is saved, i.e., is firmly connected to one's twisting core. Mercutio, I mean scapular adduction, takes off as you kick with left foot to stop body rotation dead. This launches the already straightened arm with (just) dynamically straightened wrist up through ball.

END OF PLAY.

Note: That's a description of death throes. Yes, I know. Short angle is a simple shot but not too easy to figure out. Reader, I would just steal The Mercutio if I were you.

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The death throes of Mercutio, run through by Romeo, are not as immediately good as I thought. But will they be good if one sticks with them for a while? (Sorry for the pun.)

See two problems. One, because arm goes out very fast it changes pitch toward open very fast, and one must deal with that.

Two, there's too much arm swing through the ball. Can work, but better is brushing up back of the ball.

Solution to one: Do what you're not supposed to do and let arm fly across body close to being parallel with a line through both shoulders. Terrible for a normal shot. Might be good for this abnormal shot. Pitch won't be likely to alter so much.

Solution to two: Concentrate on the only two items Tom Avery thinks you should think about: Getting back (or outside) leg bent down in this case to tilt the body; and, wrist roll action. Get the earlier preparations to start the racket on a steeper trajectory, so that when you release the arm it can accelerate in direction of the almost square frame. Don't egg the ball too much in other words but just a little and don't hit the ball too fat.

People used to use more diagonal adduction (upward arm swing) in generating topspin. Still could be the best idea for this precision shot that nobody really wants to talk about. I'm just waiting for some wise-ass tennis pro to look over to the court where I'm playing solitaire and say, "I think you ought to approach that challenge another way."

I won't say anything and will absorb any suggestion, but may in spite of myself silently think, "You are a teaching tennis pro and therefore never think or write or talk about this subject. So what do you really know about it?"

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Second Thought on Freewristed Short Angle

I'm about to deep-six this idea. Not that the shot couldn't become great. It's just that, neurologically speaking, it sabotages my Federfore, the more important shot.

In a Federfore, one keeps the wrist laid back until after contact. In this shot as I was cooking it up, the wrist side-armed straight before the whole arm took off.

I suppose that if I practiced the two shots in alternation for a couple of years, I could learn both, i.e., to hold wrist back sometimes and let it go at other times.

But I don't have the youth and patience for that plot.

And I've opened up a lot of different possibilities for hitting the short angle ("the pro shot") in this thread. Not sure which one I'll return to but should decide in time for a bit of self-feed tomorrow to prepare for the next carousel on Friday.

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Design X: Lengthen the Distance between the Two Feet to Lower Body

Arm straightening backswing goes sideways parallel to court and net thus positing racket far to the right to sweep to the left.

The description here is evolution and search rather than a packaging of something.

We (I) have experimented with a final hitting step with right (outside) foot to turn shoulders toward the shot. That was a mistake for the simple reason that when arm goes out from that configuration the strings open too much.

One can and does compensate but who needs extra effort?

Right foot can be last to move but shoulders can turn to right in somewhat normal fashion at the same time.

No longer is one afraid to swing across the body in this unique shot.

This stroke is trying to get hired and now needs a resume the shorter the better.

. wrist is straight

. right leg bends down more

. one turns body into shot a distance of two inches for feel rather than hold shoulders perfectly still

. the arm swing, more important than the body swing, consists of horizontal adduction combined with roll inside the shoulder cave

. because the racket started so far to the right there is space in which to roll racket closed before a normal contact point

. the upper arm stops rolling but the forearm continues the roll which naturally takes racket in a more upward direction

. one hits the ball with straight arm which bends afterward.

Note: The most acute forehand short angles fail in modern tennis because the wrist always is laid back.

Note 2: This is not an easy shot but easier than some of the alternatives.

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I hit this shot for a clean winner off a service return in the last point of the day. I was in deuce court at the end of a two-hour carousel. I figured this was the time to try and remember the elements but not think. The ball plunged into a part of the alley where it is not supposed to be able to go.

If the shot was that good, you might say, why didn't I, Escher, try it sooner?

Because of a two-hour attack of behavior that made me constantly go, "Buk-buk."

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Item Two on the Bulletized List

. right leg bends down more

Seen in context of this new stroke, that means: Backswing consists of core and arm doing their independent things.

A loop then happens as right leg bends down more. Here is where racket and whole body are as one.

The forward "swing" again consists of core and arm doing their independent things although arm is far predominant.

What does arm do to hit the ball? 1) sweeps, 2) rolls from shoulder (1 and 2 are simultaneous). Then, in sequence, the forearm rolls, which zings the strings almost straight upward.

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A Little Higher on the Backswing

(Writing before trial.)

Higher racket closes the strings more. Corner of the shot-- the looping transition where arm and body are for a moment a solid sculpture-- because it is a tilt caused by extra bending of right leg will then open pitch to where you want it (still very closed!).

One starts closed, opens a little, closes more, steepens direction of racket rise through transition of whole arm roll to forearm roll.

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Higher Backswing but Arm Only on the Drop

(Writing after trial.)

Why would one bob one's head down just before stroking one's putt? Or sinking the eight-ball? Or making one's short angle in tennis?

To increase the chance of failure is my guess.

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After Trial

Why, reader, put yourself in a position where in the middle of an athletic move you must determine what perfectly level horizontal adduction is?

Backswing started with straightening arm going out to the side parallel with both the net and the court, right?

You bent both knees a lot and took a very broad hitting step with your outside foot somewhat toward the net. To lower center of gravity and make some ease for yourself.

You established right then the levelness of your backswing, so why wouldn't you retrace that path when you're busy coming the other way with a lot to do?

I am not explaining the whole stroke here as I have pretty much done elsewhere.

I rather point to essential modification learned from putting in golf, from shooting in pool (billiards), and in tennis learned more from volleys than ground strokes.

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Too Glib, Too Soundbitish

Putting straight arm out right parallel to court and net puts one in the ballpark of hitting great SA's, but ballpark is not good enough when next shot wins or loses the point.

So stay parallel to court, I now argue, but continue racket far enough so it turns the corner toward rear fence but slightly so.

Now one has more space in which to roll whole arm then specifically the forearm and yet make contact where one does for one's normal forehands slightly out right.

Body reference for contact point of course is apt to be slippery since body will be in various positions-- the nature of tennis.

Here though I'd like to hit ball in front of right foot, i.e., by stepped right toes but toward the net.

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Better Yet

Better yet, off of Roger's raising of tip and subsequent wriggle to close racket, is to extend arm in any desired direction (forward, backward, to the side in different degrees).

One can then be doing more of the same thing all the time-- but for SA I still advise no mondo, straight wrist, shoulders not too open to shot, step toward net with outside foot, and a whole arm to forearm sequenced roll.

The achievement in this is the liberation of easily getting arm to where you want it by getting rid of the ready made idea that arm should always extend from the elbow to a specific place.

Within this plan, I believe, one can achieve the desired direction and topspin sometimes from whole arm roll only, sometimes from the whole to forearm sequence, sometimes from a simple raising of the racket-- you choose.

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Scheme # 109

Imagine, reader, another reader so loyal to this thread that he has read every word in it with sufficient attention to realize that John Escher will try absolutely anything to perfect his forehand crosscourt short angle and mass-produce it.

The extreme and possibly unwarranted loyalty of this dream reader-- a linguist-- will cause him to know that the expression "mass-produce" refers not to the human tennis masses but rather to hundreds of possible tennis put-a-ways at a frequency never seen on the professional tour.

And then if we bring John Escher or Bottle or Ponce de Leon himself into the discussion and ask him if he has found either his desired shot or The Fountain of Youth we can almost predict his reply.

"No," he will say. "Every single experiment has during intense competition achieved one or two clean put-a-ways but never mass production of them, and Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp, that fish, was absolutely correct not to be interested in any future book I might write."

But one shouldn't give up. Reader, I know you just as I know myself and I tell you here and now that we may claim "we have tried everything" and still be telling an awful lie.

Unless our name is Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking or Marie Curie or Richard P. Feynman we will not have used the fact that racket face naturally opens as hand departs from the front of the body.

Neither will we have supplemented this knowledge with slow roll backward of a perfectly straight-wristed straight arm.

This doesn't sound like much to THE LAY-MAN, but I assure you, it goes against the bedrock of modern tennis instruction, i.e., fast forward humeral windshield wipe.

We reverse the humerus and slow it down, followed by "pronation" (which by scientific consensual edict means from forearm only) for a zingy spinny springy shot to X close to the net.

Humerus twists one way, forearm the opposite way.

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Dead Stick

Start this shot by turning down palm and racket "dead stick" with arm straightened way out to side. "Dead stick" is the pause that Steve Mizerak used at the end of his draw back when he was top gun in pocket billiards.