- Instruction

Q&A: Counter a Lobber; Learn From the Pros
What is the best way to counter a lobber during a doubles match? My partner and I played a guy whose lobs were very effective in throwing off our game.?Mike These tactics can make it much more difficult for your opponents to lob:1) Hit short balls and force the lobber to come in.2) Always play one up and one back, so the net player can hit overheads.3) If you?re not comfortable hitting overheads, give your opponents a new look by staying back.4) Hit heavy, high and deep topspin, which will put the lobber on his heels and force him to lob short.5) Don?t forget the swinging volley. A few winners might be enough to stop your opponents from lobbing. I don?t hit the ball deep enough into the court. I naturally use a lot of topspin and the majority of my balls fall into the service box. How do I solve this problem and hit the ball deeper??Jon Chen If your shots land in the vicinity of the service line because of too much spin, do what Nadal has learned to do. Instead of dropping the racquet head well below the ball, keep it more on the level of the ball and drive through low to high. You could also raise the height of the net. Attach two sticks to the net posts and run a rope between them; your new ?net? should be 3 to 5 feet higher than the real net. I used to have Andre Agassi, Monica Seles and Jim Courier practice this way. If you can clear that net and keep the ball in the court, your shots will land within three feet of the baseline. I have been instructed by my coach to start throwing the ball a little more out in front of my body. However, this has made my toss erratic. Sometimes it will veer off to the right, and then when I try to correct it, it will then veer off to the left. I never know for sure where my toss will end up. It?s caused me to chase the ball in order to get my second serve in. Can you help??Alan Keegan, Ireland You must try to have your tossing arm and racquet arm work together. Observe many of the modern players? serves; they have reduced their swing patterns to a half swing. This can make it easier to toss and hit in sync. The most important thing for a consistent toss is repetition. You need to practice it over and over in order to toss it in the same spot every time. Remember that the majority of players toss the ball slightly in front and to the left of the front foot (opposite for a lefty) for the first serve. Pull the toss back slightly and a wee bit to the left for the second serve.Have a question for Nick? Write to him at asknick@TENNIS.com. Nick Bollettieri of the Bollettieri Tennis Academy has trained many collegiate and professional players, including 10 who reached the world No. 1 ranking.

Q&A: Footwork, Finding Your Grip, Follow Through
I have an eager and enthusiastic 7-year-old who wants to play tennis every day. What are some good footwork drills to help his development??Ralf George My suggestion is to introduce him to soccer and other quick-movement sports. You can also just throw a soft ball back and forth in all different directions, varying the height of your throws. How tightly should I grip the racquet handle on my one-handed backhand? I have significantly tighter grip tension on my backhand than I do on my forehand because I feel I have to have more behind that shot. What do you suggest??Djordje Damnjanovic, Serbia The tighter you hold the racquet, the less flexibility and energy you?ll have on your swing. You must also keep in mind that today?s backhand grips are more behind the handle. [For more on grips, visit our grip guide.]I?ve been struggling with my forehand for 20 years. This year, I finally found what I thought was a way to make it work, but it?s only a temporary fix. When it works, it?s nice, but it only lasts for about a week and then goes away. I know what to do but I can?t make my body do it. How can I solve this??Wyatt Sutton, Honduras It?s difficult for me to tell you what to do without knowing your grips, swing pattern, hitting foundation and balance. But here?s one tip: Exaggerate your follow through. This will prevent you from slowing down your swing as your racquet moves through the contact area. Have a question for Nick? Write to him at asknick@TENNIS.com. Nick Bollettieri of the Bollettieri Tennis Academy has trained many collegiate and professional players, including 10 who reached the world No. 1 ranking.

Play to Your Strength
Learn to win by doing what you do best more often. HAVE AN ATTITUDENews flash: It?s not practical to try to be Serena Williams. While Williams does everything well, most pros don?t, so how are you going to accomplish that lofty goal? Just like most pros, you can win with less. Know your strengths and tell yourself that you won?t play a match without using those strengths as often as possible. You have to say, ?My strength is good enough and I?m going to rely on it.? PERFECT WHAT YOU KNOWIt's OK to work on weaknesses in practice. But don?t ignore what you do well. If you?re good at something, try to get even better at it. Make that serve, forehand, backhand or volley the best it can be. Drill it to perfection. If you neglect it, it will still be good, but not great. TAILOR YOUR GAMEIt?s not as easy as it seems to emphasize your best stroke in a match. You need to think about how to set up shots so that you get your preferred stroke on the next ball. Your footwork patterns also might need to change. Whatever it takes, you must commit to this style of play until it?s instinctive, and that takes a lot of practice. Look at John Isner. He has two strengths, his serve and his forehand. Isner moves left as soon as he hits the ball. He?s looking for every opportunity for a big forehand. ACCEPT A SLUMPWhen you decide to stress your strengths, don?t expect immediate results. It?s one thing to have a weapon. It?s another to know how to use it. You?ll learn, as long as you keep at it and give yourself time. Remember, you?re looking for a style that will suit you in the long term. GET IN SHAPETo rely primarily on one weapon, you need to be in great shape. You?ll have to run more often to avoid a weaker stroke, and you?ll need more muscle to take more aggressive swings with your best shot more often. Fitness builds confidence, and to play tennis with one weapon, you need all the confidence you can get. Nick Bollettieri has trained many collegiate and professional players, including 10 who reached the world No. 1 ranking. Originally published in the July/August 2010 issue of TENNIS.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's Serve
The Frenchman's booming delivery kick-starts his acrobatic game. 1. Before Tsonga tosses the ball, he keeps his weight on his front foot, which is at a 45-degree angle to the baseline. You can tell that Tsonga knows tension is the enemy of a good serve: His hands and shoulders are relaxed. 2. Tsonga shifts his weight to his back foot as he begins his tossing motion. He holds the ball in his fingers, not his palm, and his hand remains free of tension. He keeps the elbow of his tossing arm straight. These are essential components of a consistent toss. 3. As Tsonga?s hands separate, his tossing arm is ahead of his racquet arm. This technique is an improvement on the traditional ?down together, up together? method because it keeps the hitting shoulder loose and helps prevent hitches in the swing. Net result: You get more racquet-head speed. 4. Tsonga shifts his weight to his front foot and deeply bends his knees. He releases the ball, but his tossing arm continues to follow it upward, ensuring an accurate toss and a strong upper-body turn. Tsonga?s racquet face is pointed down, which relaxes the shoulder muscles. 5. At this point, Tsonga is loaded and ready to uncoil. He slides his right foot forward to aid in his drive toward the ball. Notice the almost 90-degree flex in his knees. Top players generally bend this much on their serves, but it?s a lot to ask of club players. Tsonga extends his tossing arm and keeps his racquet head facing down. 6. Tsonga drives up toward the ball with his legs and begins his forward swing. His legs extend fully and his hips open up, followed by his upper body. He drops the racquet head, and the frame remains a good distance from his body. Forget the old ?scratch your back? method. It?s not as efficient and may lead to injuries. Tsonga concentrates on the ball and keeps his head up. 7. At contact, Tsonga is airborne and his hips and shoulders face his target in the deuce court. Club players take note: He doesn?t jump. His lift is the result of strong leg drive and a well-timed swing. Tsonga?s left arm tucks under his ribs and blocks the trunk from rotating past the ball before contact. He hits the ball just below its peak height. 8. Tsonga lands on his left foot, and his right foot kicks backwards to counterbalance his forceful forward swing. Tsonga keeps his head up and tracks the ball. He?ll be ready for whatever return his opponent sends his way. E. Paul Roetert, Ph.D., is a USPTA Master Pro and former managing director of USTA Player Development. Originally published in the July/August 2010 issue of TENNIS.

How To: Hit an Open-Stance Backhand
On the run? Pulled off court? This shot can save you. 1. An open-stance backhand is a great shot if you?re short on time or in an emergency situation, such as when an opponent pulls you wide. The key to this shot is the shoulder turn. Many times, players hear ?open stance? and they stand with their chests facing the net as the ball approaches. It?s impossible to accelerate the racquet through the ball from that position. Instead, plant your outside foot (the left foot for a right-handed player) and turn your shoulders. As you can see from this illustration, the lead shoulder is almost under the chin. 2. An open stance isn?t a license to leave the legs, hips and shoulders out ofthe shot. This robs the stroke of power and precision. Instead, plant your outside foot almost behind the ball, rotate at the trunk, and extend your racquet as you make contact in front of your body. Don?t lunge toward the ball. Good posture is essential when hitting an open-stance shot, especially on the run. Good posture equals good balance. 3. Your non-dominant arm (the left one in this illustration) should extend fully toward the target. That?s a sign of a well-driven ball. Don?t jump into your shot; instead, let the energy created by your shoulder rotation and aggressive swing lift you up. If you?re meant to come off the court, it will happen naturally. 4. The open-stance backhand allows you to easily prepare for the next shot. If you follow through over your shoulder and land on your inside foot (the right foot for righties), your weight will be headed toward the middle of the court. With proper preparation and execution, this shot lets you escape an emergency and pulls you back into the court so you can wrest control of the point from your opponent.                 Rick Macci has coached Andy Roddick, Jennifer Capriati, and Serena and Venus Williams. Originally published in the July/August 2010 issue of TENNIS.

Fight Your Fear
Do you have a phobia about one stroke? Here?s how to get over it. I saw many strange things in my 17 years as coach of the Pepperdine University men?s tennis team, but none stranger than the serving affliction that Robbie Weiss suffered in his first year at school. Robbie was a great recruit who had won 13 national junior titles. But as a freshman he developed a phobia about his serve. At times he became so paralyzed that he would double fault four times in a row, once even whiffing. Robbie did have periods where his serve worked properly, but in the back of his mind he was always afraid that the trouble would return. A double fault or two would restart the whole horrible process. Luckily, his story has a happy ending. Robbie eventually got over his phobia, played No. 1 for us, won the NCAA singles title in 1988, and, as a professional, was ranked as high as No. 85 and had wins over Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, and Patrick Rafter. Stroke phobia afflicts players of all levels. Elena Dementieva suffered from the yips on her serve for many years. Venus Williams sometimes loses confidence in her second serve. The motion itself is fine (as was Robbie?s), but she gets nervous about missing and stiffens up. Dinara Safina and Novak Djokovic have similar problems with their forehands, which can go astray at a moment?s notice. These reactions can be triggered by a technically weak stroke, but they can also occur with a strong one like Robbie?s serve or Djokovic?s forehand. I was recently working with a talented junior who has a beautiful backhand. He hits a few good shots but then misses one and has what I call the ?uh oh, here comes trouble? response. The fear that was lurking in the back of his mind quickly surfaces. His hands stiffen, his coordination falters, and he starts to poke the ball to keep it in the court. A bad cycle begins. The worse he hits his backhand, the more uncertain of it he becomes, and the further it deteriorates. Before long the infection spreads to the rest of his game. By contrast, when he misses a forehand, a stroke in which he has confidence, he shrugs it off. His problems are due to the ?uh oh? response. Ultimately, this fear is controllable, even fixable, with effort and discipline. As usual with psychological issues, understanding the problem is the first step to curing it. The second step is realizing that if you can?t solve a problem, the intelligent option is to make it better instead of worse. The third is to become realistic rather than emotional. If you have a phobia, realize that almost everybody has a weaker stroke. It may cost you a few points, but you can win anyway, as long as you don?t let it rattle you. Accept the reality that you?re going to miss some shots more than others. Discipline yourself to have no emotional reaction when you miss your supposedly weaker stroke. Instead, focus on relaxing and hitting the ball the way that you?ve practiced. You can make small adjustments, of course, but don?t discard your normal motion. Most important, don?t be tentative. You?re more likely to miss a ball if you don?t take a full swing, so you might as well relax and use your normal stroke. And don?t by any means let errors with one stroke affect your other shots. Fear is the problem. Bravery is the solution. Allen Fox, Ph.D., a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist, is an author and coach. Visit him at allenfoxtennis.net. Originally published in the June 2010 issue of TENNIS.

5 Minutes With Nick: That?s a No-No
There?s no right way to play a tennis match, but there are plenty of wrong ways. 1. Don't Get CockyOverconfidence is a killer. If you?re insulted that you have to play a lesser opponent, or believe that a match is going to be a waste of your time, you're taking a big gamble. If that's your attitude, your opponent is going to know it, and he or she will have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Treat every opponent with respect and take no chances. 2. Don't Clutter Your BrainWhen I was working with Boris Becker, he used to say to me before matches, ?Mr. B., what do you have for me?? I would tell him one thing and one thing only. As a coach, you learn that instruction is good on the practice court, but before matches it must be given in small doses. If you have too many ifs, whens and buts in your head, you won't think straight. Your strategy needs to be smart and simple. 3. Don't Think About TechniqueIf you have to tell yourself to turn, or follow through, or hit the ball out in front during a match, you?re in trouble. If you don?t have your technique down by then, forget about it. Technique has to be instinct?you have to practice it so much that it becomes second nature. Once the bell rings, you?re in a fight on the court. There's no time to concentrate on anything else. 4. Don't Look For HelpBefore the 1997 Australian Open, I told Mary Pierce, ?If you look up at your box even one time, we?re all walking out.? You need to play on your own, without leaning on your supporters. If you?re playing a match and have parents or teammates watching you, don't pay attention to them. You're out there alone against your opponent. The sooner you learn to cope with that, the better. Pierce went on to make the final. 5. Don't Ignore the ScoreIf you?re playing a match without an umpire, perhaps the dumbest thing you can do is not announce the score after every point on your serve. Say the score, and say it loud and clear. Not announcing the score is the biggest reason why tennis matches turn into shouting matches. Once the arguments start, it?s difficult to concentrate on winning. You have limited energy. Saying the score will prevent you from wasting it on something other than your game. Nick Bollettieri has trained many collegiate and professional players, including 10 who reached the world No. 1 ranking. Originally published in the June 2010 of TENNIS.

Victoria Azarenka's Backhand
The Belarusian?s uncommon technique produces one of the tour?s deadliest strokes. 1. Azarenka is in perfect position to belt this backhand. Her back foot is the key to the setup: She uses it to balance the rest of her body. Her arms are relaxed, her shoulders are turned, and her racquet is up, which will give her swing the loop necessary to create topspin. The best word for this picture is comfortable. Azarenka has no tension in her body as she prepares to hit the ball. 2. A strong shoulder turn is the key to a great stroke. Azarenka has so much rotation in her torso that the middle of her back almost faces the net. Be warned, though: This extreme turn is unnecessary for the club player. The amount of rotation in the previous photo is plenty. As the ball comes into view, Azarenka begins to drop her racquet and transfer her weight to her front foot. She keeps her back straight, her knees bent, and her head still. 3. As she begins to uncoil, Azarenka drops the head of her racquet below the level of the ball. There?s a lot of flex in her right wrist, as if she?s curling the racquet around her body. There?s slightly more weight on her right foot. Notice that even though the ball is at shoulder level, Azarenka has flex in her knees. That will allow her to swing from low to high. 4. This photo reveals how unique Azarenka?s backhand is. Most players keep their hands together on the racquet handle. Azarenka hits with about an inch of space between her hands. She uses her off hand to drive through her two-hander as much as anyone on tour?it looks like she would have a killer left-handed forehand. She hits the ball well out in front and her knees straighten as she makes contact. The energy from her swing propels her forward. 5. Azarenka?s backhand has a lot of whip because of the way she holds the racquet handle and the fact that she uses her left hand so much. Her technique won?t work for every player, but great strokes usually have a few things in common: Balance, timing and fluidity. You can see from this picture that Azarenka has it all. 6. Azarenka follows through around her head and watches the ball zip toward its target. Her belly button, which faced sideways and slightly backwards in the first photo, now faces the net. So do her feet, which puts her in perfect position to plant and move to the next shot. Tracy Austin, a former world No. 1, is a commentator for the BBC and Channel 7 Australia. Originally published in the June 2010 issue of TENNIS.

Video Instruction: No Surprises
If you only practice under ideal conditions, you won't be prepared for all the things that can go wrong on a tennis court. In a match, the perfect feed doesn't exist. Instead, there are bad bounces, shanks, wind, sun and poorly maintained courts. This simple drill from Rafael Font de Mora will help you prepare for these unexpected variables. Just grab a partner and have him or her vary feeds from close range. Soon you'll be able to react to anything. Rafael Font de Mora is the founder of the iTUSA tennis academy in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the instruction website itusatennis.com. Font de Mora's program has produced top professionals and dozens of college players.

Wide Serve, Wall Drills and Backhand Volleys
How do you serve wide to the ad court (if you?re a right-handed player)??Constance, Perak, Malaysia To do this well, you have to learn the kick serve. Here?s how to get started. Stand 5 or 6 feet behind the baseline and serve to the ad court. This will force you to brush up the back of ball. Make sure you don?t slow down your swing. Without racquet-head speed, your serve won?t have much spin, height or depth. Are there any good volley drills that can be done against a wall??Aaron Horwath, Beaverton, Ore. Here?s one of my favorites. Get a partner and a few balls and find any wall (you could even use the side of your house). One player should stand with his or her back to the wall; the other player should stand about 6 or 8 feet away and face the partner. Now volley the ball back and forth to each other. This will help to shorten your backswing and force you to take back the racquet by turning your hips and shoulders, rather than using your arm. If you take the racquet back too far, it will hit the wall. I need tips for hitting high backhand volleys.?Vic, Franklin, Tenn. First, we must accept the truth: This shot ain?t easy. An advanced player can lay back his or her wrist and flick a one-handed backhand overhead. The best option, to me, is to simply block the ball to the open court. If you have to play another volley before you win the point, that?s fine. Have a question for Nick? Write to him at asknick@TENNIS.com. Nick Bollettieri of the Bollettieri Tennis Academy has trained many collegiate and professional players, including 10 who reached the world No. 1 ranking.