The Best Backhand Volley In Modern Times

For me, the modern era began with the Jimmy Connors dismantling of Ken Rosewall at Wimbledon in the early 70's.

All the great names like Gonzalez, Laver, Newcombe, Hoad, Budge, and Roche are all before my time.

It's not like I don't know who they were. I even have 2 of Pancho's instructional books, and I saw Gonzalez and Laver play in their 60's at exhibition events.

Plus, I have the incredible privilege of hitting with and talking tennis with a great Canadian player, now in his 70's, who played against Don Budge and Maureen Connolly.

When it comes to backhand volleys, you really only hear 2 names -- Tony Roche and Stefan Edberg. McCenroe, Sampras, and Rafter were good volleyers but perhaps a notch down on the backhand side from Roche and Edberg.

What makes a great volley?

Everyone will begin with consistency and placement. But, if there's one word which describes a great volley, to me it's the word stick. To stick a volley is to hit a volley with a sound that can be described as a thud. The ball takes off low, like a rocket, hits the ground, and then scoots unhittably away.

Edberg is the best volleyer I've ever seen. Not only did he gain incredible position on his serve and volley, but he stuck his volleys. Watch this clip a thousand times if you want to learn how to hit a world-class backhand volley


Edberg Backhand Volley

Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Best Backhand Volley guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Doing Less Can Be More On The Return

Everybody always talks about how the serve and the return are the two most important shots in tennis. You occasionally see someone at the club practicing serves, but almost never do you see a club player practicing returns.

When you play a lot of matches against good players, you begin to realize that a return that lands somewhere in the mid-court area is often just an invitation for a good player to crack a big forehand and take control of the point. A losing strategy for the returner.

Often, the response of the returner is to try and hit harder, but this is often counterproductive as it increases the errors and is much harder.

So, here's a strategy I recently used with great success.

I was playing a young guy with a big serve and a big forehand. Although I was returning all of his serves, he was able, with his quickness, to run around and hit dominating forehands on almost all my returns.

So, I tried something completely different.

I started semi-lobbing his returns deep crosscourt and watched with amazement as to how this changed the patterns. First of all, I had a lot of time to recover into good defensive position. This alone is very valuable.

But, I also noticed how many errors my opponent started to make. It's a much harder shot to hit a big forehand off a ball that is coming almost straight down like a semi-lob. The timing is different and the contact point is higher.

Of course, smart players might try and come in and take the ball out of the air but so many young players are poor volleyers and just don't want to do this.

Many years ago I played a Canadian legend. This man had been number one in Canada for many years in his prime and had played all the greats like Laver.

When I played him, he was in his early sixties, although he was the best-conditioned sixty year old I've ever seen. And, he beat me badly but not with power. He beat me with his head.

He took my big first serve to his backhand and took it early, hitting a floating return that landed inches from the baseline. I had never played anyone who played with this strategy and I found it very difficult to deal with. He took it so early that serve and volleying was difficult. And, if I let the ball land, it landed so deep and with such little pace that I couldn't do much with it.

So, if you're not beeaking serve, try floating semi-lob returns deep and see what happens.

Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Tennis Return Tips guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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What I Learned From A Great Doubles Player

The club that I play at in Toronto has a lot of top players. There are a lot of players who play competitive seniors tennis and who rank at or near the top in the country. ( There's a 73 year old legend who can play with all but the best younger guys -- he takes everything incredibly early)

Last week in the club doubles championship, I had the pleasure of watching the club's best doubles player. He's also one of the top doubles players in the country.

What did I learn you ask?

An incredible amount and I'll try and pass on some of the lessons I picked up by watching.

1. An incredibly compact return of serve. Essentially, a quick unit turn with almost no independent arm motion. Almost impossible to make an error and able to take the ball early and put it right back at the server's feet.

2. Incredibly compact volleys. Same story -- shoulder turn with very little independent arm action.

3. A fantastic overhead -- able to hit with angle, power , and able to bounce the overhead over the head of the other team. Try hitting a typical overhead that bounces over the heads of your opponents. Not easy! But very valuable.

4. Fantastic balance. Never out of balance when the other team was preparing to hit. Very quiet body.

5. Drilled a lot of volleys at the net man. When he had a volley that he could generate pace on, he drilled it at the net man -- remember this is top level men's doubles.

6. Precision serving. Not big but well placed.

Try watching the best doubles players at your club --especially youngish seniors ( 35's and 40's) and see what you can pick up. Then go out and incorporate those changes into your game.

Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Great Doubles Tips guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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What The Average Guy Or Gal Can Learn From Rafa

Wow.

That's all I can say about Rafael Nadal's performance last night in the US Open final.

Especially, the third and fourth set. No errors, unbelievable defense, crisp volleying when needed, and accurate,powerful serving.

We are watching one of the great players of all time.

But, are there are any lessons that Bob or Mary, who play at the club, and right now are preparing for their summer club championships, can use?

Because, as great as Rafa is, he plays tennis with the logical abilities of one of those IBM supercomputers. Let's have a look at some of the tactics Rafa used last night to dismantle a very game Novak Djokovic.

RETURN OF SERVE

Forget about taking a swing, even if shortened on the first serve. Rafa was slicing back all first serves on both the forehand and backhand side. And, he was slicing high and with great depth so that when the ball landed almost all advantage for Djokovic was gone.

This is very similar to the way Roger Federer plays Andy Roddick --neutralize the big serve by just blocking it, and then seeing if your opponent has the goods to win the point after the bounce.

Of course, the flaw in the strategy would be a susceptibility to guys who follow in their serves and volley but, since serve and volleyers are a dying breed, Rafa doesn't usually have to worry .

Djokovic did serve and volley a few times, and actually did well, but it's not his game.

HIT SLICE BACKHANDS HIGH AND UP THE LINE

Another Nadal pattern, when in trouble on his backhand, is to hit a slice up the line. Often, he hits it with lots of height so that it gives him plenty of time to recover to good court position.

This one is a little tricky to volley since it's usually over the backhand shoulder.If Nadal makes a mistake and floats the ball over the forehand shoulder --- it's good night.

Learn To Hit Sharply Sliced First Serves

Nadal makes a living hitting his slice serve in the ad court. It goes to the backhand of the righthanders and is a devastating shot. But, notice how much trouble Nadal has when righties slice wide to his backhand in the deuce court.

In general, a good slice serve is pretty rare at the club. It takes a lot of practice to be able to get enough action and movement so that the serve doesn't sit up in the strike zone.

A good slice serve will force your opponent to stand further to the side to cover it, and open up a lot of court for the serve in the other direction.

So, you'll have guys guessing or cheating -- a big advantage.

A lot of the stuff that Rafa does is unteachable so don't even humor yourself and try those insanely whippy forehands, but these three things above can win you a whole bunch of matches.

Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Win The US Open Like Rafa guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Imagine A Lesson From Robert Lansdorp

For those of you who are aware of who Robert Lansdorp is ,the excitement of having a private lesson from this famed coach would be intoxicating.

For those of you who aren't aware of Robert Lansdorp, here are a few words of introduction.

Mr. Lansdorp is the legendary Southern California coach who coached Pete Sampras, Tracy Austin, Lindsey Davenport, Elliot Teltsher, and Maria Sharapova.

Philosophically , he is as old school as they come, a tough disciplinarian. From a tennis pooint of view he is a believer in classic grips and penetrating ground strokes rather than loopy topspin shots which he calls academy balls, with more than a touch of disdain.

I go back and forth all the time as to what is the best method for a club player -- the aggressive flat game as espoused by Lansdorp or the modern heavy topspin game.
I've discussed that topic in this blog and, I can say that I am now attempting in my own game to flatten out mid court balls and hit more winners or shots that force errors from my opponents.

Here is a link to a private lesson that Lansdorp is giving to a very talented 8 year old. Watch the whole clip, I picked up a number of technical tips, especially at the 2 minute and 40 second point Lansdorp Private Lesson

Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Amazing Forehand Tennis Lesson guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Drop Volleys On Clay

Here's a thought for everyone who plays on clay or Har-Tru -- Should all volleys (or at least the great preponderance) be drop volleys? You know those feathered touch shots hit with soft hands that drop just over the net? The type that John McEnroe made famous?

After growing up playing predominantly hard court tennis, I now play on clay. And, since I'm an attack player, coming to net and volleying away my opponents' passing shots is a big part of my game.

The classical approach to volleying is probably to volley deep and into the open court. Of course, sometimes you need to volley behind an opponent but, on hard court, if you volley with some sting to the open court, you can probably hit a winner.

Attacking on clay is a whole different animal.That's why, when you watch the upcoming French Open, you may not see too many points ending with volleys.

On clay, volleys sit up and give quick opponents enough time to hit either good passing shots or devastating lobs. Many quick players on clay play a defensive style of game, they stand quite far behind the baseline and just keep returning the ball until they can for get an error.

So, I've discovered, the hard way I might add, that deep volleys don't work that well on clay. Recently, I've begun hitting a lot of drop volleys and angled volleys,using soft hands, and my appreciation for using all the inches of the tennis court has greatly increased.

If your opponent is deep behind the baseline and you hit a drop volley, it's almost physically impossible for your opponent to run up and get to the ball. The short angled volley works the same way.

The other factor to consider is that most clay courters want nothing to do with approaching the net. Hittng drop volleys draws your opponents in, so that even if they get to the ball, they'll be at the net which is a place they usually don't want to be.

Watch the great clay courter Rafael Nadal play these next few weeks. When he hits a deep penetrating groundstroke which pulls his opponent very deep or wide, Nadal sneaks in and hits a winner drop volley. He's learned that when your opponent is deep and wide, that the play to make is to hit the drop volley.

Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Tennis Tactics Like Hitting Drop Volleys On Clay guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Playing Women

In today's world, there are a lot of excellent female players at clubs all over the world.

And, if you're club is like mine, there are a lot of men who really don't want to lose to a woman.

The problem for a lot of the guys is that the women might actually be better players technically.

My observation is that women in general have better backhands than guys, and guys tend to rely much more on power, speed, and a big serve and forehand. Very few women seem to have one-handed backhands, they tend to have very solid two-handers, whereas a lot of guys still have slice backhands and rely on running around to hit forehands.

I fall into the latter category although I also have a two-hander. However, I've observed that it's very difficult to win baseline rallies consistently if you're constantly are at a disadvantage with one pattern -- especially backhand to backhand.

So, here a few generic thoughts about how to beat women.

First of all, if you have a good serve, you must capitalize on it. And, this might involve serving and volleying which is something most women aren't familair with playing against.

Secondly, I've observed that getting balls high can bother wome more than pace. So, if you're able to hit a very high, bouncing, topspin stroke this could be very effective.

Third, try to stretch the court wide and make it a speed game . Do this only if you're the faster player, as otherwise it might work against you.

Fourth, hit a lot of short slice and drop shots to turn it into a short ball/ volley game instead of a groundstroker game.

Lastly, get your ego out of the way. If you're playing not to lose, you're probably going to lose.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but I haven't seen too many serve and volleying women at my club.
Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Tennis Tactics To Help You Beat The Women At Your Club guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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The No Split Step Serve And Volleyer

First of all, greetings to all and my apologies for having gone AWOL for awhile.

Just general life business. I, of course, did manage to continue studying this exceptional game of tennis which keeps us all enthralled. Frankly, my interests have veered toward the technical, and I'll be sharing some of my thoughts with you on these subjects, as well as my traditional thoughts on competitive play at the club level and on the pro tour.

There are very few serve and volleyers at the club level but, occasionally, you come across one. Sometimes, the serves aren't even particularly good but the players just come charging in so fast that they are on top of the net to volley away winners.

Sometimes, these players seem so tough, regardless of how hard you hit the return, that you wonder how they lose to anyone.

The secret for most of these players is that they don't split step. They just keep charging in full bore to get the net. As long as they don't have to change direction too much, or god forbid, go backwards, they're fine.

Two quick examples of guys I've played.

One is a good senior player in the 50's with a slow kick serve to the backhand, very good foot speed, with average volleying skills. He recently started to serve and volley on his slow serve. He's fast enough and his serve is slow enough that he gets great position for his first volley.

Seems like an unbeatable strategy, right?

Well, if you play guy like this and can't win by using the traditional counters such as returning low or wide, try the lob on the return.

Think about it, the player is charging forward without splitting. Just let him keep charging and then lob over his head. When I tried this, it worked like a charm since he could never get on balance to hit a powerful overhead and actually missed many.

Now, you won't see this on the pro tour because there are very few serve and volleyers, and the ones that there are have great footwork and would destroy a lob return.

The second situation involved a big strong 25 year old with a huge serve. Because of his height and serve, I teased him that he was the Ivo Karlovic of the club.

He hit his huge serve and also came in without splitting, getting incredible net position. And, in this case, a practice match, I resisted trying the lob and kept trying to beat him with great returns.

But his serve was big enough that I couldn't direct the ball as well as I would like so I couldn't break him. Walked of the court after the loss, and thought about the match and playing the guy again.

I vowed that If I had to play him again, I would lob.


Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Countering The Club Serve And Volleyer guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Do You Need Modern Technique In the Seniors?

Should all players adopt the modern forehand style of Federer or Nadal or is the classic forehand that Pete Sampras hit better?

And, really the question has to do with senior tennis since there are very few kids who are learning the classic Landsorp forehand with conservative grips.

My view is that the modern rotational strokes with wiper finishes are great especially when you're playing against someone who gives you pace and a high bouncing ball that you can hit at waist height or even higher.

But, enter a top seniors tournament and you find yourself hitting well-placed low balls with little pace. And, it's not easy to rip these balls since you have to generate all the pace yourself.

I'm coming to the conclusion that having the ability to really hit through these balls with heavy, fairly flat strokes is a skill that good players need. Hitting too much spin on these balls often gives your opponent more time to chase the ball down and hit a reply that you may not like.

Even Federer and Agassi vary their forehand finishes to get the effect that they desire. So, if you're a heavy topspin player who has trouble putting the ball away and attacking, then try to flatten out your strokes when you're attacking. Study the Sampras forehand finish and try it out.
Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Top Tennis Tactics Like The Sampras Forehand guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Roddick's Match Of His Life

Take away the horrible backhand volley at set point in the second set breaker and you'd have to admit that Andy Roddick played the match of his life.

And, yet he still lost, which tells you how hard it is to beat Roger Federer.

What struck me about the match was the obvious improvement in Roddick's game. I believe a lot of the credit has to go to Larry Stefanki, Roddick's coach.

A-Rod has always been able to blast his serve but, in the past, he was not a top ten player in baseline rallies, especially on the backhand side.

Federer went hard at the Roddick backhand as usual but today Andy's backhand held up extremely well. A-Rod seems to have much better movement and balance when running to the backhand side and this now allows him to pass well up the line when attacked.

As a matter of fact, it was a couple of shanked forehands that cost A-rod the last game and the match.

I think players at all levels underestimate the importance of movement and balance.
They try and hit with huge power and spin.

But, I can tell you from personal experience that if you don't move well and maintain good balance, then good players will eat you up. And, if you're not set well, you won't have a chance to hit those big shots.

So, think of yourself as Fred Astaire and glide around the court.

Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Tennis Tactics That Almost Helped Roddick Win Wimbledon guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Federer's New Drop Shot

Stubborn Roger Federer they all said.

For the last three years every tennis fan/critic in the world has had words of advice for Roger Federer especially on how to play Rafael Nadal.

Coaches came and went and always the refrain was --that Rog fellow is too stubborn.

We all talked about the backhand return and what he should do. We talked about not rallying with Nadal but attacking persistently.

Irony of irony -- Federer adds to his game, gets a glimpse of the success of his new tactics in the altitude of the Madrid, and then watches his rival crash out in the middle rounds of the French Open.

So, what did Federer do differently?

To this observer, Federer obviously served far better than in recent memory. And, when you have a serve that is as precisely placed as Fed's, it's money in the bank when its on.

But, the biggest change I noted in the groundstroke tactics was the increased use of the drop shot.

We've all known what a great slice backhand Federer has always possessed. However, against Nadal, the slice backhand often allowed Nadal to hit topspin forehands even inches off the ground and regain control of the point.

The classic Federer slice backhand didn't hurt Nadal positionally. What I mean by this is that Nadal wasn't forced to move to a part of the court where he was in danger by virtue of a bad position on the court.

The Fed drop shot forces opponents to charge in just to actually get it. If they do reach it, they have to do something good with it or else they find themselves a sitting duck at the net.

And remember two things. Almost all of Fed's opponents including Rafa are clay courters who like to camp out way behind the baseline on clay. This is great for defending against heavy groundstrokes but makes one vulnerable against a well-placed and disguised drop shot.

And secondly, Federer is a far better volleyer than almost all of his opponents. So, when he pulls people into the net he is luring them into his territory -- a tennis mousetrap so to speak.

So, how can the average club player learn from this?

Well, consider the drop shot if you're opponent exhibits any of the following:

1. Likes to play way behind the baseline;
2. Doesn't like to come to net and volleys poorly;
3. Isn't that quick;
4. Has a poor overhead.

Next time we'll talk about where to hit the drop shot and how to move after hitting it.

Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Top Tennis Tactics Like The Federer Drop Shot guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Should You Return Like Nadal?

Watch Rafael Nadal as he returns serve, especially on clay.

What you'll see is that Nadal stands way back to return and then hits a high, looping, heavy topspin, return off both the forehand and backhand.

Nadal is basically saying that he is so confident in his ability to chase down a second shot, that he is choosing to give himself as much time as possible to rip a heavy return.

Many other players stand in tighter and return with an abbreviated stroke, using the pace of the serve.

On clay, I think it's definitely worthwhile to try Nadal's strategy aspecially if you have heavy groundstrokes which can do some damage if you take a full swing.

Nadal also returns very high over the net which dramatically increases his percentage of returns in play. Again, this makes him theoretically vulnerable to serve and volleyers, but considering that there are no good serve and volleyers on tour, it's seems to be a pretty fair bet.

We'll analyze further aspects of Nadal's game in the next few posts but, as you watch him play his matches, start to watch his shot selection and how he almost always goes for high percentage shots.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies How To Return Smart Like Rafael Nadal guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Those Savvy Defensive Players

Every once in a while, you come across an opponent whose winning record seems in sharp contradiction to the way he looks while playing.

Sometimes, these guys look slow, hit with no power, and yet they beat almost everybody except for the the top players.

I had the opportunity to play such a player this past weekend.

Now, this fellow comes with quite a tennis pedigree having been on touring junior teams for a South American country and having played the Orange Bowl tennis tournament.

The obvious way to play these type of players is to try and hit through them. But, this fellow's defense was superb. And, I'm not talking about Nadal type passing shots.

This fellow, let's call him Eduardo, has the ability to hit low, slow, slice balls down the line with extraordinary precision. This particular position on the court is a very difficulot position for most attacking players and especially for most club players who don't practice what to do with this ball.

The obvious response is back down the line but Eduardo knows this too and covers this shot.In hindsight, I think the shot to hit might be a short angled topspin crosscourt. However, this isn't a shot that most club players practice very often and isn't something that one might go to naturally in the heat of battle.

So, the lesson is to never to judge how good someone is until you've been on the court with them and see for yourself.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies How To Play Pushers And Win Big Matches guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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What The Club Player Can Learn From Nadal And Murray

Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray are two of the best players in the world. They both play a primarily defensive game although Nadal can convert to offense in an instant which I think makes him so incredible.

But, as I watching the most recent match between the two (the final at Indian Wells),I was struck by the intelligence of the types of shots they were both playing as they played defense in points.

When in a little bit of trouble, perhaps pulled out wide, watch how Nadal and Murray often hit loopy, deep shots with less pace than their normal groundstrokes.

They don't panic at all. They hit these higher, slower shots because they want a little extra time to recover their court position. You might also see slice backhands especially from Nadal.

So, as you're playing your matches at your club, remember this principal. Next time, you're in a bad position in a point, try to hit the ball to a safe place using a little more height over the net and maybe with less pace.

But, always remember that after hitting your shot, bust your gut getting back into good position so that, in essence, you can restart the point.

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Top Tennis Tips AND Coaching Advice guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Old School Forehand Versus Modern Forehand

If you're of a certain vintage, then you learned to play tennis with the classic linear forehand. You took the racket back early, played mostly neutral or closed stance, and followed through toward the target.

The modern forehand clearly looks different. It involves different grips and the use of more rotational force. The effect is far more spin, control, and angles.

There are really 2 issues to discuss here.

The first is the advantage of the modern forehand versus the classical for the club player. The second is how to hit the modern forehand and retrain yourself.

Let's start off with the first issue. As I see it, the classical forehand can be very effective at the club level if hit well. It is especially effective if your opponents are hitting a ball that doesn't bounce too high as the classic forehand is hit with a conservative grip ( eastern or continental).

However, if you're a bit of a old-timer and you're playing younger players who have grown up being taught the modern forehand, you may find that it becomes very difficult to handle the high bouncing balls produced by the modern forehand.

And, you may marvel at the ease of which the modern forehand players can destroy high balls.

So, the classical forehand may or may not be an advantage depending on whom you're playing.

The second issue is the technical differences between the two and how you can retrain yourself to hit the modern forehand.

The modern forehand is what is referred to as a multi-segment forehand as opposed to the single segment classical forehand. What this means is that in the classical forehand the entire arm from the shoulder down moves as a single block.

On the other hand, in the modern forehand, there is a movement of multiple segments including the shoulder. elbow, and wrist.

There's also far more rotation involved in the modern forehand.

Here are 2 resources to get you started in exploring the differences:

A short video illustrating the differences

A second video illustrating the differences

Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Top Tennis Tactics For Playing All Different Types guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Volleying Tips From The Old School

Recently, I've had the pleasure of hitting with a 73 year old man at our club.

Not just any 73 year old man, mind you, but a former Davis Cupper and someone can regale you with stories about greats like Don Budge, Pancho Gonzalez, and the Aussies.

A fine gentleman as well.

But, let's get to the tennis part of things.

Obviously, he's from the old school with conservative grips and the traditional linear groundstrokes of that era. But, what an eye for correct technique on the volley and backhand approach shot.

All great volleyers contact the ball in front of them. Most club players contact the ball further back and then wonder why they don't get the stick and angle they desire.

The problem is that most club players may think they're contacting out in front but, in fact, actually aren't.

So, when I'm on the court with this senior with the wisdom of the ages, he continually reminds me to contact out front. When you start to get it, the ball has far more zip.

I noticed the difference in one of our weekly doubles matches. One of the foursome is a fine player with soft hands who can volley well but tends to catch the ball late and let it bounce off the racket instead of sticking it.

When, I got into exhanges at the net I was almost guaranteed to win since his volley had no stick and therefore gave me time to react, whereas my volleys had more zip and ultimately forced the error and won me the point.

So, even if you don't have an ex-pro drilling you on an in-front contact point, remind yourself and practice until you get the feel.

Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Top Tennis Tactics For Beating The Next Guy guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Playing A Talented Pusher

Here's a tennis tip -- consider changing your patterns when playing tall guys.Probably, the most frustrating thing for the typical player is playing what we call a pusher.

That's unless you're the pusher who drives everyone else crazy.

Let's first define what we mean by a pusher.

A pusher is a player who tends to get a lot of balls back with little pace, forcing his or her opponent to create all the pace and actively win the points.

Most people think pushers are inferior players because of their lack of pace and get easily frustrated when they start losing.

And, of course, not all pushers are at the same level. The really high level ones are quick as cats and put the ball in very awkward positions in the court.

So, what are some of the approaches to playing the pusher?

The first is mental. Instead of getting ticked off at the lack of classic tennis that the pusher is playing, start off by admiring their unique brand of artistry. Accept playing them as a real challenge.

If you start to lose, then try to stay calm and figure out what patterns the pusher is using to defeat you.

Often, the pusher's opponent will try to attack very early in points because the slow balls of the pusher look very inviting. Instead, be patient and vary your attacks. If attacking early isn't working then move the pusher around and then try and attack later in the point. Try to vary your pattern so that the pusher doesn't know when you're going to attack.

Avoid overhitting and try to focus on a good follow through to create depth. Wait patiently until you have a very solid attack opportunity.

Next time, we'll talk about positions on the court that the pusher hits to and what possible responses there are.

Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Top Tennis Tactics For Playing The Tennis Pusher guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.

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Tennis Tips When Playing Tall Guys

Here's a tennis tip -- consider changing your patterns when playing tall guys.

Every few months I play a friend of mine who's a rangy 6 feet 4 inches. He's an old school attacking player with flat strokes, takes everything early, and comes to the net where he's very effective and difficult to pass or lob.

Normally, I can control baseline rallies with my groundies and be safe from attack unless I hit a short ball. However, this guy's length enables him to cut off a ton of well-hit crosscourt groundstrokes and push the ball up the line while coming in. It's very disconcerting to say the least.

I've already changed my serving pattern when playing him and tend to serve at his body instead of going for the corners. I find that it's easier to jam him than to beat him wide or down the middle.

So, the next time I play him, I'm going to hit deep down the middle and try not to give him good attacking angles.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Top Tennis Tips To Win Big Matches guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.

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Training With The Number One Guy In Canada

Sorry for the recent gap in posting. Sometimes, life just gets so busy that something has to give.

In the fall, I had the opportunity to train with the number one player in Canada in the 45's. The whole experience was very educational.

As always, there are technical as well as tactical issues. Since this blog focuses on tactical aspects, the only thing I will say about technique is that this guy has simplified takebacks as compared to most well-known pros, and uses less wrist action on his groundies.

The main difference I noticed was the consistent depth of shot. While at a certain level, most shots have reasonable depth, there is usually quite a bit of variation in the depth. So, a top player can just be patient when playing a lower player because he knows that sooner or later, he will get a short ball or an error.

The next thing I noticed was much better footwork when moving. Many players are strong hitting their strokes when stationary, but their strokes break down when they are forced to move. Again, better players can win relatively easily by hitting safe shots that require their opponents to move.

The surprising thing was that power wasn't really an issue.

So, when you're practicing focus on consistent depth, especially when you're forced to move.
Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies How Top Tennis Players Win Big Matches guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.

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Lessons From The Canadian Nationals

At the end of the summer, I watched some of the Canadian Seniors Tennis Mens Championships.

These are the annual summer championships in age groups 35-75.

And, although Canada isn't known as the strongest tennis country in the world, the Canadian champion has also been the world champion in a number of age categories in the past few years.

The final in the 35's was a brilliant example of strategic tennis.

The match pitted a very talented, old school, continental grip player against a modern, fit, semi-western grip, heavy baseliner. To make it even more interesting, the old school player is left-handed, a former satellite pro, and somewhat out of shape. To get a sense of his game think McEnroe or Laver.

The first set was fairly standard tennis with each player trying to see if their basic game was going to be enough to win. And, as the set went on, it became apparent that the more fit, topspinning, modern player was controlling baseline rallies.

The match was on clay, so it was quite difficult for the lefty to attack the net successfully. The first set went by pretty quickly, 6-2 to the baseliner.

Many observers, including an- ex Davis Cupper, left thinking the match was over.
Some of us hung in there to see what new tactics the talented lefty would try in the second set.

Lefty started to hit heavy, short slice landing somewhere around the service line.
This forced the modern player to move and to have to hit up from the service line with his semi-western grip.

Immediately, it became apparent that the modern player didn't know what to do with this ball. He certainly couldn't dominate rallies from here, didn't want to attack himself, and actually missed many shots into the net.

The savvy lefty smelled blood. He kept at it and added in some incredible drop shot returns off of first serves.

The rest of the match went smoothly with a 6-2 win in the third for the old school lefty.

For those of us watching, it was a brilliant example of changing tactics in the middle of a match to turn a losing situation into a winning one.

The key is to realize what grip you're opponent is using and what advantages and disadvantages that grip leads to. Semi-western or western forehand grips are excellent on high balls but weak on low balls.

So, try slicing to the forehand of your next opponent who's killing you with his semi-western forehand.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies How Top Tennis Players Win Big Matches guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.

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