Outdoor clay court opening day and crosscourt forehand session
It's been a long wet winter confined to the dark and moody indoor courts. Don't get me wrong - we're very thankful and fortunate to be able to play indoors during the winter but there's nothing we look forward to more than the very first opening day of the season here at our club.
75 degrees, fresh (yet humid) air, birds chirping, and the echoes of balls across the open courts. Some may call it just another day - we call it heaven.
We worked CC Forehands for a good hour straight - but with a purpose
1. Depth
Always had issues with depth on CC for some reason, so for this drill you focus on depth more so than worrying about placement. To get depth I really have to get a full stroke on the ball and avoid the temptation to flatten it out. Now what about the short ones?
2. Apply pressure on short balls
A short ball is an invitation to apply pressure to the rally. Not necessarily going for a cold winner off every short ball, but most importantly recognizing the short ball is an opportunity to apply pressure.
3. Spacing and open stance
For me I have a habit of setting up closed stance even on CC shots, which you can pull off to a degree but ultimately limits your rotation and ability to unload in the CC direction. Was so cramped and jammed for the first part of it, but over the course of the session I worked on creating the extra spacing and the outside foot plant.
Takeaway
Although we were working on things it was really a time to just celebrate that we made it through another winter, enjoy the weather, and just take a moment to breathe in the fresh air and be so grateful we get to share this amazing game. Shoot me a message on insta, youtube, or email right here and let me know how your strokes are looking in this early season!
