Groundstroke
Encyclopedia
A groundstroke in tennis
is a forehand
or backhand
shot that is executed after the ball bounces once on the court. It is usually hit from the back of the tennis court, around the baseline.
A tennis player whose strategy is to trade groundstrokes with the opponent is termed a baseliner, as opposed to volleyers who prefers to hit volleys
near the net.
There are many factors that may define a good ground stroke. For example, one ground stroke may use topspin and another underspin. Both can be effective for different reasons having to do with depth, opponent's strength or weaknesses, etc. Some characteristics of ground strokes are: depth (how close the ball lands to the opponent's baseline), speed (how fast it travels in the air), pace (the ball's behavior after it bounces on the opponent's side), trajectory, and placement. If a "good ground stroke" is to be played, it would generally have a combination of the above characteristics to produce a shot that is difficult for the opponent to return. Generally, a ground stroke that lands deep and in the corner of the opponent's court will make it more difficult for the opponent to return the ball. However, this is somewhat arbitrary and depends on the opponent and stage of the point being played. For example, a short angled shot, a moon ball (very high trajectory), an off pace shot, etc., may prove effective against opponent A but not opponent B.
On the women's side,
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
is a forehand
Forehand
The forehand in tennis and other racket sports such as table tennis, squash and badminton is a shot made by swinging the racquet across one's body in the direction of where the player wants to place the shot...
or backhand
Backhand
The backhand is a tennis shot in which one swings the racquet around one's body in the direction where one wants the ball to go, usually performed from the baseline or as an approach shot. The term is also used in other racquet sports, and other areas where a similar motion is employed...
shot that is executed after the ball bounces once on the court. It is usually hit from the back of the tennis court, around the baseline.
A tennis player whose strategy is to trade groundstrokes with the opponent is termed a baseliner, as opposed to volleyers who prefers to hit volleys
Volley (tennis)
A volley in tennis is a shot in which the ball is struck before it bounces on the ground. Generally a player hits a volley while standing near the net, although it can be executed farther back, in the middle of the tennis court or even near the baseline....
near the net.
There are many factors that may define a good ground stroke. For example, one ground stroke may use topspin and another underspin. Both can be effective for different reasons having to do with depth, opponent's strength or weaknesses, etc. Some characteristics of ground strokes are: depth (how close the ball lands to the opponent's baseline), speed (how fast it travels in the air), pace (the ball's behavior after it bounces on the opponent's side), trajectory, and placement. If a "good ground stroke" is to be played, it would generally have a combination of the above characteristics to produce a shot that is difficult for the opponent to return. Generally, a ground stroke that lands deep and in the corner of the opponent's court will make it more difficult for the opponent to return the ball. However, this is somewhat arbitrary and depends on the opponent and stage of the point being played. For example, a short angled shot, a moon ball (very high trajectory), an off pace shot, etc., may prove effective against opponent A but not opponent B.
Players with great groundstrokes
Players known for their groundstrokes (forehands and backhands), amongst others, are- Björn BorgBjörn BorgBjörn Rune Borg is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles and six French Open singles titles...
- Jimmy ConnorsJimmy ConnorsJames Scott "Jimmy" Connors is an American former world no. 1 tennis player....
- Guillermo VilasGuillermo VilasGuillermo Apolinario Vilas is a retired and former World No. 2 professional tennis player from Argentina. He was the second Latin-American to win a Grand Slam tournament.-Career:...
- Andre AgassiAndre AgassiAndre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
- Pete SamprasPete SamprasPete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
- Lleyton HewittLleyton HewittLleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...
- Marat SafinMarat SafinMarat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
- Carlos MoyáCarlos MoyáCarlos Moya Llompart is a retired former world no. 1 tennis player from Spain. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he helped his country win the Davis Cup. He currently resides in Switzerland...
- David NalbandianDavid NalbandianDavid Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
- Rafael NadalRafael NadalRafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
- Roger FedererRoger FedererRoger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
- Novak Đoković
- Fernando GonzálezFernando González----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
- Richard GasquetRichard GasquetRichard Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam title at the 2004 French Open, partnering Tatiana Golovin. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year...
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
- Robin SöderlingRobin SöderlingRobin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...
- Gustavo KuertenGustavo KuertenGustavo Kuerten is a retired former World No. 1 tennis player from Brazil. He won the French Open three times between 1997 and 2001, and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000...
- Juan Martín del PotroJuan Martin Del PotroJuan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
- Andy Murray
- Marsel İlhanMarsel IlhanMarsel İlhan is a Turkish tennis player, ranked No. 1 in Turkey and No. 109, as of October 10th, 2011, in the world...
On the women's side,
- Chris EvertChris EvertChristine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world number 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. She was the year-ending World No...
(trademark two handed backhand) - Monica SelesMonica SelesMonica Seles is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007...
- Steffi GrafSteffi GrafSteffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...
- Jennifer CapriatiJennifer CapriatiJennifer Marie Capriati is a former world number one ranked professional tennis player, and the winner of three women's singles championships in Grand Slam tournaments. Capriati made her professional debut in 1990 at the age of 14 when she reached the finals of the hard court tournament in Boca...
- Lindsay DavenportLindsay DavenportLindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
- Venus WilliamsVenus WilliamsVenus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
- Serena WilliamsSerena WilliamsSerena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
- Justine Henin
- Kim ClijstersKim ClijstersKim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
- Maria SharapovaMaria SharapovaMaria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
- Petra KvitovaPetra KvitováPetra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
See also
- ForehandForehandThe forehand in tennis and other racket sports such as table tennis, squash and badminton is a shot made by swinging the racquet across one's body in the direction of where the player wants to place the shot...
- BackhandBackhandThe backhand is a tennis shot in which one swings the racquet around one's body in the direction where one wants the ball to go, usually performed from the baseline or as an approach shot. The term is also used in other racquet sports, and other areas where a similar motion is employed...
- VolleyVolley (tennis)A volley in tennis is a shot in which the ball is struck before it bounces on the ground. Generally a player hits a volley while standing near the net, although it can be executed farther back, in the middle of the tennis court or even near the baseline....
- ServeServe (tennis)A serve in tennis is a shot to start a point. A player begins a serve by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it into the diagonally opposite backside box without being stopped by the net. The ball can only touch the net on a return and will be considered good if it falls on the opposite side...