Secrets of a True Master:
Balance

Welby Van Horn

Page 1

Balance is the key fundamental in almost every sport. In tennis, good balance results in a rhythmic and seemingly effortless swing. It allows you to achieve the maximum results with the minimum effort. Balance is one reason why a player like Roger Federer makes tennis look magical.

Unfortunately, many players achieve minimum results from maximum effort! If this is you, learning my balance techniques will help solve your problem. Maybe a little bit of that Federer magic will even rub off on you.

Balance should not be equated with footwork. Footwork involves moving to the ball to reach the approximate hitting position. "Balance" is something you achieve after you have reached the hitting position and while you are stroking the ball.

Balance means far more than not stumbling or falling when you hit your shots. Balance helps shape the stroke. It involves the feet, hips, head and non-racket arm. Balance is the picture frame in which the picture (the stroke) is placed.

Too many advanced players became advanced before they mastered the fundamentals of balance. It may have seemed too old fashioned and time consuming when what they really wanted was to hit flying topspin forehands. This is a mistake.

To master the basics you have to start with the basics. This means learning how to achieve balance with simple swings and stances. Once this is achieved, it can stay with a player for life as they progress to more advanced techniques used in high level junior and pro tennis. The only question is whether the player has the discipline and the humility to learn the game correctly from the ground up.

Let's start with the balance on the groundstrokes. There are actually 9 components. This only shows how critical balance really is to every phase of the stroke.

Ready Position	Sideways Position
Balance in the ready position: legs, flexed, hands in position, alert.	In the Sideways Position, the hands have separated and the feet are sideways.

The ready position is the starting point for the groundstrokes. The key to a good ready position is to be in a posture of alertness and balance which will enable you to react quickly to your opponent's shot. Note that the hands are held in the middle of the body so that you can turn equally well for a forehand or backhand. As you advance, you will add to the ready position a little ready hop or "split step" just as your opponent is striking the ball. The split step helps you react more quickly to the ball.

From the ready position, the player turns his body and feet sideways. On the forehand the two arms separate as this sideways position is taken. The feet are placed exactly sideways so that if a line is drawn from the back foot to the front foot that line would be perpendicular (i.e., at right angles) to the net. The feet at this point are ideally slightly less than shoulder width apart.

The Forward Step

To learn balance start with a square stance.

From the sideways position, the player steps forward with the front foot. There are several key elements to this forward step: 1) the direction, 2) the position of the front foot when it is placed down, and 3) when the forward step is taken in relation to the bounce of the ball.

The step taken with the front foot should be made forward towards the net. This is called a "square" stance in tennis. If a line is drawn from the back foot to the front foot, the line is perpendicular (i.e., at right angles) to the net. In other words, the perpendicular line which was established when the feet turned sideways is maintained when the forward step is taken.

When you take the forward step with the anchor foot is very important. The step should be taken after the ball bounces. The reason for this is that even on a hard court the ball will often not bounce exactly as the player anticipates it will. (On a clay or grass court the bounces are even more unpredictable.) If you step before the ball bounces you will commit yourself too soon. If you step after the ball bounces, you can adjust to the bounce of the ball.

Advanced players will often use what is called an "open" stance (where the feet are parallel to the net) or semi-open stance (where the feet are at a diagonal to the net) as an adaptation to the more advanced levels of play. But when learning the strokes it is much better to first use the square stance.

The square stance has the advantage that it allows for a sufficient rotation of the hips on the forward swing while at the same time it promotes the racket hitting through the ball. This is because the weight transfer on the square stance is straight towards the net which is the same general direction you want to send the racket through in the hitting zone.

In contrast, the closed stance (in which the front foot does not step straight ahead but steps across the body) and open stance each carry a disadvantage when learning the strokes.

The closed stance does not allow for the proper rotation as the hips are locked by the front foot having stepped across the body.

The open stance certainly allows for rotation to occur. Indeed, in the view of many experts, the open and semi-open stances allow for greater rotation than the square stance. The open stance also aids in court coverage as it does not require the forward step of the front foot to be taken and also eliminates a step in the recovery phase.

But when beginners and intermediates use these stances it often results in hitting across and not through the ball. Using the square stance also teaches the player to shift his or her weight forward into the ball from the back foot to the front foot which is not so much the case with the open stance.

Of course, as a player progresses he or she should learn to use, and be comfortable with, all of the stances. But start out with the square stance when learning the strokes.

The "Anchor" Foot

The front foot (the left foot on a right-handed forehand) is the "anchor foot." The position and the angle of the toes of the anchor foot on the forward step is very important.

To learn the proper position, it is helpful to imagine that your front/anchor foot is inside a clock drawn on the ground. A line drawn from 6 o'clock to 12 o'clock on this clock is perpendicular to the net.

On the forehand for a right-handed player, when you place your front/anchor foot down with the forward step the toes of that foot should point to 1 o'clock (your heel will correspondingly point to 7 o'clock). This position or angle is important. On the forehand, there is a considerable rotation of the hips and shoulders. Pointing the toes at 1 o'clock will allow you to make this full rotation and still keep your balance.

The anchor foot on the one-hander is slightly more closed, pointing at about 10:30.

For the one-handed backhand, the position of the toes of the front/anchor foot on the forward step is somewhat different. The toes do not point quite as much in the direction of the net as on the forehand. The reason for this is that the swing on the one-handed backhand is away from the body with the result that there is not as much hip and shoulder rotation. The toes should point to 10:30. At the 10:30 position the anchor foot, provides better balance.

The proper position of the toes of the anchor foot on the two-handed backhand can vary within a range. The range for the two-handed backhand is for the toes to point anywhere from 10:30 to 11:00.

The reason for the range is that there is more hip and shoulder rotation on the two handed backhand then on the one-handed backhand and some players find it easier to properly rotate and still keep their balance if they use the 11:00 o'clock position as opposed to the 10:30 position. Other two handers prefer the 10:30 position or something close to it.

Whether hitting a forehand, one-handed backhand or two-handed backhand, there is, in addition to the placement of the toes on the forward step, another critical aspect with respect to the front anchor foot. Once the anchor foot is set down after the forward step, it does not move or slip. It remains steady, literally "anchoring" the body and keeping it on balance during the rotation phase of the balance.

There is a range for the anchor foot on the two-hander, between 10:30 and 11 o'clock..

Weight Transfer

The forward step starts the weight transfer forwards. By the time the ball is contacted all of the weight is on the front anchor foot. The weight transfer forwards should result in a raising of the back hip (e.g., the right hip on the right- handed forehand).

This raising is most pronounced on the one-handed backhand. Because there is less rotation on the one-handed backhand than there is on the forehand and two-handed backhand, the stroke relies more on "body lean" with the result that the back hip will finish higher.

At the finish of the stroke, the weight should be on the outside of the front leg. This is in contrast to ballet where the weight is balanced on the inside of the leg.