OPEN & CLOSED STANCE GROUND-STROKES






LET'S BE CLEAR from the start, you need both options! Open and closed stances have advantages and disadvantages, and you need to adopt both stances during a match if you want to play tennis at a high level.
Here’s when it’s best to hit an open stance ground stroke and why…

OPEN STANCE

1. Better for higher balls because you can generate more power and maintain balance. With a higher ball, generating power on the shot is sometimes difficult. Adopting an Open Stance allows you to achieve back-swing and follow-through by utilising upper-body rotation. 

2. It can help you disguise your intentions on certain balls, such as a mid-court put-away. You want to keep your opponent guessing on which corner you will target. Adopting an open stance allows you to "look" the same on every set-up, and all you need to do is adjust your contact point (late or early), to change direction.

3.  It's easier to recover from wide balls and return back to the centre of the court. Because the open stance ground stroke relies on upper-body rotation to hit the ball, the players' follow-through actually rotates the player back towards the centre. It's a seamless one-piece recovery

4. An open stance helps you maintain contact in front on deep and fastballs. With deep, and fast balls the danger is that you'll hit the ball late.  When you adopt an open stance on deep or fastballs you effectively create a "wall" with your body. 
    
    Because the Open Stance ground-stroke relies on upper body rotation for the back-swing, it is less likely that the ball will be contacted late. Rotation is tailor-made for deep and fastballs because it is a one-piece movement, which means fewer parts to break down. 

5.  It gives you better peripheral vision. Imagine that your opponent has approached the net with the intention of hitting a volley. Your job is to either hit a passing shot or a lob.

    By adopting an open stance, you can watch your opponent out of the corner of your eye (peripheral vision) and quickly assess which side to pass or whether a lob is the best option.

   If you select to play a closed stance ground stroke, it's usually because…

CLOSED STANCE

1. Easier to play an under-spin approach shot  moving forward when the ball is short and low

2. Helps to disguise a mid-court forehand put-away. Striking the ball later in the rotation means you can hit inside-out, and rotating earlier during rotation means you can create an earlier contact point and direct the ball cross court.

3. Better suited to a later contact point
4. Preferred option on balls through the middle


Nearly every ground-stroke or return of serve you play can be hit with either an open or closed stance. It’s up to you to decide which option is appropriate for each ball.

Go ahead and experiment with both open and closed stance options and if you are weak on either of the two options take lessons from an experienced teaching pro so that you become more proficient. 

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