Glam Slam Tennis

Build your Return from the Ground Up

Jana Juricova — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:00:31 +0000

Build your Return from the Ground Up

By Jana Juricova

Return of serve success starts with your feet! It’s all about positioning and activation. Here are a few key pointers:

Starting position.

Make sure you vary your position depending on the serve you are getting.

Avoid standing only on the baseline. Move forward when expecting shorter serve, move few steps back behind the baseline when receiving fast and powerful serve. Moving forward into your return is always a great option to choose.

Activate, Split step.

Go-when your opponent is preparing to serve, move your feet. Make sure you find your own rhythm and routine. When your opponent contacts the ball, split step. Remember to land softly and low, avoid straight legs and heavy landing which prevents you from fast reaction to the ball. After split step, look to track the ball with your outside foot – for example, if you are a right-handed player returning on deuce side and you get a serve to your forehand, your first step should be with your right foot.

Get a Grip on Your Volleys, Part 2

Lisa Dodson — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:16:21 +0000

Athletic stance is critical to movement on the volley. You want your weight naturally and comfortably forward on the balls of the feet. If toes are pointing “out” in ready position your weight will go back on your heels. Make sure that your toes are heading straight forward or slightly turned in. This way when the knees bend, weight will automatically go towards the balls of the feet.

When in ready position both hands are extended out away from the body with the non-dominant hand in charge of the racket head. Look out over the top of the racket. The racket hand will be slightly lower than the non-dominant hand.

Check out part two in our series on the volley.

Getting a feel for the backhand slice, Part 2

Kathy Toon — Fri, 31 May 2013 10:59:43 +0000

I’m not sure why, but most adults have a tendency to over complicate things. This is very true when learning to hit a backhand slice. At its core, the backhand slice is such a simple swing. Gosh, if we could just get out of our own way, we would have access to such a wonderful weapon on the tennis court.

Toon-in below and check out a group of GlamSlammer’s grooving their new shot.

Here are a few reminders:

Set the racquet with your non-dominant hand so that the “thumb edge” of the racquet is lightly touching your opposite shoulder. This will help elongate your hitting arm and set you up for a nice long swing.
As you swing, lead with the “pinky” edge of the racquet. Tilt the racquet slightly.
Swing on a relatively level plane. It is NOT a chop.

And, 1, 2, 3… split

Jan Brogan — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:03:44 +0000

Do you dread the serve and volley? Well, you are not alone. Most league players shy away from serving and volleying. Yet, if you want to be a solid doubles player, the serve and volley is a must have.

Perhaps the most important concept to understand is that serving and volleying is a two-step process! It’s “serve AND volley,” not serve-volley. Your goal is to transition smoothly from the end of your serve to the beginning of your volley.

The key is proper footwork. Top players at every level use the split step when serving and volleying. The split step is where you stop running forward and land on both feet (shoulder width apart) as the opponent hits their return. This allows you to move in any direction to hit your first volley.

Timing your split step is tough. I suggest you make it easy by hitting your serve and then count three steps. After the third step, you immediately perform the split step. Given the speed of most returns, this technique will get you into good position to hit your first volley. Grab a partner and give it a try.

Get a Grip… On Your Volleys

Lisa Dodson — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:03:44 +0000

The most critical aspect of the volley is the GRIP. Holding the grip in the proper place (Continental) ensures that the racket edge will be forward for hitting volleys with under spin and control. Volleys are control shots not typically power shots.

Here are a few grip reminders to ensure a great CLASSIC volley from anywhere on the court:

Spread your hand out a bit on the grip vs. bunching your fingers together.
No death grips – hold the racquet lightly.
Stand with good upper body posture in your volley ready position – it impacts your grip.
Line the “V” part of your hand up with the first bevel to the left on your grip if you are right handed.

Check out part one in our series on the volley.