SCIENCE CONCEPT:
- The many angles on the tennis court gives tennis a
mathematical edge. John McEnroe, the great American champion is on
record as saying he looked at winning tennis matches in this way. The
player can attack in tennis by hitting a wide variety of angles that pull
the opponent off the court and create the opportunities to hit winning
shots.
STUDENT OBJECTIVE:
- The student will study the various angles that are
created within the tennis game from the various places on the court.
OVERVIEW:
- The student will hit the tennis ball from different locations
on the court observing how the "angle of attack" affects the placement of
the ball. The student will also observe how hitting the ball differently
changes the "angle of attack" that occurs.
TEACHER TEXT:
- Within the tennis world there are varied approaches to
the placement of the tennis ball on the court. Some players play
primarily from the backcourt while others like to attack the net.
One's "angle of attack" is very important to the success of
your tennis game. In various situations, the crosscourt shot has a
larger vertical acceptance angle than the down-the-line shot and is
safer. When you hit a ball crosscourt, the baseline is considerably
farther away on the diagonal than it is down-the-line. This is known as
the horizontal angle of attack. You, therefore, have a much larger
portion of the court
to get your ball to bounce in, and that increases your chances of
the shot being good.
The"angle of attack" is a vital part of one's tennis game and
the larger the diagonal you have when hitting your ball the greater the
chance that the ball will get into the court safely. So remember angles
are not just for mathematics, but for the sport of tennis! You also open
the court by hitting crosscourt, pulling your opponent wide and creating
an opening to hit a winner down the line.
When a player comes to the net he or she normally hits the
approach shot down the line into this opening. At the net, because it is
closer to the opponent, the player can hit much sharper angles with his or her
volleys for crosscourt winners. Offense and
defense in tennis can be thought of as trying to stay in the center of
your opponent's two widest possible shots, while pushing them out of the
center of your own. The attacking player moves the opponent so far to
one side that they cannot cover both angles.
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PREPARATION TIME:
- 10 minutes.
LESSON TIME:
- 45 minutes.
TEACHER PREP:
- Gather materials
WORDS TO KNOW:
- down-the-line
- crosscourt
- angle of attack
- diagonal line
- horizontal angle
- baseline
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