Beginning Tennis​​

A player who effective employs the approach shot:

1. Has patience. They stay back at the baseline and wait for the juicy ball. A wise attacker only comes to the net once their opponent has fed them a short ball (in front of the service line) that they can confidently step into and following up with a volley winner. (E.g., When standing up to a school yard bully, wait for the opportune moment. Don't start something you can't finish.)

2. Penetrates down the line, either sending their opponent scrambling behind the baseline or off court. They do this by aggressively accelerating their racket and moving their body through the ball. The hope is that this type of shot puts the opponent is off balance, limiting their time to set up an effective lob or passing shot. By hitting down the line, you limit your opponent's ability to hit crosscourt as you close in and take control of the court.

 

Keys to Approach Shot Success:

 

1. Make Contact with the ball at its highest point. Hitting at the high point takes time away from your opponent, and promotes net clearance. Remember, since you will be hitting the ball sooner than normal, you will need to begin your swing a fraction of a second sooner in order to still contact the ball in front of you.

2. Begin swing with racket higher than normal (depending on the height of the ball). If you scoop at the ball with heavy topspin, the ball's trajectory will go up and become too bouncy. But take caution! Your wrist MUST be loose through the stroke, otherwise the ball will be driven down into the net. As you are swinging through, make sure the tip of the racket is lower than its butt. There will still be an upward racket path; instead of swinging high, lift with your legs. Swinging this way will ensure that you to drive through the ball, aiming for around the middle of the backcourt. Gravity will drag the ball down into the court.

3. Hit with your body closed to the net. Reasons: You have the time, since you will probably be fielding a short ball. A closed stand stance (as opposed to an open stance) affords you more energy/power to hit a deep, penetrating shot because you have more forward momentum and shoulder turn. You disguise your shot better. And most importantly, it allows you to follow through, moving into the net, instead of killing your momentum.