One of the great things Tom Stow taught me and others was to be aware of the specific sound the ball makes at contact with your racket.
He labeled the sound he wanted you to produce as the "conk" which was short for concussion.
I was watching a match recently at the National 55 Indoors in Boise where one of my good tennis friends Geoff Cykman was playing the semi-finals in singles.
Being indoors, the different sounds a player makes at contact with the ball is really easy to hear.
One of Geoff's trademark shots is his forehand groundstroke. It's a big powerful nasty heavy topsin drive (not an artificial spinny shot that just sits up) hit with almost a modified continental grip (in between an eastern and continental grips).
That's right, you can generate real topspin that actually penetrates through the bounce without a goofy western or semi-western forehand grip. What a concept...
Geoff eventually got behind 5-1 in the 3rd set, and all of a sudden, he relaxed and loosened up (as most of us do when we get far enough behind that we sort of feel we have nothing to lose), and the sound he was now creating with his forehand was distinctively different than when the match had been close.
And Geoff kept reproducing this sound on his forehand at contact, a deep sort of resonant tone that was loud and was exactly what Mr. Stow loved to call the "conk", that sound when the racket is delivered against and through the ball with no mental apprehension of the result.
Geoff reeled off the next 4 games, got back to even at 5 all, and just like at 5-1, that sound on his forehand changed.
The swing looked the same, but the sound was different. It lost its deep resonance and Geoff started to miss some forehands that just a few minutes ago he was driving deep to a corner and putting his opponent under all sorts of pressure.
That sound can come and go totally depending on your mindset at the time.
Relax and don't worry about the consequewnces and you can much more easily create the "conk".
Tighten up at all because the match is close or your perception is some level of fear and the "conk" can go away and hide.
Unfortunately Geoff lost that match in the 3rd set tiebreaker. Afterwards we sat down and I told him my observations of what I'd heard, when it had been different, and what the results were.
Later that afternoon, I went out to play a doubles match, and in the warmup I focused on creating that sweet sound of the "conk". I didn't look at my shot (visual) to get feedback of my shots, I just listened for that sound, and once I heard it, I simply tried to recreate it again and again.
Once the match got going, I was in tune much more with hearing my results as opposed to looking at my results.
It works...
Try going out on the court and "listen" for that ideal contact sound.
Once you find it, can actually hear it, simply try to reproduce that sound again. Don't look up too early to see your result, keep your eyes down through contact, allow the ball to leave on its own, and just focus on the sound you want.
Brent
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"The 3 Magic Moves of the Forehand Groundstroke"
How To Generate Penetrating Topspin
Without Having To Destroy Your Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist, Lower Back, etc. by Using Some Extreme Form of a Western Forehand Grip
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