LESSON 1 

​THE CORRECT READY POSITION

Groundstrokes

Today’s video lesson is going to debunk a common tennis myth. You may have been taught by traditional coaches to have your hands straight out in front of you in the ready position as shown below:

You may have been told to keep your racquet on edge and make a first move from this position:

As you can see, this position is unnatural and incorrect. If you look at the all-time greats like McEnroe, Federer, and Sampras they all have more relaxed ready positions. In order to have a great ready position, make sure to keep your arms bent, relaxed, and by your sides. It’s natural to have your racquet tip pointing towards the backhand side as shown below:

From this position, you can make an easy first move to both your forehand and your backhand side. Avoid the common mistake of being too stiff with straight arms in the ready position. Relax your arms and let your racquet tip point naturally to your backhand side.