While the rotation and acceleration stages are where instabilities are maximum, it is in the strike stage that we find the most subtle movement that makes the difference between clean contact and a shank. Further, any tension in your body can make it very difficult to include this movement in your strike stage. The movement in question is that which is necessary to arrest the rotation motions set up during the rotation and acceleration stages (to develop racquet speed) and direct the racquet face into the path of the ball. This is known as rectification. The classical theory holds that you must shift the body forward to do this. However, with modern technique executed at high speeds, this will not suffice.

Rectification	Rectification Error
Dial-Up Modem	Dial-Up Modem

Above are two videos illustrating the difference between a rectified strike and the most common rectification error. On the left, after rotation and acceleration, the racquet is moved straight into the path of the ball. On the right, the upper arm rotation continues until the ball is struck. Below, we have superimposed these two sequences into a single Shockwave video. If you cannot see this video, please click here to inform us of this fact, and we will solve your problem. This Shockwave video is very important in understanding the rectification movement.

As seen in the overlay video above, when the upper arm rotation is arrested, the racquet continues straight into the ball. Note how, in this case, the shoulder has been used to extend the racquet outward from the body to produce the rectification movement. This is subtle in that, if you only watch the racquet, it will seem to be stopped. But by looking at the hand and shoulder, it is clear that the rectified stroke continues in parallel to the rectification error example.

There are several methods of rectification used by professionals today, which can include, on occasion, the classical method. We note that the classical method does not necessarily produce a clean rectification and hence must operate at slower speeds if it is to produce a clean strike.

We discuss these points in the next lesson.

Examples

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In the photos above, we present seven examples of successful rectification. No matter what the circumstances (running, off balance, no footwork), the player manages to rectify the acceleration stage. The rectification occurs from multiple methods, which are discussed in other lessons. The players in the second row, second and fourth from the left, have achieved rectification by curling their racquet hand shoulder forward, a common method. The player in the top center row achieves rectification by forearm extension, an essential method to be able to execute for complex situations (slow balls, slices, balls that have been shanked by your opponent, or balls that have hit the net and acquired an odd trajectory, such as sidespin. The player in the top row left has used her body to force the racquet into the path of the ball, even though she is well out of position. The players in the bottom row, first and third from the left, have used their right foot to arrest the rotation of the racquet arm. This is discussed in detail in another lesson since it is also a very common technique.