Controlling Racket Face

In tennis, I believe the most crucial technique is controlling the racket face. In this rally-based sport, our primary task is to return the ball one more time than our opponent. When we can control the racket face well, we can hit the ball back into the court. We don’t need a perfect core serve or a particularly graceful swing. Even without applying much force, you can return the ball to the other side just by using the elasticity of the racket.

When we practice bouncing the ball, we need to adjust the racket face upwards to make the ball bounce up. When we need to hit the ball over the net, the simplest method is to angle the racket face slightly forward. Although bouncing practice may seem unrelated to actual matches, it’s very helpful for developing ball control. By practicing various bouncing techniques, we can quickly enhance our feel for the ball.

Here, we need to understand some basic terminology: the open and closed positions of the racket face.

Of course, controlling the racket face well is not a cure-all. For example, it’s quite difficult to return a ball with intense spin directly to the opponent’s side by relying solely on the racket face.