When you first learn to play tennis one of the most important tennis skills to master is the ability to control how high over the net you hit your shot. This can vary greatly depending on where you are hitting from, and what kind of shot you are trying to hit.
There are three main heights to master… The low drive over the net, the middle ball with moderate arc, and the high arcing lob. In order to hit these three shots, you must learn to change the path of your swing.
An easy way to do this is to visualize three different kinds of vehicles… the Race Car, the Airplane, and the Helicopter.
A Race car drives in a straight line and stays low to the ground. When you are trying to hit the ball low over the net, your racquet should travel straight and level, just like the race car.
When trying to hit a safer shot with medium arc, visualize the airplane and try to swing your racquet so it rises gently through impact with the ball… like an airplane rises gently off the runway during takeoff.
Finally, if you want to hit the ball very high over the net, visualize a helicopter taking off from the ground and lift your racquet almost straight up through the shot. This will make the ball travel over the net with very high arc.
Go out and practice varying the height of your shot by visualizing the race car, airplane, and helicopter… and watch your game go places fast!
