World-Class Tennis Technique [Paperback]

Paul Roetert (Author), Jack Groppel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2001

Let the game's most brilliant players and coaches teach you World-Class Tennis Technique! You'll find the most up-to-date information, based on solid scientific principles and presented in a practical, easy-to-understand manner. No other book on the market offers the level of world-class instruction and expertise found here.

World-Class Tennis Technique is written by some of the world's top experts in biomechanics, tennis technique, and coaching, including

- Patrick McEnroe
- Jim Loehr
- Mary Joe Fernandez
- Stan Smith
- Tom Gullikson
- Pam Shriver
- Former world-class players
- National coaches
- Past or current Davis Cup Captains

Together these venerable tennis pros present a detailed, comprehensive look at the optimal biomechanics and technique for playing tennis. Each chapter features an expert with a scientific or technical background matched up with one of the top internationally known coaches. They explain the modern game and share their research, knowledge, and experience. Their explanations are succinct and to the point, making the best techniques easy to learn.

You'll learn to improve your technique in every aspect of the game, including

- perfecting your strokes,
- improving your footwork and positioning,
- training the appropriate muscle groups,
- choosing the right racquet and equipment for your style of play,
- adjusting to different court surfaces,
- maintaining proper technique under pressure, and
- analyzing your own game.

You'll find an in-depth analysis of the proper fundamentals of each stroke—forehand, backhand, volley, overhead, serve, return, and specialty shots—presented with an incredible selection of full-color sequence photos.

Learn the science behind the strokes to hit the ball with greater force, accuracy, and consistency. Then master and fine-tune your execution to excel in competition. With World-Class Tennis Technique, you'll soon play better than ever.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Roetert, Ph.D., is the Managing Director of the United States Tennis Association's Player Development Program. In addition, he serves as Tournament Director of the U.S. Open Junior Tennis Championships. Before re-joining the USTA in November, 2001, Roetert spent two years as the Executive Director of the American Sport Education Program. Prior to that position he spent eleven years as the Administrator of Sport Science for the USTA where he developed the sport science program. He also served as Vice Chairman of the sport science committee.

Roetert has published extensively in the field of tennis, including two books, 16 book chapters and well over 100 articles. He is a Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), a Master Professional with the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) and an Honorary Member of the Professional Registry (PTR). In 1998 he received the PTR's Plagenhoef Award for sport science; in 1999 the Editorial Excellence Award from the National Strength and Conditioning Association for his work on the Journal of Strength and Conditioning and Research; and in 2000 the Outstanding Alumni award from the University of Connecticut. He is also the 2002 Educational Merit Award recipient from the International Tennis Hall of Fame for outstanding service to the game of tennis.

Roetert holds a Ph.D. in biomechanics from the University of Connecticut. Originally from the Netherlands, he and his wife Barbara reside in Miami, Florida.

Jack Groppel is a cofounder and partner in the highly regarded LGE Performance Systems, Inc., which helps athletes train both mentally and physically to perform at the highest levels of sport. Groppel is an instruction editor for Tennis magazine and is in his 13th year as chairman of the sports science committee at the USTA.

Like Roetert, Groppel is a Fellow in the ACSM. He is also a USPTA Master Professional and one of only eight Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) International Master Professionals worldwide. In 1987 the USPTA named him National Pro of the Year. Groppel has also been named to the Midwest USPTA Hall of Fame and has received the International Tennis Hall of Fame Educational Merit Award. He has traveled to more than 45 countries training tennis coaches to teach the game more effectively.

Groppel holds a PhD in exercise physiology from Florida State University. He and his wife Jodie live in Algonquin, Illinois.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics; 1 edition (July 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736037470
• ISBN-13: 978-0736037471
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #840,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

E. Paul Roetert, PhD, is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), where he is responsible for promoting leadership, research, education, and best practices in the professions that support creative, healthy, and active lifestyles.

Prior to this position, Roetert was the Managing Director of the United State Tennis Association's (USTA's) Player Development Program and Tournament Director of the U.S. Open Junior Tennis Championships from 2002 to 2009. He has also served as the Executive Director of the American Sport Education Program (ASEP) and as the Administrator of Sport Science for the USTA, where he developed the sport science program.

Roetert has published extensively in the field of tennis, including several books, more than 20 book chapters, and over 100 articles. He is a Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine, a Master Professional with the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), and an Honorary Professional of the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR). He was the 2002 Educational Merit Award recipient from the International Tennis Hall of Fame for outstanding service to the game of tennis. Roetert holds a PhD in biomechanics from the University of Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Scientific Treatise on Tennis - dry and with some holes, December 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: World-Class Tennis Technique (Paperback)

An all-star cast was called to write this authoritative primer on modern techniques. There are contributions from Jim Loehr, Dennis van der Meer, Howard Brody (tennis physicist), Vic Braden, Jose Higueras (reknown clay court coach), Bruce Elliot (Australian biomechanist), Don Chu (strength and conditioning expert), etc. The graphics are quite good and the reseach is based on the latest in sport science. Some problems do exist, however. It appears that the book is written for the serious tennis player in addition to coaches and teaching pros. However, the use of language is dry and scientific in many areas. Even advanced players may find it too theoretical. Practical implications are often up to the reader to draw. The use of high-speed multiple-frame photography isn't exploited enough considering the resources of the contributors and editors. Disappointing sections are the backhand (Braden and Jack Kramer) -- barely an effort considering it follows a brilliant section on the forehand (Crespo and Higueras), volleys and overheads (van Fraayenhoven & Schapers) -- which attempts to cover too much in little details as possible (except for approaches), and tactics and technique (Herbst and Patrick McEnroe) -- also didn't seem very well thought out. Best sections include Revolutionary Rackets (Stan Smith and Brody) --which is written for the player(!understandable and enjoyable!), Kinetic Chain (Kibler and Van der Meer) -- well thought out analysis, court surfaces (Coe and Miley, ITF), specialty shots (Paul Dent and Patrice Hagelauer) and the forehand. A must for the serious coach/pro and a good buy for the serious player if you like reading analyses. Comparable in science for the teacher is the German Tennis Association "Tennis Course" series. Roetert and Groppel's book, however, is a rarity in that it analyzes top pro modern techniques rather than giving a template for beginners and intermediates as most books do.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More style than substance, October 26, 2003

By 

Soopy (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: World-Class Tennis Technique (Paperback)

There are some nice stop-action photo sequences of various strokes, but the actual techniques described are pretty basic and can be found free on the internet - lacking the world-class depth that the title would lead you to believe. Deficiencies are quite glaring in the serve section, where nothing is mentioned about hitting the different serves such as slice, kick, topspin etc. As the book is a compilation of many different authors, it lacks a unifying process for describing and teaching the strokes, which are broken up into different chapters, making it overall too general and inconsistent.

9 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent primer on the major strokes and much more, October 24, 2001

By 

Scott W. Welliver (Swartz Creek, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: World-Class Tennis Technique (Paperback)

The full color, high speed sequence shots have already helped my game. The in-depth analysis of each sequence preceding each major stroke have given me the confidence to go to the next level. I play for fun but it's nice to surpass those that I never thought I could beat before.

This book spends a chapter on such topics as forehands, backhands, volleys ( learned alot here), serves and returns, and the tactics of the overall game. From there, there are discussions on the kind of player you are, how to analyze your game and those you play. Other topics include what works for you and what to do when your game isn't working.

I certainly don't win all the time, but since purchasing this book my serve speed and has improved greatly and I've only lost once. That may have been due to the breaking of yet another string on my serve in the third game. Looks like it's time for a new racket as I've broken my fourth string since May. There is a discussion on racket designs in Chapter 2 of the book as well.