Phuket sport tips: Tennis – power is balance

PHUKET: Balance is one of the fundamentals to developing great tennis ground strokes.

In today’s game of power tennis, many of the players are leaping in the air to hit their forehands and backhands. This results in not only many errors but also many injuries.

One of the great ground-strokers and inventor of the power game, Andre Agassi, had phenomenal balance which allowed him to strike the ball so hard. If we look at the photo you can see that Agassi has his feet a racket’s length apart before and during contact with the ball.

When you are balanced it is much easier to hit the ball with power and accuracy. Roger Federer is another player with incredible balance. A great way to work on your balance is to place your racket between your feet, pick up your racket and hit strokes without moving.

Once you feel yourself balanced, practice by running to the ball then placing your feet at the same length as the racket before you strike the ball. Try to hit the ball without allowing your feet to be close together.

Travis Bertram is the Tennis Director at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club, Phuket.

— Travis Bertram