Slice Approach Shots

Because players are playing on top or in front the baseline, there are many more opportunities to come to the net on short balls. In addition, stiffer racquets and more powerful groundstrokes are producing more weak and short balls from opponents.

Up through the mid-1980s when groundstrokes were played well behind the baseline, with closed stances and much less power than today, the approach shot was generally hit with slice, deep and down the line.

Today’s power game, however, with its open stance forehands and two-handed backhands has led to almost exclusive use of topspin on all groundstrokes, including approach shots.

To develop an all-around game, it’s appropriate for players to understand the uses and mechanics of the slice approach, and the slice approach shot should be added to your team’s practice schedule.

Advantages of the Slice Approach
The main benefit of the sliced approach shot is that the ball stays low, forcing an opponent to hit the ball up, which allows the net player to play the volley at a downward (putaway) angle.

Approaching deep further increases the net rusher’s chances for success, by pinning the opponent back, often on their heels.

Finally, hitting the approach to the corner allows the player attacking the net to bisect the angle of possible returns, decreasing the amount of the court the player has to cover. While hitting the ball down the middle takes away the extreme down the line and crosscourt shots of the attacker’s opponent, the depth and low-bounce of a well-hit approach, deep and to the corner, coupled with less court for the attacker to defend, makes the corner a higher-percentage choice.

When to Approach
The general rule of thumb is that players should approach off any ball that is short enough to allow them to: 1) hit a deep, offensive shot; and 2) make it to the net in time to volley the return. Therefore, your player’s speed and ability to hit an approach shot will have a greater impact on whether or not he or she approaches than where the ball lands.

With today’s more powerful racquets, court positioning of players closer to the net, and the step-in return of serve (see ?’s skill-building drill), players are now attacking off second serves.

Approach Shot Mechanics
One key to remember when hitting the approach shot is that the closer you are to the net, the shorter your backswing must become in order to: 1) make to sure you have time to hit the ball; and 2) because you are closer to the net, you have less court length to keep the ball in play and can’t hit as hard.

Many juniors use a big backswing and shorter follow through when playing from the baseline. To get them to learn the concept of playing through the mid-court, attacking behind a deep ball (rather than a hard-hit ball), have them practice a shorter backswing and longer follow through to learn the control they’ll need to approach.

A second key to the slice approach is hitting the ball with the proper spin. Many recreational players get slice by swinging the racquet across their bodies (hacking) because they do not turn their upper body enough (especially on backhands) when they hit. This causes the shot to lose depth, and tail out of the court due to the extreme sidespin put on the ball, rather than underspin.

It’s important, therefore, to hit through the ball, rather than across your body, when hitting a slice approach shot. Turning sidewise is the first step to hitting the approach (how to do this is explained in the Footwork section below).

In order to properly execute the stroke, players should maintain an almost level swing, with a slight downward movement and a slightly open racquet face. This will allow for a long swing and produce the depth and underspin necessary for this shot. There is no violent downward chopping movement or breaking of the wrist in a proper slice groundstroke. If the racquet finishes far below the player’s shorter, the player has used a short, chopping stroke which will decrease the depth on their shot.

A final consideration when approaching is that just as serve-and-volleyers take something off their serves to give themselves more time to close the net, if your player approaches with a hard-hit topspin shot, he or she will have less time to approach.

The Footwork
It’s important that your players develop footwork which allows them to get sideways (to produce underspin) an to continue moving through the shot, in order to close the net after the approach shot.

Backhand — On the backhand side, it’s imperative that players get sideways in order to hit through the ball, rather than across it, in order to get depth and the underspin needed to get the ball to stay low after it bounces. If you are feeding short balls to your players and standing in front of them, across the court, they should be turning sideways enough that you see their entire back. One way for them to do this is to use the “Carioca” step (coined using a reference to a dance-step from the 1940’s), in which the back foot (left foot for right-handers) crosses behind the front foot as the player turns sideways and hits the ball. The player is so closed, that he or she is almost facing the fence on their side of the net!

This footwork will be somewhat awkward for players as they begin to experiment, but it will soon become natural as they practice it, since it works in coordination with their upper body rotation.

Forehand — On the forehand side, a more closed stance is preferred because the player needs to be able to continue to move forward after the shot. Players with more open stances tend to jump into their shots, with their back foot (right foot for right-handers) coming around after the shot, stopping their progress. While Pete Sampras may use a more open stance from the baseline, he approaches with more closed stance.

One alternative to the traditional footwork of the forehand approach is to have the player approach with a closed stance, but hit the ball off the wrong foot (open stance) in order to facilitate getting around the ball and hitting through it. The player must still be able to effectively continue forward, however.

Where to Approach
At the recreation level, more often than not, it’s a higher percentage play to hit to an opponent’s backhand, and if your player is able to pin opponents deep with low-bouncing balls, this is an effective directional choice. Consider also that better junior players prefer high-bouncing balls, around the shoulders, so the lower ball will cause trouble for even competitive players.

Another consideration is geometry. All things being considered, a down-the-line shot, deep and to the corner, is the safest shot, because it decreases the amount of court the approaching player needs to cover. When a player hits an approach shot down the line, he follows in behind the ball, bisecting the possible angle of return. Players should not move to the middle of the net to cover the entire court, since the sharp, crosscourt return is very difficult for their opponent, and should be given up. The approaching player should cover the two-thirds of the court closest to his opponent if he wishes to win the highest percentage of points. If an opponent, who is pinned deep and playing a low-bouncing ball, can hit a short, crosscourt winner, they deserve it.

Learning to play short balls through the mid-court, and how to pin an opponent back at the baseline with a low-bouncing ball are the keys to winning at the net.