Last week, I posted a quick tennis fix on aiming your shots at your doubles opponents, especially the ones up at the net (just check out Quick Tennis Fix: Aim For Your Doubles Opponent). This post went straight to the Tennis Fixation Facebook page where follower Tom Genzlinger posted this great comment:
I don't think hitting your opponent with the ball is a faux pas. I teach my advanced students to volley at the opponents forehand hip, and intermediates aim at the lower body. Aiming for the feet is okay, but too often, at 2.5 and 3.0 levels, that ball is left short or hit directly into the net. In my 40 + years of playing, I've never felt as though it was unfair to hit me. Almost every time I was hit it was because of my failure to move my feet,or failure to hit a good enough shot.
Tom's comment says it way better than I can and he's certainly got the experience to back it up. I especially like his observation that if he gets hit, most likely its his own fault. Conclusion – keep aiming for those opponents!
© Kim Selzman 2011 All Rights Reserved
That is a good thought – to aim at their hip. I had always heard the feet but can see his point. I guess we are all afraid of accidentally hitting someone with the ball – being the gentile ladies that we are 😉