1. Be aware of your court positioning.

Many club players struggle to choose the right moments to be aggressive. This often boils down to smart shot selection, a discipline in which Justine Henin excels. She rarely pulls the trigger on a backhand down the line unless she has time to set up and is in a position to crack it. Henin recognizes when her opponent has hit a weak shot and uses her foot speed and athleticism to take the ball early and attack. She’s just as aggressive with her feet in these situations as she is with her strokes. You should try to get on top of or inside the baseline before you go on the offensive. If you’re deep in the court, hit a rally ball and wait for a better opportunity to unload. Playing with that kind of restraint will help increase your winners and reduce your errors.

2. Use your serve offensively.

Henin is the shortest woman in the Top 10 but she serves remarkably well. She has sound and consistent mechanics and a loose arm, which helps her get surprising pop on the ball. Her second serve, which can be streaky at times, is also difficult for her opponents to attack. Still, Henin is not an overpowering server. What makes her delivery so effective is her ability to move the ball around the box in order to start the point on her terms. She’ll slide a serve out wide, stretch-ing her opponent into the doubles alley, and then drive her next ball into the open court to take command of the rally. Henin goes for a one-two punch rather than trying to hit an ace. It’s simple but extremely potent when executed properly. And for the club player without an overwhelming serve, it’s a great way to turn your delivery into a real asset.

3. Add versatility to your weapon.

While her fore-hand is very powerful, Henin’s one-hand-ed backhand is her signature stroke, primarily because she can do so much with it. She can slice the ball, hit a deep, high roller or a flat, penetrating drive, and even carve out a delicate drop shot. With all this variation, Henin keeps her opponents off-balance and usually draws errors or short balls that allow her to be more aggressive. So many players, even at the pro level, seem to hit their best shot at one speed—all out. Remember, not every ball has to be blasted. Changing spins, speeds, and heights is extremely valuable. You may have a huge forehand, but if you hit it the same way every time, your opponents will establish a good rhythm returning it. Add some variety and you’ll make that stroke more of a weapon than it already is.

Article by Paul Annacone – Tennis.com

Justine Henin is a big player for such a small woman. I first saw her play when she was 10 years old and it was apparent even then that she was tremendously talented. Her signature shot, the one-handed backhand, was well on its way to becoming the beautiful stroke it is today. There’s nothing Henin can’t do with her backhand. In this sequence we see her produce one of the most difficult shots in the game, the backhand topspin lob.

1. Disguise is key for an effective topspin lob and there’s nothing about Henin’s preparation that signals that she’s about to hit one. Instead, she gets directly behind the ball and positions herself as if she’s going to hit any other passing shot. The racquet is up behind her head and her shoulders and hips are turned, which is critical on a one-handed backhand. You can’t see it in this photo, but her left hand is cradling the racquet at the throat to assist in her shoulder turn. She’s also bending her knees and loading her weight on her back foot.

2. Henin begins to drop the racquet head under the ball. Her left hand is just coming off the throat, which gives you an indication of how much she uses it to guide the racquet. She has an extreme grip as opposed to the classic Eastern backhand grip. I’d call it a semi-Western backhand, because her hand is so far around on the handle. Her balance and posture are excellent, and her head is very still as she begins to transfer her weight to her front foot.

3. Only now can you tell that Henin is going to hit a lob. Her racquet head has dropped very low so it’s well under the ball. She’s going to bring her racquet up quickly to brush behind the ball and lift it over her opponent’s head. Her hitting arm is extended out and she’ll make contact well ahead of her front foot. Her head has not moved since the first frame.

4. If you compare this frame to the previous one, you can see Henin’s sharply vertical swing and how she’s rotated her arm to produce the topspin she wants. She can do that because her extreme grip keeps her racquet face more closed than a conventional Eastern. I also like how her left hand stays back to counterbalance her hitting arm. She has fully transferred her weight to her front foot and sent the ball on its way, yet her head is virtually in the same place it was in the first frame.

5. The momentum resulting from Henin’s extreme upward swing path and the extension of her hitting arm has carried her slightly up onto the ball of her front foot. But Henin has maintained perfect posture and balance, showing that she has excellent technique and strong core muscles.

6. It’s interesting to see that Henin has kept the same 90-degree angle between her racquet and forearm in the last three frames. Instead of using her wrist to flick the racquet as you might expect, she rotates her forearm and shoulder to produce a sharp upward sweep. Though we can’t be certain, this may be because she decided to hit the lob at the last instant. Either way, she disguised and executed it perfectly.

Article by Lynne Rolley, Photos by David Kenas – Tennis.com