One, often overlooked,
offensive weapon in tennis is the slice approach
shot. A slice approach stays low, giving your
opponent a hard passing shot to hit. Plus, after
hitting rallies of topspin balls, an opponent
will, many times, overrun an approaching slice,
causing an error. Lets examine the execution.
The first mistake or
misconception that some people have is the need
to come to a stop when you hit an approach shot.
By definition, you are approaching the
net....moving forward. You don't want to take
away that court position advantage by stopping
the forward momentum to hit the approach shot.
So how do you hit an effective approach without
stopping and without running through it? The
answer depends on whether it is 1. a backhand or
2. a forehand approach.
Backhand slice approach-"dance to
the net"..use a grapevine step to setup to hit the approach
while continuing your forward momentum.
Forehand slice approach-"power
volley" the approach...the stroke is basically a forehand
volley with extra punch.
See the video below for demonstrations
of both strokes.
