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May 2005 Article Wild Cards Archives:
Tennis Server
Top Pros (Women)
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Use Valuable Racquet Head Weight by John W. Naprstek, Sr.
If you are going to spend valuable energy sprinting toward the net to return
a drop shot --- DO NOT WASTE THE ENERGY!!!
I often see tournament pros sticking their racquet way out in front as far as
their arm can possibly reach in order to just reach a ball. They find it and
push with the stringbed flat to the path they want the ball to take. This
method often results in a blown shot.
Pros on tour are quite fit and very strong, but not utilizing the weight of
the racquet head in motion to produce this shot is counterproductive!
At full stretch there is no racquet head momentum available for such a shot.
The forward motion of the body cannot be utilized with the racquet stuck
straight out front. In order to get the ball over the net the shot must be pushed
to the side roughly 90% off of the line of advance, sometimes on a line almost
parallel to the net.
Utilizing the Continental grip you can add the momentum of the head weight of
the racquet to such a shot by incorporating three simultaneous preparatory
motions:
You will be rewarded twice:
These two factors will make your opponent's return quite difficult because
your shot will be low and drop only a short distance over the other side of the
net and have a weird bouncing action. Your ball may not even bounce high enough
for your opponent to make a return.
You usually have hit an outright winner!
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