Spot on the Ball

We’ve all heard phrases from tennis coaches, and I include myself in the group, that has said, ‘watch the ball’, ‘keep your eye on the ball’, ‘keep your head down’, etc. As a player you may have also been told to square up the racquet face, open or close the racquet face, in order to have a different affect on the ball. Many times these commands are not specific enough, could be mis-interpreted by the player, and can lead to the wrong type of visual skills necessary to see the ball better. With some people those commands still may work to a certain degree; however, I would like to introduce a better way.

Use what I call ‘Spot on the Ball’. The spot on the ball is the place on the ball where you want the racquet to make contact. When you strike the ball in different locations then it sends the ball in different directions. You can also vary the attack that you make on the spot to create the spin you want, an ideal height over the net, and in the direction towards your target.