The Five Fundamentals
Preparation

Michael Friedman

In the first article in this series on the Five Fundamentals of stroke production, we looked at the Ready Position across every stroke in tennis.  (Click Here.)  Now let’s do the same for the second fundmental, Preparation.

According to my dictionary, the word “prepare” means “to make ready for a specific purpose.”  That is an apt description of how preparation works in tennis.  The “specific purpose” is to hit a tennis ball well.  Preparation is what makes that possible.   Without the right preparation, it doesn’t matter what else you do in your swing, you won’t hit the ball well. 

Are you overlooking this critical prerequisite in any of your strokes?  Read on and find out.  But first some historical perspective that helps explain why preparation is still so widely misunderstood.

Historical Perspective

In the beginning of my tennis teaching career, teaching pros believed that the key to preparation was “getting the racket back early.”  One of the biggest changes in the way the sport is taught is the revision of this concept and the new focus on using the whole body to prepare properly for the stroke. 

When we study the best players we see that “Early Preparation” includes movement with the racket, but this movement is initiated with the feet and the torso.  The idea of independently taking the racket back is actually counter-productive.

Why this change? 

Up until the late 1970’s and early 1980s, we all taught players using heavy wooden rackets.  These rackets weighed almost a pound.  The sweet spot was the size of a golf ball.  If you could find a racket that weighed less than 13 ounces it was considered very light. 

Of course the heavier the racket, the harder it is to wield. We had to teach our students to get the racket back as early as possible to increase the chance of maneuvering it successfully forward to the contact point, and especially, getting it there on time.   

To accomplish this, the swing patterns were much more restrictive.  We would have our students immediately point the tip of the racket at the fence behind them, and then finish the swing by pointing the front edge of the racket at the fence on the other side of the net. 

The wrist was immediately laid back with the elbow in.   The swing plane was relatively flat, with the goal to match the path of the racket to the flight of the ball.   You can still see these elements in the groundstrokes of great players like John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors who grew up in the era of wood rackets.

Over time the rackets gradually changed this.  The new rackets were lighter, but much more powerful.  They were easier to swing and had much bigger sweet spots.  Players found they could hit the ball harder.  They found it was much easier to create heavy spin but still make solid contact.  As each new generation of players explored the capabilities of the new rackets, technique evolved.

The result?  Players now prepare their forehands by pointing the tip of the racket at the front fence.  At the finish of the swing, the racket tip is often pointing at the at the fence behind them. 

How things have changed!  But unfortunately, much of the teaching terminology related to preparation has remained the same.  This is one major reason why the level of technical execution remains low in so much club tennis.  So in this article, we’ll present more accurate terminology for learning preparation in the modern game, covering every stroke.

If we study the video in the Tennisplayer Stroke Archive we can identify four fundamentals of preparation shared by all the great players.  The first is the Weight Shift.  The second is the Unit Turn.  The third is Setting the Grip. The fourth is setting up the Hitting Arm Position. 

Let’s go step by step and explore these four commonalities for the forehand, the one-handed and two-handed backhands, the volleys, the overhead, and the serve.

The Shift and the Unit Turn

The first move out of the Ready Position for the ground strokes happens as the feet are landing in the split step.  This is the Weight Shift.  The Shift starts as the feet are landing in the split step, and should occur before the ball bounces.

Watch in the animation as the player starts the motion by shifting the weight to his right or outside foot, increasing the flex in the knees.  The Weight Shift can be subtle for balls close to the player, or can be very pronounced when the ball is further away. 

During the Shift the player also creates an angle in the shoulders, usually leaning slightly forward toward the net. On the forehand, for players with more extreme grips, the shoulders can stay upright or even lean slightly back, away from the net. 

After the player shifts his weight he immediately begins the Unit Turn.  The Unit Turn gets the outside foot turned out at least 45 degrees.  At the same time it rotates the hips and shoulders at least 45 degrees away from the net.  This automatically initiates the movement in the arms. 

Forehand

This is how “early racket preparation” starts in the modern game.  The racket starts backward as a function of the movement with the feet and torso. 
Together the shift and the turn allow the body to move efficiently out of the Ready Position.  If players independently pull the racket back with just the arms, they impede this critical process.  These two basic moves are the same for all the groundstrokes.  Now let’s look at what happens next.

On the forehand, after the Weight Shift and the Unit Turn, the forearms lift up and away from the body.  In the modern game, players often wait with a grip somewhere in between the forehand and backhand. in the Ready Position.  As the Unit Turn starts, these players keep both hands on the racket and shift the dominant hand to their forehand grip.

Both hands stay on the racket at the start the upward looping motion of the backswing.   The separation of the arm occurs at different times, depending on the size of the backswing.   It happens sooner for a player with a compact motion like Marcos Baghdatis.  But the hands can reach as high as the shoulders for a player with a large loop like Lleyton Hewitt.  Both are correct depending on the swing shape. 

After the arms separate, the left arm stretches across the body, straightening out as the shoulder turn is completed.  The arm can be parallel to the court, but can also be angled either downward or upward.

Now, as the backswing continues, the player sets up the forth component in the preparation, the Hitting Arm Position.  As the hitting arm drops it falls into position to make the forward swing with the elbow bent and the wrist laid back.

This is the most common hitting arm shape in the pro game, but for players who hit the forehand with the arm straight, such as Nadal, it’s the same principle.  As the backswing  positions the racket for the forward swing, the player’s set up the straight hitting arm.

Two-Handed Backhand

As with the forehand, we see the preparation begin with the Weight Shift, flowing immediately into the Unit Turn. The left foot turns outward about 45 degrees.  As with the forehand this turns the hips and shoulders at least 45 degrees away from the net

As the body turns, the top hand shifts to some version of a continental or a mild eastern backhand grip.  Most players use a compact looping motion on the backswing, in which the hands go straight back or a slight incline, with the tip of the racket angled upward.   In general the backswing is more compact than on the forehand.

Players configure their arms in different ways during the backswing movement, and this position may or may not correspond with the actual hitting arm positions at contact.  For example, Lleyton Hewitt takes both arms back straight in the backswing, but then moves into the Bent/Straight configuration before striking the ball.

Players who have both arms bent at contact, may also straighten the arms somewhat on the backswing, but tend to set up the actual hitting arm configuration sooner toward the bottom of the backswing.  (For more on the hitting arm variations, Click Here.)

What matters is that you develop a consistent pattern.  This means starting the preparation with the body, using a backswing with relatively little upward hand movement, and creating a consistent pattern in the positioning of the hitting arms. 

One-Handed Backhand

As with the other groundstrokes, the preparation for the one handed backhand starts with the Weight Shift and the Unit Turn.  But the initial turn of the hips and shoulders in pro tennis is often more on the one-hander, up to 90 degrees, a much bigger move away from the net. 

This is because the shoulders will eventually turn further than on the forehand.  This increased turn is created by the predominant use of the closed stance on the pro one-hander, with a large diagonal step across to the ball.  (Again for more on how this works, Click Here.) 

For the average player a neutral stance is probably a better alternative.  With this stance, the turn may be somewhat less, but it still happens in a unitary fashion in conjunction with the weight shift.  Again the racket preparation will begin automatically with the body turn.

As the turn starts, the player also changes the grip.  The left hand then lifts the racket head.  As with the two-hander, the hands stays relatively low as the racket moves back, but the angle of the racket tip points upward.  This sets the wrist position with as much as a 90 degree angle between the forearm and the shaft of the racket.    

This motion allows the player to keep the racket up head up as the backswing continues.  From this position he is ready to slice.  But he is also ready to drop the racket to drive the shot with topspin. 

On the topspin drive, as the racket head drops, it falls into the hitting arm position.  No matter what the grip style, the hitting arm straightens out at the bottom of the backswing, or at the latest in the very first few fractions of the forward swing.

Volleys

When it comes to the volley, a technically sound Ready Position differs from the groundstrokes.  This includes changing to a continental grip and establishing a higher racket position with the tip pointing more upward.  This racket position allows you to make your first move to the ball without additional and unnecessary movement with the racket and arms. 

Again we see the motion initiates with Weight Shift and the Unit Turn.  The first step positions the outside foot to the ball.  The outside foot (foot closest to the ball) and the torso turn at least 45 degrees. 

When the ball is close, players often take a drop step to allow the outside foot to move away from the ball.  If they have to move to the ball, they drive off the outside foot and then step across and forward with the front foot to reach for the ball. 

The shoulders lean slightly forward toward the net to allow your weight to move into the ball.  If the shoulders tilt away from the net, the face of the racket can open too much preventing you from really shifting your weight into the shot.

The body turn automatically prepares the racket, so that it is facing forward toward the net.  On reflex volleys the racket is lined up with the ball, but on slower balls the racket can be positioned higher, so that the player can swing downward on an angle for underspin. 

On the forehand volley, the non-dominant hand lets go of the racket go early in the motion but still moves across the body as part of the Unit Turn.  The elbow points in toward the torso, with the wrist usually slight laid back. 

On the backhand volley, both hands stay on the racket.  The left arm is used to control the racket head, lifting it and positioning the face at the proper angle behind the ball, with the left elbow pointing down.  The right upper arm remains close to the body, with the elbow angled downward at the court.

Overhead Smash

The Overhead Smash is the serve on wheels.  To have an effective overhead, you have to be able to execute your service motion while moving in any direction.  

The preparation can be different, however, depending on whether you hit the ball in the air or allow it to bounce.  When you take the ball in the air the windup happens first, as you are moving to the ball.  When you let the ball bounce, you have time to start the entire motion after the bounce. 

When the player hits the ball in the air, the motion starts with the combined turning motion of the feet and torso.  The step is with the right foot and can be backwards, sideways, or forward, depending on where the ball is and how the player has to move.

The wind up is abbreviated.  The player lifts the hitting arm and racket directly upward to the trophy position similar to the same position on the serve.  At the same time, the left hand points up as if having tossed the ball, lifting the left shoulder higher than the right. 

The tip of the racket is pointing up and the right elbow stays spaced away from the body and pointing down.  The wrist is kept level with the forearm and does not lay back.   From this classic position the player is ready to move to the racket drop and then up to contact.

When the lob is very high or very deep, even the top players let the ball bounce.   Again the turn is initiated with the feet and the body, but the hands don’t initially move upward, staying relaxed and together on the racket.  The player will then shuffle step backward into position.  Although the windup is still abbreviated, the motion is now continuous from start to finish, more like the serve.

Preparing to Serve

This segment could be an entire article in itself because there are so many variations in the way top players start the motion.  But if I had to choose one player to model, I’d pick Roger Federer’s preparation because it is so simple and efficient. 

Let’s see what Roger does from the ground up.  He starts with his weight on his left or front foot with his right foot set behind him about shoulder width, with the back toes turned to point slightly behind.  His arms are relaxed and hang low with his left arm straight and his racket face slightly turned so that he could see the front of the strings. 

As he starts the motion, his weight shifts back to his right foot and stays there until he releases the toss.  The hands stay low and drop slightly in front of his body.  After he lets the ball go he continues to raise his left arm while he lifts his racket into a perfect trophy position. 

The weight then starts to shift forward to the left foot.  At the bottom of the knee bend the weight is distributed on both feet—a classic platform stance with perfect balance.

Notice that his eyes are looking up at where he wants the toss to go.  The left shoulder has risen above the right.  His right wrist stays in line with the forearm, pointing the racket straight up.  His elbow points down but is nicely spaced from his torso.  This is a great, simple model for any player.

Powerful Practice

To prepare correctly for each shot takes a lot of repetition and training.  These moves all need to become automatic and reflexive, so that you can execute them without having to consciously think about the movements.

One powerful way to develop this is through practice without the ball.  The Shift and Unit Turn can be practiced without the ball or court and so can your grip changes and arm preparations. 

Stand in front of a mirror with your racket.  For the groundstrokes and the volleys, assume a good Ready Position with a wide stance. (Click Here.)  Shift your weight side to side like the pros do before they return serve.  Then do your Split Step and prepare to hit a forehand, a backhand, a volley, etc.   You can do the same with the serve preparation starting with the serve ready position. 

Start by doing the moves slowly and then gradually doing them faster.  This will help you move correctly and automatically when you hit the courts. 

So that’s it for preparation.  Next we’ll look at how to position to the ball.  Stay Tuned!