The most important thing in tennis I call "finding the ball". And what is finding the ball? It's getting to the ball slow, then accelerating. Almost touching the ball, then you go.- Oscar Wegner
Play Like Pros
Emphasize lifting, not stepping forward. In your topspin strokes, you want more lift than forward power, both to clear the net and to rotate the ball.- Oscar Wegner
Play Better Tennis in 2 Hours
In modern tennis power instead comes from a power "thrust" or extension of the arm. This energy extension is supported and assisted by the body and is delivered to the ball through the arm via the racquet.- Doug King
The "Spring Thing"
The first two quotes are from Oscar Wegner, and the third from Doug King. These two fundamental concepts of "finding the ball" and "lifting the ball" or "thrust and extension" were game changers for me. They were the key to me understanding something I could see in the pro game but couldn't understand.
When I began going to pro tournaments and watching how the best players hit the ball, it appeared that they "held" the ball for a moment before it blasted off their racket. It seemed to stick to the strings for a moment and then blast off with spin and power. I was fascinated by this impression because it really seemed like magic. After studying the incredible 1000 fps footage of pro players I have shot, and connecting this footage to the Wegner quote and the King quote, it was clear that this magic comes from finding and lifting the ball from a leveraged arm position.
Finding the ball results in an incredible connection with the ball because the shoulder, hand, and arm are all positioned solidly behind the ball in front of the body (and to the side). And lifting the ball lets you rapidly thrust your arm upward resulting in a tremendous burst of speed and a brushing upward on the ball. Lifting and brushing also keeps the racket deeply connected with the ball because the strings, arm, and shoulder all move straight up the back of the ball rather than coming across the ball. This creates maximum "bite" between the strings, ball, arm. and shoulder. And it generates tremendous topspin.
In this first lesson, we will go through what it means to find the ball, and what it means to lift the ball, as well as why this dynamic is the real secret to high level tennis. We will also see how lifting the ball also lets you PUSH the ball in a way that is much more effective than trying to "hit through" the ball. In later sections we will see how this dynamic of lifting the ball is what then flows into the windshield wiper motion.