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CHOP, HALF VOLLEY, AND COURT POSITION.
Chop stroke.
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In Tennis, a chop stroke is a shot where the angle towards the player
and behind the racquet, made by the line of flight of the ball, and th
e racquet travelling down across it, is greater than 45 degrees and ma
y be 90 degrees. The racquet face passes slightly outside the ball and
down the side, chopping it, as a man chops wood. The spin and curve i
s from right to left. It is made with a stiff wrist.
The slice shot merely reduced the angle mentioned from 45 degrees down
to a very small one. The racquet face passes either inside or outside
the ball, according to direction desired, while the stroke is mainly
a wrist twist or slap. This slap imparts a decided skidding break to t
he ball, while a chop "drags" the ball off the ground without break.
The rules of footwork for both these shots should be the same as the
drive, but because both are made with a short swing and more wrist
play, without the need of weight, the rules of footwork may be more
safely discarded and body position not so carefully considered.
Both these shots are essentially defensive, and are labour-saving dev
ices when your opponent is on the baseline. A chop or slice is very h
ard to drive, and will break up any driving game.
It is not a shot to use against a volley, as it is too slow to pass and
too high to cause any worry. It should be used to drop short, soft sho
ts at the feet of the net man as he comes in. Do not strive to pass a n
et man with a chop or slice, except through a big opening.
The drop-shot is a very soft, sharply-angled chop stroke, played wholly
with the wrist. It should drop within 3 to 5 feet of the net to be of
any use. The racquet face passes around the outside of the ball and und
er it with a distinct "wrist turn." Do not swing the racquet from the s
houlder in making a drop shot. The drop shot has no relation to a stop-
volley. The drop shot is all wrist. The stop-volley has no wrist at all
.
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