Forward Flow

Michael Friedman

Brilliant tennis is a joy to behold! The players are flowing and graceful, powerful and explosive. They move in a symbiotic rhythm that blends intensity and calm. I call this effortless combination of movement and swing The Flow.

The Power of Flow

As players we try to emulate The Flow we see in a professional match or even when we watch the best players at the club or park. When we try to emulate great players, it makes us appreciate how much hard work it really takes to make things look so easy.

Just the right amount of force is being transferred from the ground through the feet, ankles, knees, legs, hips, torso, shoulders, upper arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, and finally hand and fingers, all the way to the racquet. The racket face moves effortlessly toward the contact and touches the ball at the perfect spot. The swing path creates just the right amount of compression between the ball and the strings and the ball flies, spins and lands exactly where the player intended.

Nowhere is the power of Flow more apparent than when the players move forward into the court. In previous articles I've talked about the lateral patterns of footwork and the steps around the ball that help us play more efficiently, gracefully and powerfully. (Click Here.) In this article I want to focus on The Flow in forward movement patterns. This includes running in for the short ball and/or the low ball, hitting high volleys and running volleys, and finally hitting half volleys and drop volleys. When we analyze what the pros are doing by studying Tennisplayer video, we see that they all flow powerfully and gracefully through these shots.

How do we achieve this flowing effortless quality in our own games? One of the biggest problems I see that impedes players' ability to flow forward is that they are often taught to stop completely before they hit. This causes them to stop abruptly and get stuck on the court. The players may stop, but their rackets keep moving. This causes the player to lose control of the racquet face. This is commonly known as a "flick" or a "flop."

There are definitely specific step patterns the players use to slow down, control their momenturm, change direction, and prepare to hit. But these all occur within a continuous rhythmic flow. In the sequences we are going to examine, we'll see how powerful a force Flow really is as we watch top players move several feet forward through the contact.

The Goal of the Flow

The goal is to flow through the contact point while still controlling the racket face. You want to keep the racket face lined up with the spot on the ball that will direct the ball to the desired target with the desired spin and pace.

I demonstrate to my students that if I keep my racquet still and move forward as I make contact I can hit a volley harder than if I stand still. That makes sense because as I move through the point of contact, my racquet moves fluidly with me. Where most players get in trouble is when they stop moving but their racquet and arm keep moving forward on their own. This causes a loss of control of the shot and also a loss of power. Watch how the racquet continues and flicks and flops.

If you compliment your strokes with forward movement toward your target you will get the ball to come off the racquet with more force. You won't need to muscle or force your swing.

Here is a saying I've developed that puts the process in a nutshell: "When you stop, you flop. When you stick you flick. But when you go you flow!" Now let's look at some incredible examples of how Flow applies in situations we all face in matches.

The Short Ball

Let's see how the top players flow forward on short groundstrokes. Let's start with a ball a few steps inside the baseline, using Elena Dementieva as an example, one of the best movers in the women's game.

In the first example, the ball is a well inside the baseline. Dementieva is able to prepare her racquet early with a full backswing because she doesn't have to run that far. Notice how the right foot aligns behind the incoming ball.This enables her to point the butt of the racket at the ball on her second to last step. This in turn allows her to establish her regular contact point and use a topspin followthrough.

The key point is that Dementieva doesn't stop to make the hit. Watch how she flows through the contact on the run, but in a very controlled and balanced way. Just before contact she takes a final running step with her left front foot and actually strikes the ball before that left foot lands. The flow carries her forward so that she lands on her left foot well in front of where she actually contacted the ball.

Sprinting

The second example is more extreme. Out of her split step Elena takes three sprinting steps forward with her racket still in front of her. She times the start of the her backswing so that the motion with the racket is continuous, through the contact, beginning the swing two and a half steps before she actually hits the ball.

This allows her to keep her contact about a foot in front of her body even though she moving rapidly forward. This forward motion is driving her racket through the ball. At the same time she is using her hand to brush up the backside of the ball creating the perfect amount of topspin to control the shot.

Again Elena is flowing forward at contact, making contact between strides and landing on the left foot until after contact. As she continues forward, she takes one more full stride before taking a slightly smaller step as she begins to slow down and recover.

In this third example, Elena again begins with a sprinter's stride forward, but then she adjusts to move around the ball to her left. She does this with a carioca step with the right foot crossing in front of her left foot. This crossover step gets the right foot behind the ball. She is now in position to make contact in front and then land on her left foot. Notice how her right leg kicks back, maintaining good dynamic balance while she flows through the contact. There is a huge amount of forward flow here. See how she lands on her left foot another 4 feet toward the net after contact! Look at the extension of her back leg in the kick back at the landing. Her back leg then comes forward but this is only after the landing on her front foot.

As we have seen, when players have to cover a lot of ground running up for a short ball they explode out of the split step like a sprinter. The goal is to get to the ball while it is still as high as possible. Watch Coria's incredible burst forward to hit this short ball with a full swing while it is still above net level. Coria takes about three sprinters steps forward with his racket in front of him before he begins his racket preparation. (Click Here to see Dave Halger's drill based on this same concept.)

To position himself to the ball he then takes two carioca steps forward with his right foot. This allows him to align the right foot behind the shot. Now watch his incredible flow as he continues forward through the shot. Coria makes contact with both feet in the air. His flow is several feet forward between take off and landing. Again like Elena, he lands on his left front foot with the back foot kicking backwards and behind him.

Now let's watch Coria flow in an even more extreme example, this time on a low ball where a full swing isn't possible. Again Coria starts forward like a sprinter. Watch that he actually pumps his arms up and down for multiple steps. When he reaches the ball, it is below the net. For this reason Coria uses virtually no backswing and only minimal followthrough.

He lines up his right foot and racquet face with the ball. Now he can flow through the contact with the racquet relatively calm and quiet. As his body moves forward, the racket moves automatically through the shot. The flow itself actually provides part or even most of the swing. Notice that Coria doesn't put on the brakes immediately. The flow continues through the shot. Again he is moving several feet in the frames just before and after contact.

Volleys

On volleys and half volleys we need the same elements of control of direction and flow as on the short ball. Here are 4 volley examples: 2 high penetrating volleys, a half volley, and a drop volley, all using the forward flow of the body while making contact.

Henman comes down from a split step and judges how to move forward and through the forehand volley. Watch the complex interplay of his steps. First he takes a drop step with his left foot. Then a small crossover or carioca step with to his right foot. Next he drives his weight forward to his left foot, with the foot coming down on the court just after contact. As with our groundstroke examples, Henman is flowing and hitting the ball between steps.

Next, Henman continues moving toward the net with a lateral side step taken with the right foot. Even though he has hit a winning volley, he doesn't try to artificially stop his momentum. He flows forward smoothly for two more steps. This ensures that the face of the racquet stays under control when he is moving through the hit.

You can really see the forward flow on this high volley. Even though Tim keeps both hands on his racket, watch the pumping action of his arms for the first two steps. The split step is what we call sliding or staggered. Notice that Henman lands only on his right foot. This enables him to slide his left foot further out to the left to start his positioning. He then takes two carioca steps with his right foot. This combination of steps allows him to take the ball as a forehand volley.

The ball is extremely high, actually above head level, but notice that there is no flop at contact. His racquet face does not come over until the ball has left his strings. This is because the flow moves racquet through the contact. If Tim had jammed on the brakes and stopped too soon and/or landed on his left foot prior to the hit, the racket would have flopped forward. That would have driven the ball down into the net. Instead he lets the flow carry him through the shot.

Half Volley

Watch Taylor Dent step into this half volley but still flow. He splits, then makes a drop step under his body with his left foot. This is for sideways positioning, so that he can line his racket up behind the bounce. Notice how he keeps his center of gravity low almost in seated position. He can then take a step forward with his left foot using a heel to toe landing.

His momentum is now flowing directly into the shot. From this position he needs only compact, minimal arm movement. The racket is driven in part by the Flow. Even though his left foot is on the court at contact, watch that it doesn't stick. Instead the forward flow of his body weight literally lifts his left foot off the court, so that he lands again further forward toward the net. With this kind of flow, there is never a need to flick.

Drop Shot

Here is a great approach sequence that shows flow at work on an approach drive and a drop volley. Watch how Sebastien Grosjean immediately turns, does a slide step, then takes another step forward with the right foot. This allows him to drive from his right foot forward into a netural stance. He hits a solid driving approach with the contact in front of his front leg. Even though he is stepping in, watch the flow launch his left front foot in the air, so that he lands a foot closer in to the net.

As he is flowing through the air, the back foot comes around and then takes a stride forward to the net. This is followed by a split step. Notice that both feet don't land. He unweights and then adjusts the right foot while it is in the air. This in turn prepares him to take a drop step to his left with his right foot. This graceful combination is the only way to achieve alignment behind the oncoming ball.

Now watch what happens as he hits the drop shot. He softens his hands to take pace off the ball and as typically happens, his racket actually moves backwards after contact. But notice that even as his racket goes backwards, his body is still flowing forward! He takes a step forward with his left foot as he hits and his body flows about 5 feet further forward in the court. WOW! Power and touch in at the same time within the Flow.

Real Time

We've analyzed some great of examples of the top players flowing through the forecourt. In this last animation, take the time to watch some of these same sequences in real time. As you do, try to feel the precision, fluidity, and power in the stroke execution. Great flow is a combination of coordination, balance, quickness, technique, touch, and focus. These are the qualities that make tennis magic to watch and to play. Hopefully the concept of Flow will give you a fresh perspective when you watch tennis in person or study the shots in the Stroke Archive as well. See if by reading this article, a little bit of that magic doesn't rub off on you.