Frequently Asked Technical Questions:

We are constantly receiving emails from people all over the world - coaches, players and parents alike who have being using The Bailey Method with great interest and great results.

David welcomes the feedback and often uses this to illustrate and highlight some of the problems encountered in many of his articles and lessons.

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Approach Shot Contact Moves

Question: Compare and contrast a groundstroke transfer move with an approach shot transfer move?
 
Answer:

Comparing:
1. Both contact moves transfer the weight from the back foot to the front foot

2. Both have a leg curl balance move

3. Both have a high floating ball that lands mid court

4. Both have a contact point around chest level

5. Both have finish with the racket finishing at shoulder level

Contrasting:
1. The groundstroke transfer is hit off a semi-open stable stance/ the approach transfer is hit off a forward open unstable stance i.e. you run through the shot

2. The groundstroke transfer you recover to the baseline/The approach transfer you follow the shot into the net

 
Question: How do you set the footwork zones in the video on the court?

Answer:

Firstly the zones are not set on the court i.e. they relate to where you are positioned on the baseline...

    * The white zone or stepping zone is 1 moderate stride left and right from your court position (usually a step out or rhythm out steps)
    * The red zone or rhythmical  zone is 2 moderate strides left and right from your court position (usually cha cha cha or adjusting steps)
    * The green zone or crossing zone is 3 moderate strides left and right from your court position (usually crossing steps)

Question: When do you teach the approach shot contact moves?

Answer:

As you have seen many of the groundstroke contact moves are very similar to the approach shot contact moves so it is always best to teach the approach shots after all the 12 ground strokes (month 1 -12) have been learnt and understood. If this is done then the language, learn the look and feel the feel all make sense and with some slight modifications in stances and approaching balls the approach shots can be taught and practiced.

Note: The front foot hop has already been introduced in previous month as an approach shot (see slide show and video)

The moving into the net and split stepping near the net can be easily applied once the ground strokes have been mastered. One footwork pattern that will be new is the foot in behind carioca move but getting into a neutral stance and hitting off the front foot should have already been practiced with the step down and front foot hop moves.  

Question: What do you mean by select the moves that work for you?

Answer:

Particularly with the approach shot you will always SELECT TO HIT what approach shot feels comfortable to you and thus gives you the best results. For instance you might prefer to hit a front foot hop on the backhand side because the carioca backhand is harder for you to time or you don’t like to slice the backhand or hit the backhand 1 handed. Personal preference is another way of explaining “What works for you!” and the important thing to understand when training is that improving your game takes a lot of experimenting and trial and error.

Question: Why are the approach shots contact moves great for fitness on the court or even off court?

Answer:

Because the approach shots are transitional shots i.e. you move forward and split stepping at the net they are great to use as a warm-up by mimicking the shots while jogging around the tennis court. Or, as part of a running program around an oval or athletic track where you jog for 10 meters and then hit a series of shadow tennis approach shots and then jog again. Both these drills will develop a sound aerobic base (by jogging) but also give you the chance to polish your footwork skills as well.

Question: What is the most common approach shot?

Answer:

By watching countless hours of tennis, particularly Roger Federer at Wimbledon I believe the front foot hop is most commonly used. This is because it is most instinctive to hit on a ball that has landed short in the middle of the court, it naturally imparts topspin on the ball and finally, it   enables you to hit the ball without stopping. The front foot hop also helps you to get into the net quickly, thus giving your opponent less time to hit their passing shot.