Rod Laver is arguably the greatest tennis player of all time. He won the Grand Slam of Tennis--the Australian, French, Wimbledon, and U.S. Singles Championships--not once, but twice (in 1962 as an amateur and again in 1969 as a pro). A tennis tip from such a great player would seem to unlock the secret of this game for us lesser mortals. It is interesting, thus, that at the end of his autobiographical book (The Education of a Tennis Player) which details the victories in capturing his second Grand Slam, Rod leaves the reader with one last thought: "watch the ball". He says this three times on the last page, so he must think it is really important.

But according to noted international tennis teacher Vic Braden, ophthalmological research shows that it is physically impossible to watch the ball hit your strings. The eyes can only follow a ball in focus until about five to seven feet before impact, and then they lose track. Further, the actual striking of the ball occurs in such a short time (.005 second) that the human eye cannot register the event. And everyone has seen photographs of professional players with their eyes focused elsewhere as their racquet makes contact with the ball. So what gives here? Is Laver giving bum advice?

What really should occur in executing a groundstroke is a stillness of the head. With a ball travelling at a 45-50 mph or more, the best a player can do is watch the ball bounce and keep the head still from that instant until the completion of the stroke. Keeping the head still takes some practice, but it can be done, and most good players do keep their heads still.

One way to check yourself is to freeze your body as you complete your swing. On a forehand ground stroke, for example, catch your racquet hand out in front of you with your free hand. If you kept your head still throughout the stroke, your head should be firmly tilted down with your hitting shoulder up against your chin.

Errors occur when you lift your head before the ball is actually struck -either to see where the ball is going or to see where your opponent is. The head is the heaviest part of the body in terms of mass, and moving it affects the balance of the entire body. Lifting it while hitting a ground stroke will open or close the angle at which your racquet strikes the ball, putting the ball out of bounds or into the net. You have plenty of time to complete your stroke before you need to see where the ball lands or where your opponent is. I like to tell my students to keep their head down and wait until they hear the roar of the crowd letting them know they have hit a great shot.

So Laver is correct, he just didn't use precise terminology in describing what you should do if you want to improve your tennis. He probably should have said something like this: watch the ball as best you can, especially just as it bounces, for as long as you can, and keep your head absolutely still while doing so. You have lots of time, so restrain your urge to look up until your hitting shoulder touches your chin.

By the way, Laver gave two other tips at the end of his book: bend your knees and get your first serve in. I'll expand on these some other time.

Randy Cummings
Match Point Racquet Sports
www.racquetgear.com