The Importance of Stance

In our discussion of balance, I emphasize the relationship between dynamic balance and force generation. In dynamic balance, since weight is moving from one foot to the other, each footfall lands with many times the body weight of the stepper. Tons of pounds per square inch of pressure of the feet against the court massively increases friction or purchase between one's foot and the court resulting in superior ability to harvest momentum from the earth. That momentum is one of two essential components of the power wave, the other being energy. The job of the power wave is to carry energy and momentum through the body to the forearm and wrist. Energy and momentum are the raw material of not only pace but also control and spin. That brings up an important point: There is no control without power. If you think you can sacrifice power for control, you will always be disappointed. You can hit the ball with minimal pace, such as a drop shot, but you must generate power and inject it into the ball, or you will get no control at all, and you will miss.

The process of actually generating the power wave starts with solid contact with the court, but then one must use muscle energy from the legs to create the wave. That is a complex process (meaning it is beyond my understanding) with a straightforward outcome - get the hips rotating. I do know two essential things about that process. First, to create an effective rotation of the hips both feet have to be in contact with the earth during the generation of the wave. Since dynamic balance has us constantly shifting our weight from one foot to the other, the generation of a power wave must occur as the weight is being transfered. The need for you to transfer weight from one foot to the other to generate power is the actual basis of the old admonition to "...step into the ball!" With two feet firmly anchored to the court surface, you can generate torque in the hips. Second, the usable arc of rotation of the hips plus shoulders is small - less than 90 degrees.

We all enjoy imagining our bodies to be infinitely flexible, but even for conditioned athletes, the truth is sadly different. Limited flexibility of the hips and spine effectively defines one's stance. If your feet are in the wrong position when the time comes to generate a power wave, you will produce nothing. On the forehand side the placement of the feet is somewhat open (naval pointing across the baseline) and therefore natural, but on the backhand side, the stance must be closed (with the back pointing across the baseline). A closed stance for the one-handed backhand is as crucial for the volley as it is for the groundstroke. Remember that when you don't have the proper stance, you cannot generate adequate power. That means no pace, no control, and less spin. Creation of an inadequate power wave is the principal pathophysiology of Powerlessness Syndrome, a common malady that can result in either under-hitting or over-hitting the ball, both without control. Optimizing stance in the pose is well worth one's attention.

Topspin Forehand Stance

Forehands are flexible. There are a lot of ways to play with the forehand. For the absurdly talented, this is a good thing. They can pick and choose between various grips, stances, poses, spins, timings, etc. to identify the one that feels best for them. For me, the flexibility of the forehand technique has always been a disaster. When I am offered too many choices, my brain melts down, and my head explodes, taking my game with it. My goal in tennis has always been to identify the best choice amongst myriad possible techniques, then practice it into submission. When It comes to a stance for the topspin forehand I was able to narrow the field to two; a semi-open stance (feet on a line oriented 45 degrees to the baseline) or a fully open stance (feet parallel to the baseline.) Yes, this could qualify as an abject failure to decide, but it is not all my fault. I take my lead from the playing pros who seem downright schizoid on this subject. Players like Nadal and Federer switch back an forth from open to closed stance and everything in between. From very preliminary observations it seems that when they want to give the ball a ride, they hit with a more closed stance; otherwise, they keep it open. They use open stance for the return of serve, high balls, wide balls, and most defensive shots. Anyway, our response to their inability to decide how to stand is to take apart the open and closed stances and see what they share. What are the essential components?

Open versus Closed Stance

The role of stance in strokes is twofold. First, the proper stance permits adequate shoulder rotation for the execution of the stroke.

Appropriate shoulder rotation is less a matter of degrees than it is the location of the ard created by the shoulders in the stroke relative to the ideal position the body should be in at the moment of contact with the ball. In the one-handed backhand, for instance, the hitting shoulder is on the same side of the body as the net, so the ideal position for the shoulders at the moment of contact is closed, or back-to-the-net. That means that the arc through which the shoulders must be able to turn ends in a very closed position, so the one-handed backhand stroke must begin with your back to the net. Turning your back to the opponent is only possible in a closed stance. In the forehand, the hitting shoulder is on the opposite side of the body from the net at the moment of contact, so the ideal position of the shoulders at the moment of contact is nearly parallel to the net, indicating a stance that is either parallel to the net (open) or about 45 degrees relative to the net (semi-open). The second role is optimizing the creation of a power wave. Since your body is not a bunch of rods and levers, but rather a medium through which a power wave from the feet reaches the racket and ball, where your feet are when you create that power wave is mostly irrelevant. In the end, the job of the feet and legs is to rotate the hips from the ready (or running) position first back into the backswing (unit turn and lock), then forth into the stroke (load and lag), and finally back against the stroke to whip the arm through into the ball (explode). As long as you create all of these parts of the wave, your feet don't even have to be touching the ground at the moment of contact. A-players often jump at the end of a stroke. The talented can 'fire and forget' the power wave then free up their feet by leaping into the air, allowing their hips and shoulders to rotate freely through the stroke. So, as long as you are providing all three components of the power wave, you can place your feet wherever feels most comfortable.