Chop stroke.
In Tennis, a chop stroke is a
shot where the angle towards the player and behind the racquet, made by the
line of flight of the ball, and the racquet travelling down across it, is
greater than 45 degrees and may be 90 degrees. The racquet face passes slightly
outside the ball and down the side, chopping it, as a man chops wood. The spin
and curve is from right to left. It is made with a stiff wrist.
The slice shot merely reduced the
angle mentioned from 45 degrees down to a very small one. The racquet face
passes either inside or outside the ball, according to direction desired, while
the stroke is mainly a wrist twist or slap. This slap imparts a decided
skidding break to the ball, while a chop "drags" the ball off the
ground without break.
The rules of footwork for both
these shots should be the same as the drive, but because both are made with a
short swing and more wrist play, without the need of weight, the rules of
footwork may be more safely discarded and body position not so carefully
considered.
Both these shots are essentially
defensive, and are labour-saving devices when your opponent is on the baseline.
A chop or slice is very hard to drive, and will break up any driving game.
It is not a shot to use against a
volley, as it is too slow to pass and too high to cause any worry. It should be
used to drop short, soft shots at the feet of the net man as he comes in. Do
not strive to pass a net man with a chop or slice, except through a big
opening.
The drop-shot is a very soft,
sharply-angled chop stroke, played wholly with the wrist. It should drop within
3 to 5 feet of the net to be of any use. The racquet face passes around the
outside of the ball and under it with a distinct "wrist turn." Do not
swing the racquet from the shoulder in making a drop shot. The drop shot has no
relation to a stop-volley. The drop shot is all wrist. The stop-volley has no
wrist at all.
Use all your wrist shots, chop,
slice, and drop, merely as an auxilliary to your orthodox game. They are
intended to upset your opponent's game through the varied spin on the ball.
The half volley.
This shot requires more perfect
timing, eyesight, and racquet work than any other, since its margin of safety
is smallest and its manifold chances of mishaps numberless.
It is a pick-up. The ball meets
the ground and racquet face at nearly the same moment, the ball bouncing off
the ground, on the strings. This shot is a stiff-wrist, short swing, like a
volley with no follow through. The racquet face travels along the ground with a
slight tilt over the ball and towards the net, thus holding the ball low; the
shot, like all others in tennis, should travel across the racquet face, along
the short strings. The racquet face should always be slightly outside the ball.
The half volley is essentially a
defensive stroke, since it should only be made as a last resort, when caught
out of position by your opponent's shot. It is a desperate attempt to extricate
yourself from a dangerous position without retreating. never deliberately half
volley.
Court position.
A tennis court is 39 feet long
from baseline to net. There are only two places in a tennis court that a tennis
player should be to await the ball.
1. About 3 feet behind the
baseline near the middle of the court, or
2. About 6 to 8 feet back from
the net and almost opposite the ball.
The first is the place for all
baseline players. The second is the net position.
If you are drawn out of these positions
by a shot which you must return, do not remain at the point where you struck
the ball, but attain one of the two positions mentioned as rapidly as possible.
The distance from the baseline to
about 10, feet from the net may be considered as "no-man's-land" or
"the blank." Never linger there, since a deep shot will catch you at
your feet. After making your shot from the blank, as you must often do, retreat
behind the baseline to await the return, so you may again come forward to meet
the ball. If you are drawn in short and cannot retreat safely, continue all the
way to the net position.
Never stand and watch your shot,
for to do so simply means you are out of position for your next stroke. Strive
to attain a position so that you always arrive at the spot the ball is going to
before it actually arrives. Do your hard running while the ball is in the air,
so you will not be hurried in your stroke after it bounces.
It is in learning to do this that
natural anticipation plays a big role. Some players instinctively know where
the next return is going and take position accordingly, while others will never
sense it. It is to the latter class that I urge court position, and recommend
always coming in from behind the baseline to meet the ball, since it is much
easier to run forward than back.
Should you be caught at the net,
with a short shot to your opponent, do not stand still and let him pass you at
will, as he can easily do. Pick out the side where you think he will hit, and
jump to, it suddenly as he swings. If you guess right, you win the point. If
you are wrong, you are no worse off, since he would have beaten you anyway with
his shot.
Your position should always
strive to be such that you can cover the greatest possible area of court
without sacrificing safety, since the straight shot is the surest, most
dangerous, and must be covered. It is merely a question of how much more court
than that immediately in front of the ball may be guarded.
A well-grounded knowledge of
court position saves many points, to say nothing of much breath expended in
long runs after hopeless shots.
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