Changing our terminology may help us play better tennis by giving us a better understanding of what the hands should do to better hit the ball and thereby improve the rhythm of our swing.
Normally, the ready position is the neutral position we are in while waiting to see if the ball comes on our forehand or backhand side. Let us call this neutral position the ‘waiting position’ instead.
So while receiving serve, for example, we are in a ‘waiting’ position as our opponent prepares to serve. As soon as we recognize that the ball is coming to our forehand or backhand side, we move to the ‘ready’ position. Our ready position would be with the racket to one side as we prepare to hit the ball. Since we are getting ready to hit the ball, this should be called the real ready position.
This will help us understand that as soon as we recognize where the ball is coming, we need to get ready to hit the ball by moving our hands and allow the feet to follow naturally. It seems obvious, but many club players actually keep their hands in front way too long and start moving their feet to the ball immediately. Usually, this is because some players believe they don’t have enough time or they are are too slow.
The ‘danger’ to be aware of is that because we are so focused on getting into the ‘ready’ position that we may leave our hands there too long. So be careful. The decision-making of when to take the racket further back will happen naturally as long as we don’t make getting into the ready position a big deal.
Play around with this change of language and see if it affects the rhythm of your swing.
enjoy the journey of exploration and experimentation………….