Everyone has a hitting zone, where you feel most comfortable hitting the ball on either your forehand or backhand side. It's a 3-dimensional rectangular area between your knees and your waist, about 2 to 3 feet away from you. Most of the footwork you do on the tennis court is to put you in the best position so you can strike the ball in your hitting zone.

As a tennis ball enters the front part of your hitting zone, your racquet is being swung through the back section of the zone on its way to striking the ball. Depending upon your skill level and ability to judge the correct position of the ball within the hitting zone, you may or may not actually hit the ball where you think it is. The ball might be in the front or back part of your hitting zone, and you will be making contact relatively early or late, as the case may be.

Ideally, on your swing your racquet will enter your hitting zone fairly vertically, not tilting more than a few degrees forward or backward; and it will remain straight up-and-down as it makes contact with the ball and begins the follow through. Only after your racquet passes through the hitting zone should it begin to wrap around your neck or shoulder.

By maintaining a vertical racquet throughout the hitting zone, you increase dramatically the chances of having a decent shot, even if you are wrong in estimating exactly where the ball is in the hitting zone. You can hit early or late but still have a pretty good shot if your racquet remains vertical.

Putting top spin on your ball improves your chances of success. Top spin causes the ball to rise and then descend rapidly, clearing the net but still staying in the court. Referring again to your hitting zone and visualizing the 3-dimensional rectangle, your racquet should enter the hitting zone vertically at the lower back end of the hitting zone; and exit vertically at the upper top end of the hitting zone. This degree of ascent on your swing will generate moderate top spin on the ball.

The hitting zone concept is useful for understanding why you make errors on your ground strokes. Most errors result from not driving through the ball with a long follow through on your swing. The main culprit here is pulling the racquet off the ball too quickly and wrapping the racquet around your neck or shoulder. The racquet travels only about halfway through the hitting zone and then pulls up and out sharply. If the ball was in the back part of the hitting zone when you struck it, you still might have a good shot. But if you've misjudged the ball and it is really in the front part of the hitting zone, then your racquet is going to brush across the top of the ball rather than driving through it and you will send the ball into the net.

What about balls that sail long? This is usually because your racquet hasn't entered the lower end of your hitting zone and finished at the upper end, putting top spin on the ball. You are probably swinging too flat. To correct this, you need to lower your racquet as you start your forward swing. On your backswing get your racquet about a foot below the level of the oncoming ball and swing low to high. Bending your back knee will help. If you have a loop backswing, you may need to lower the entire loop, both starting and finishing lower. You might also be hitting long because you are opening up your racquet as it travels through your hitting zone, rather than keeping it vertical.

The hitting zone concept also applies to volleys. The ideal hitting zone for volleys is between your waist and shoulders. Now you want your racquet to enter the hitting zone at the upper back end and finish at the lower front end, i.e., swinging slightly high to low. This will put backspin on your volley, allowing you to hit hard penetrating shots that stay in the court. Your racquet face should be open or laid back lightly and should be facing the net throughout the stroke. Stay sideways to the net, so your racquet can swing smoothly through the volley and impart backspin for control. To generate more power and backspin, step forward with the foot farthest from the ball.

Next time you are shopping, you can also work on your tennis game. Visualize the rectangular outline of your shopping cart as your hitting zone on the tennis court and think about what I have written in this article.

Randy Cummings
Match Point Racquet Sports
www.racquetgear.com