Tennis E-Book

Jeremy Woods

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 217

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Tennis - Crowood Sports Guides is the perfect tool for anyone wanting to improve their performance, from beginners learning the basic skills to more experienced participants working on advanced techniques. This no-nonsense guide will give you that all-important advantage. Contents include: detailed full-colour photographic sequences showing you how to play each shot correctly; expert advice on your footwork and balance; positional and stroke tactics; what grip works best for you; choosing the right clothes and equipment; how to treat injuries and how to avoid them; eating properly and staying hydrated and, finally, how to prepare physically and mentally for competition. Superbly illustrated with 183 full colour photographic sequences and 21 diagrams showing how to play each shot correctly.

Leseprobe

Jeremy Woods

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2014 byThe Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2014

Text, illustrations and photographs © The Crowood Press 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form orby any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any informationstorage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84797 749 6

Acknowledgements

The author and publishers wish to thank the following for their kind permission to reproduce their photographs in this book: Lauren Hamilton, Michaela Knepsl, Sasha Philbert and Dominic Tripp. Thanks also to Westside LTC, London SW19 for the use of their courts and to The Racket Specialist Shop, London SW19.

Photographs by George Powell

Dedication

To Ava and Amy (sorry for the wait!)

Throughout this book, the pronouns ‘he’, ‘him’, and ‘his’ have been used inclusively and are intended to apply to both males and females. Similarly, the right-handed player is used as the model for teaching technique for reasons of consistency and clarity (apologies to all left-handers!).

CONTENTS

Introduction

Part 1: An Introduction to Tennis

1The Rules of the Game, Simplified

2Getting Started: Clothes and Equipment

3Playing

Part 2: Skills and Techniques

4Racquet Control and Grip

5Footwork and Balance

6Individual Shots

7Practising

Part 3: Tactics

8Positional and Stroke Tactics

9Problems

Part 4: Fitness

10The Mental State

11The Physical State

12Common Tennis Injuries

13Nutrition

Glossary

Appendix

Index

INTRODUCTION

The great thing about tennis is that it is genuinely a sport for all – whether you are six or sixty, male or female, have a lot of time to put into the game, or just have time for an occasional hit. In the same way, this book is intended to provide something of use for all tennis players, from the beginner just starting out in the game, to the committed player wishing to improve to his fullest potential.

Why is it that the game provides so much enjoyment for so many people in so many different countries and cultures? Tennis (or something very like it) has been around a long time, so its fascination for many is beyond doubt. The Roman wall paintings of Themistocles, dated around 500BC, depict athletes playing something remarkably close to the game, and the word ‘tennis’ itself can be traced in English writings to the year 1399 (John Gower: ‘In Prise of Peace’). Obviously, the fundamentals of striking a ball with a racquet were intrinsically popular before Lawn Tennis itself was introduced to the UK in 1873 by Army Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, who called it by the (thankfully short-lived) name of ‘Sphairistike’. Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that the challenge exists just as much in one’s mastery of the ball as it does in the mastery of an opponent or in winning.

Like golf, we all have improvement to strive for, irrespective of our achievements in the game. The Grand Slam title winner still strives for improvement in technique that he or she knows can still be achieved, in the same way as the beginner strives to develop a consistent backhand that will keep the ball in play. The variables in tennis all provide a a tantalizingly close, but still elusive challenge. The ball, your opponent, the court surface, your level of fitness, the wind, your stamina, the spin on the ball, the pace of your shot, and so on – all combine to make the superficially simple game of tennis more like an exercise in three-dimensional chess!

Yet, marvellously, the game remains approachable by all, and not just by the top athlete or the supremely talented. I hope this book improves your performance and enjoyment of the game, no matter what your current standard might be, and I wish you good luck in a sport you can bank on enjoying for the rest of your life.

A page from the UK Army and Navy Stores Catalogue dated 1897, advertising early tennis ‘bats’ and court equipment.

CHAPTER 1

THE RULES OF THE GAME, SIMPLIFIED

1.

The object of the game, which can be played between two or four people, is to put the ball into play over the net, bouncing it within the court boundary lines in such a way that your opponent cannot return it similarly over the net into your half of the court.

2.

The ball may not bounce twice before being returned, but it can be volleyed (hit before the bounce) except on service returns.

3.

The server’s score is always called first. Zero is referred to as ‘love’, the first point as 15, the second as 30, the third as 40. Thus, if the server loses the first point, it is love-15. If he loses the second also, it is love-30, etc. If the score reaches 40-all, it is referred to as ‘deuce’. The next point after deuce is referred to as ‘advantage’-player X. The next point will thus be either game-player X, or it will revert to deuce, as a game must be won by two clear points.

4.

A player who first wins six games wins a ‘set’, except that he must win by a margin of two clear games. Matches are normally the best of three, or sometimes five, sets.

5.

Tie-break games were introduced to beat the deadlock caused by strong servers with the resultant marathon matches. They normally take place at 6 games all, except when the final set, or what may be the final set, is taking place. The player who was due to serve next starts by serving the first point; his opponent then serves for the second and third points, and this pattern continues with each player serving for two points at a time. The first player to win by 7 points (provided it’s by a 2-point lead) wins the set. At every multiple of 6 points, the players change ends, in order to share the benefits or disadvantages caused by sun and wind, etc. The player who serves first in the tie-break is considered to be using his service turn, so when play resumes in the next set with normal scoring, his opponent serves first. In some tournaments, a ‘champions’ tie-break’ may be played. This follows the same format as a regular tie-break, except the winner is the first to 10 points with 2 points clear.

Court layout.

6.

To serve, the server stands facing his opponent behind the baseline and to the right of the centre mark. He then places the ball into the air and strikes it, before it bounces, over the net and into his opponent’s diagonally opposite serving box. The server gets two goes at serving each point. If he fails, it is called a ‘double fault’, and he loses the point. If he strikes a serve that his opponent cannot even reach, it’s called an ‘ace’. If the ball touches the top of the net on the service and still drops in, it’s called a ‘let’, and the server has another go. If the server’s foot touches the line or the inside of the court before he hits the ball, it’s called a ‘foot fault’. Service points are played alternately from each side of the centre mark, diagonally across court. At the end of each game, the opposing player becomes the server.

7.

When a game ends and the score is an uneven number, i.e. 1-love or 3-2, players change ends.

8.

If play is interfered with (perhaps by a ball rolling across the court from a nearby game) a let is called and the point is played again. Players should familiarize themselves with the complete rules of tennis, published by the International Tennis Federation (see Appendix).

RULES CHECK

You are not foot-faulting unless you touch the service line with your foot before you make contact with the ball.

CHAPTER 2

GETTING STARTED: CLOTHES AND EQUIPMENT

If you’re starting from scratch, you can be up and running for tennis in no time at all. All you need are a limited number of absolute essentials, and you are ready. With racquet, strings, balls, shoes, clothes, court and opponent, you have all you need. Add a little coaching if you like, join a club, enter tournaments, and you are really on your way.

Choosing a Racquet

Choosing a new racquet can be a daunting experience. Oversized heads, ceramic fibres, wide bodies, long bodies, micro-density stringing – where to start? Fortunately, it is not as complicated as all that. Racquets have come a long way from the old one-size, one-material (wood) days, but the criteria for choosing one haven’t changed much at all. Basically, you should be concerned with durability, weight and balance, stiffness relative to your style of play, grip size and the relationship between price and value.

This is not a problem with today’s generation of racquets. New generation composite materials are being constantly developed to improve performance, so today’s frames are more likely to be changed because of the dictates of marketing and fashion rather than because they become damaged. However, no racquet will take kindly for too long to being hammered on the ground in anger or scraped too frequently when picking up balls.

Racquet Types

There are basically three kinds of racquets: one for the Junior, one for the Power or Game Improver and one for the Control Player (these are sometimes called ‘Players’ racquets)

Junior racquets come in a variety of sizes and are designed to fit the needs of the growing child according to his or her relative height.

Power/Game Improver racquets tend to have outsized or oversized heads (being typically 107–135sq. in.). They tend towards lightness (8–9.5oz), are sometimes longer than normal (27–29in. long) and are balanced with the weight somewhat towards the head or evenly balanced.

Choosing a new racquet can be a daunting experience.

Control/Players racquets, by contrast, tend to be heavier (11.5–13oz) with a smaller head (85–98sq. in.), standard length, and weighted slightly towards a ‘head light’ feel.

Weight and Balance

Weight and balance are vital ingredients in your choice, but can be misleading. A lighter frame may actually feel great, while providing insufficient mass in the head and consequential loss of power. In very general terms, it is better to go for a slightly head-heavy model that will actually do some of the work for you and be easier on the body, as it provides more fluid strokes. Players with shorter swings on their ground strokes, though, may find a Power/Game Improver frame a better choice. In general then, you should choose a weight that feels comfortable to you, and avoid anything that feels unbalanced in the head. Always ask the advice of your tennis coach or local racquet retailer.

Stiffness

Stiffness has increased massively in frames since the days of wooden racquets. First, materials like graphite and Kevlar paved the way, then the new wide-body frames stiffened up the racquets even more. Sorbothane and Sensathane were introduced by manufacturers to act as vibration preventers and it quickly became possible to use a very stiff frame without any ill effects. Bigger, stronger players should opt for stiffer, heavier frames, as their long powerful strokes will sky the ball if played with a flexible racquet. Frame stiffness doesn’t only affect power, though. Control and comfort are also at stake as stiffer racquets don’t deflect as much on impact, resulting in less power drain than a flexible racquet. Racquet frames absorb energy, either more or less, according to stiffness.

Consequently, there has to be a trade-off between power and control. Stiff racquets might be too powerful for some advanced players to control and flexible racquets might have the same impact on a beginner or intermediate player. The degree of comfort experienced will also be affected by stiffness, and players with sore shoulders or arm injuries will generally be advised to use a very stiff frame. Again, ask advice before buying.

Grip Size

This is easy to determine, and should provide comfort allied with control. Two easy methods for determining grip size are as follows:

Price

Price is difficult to generalize on. There are a lot of cheap racquets around but they are often of poor quality and won’t help your game. On the other hand, the most expensive frames are probably totally unnecessary for the vast majority of players. As with most things, the truth lies somewhere in between. Many top players have achieved World No. 1 rankings with frames recognized as being in the value-for-money, middle-end range of the retail market. In general, it is probably true to say that you get what you pay for.

In short, remember that success with any racquet is probably 90 per cent mental and 10 per cent physical. The important thing is to get a frame that you feel happy with. Therefore, do your research thoroughly. There are numerous excellent websites that will provide you with a comprehensive list of racquets available. Ask your coach. Try and playtest your shortlist before making a final decision or, failing that, at least make some practice swings and get the feel of the frame. Most good retailers will allow you to playtest racquets before buying, usually on provision of a credit card deposit. A satisfied buyer means a future balls and equipment purchaser for them!

Measuring your grip.

Strings

Although most off-the-shelf racquets are bought ready-strung, the actual strings employed in these frames are often of inferior quality, or the frames have been strung so long (sitting on a factory shelf before the retailer’s shelf) that they have lost their tension and resilience. Generally, a playable string will snap back quickly upon ball impact. For this reason, it is always advisable to buy your racquet unstrung (particularly so if you are an experienced player) as the frame’s playability may be seriously compromised by the quality of the strings already in it.

When it comes to selecting the best strings for your frame and for your game, be guided by your stringing expert. Basically the choice lies between gut (which is manufactured from the smooth muscle portion of sheep, or from cow intestines) and a range of synthetics that include nylon, Kevlar, oil-filled, graphite string, polyester, artificial gut, etc. Each string has its own characteristic. For example, Kevlar is extremely durable but very stiff, so it is often combined with nylon (on the horizontals) to soften it a little and enhance control. Research has shown that gut gives greater pace to a ball than nylon when the same level of tension is used, but on the other hand it is not as durable as the synthetics because of its lower tensile strength. (Gut has an average tensile strength of 128 pounds while synthetics average between 160 and 175 pounds.)

Irrespective of the type of string purchased, you should be aware of the characteristics of low and high tension strung racquets. Generally speaking, a higher tension will contribute to control by causing an embedding of the strings into the ball, while a lower tension will cause the ball to deform less and therefore lose less energy, thus giving more power to the shot. Similarly, thinner strings allow for more feel on the ball, while thicker strings give more durability and are therefore good for clay courts, where breakage occurs more often due to the relative heaviness of the ball and the friction caused by loose court dressing abrading the string. All racquets have a recommended string tension range supplied by the manufacturer and it is a good idea to experiment within this range in order to find the ideal tension for your style of play.

Some players also prefer to insert a small rubber dampener into the strings just at the point where the lowest horizontal meets the middle of the verticals. This has the effect of taking out some of the natural vibration that occurs in the frame on impact with the ball. Remember, though, that if you use one of these, it may not touch more than one (your lowest) horizontal string, otherwise you are breaking the ITF rules of the game.

The range of choice in string type is now huge, and probably the best advice is to playtest a variety of strings in order to determine what is best for your game. While gut undoubtedly has the edge for power, control and resilience, it is ruined by playing in the rain and is by far the most expensive option. You should be prepared for a lot of restrings during the year if gut is your choice.

You should be prepared to restring your racquet.

In point of fact, you should be prepared to restring your racquet as many times in the course of a year as you play during the course of a week. This is because strings lose their natural resilience and elasticity and begin to play dead, giving you no control over the ball. The more spin you put on the ball, the more likely you are to break strings. However, don’t rush to change your most effective strokes in order to save cash! Instead, follow some simple tips, and get the most from your strings.

1.

Don’t subject strings to extremes of temperature, i.e. don’t leave racquets unattended in the boot of your car. This can lead to brittleness.

2.

Dry your strings with a cloth after playing in damp conditions.

3.

Similarly brush off any loose particles after playing on a clay court. (Pay extra attention to the string holes.)

4.

Make sure string protection strips and inserts (where strings meet the frame) are not split and cutting into strings.

5.

Check that knots are ideally double, and not slipping through the string holes.

6.

Do not allow strings to become very displaced. Ease them back into position between points. If it becomes a constant problem, you might consider using string protection grommets or tablets. These are placed where strings touch each other in the hitting zone of the racquet, and are available at most good sports retailers. Remember, it’s the strings that hit the ball for you, not your racquet!

KIT CHECK

Many pros like to have their racquets strung a few pounds tighter when playing on faster surfaces or with lighter balls, and looser when playing on slower clay courts or with heavy balls.

KIT CHECK

Always try to have a minimum of two identical racquets when playing, in order to be prepared for a broken string during a match.

RULES CHECK

Your strings must consist of a pattern of crossed strings connected to a frame, and you are not allowed to add any additional stringing or object designed to impart additional spin to the ball.

Tennis Balls

At first glance, it seems the easiest thing in the world to walk into a shop (almost any shop!) and buy yourself some tennis balls, but be warned: many of these, if purchased, will perform with all the aerodynamic and flight characteristics of the average house brick. Price alone is no determinant of quality when it comes to tennis balls, but at least it’s a starting point.

Those balls marked ‘Championship’ on sale at 50p each in your local post office, garage or corner shop may look tempting, but try hitting them on court and they will probably play more like golf balls or balls of wool. The major championships around the world rely on a few major manufacturers to provide them with quality tennis balls that match a stringent performance standard, as outlined in the ITF (International Tennis Federation) Rules of Tennis. These standards take account of such factors as air pressure and climatic conditions, for it would obviously be unrealistic to expect the same ball to perform equally well at both sea-level and 30,000 feet above. Size, weight, bounce, etc., are all regulated most carefully, so in this way, if you purchase a can of balls endorsed by the ITF or a national governing body, you know that you are getting a quality product.

Basically, your choice is between pressurized balls, sold in a can and packed under vacuum conditions (they give off a discernible hiss when opened), or pressure-less balls, sold in cans or boxes and often identified as Extra or Long Life.

For tournament play, pressurized balls are indisputably the best, but you must accept that as soon as they are opened they start to deteriorate (hence the regular ball changes as seen on TV during major tournaments). Pressure-less balls are good for practice and for consistent indoor surfaces (where they retain the same bounce for a long period), or for outdoor surfaces for a shorter period where, although they stay hard, they start to fly around like golf balls when they become abraded.

Do be honest with yourself when buying tennis balls. Pressurized are certainly the best for a tournament match when they are brand new, but equally certainly, they are the worst for social tennis when they are a few weeks old. Tennis is a difficult enough game in itself without worrying about consistency in the bounce of the ball. Buy the right ball for your circumstances; it will benefit your game in the long term. Do throw out pressurized balls when they get too old. Remember, this does not necessarily mean when the outer covering is worn off them. A badly bouncing ball will do nothing to improve your tennis at all.

Don’t skimp on the quality of your balls.

Increasingly, national coaching organizations are recognizing the benefits of learning tennis with softer, low compression balls that make maintaining a rally easier to master. In Britain, the LTA have a system of Mini Tennis Red (for children of eight and under), Mini Tennis Orange (ages eight and nine) and Mini Tennis Green (for ages nine and ten and above). Thus, children progress easily from the softest (red) ball all the way up to the adult (yellow) ball. Similarly, the ITF now recommends that adults being introduced to the game start with the green ball in order to get to grips with playing the game more quickly.

Clothing

If you’re just starting in the game on a public court, you can play in whatever you are most comfortable, but clubs will sometimes insist on the ‘predominantly white’ rule. Although this seems superficially pretentious, it makes a lot of sense really, since white is certainly the coolest and therefore easiest colour to wear on a hot day. Style and fashion will determine your choice beyond this, but ensure that you buy loose-fitting garments with soft, non-abrasive seams. Tennis is a free-flowing game that requires total mobility at all times, so it makes sense not to strap yourself into a tight-fitting garment that will burst open on every wide-running backhand! Modern fibre technology has made a huge difference to player comfort. Where natural fabrics like cotton used to be a much better bet than synthetic fibres, today you can buy lightweight specialized materials that will either keep you warm in winter or will wick moisture away from your body in summer and thereby keep you cool.

A good warm-up suit is a worthwhile investment, and again, do not be too strapped by the dictates of fashion over and above function. Buy a suit that you can easily slip off over your tennis shoes, and loose enough to allow you to hit the ball freely. There is no reason on earth why you shouldn’t play tennis through the winter months, protected against the extremes of cold by a well-designed tracksuit. Again, modern fibres ensure that you no longer have to endure tracksuits that get wetter and heavier the more you play. For real outdoor diehards, the type of gloves used by runners are perfect for protecting your hands from extreme cold and wind, without having to sacrifice the sensation of control over your grip on the racquet. Just add a baseball cap with a peak designed to keep the sun out of your eyes and you’ll be good to go!

TOP TIP

‘The logical and sensible dress for tennis is the one that gives you the greatest amount of freedom at all times.’ Helen Wills, 1928 French Open, Wimbledon, US Open and Olympic champion.

KIT CHECK

If you are a two-handed player, make sure your clothing has got a pocket for the spare ball when you are serving. You don’t want to be forced into playing a one-handed backhand just because you’re holding a ball!

Tennis Shoes

Tennis shoes have come (thankfully) a long way from the simple canvas upper and rubber sole models of the grass court era, but making a selection of the right shoe today is about more than just considering whether the colour complements your on-court clothing or not! Biomechanical research has shown that a runner transmits a force of two to three times his own bodyweight through the foot to the ground, so it makes a great deal of sense today to consider adequate cushioning for the ball of the foot.