Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

Is there a resurgence in the use of underspin in tennis today? Having witnessed years of topspin domination (and underspin neglect), are we finally seeing underspin getting the recognition it deserves? I think we are. For too many years, players have relied almost totally on topspin to attack and defend in points.    This new trend from the top male and female players in tennis may be signalling a new and exciting era for the once-maligned underspin. During this year's French Open, players were mixing in underspin groundstrokes during the rally to keep the ball low and using underpin to help defend the point whenever needed. Underspin is also a key element when playing the drop shot, which we see much more now in rallies, particularly by Novak Djokovic.   "...players today must understand how to technically incorporate under-spin into their game, and just as important when to execute under-spin during the point."    As tennis gets increasingly diverse in its...

As a coach, I've always believed in allowing my students to develop their own games naturally as much as possible. I often provide the lead but later I like to see my players find solutions to their own problems. I design the lesson plan, create the most appropriate drills for the topic and provide feedback whenever necessary.  However, once all this is successfully taking place on the practice court it's often best for me to literally take a step back and allow players the freedom of self-discovery. The only time I seldom let this happen is when I'm teaching the Volley. I find that most players have a warped idea of how the Volley should work. Perhaps this is because they've watched the pros volley on TV and feel they now understand how it should be performed and can easily imitate what they saw.  If left to their own devices the vast majority of students would flounder around in lessons trying to perfect their volley game over a long period of time.  Because of the ...