Double Pump - the Apotheosis of Power, Control and Consistency?

So, you are taking a full backswing and a big swipe at the ball, you feel on balance, and you are hitting through, driving the racket head through the ball toward the target yet there is still a lack of control and no 'pop' on your ball. Sometimes your shots don't even reach your opponent's service line or fly off in unexpected directions. This type of play was pretty much the story of my life for the first 45 years of playing this game. Then one day as I was watching the finals of a tournament that spit me out in the second round, I noticed something queer. The A-players I was watching all seemed to take an extra backswing on every shot. I mean, they would bring their racket back, pause for the briefest of moments then take the racket back more just before bringing it forward. This extra backswing was not always that obvious when they were rushed, but it was always there. I later checked out some professional matches and, sure enough, the pros do the same thing. The pros are smoother than we are and their actions are quicker, but they appeared to utilize an extra backswing, a "double pump". I went out with the ball machine to try it myself and OMG! The immediate bump in both power and, unexpectedly, control was amazing. For a while I hoped that this might be the "secret of tennis" my El Dorado, my long-sought city of gold, but instead it was just another clue along the way, albeit an important one.

Why Two Backswings?

The purpose of the double pump backswing is to make a clear distinction between three phases or moves that must be present in the early preparation of any stroke, from the drop shot to the serve - a unit turn, a pose and a lock or backswing proper. The unit turn is the move during which one takes their body from the generic ready position to a unique pose that serves as the entry point for the desired stroke. In the unit turn of the forehand, the hitter turns from facing the court to a sideways stance. The racket doesn't change position relative to the upper body. Instead it moves with the shoulders "as a unit". During the unit turn the feet are constantly moving and adjusting and dynamic balance is consolidated. At the end of the unit turn the hitting arm, usually with the help of the non-hitting arm, is put into a stereotypical position that favors a smooth transition into the stroke - the pose. The pose signals the brain that the roughing-out phase of the stroke is over and that you are ready for it to "playback" the stroke sequence as soon as the incoming ball reaches enters the strike zone. When the ball reaches that point the second backswing begins. This second backswing is the lock or "backswing proper", and it usually comprises a small additional reverse-rotation be generated by the of the power sources of the body - the hips and shoulders, and a dropping of the anchor - setting the correct foot for pushing off into the stoke. In contradistinction to the unit turn, which is quick, violent, and sometimes messy, the lock phase is relaxed, smooth and subtle and there lies an important function of the double pump; seperating the distinct functions of strike preperation and stroke production.

Unit Turn vs Backswing Proper

The unit turn portion of the backswing has to be violent because there is often lots to accomplish and little time to accomplish it. You have to get your feet moving, establish balance, turn your hips and shoulders, get your racket most of the way back, get to the ball and get your feet into the approximate hitting position including setting the push-off foot. The unit turn is also different on every strike because it depends on where you are, what you have just been doing, where the ball is and where it is going, etc. On the other hand, the lock phase must be relaxed and consistent. Relaxed to ready the muscles to store necessary control and spin forces for snap, and consistent so that the stroke itself is the same every time. During the lock, the control and spin force muscles are intentionally contracted or "shortened" by throwing the weight of racket head back against them. This is the shortening in stretch shortening. This shortening must occur immediately before the start of the forward swing (or load phase). The sudden forward acceleration of the load forcibly stretches the shortened muscles. If there is a delay between the lock and load the muscles will relax and you will get the stretching without the shortening and no stored forces.

The requirment that you stretch-shorten the forearm muscles for control and spin is why bringing your racket all the way back and then waiting for the ball to come destroys control. Even a well-timed, continuous "single backswing" conflates the quick and violent unit turn with the precise and relaxed backswing proper, erasing control forces, destroying uniformity, and resulting in a sloppy, weak, inconsistent stroke. Thus while the double pump is not sufficient to provide excellence in stroking, it is certainly a prerequisite. I call the failure to "double-pump" the Single Backswing Syndrome, and its effects can be catastrophic, resulting in misshits, long balls, dribbles, net stuffers and a complete collapse of confidence.