If this years Australian Open is any indication things are slowly starting to change. Roger Federer is moving forward and volleying more often, and so is Tsonga, Murray, Roddick, Daveydenko, Nadal and Del Potro.  So, why are these players moving to the net more often?  Because they understand two key factors.  Number one, tactically speaking, court geometry favors the net player.  When you move closer to the net your chances to hit sharper angles increase dramatically.  Therefore, the closer in you are the more you can move your opponent and make him run.  As an example, from the baseline you may be able to angle the ball to the corner enough to move your opponent 5-6 steps.  On the other hand, from a volley position, halfway between the service line and the net, you can move your opponent 12-15 steps.  Number two, when you come to the net you are pressuring your opponent to come up with the goods, by hitting passing shots that are very difficult. Especially in today’s game of baseline bashers, coming to the net can be very effective.  Baseline players are used to playing other baseline players, when they play a net rusher they have to come up with a completely different set of shots.  They can no longer just keep bashing with the mentality just keep it deep, they now have to hit a very precise shot to get the ball by you.  These precise shots become more and more difficult especially in a close match when the pressure is on. Think about this, if it’s difficult for a pro player to pass a net player, how much more difficult is it for a club player? Statistically speaking, if you can volley and hit overheads well, you should win the point 2 out of 3 times, I like those percentages.

Please check out the Extensive Video Archives. I have a lot of video on playing the net effectively, plus the entire archives has Over 7 Hours of lessons similar to the above video, covering everything from A to Z, and they’re available for INSTANT DOWNLOAD, it’s well worth the price.

All the best and happy hitting,
Tom Avery

In order to exploit your opponents weaknesses you must be able to hit the ball straight to their weakness.  In order to pass a net rusher you must be able to hit a passing shot down the line.  Both of these shots require an ability to swing inside-out.  When practicing the technique presented in the video above, if you have a one-handed backhand, let the knuckles on the hitting hand go towards the target for as long as possible.  If you have a two-handed backhand, or if you’re hitting a forehand, let the palm of the hand go towards the target for as long as possible.  This will greatly improve your ability to hit to your desired target area.

The one-handed backhand is a thing of beauty when a player is relaxed and really gets the arm moving.  However, there are players that struggle with the one-hander for many reasons, number one being, they’re trying too hard.  When we try too hard the body tends to tighten up and everything slows down including your swing and racquet head speed.  Interestingly, when we relax, don’t try so hard, we gain racquet head speed and power.  Many players don’t realize this fact: if you’re expending more energy on your one-handed backhand than on your forehand, you’re doing something wrong.  A one-handed backhand takes less effort to hit than a forehand because the hitting arm is going away from the body, whereas, with a forehand the arm is coming across the body.

One of the reasons a player fails to get the arm really moving is because the hitting shoulder is not relaxed and being used as the hinge.  The same way a door’s hinges allow the door to open and close, the shoulder allows you to generate racquet head speed and power.

As mentioned, in the video above, if the shoulder comes to a dead stop and then try’s to fire forward it is extremely difficult to generate the speed and power you’ll need.   I’ve found that many of my students tend to do this because it’s safer, they can keep the ball in play this way.  Therefore, because they’re overly concerned with keeping the ball in, the body tightens up, they expend more energy than they should and DO NOT get the results they’re looking for.  One of the keys to developing a powerful free flowing backhand is to get the racquet moving using the shoulder as the hinge.  Now, please remember, when you first try this you’ll probably lose control.  The reason is because your timing is different now.   As mentioned in the video, as you bring the racquet back further rotating the shoulders (to get a glimpse of the racquet behind your back) and using the shoulder as the hinge, the timing of when ball meets racquet has changed, it’s a different timing of stopping the racquet then firing forward.

The moral of the story is don’t be afraid of losing control and making mistakes as you develop your one-hander.  Always think long term, i.e. how well will I hit my backhand 3 months from now.  Sure you may keep the ball in play better with the old swing but if you want to develop a powerful, consistent, free flowing backhand that takes LESS effort you’ve got to be willing to experiment.

One final tip; get an old racquet that you don’t mind breaking.  Here is a drill you can practice without the ball.  As you practice rotating the shoulders and using the shoulder as the hinge let go of the racquet at the contact point, just let her fly over the net.  This will give you the FEELING of how loose and relaxed you want to be.  There is a demo of this in the Extensive Video Lessons Archives section.

There are plenty of tips in the Extensive Video Lessons Archives section that will help you take your game up a notch, I invite you to check it out it’s well worth it

As your personal coach, I look forward to helping those in the AVERY Tennis Inner Circle and answering any questions or concerns. My goal is to help you improve and keep growing as a player.

All the best and happy hitting,
Tom