The Intrigue of Being a Leftie

It could be argued that the game of tennis highlights the impact of lefties more than any other sport. Their unique style of play has provided some outstanding tennis players, including Laver, Orantes, Vilas, Navratilova, Conners, McEnroe, Seles, and Nadal. It also could be argued that the game's very structure favors these lefties. Note that six of the eight points that decide the outcome of a game are played on the ad court, a fact favorable for the serve and volleyers such as Laver, McEnroe, and Navratilova.

History has tagged lefties with many nicknames such as Scammies, Mollydooker, Southpaw, and most intriguing, Sinistra (sinister). The last label came from the Greeks and Romans who recognized that a left-handed warrior could greet you with a right-handed handshake and then, with their dagger on the left side, pull it out and stab you. Obviously, this is a far more offensive tactic than Mac's “Can-opener” serve on the ad court, but the sense of lefties having an unfair advantage is baked into our history.  

Lefties also seem to have a natural ability to be a strong complement to most right-handed partners in doubles. They provide an option of how to best handle a strong server through the diversity of playing either the deuce or the ad court. Both Martina and John were great partners no matter which right-handed player they teamed with. They had a unique ability to easily move from partner to partner and maintain success.

The history of lefties is a fun and interesting observation, but lefties also provide a unique challenge for some coaches. The fact that many lefties are also left-eye dominant, creates an interesting characteristic in their execution of strokes. It is an important physical fact that can often impact how they address the ball, especially on the forehand side.  

As it turns out, your eyes determine depth perception by using binocular vision, where each eye sees a slightly different image of an object due to their slightly different positions on your head, and the brain then combines these two images to calculate the object's distance, a process called "stereopsis.". This means the greater the difference between what each eye sees, the closer the object is perceived to be. 

The results of this can be clearly seen in players like Nadal, whose contact point on his forehand side was much later. His uncle, Tony, learned to work with that characteristic, which resulted in the fortuitous development of Rafa’s phenomenal forehand. You wonder how many coaches would have noticed that his contact was late and would have tried to have him learn a more classical earlier point of contact. And as a result, his radical topspin shot would have never been seen.

Today it is commonly recognized with tennis players, and for that matter baseball batters, that if they are left-handed and step forward with their right foot, they will likely make contact with the ball slightly later than if they were right-handed because their dominant hand (left) will be slightly further away from the ball at the moment of contact due to their body positioning. 

This is a characteristic that can be difficult to address because not all lefties are left-eye dominant, nor are right-handed people, right-eye dominant. It’s an easy test to find out, have the player perform what is commonly called the "hole-in-the-card" test. They extend both their arms out, and with both hands create a small triangle or hole with their fingers. Focus on a distant object through that opening while keeping both eyes open, then close one eye at a time - the eye that keeps the object centered in the opening is your dominant eye.

This is very important for coaches but is often overlooked, no pun intended. Recognizing the physical nature of any student provides key insights into how they will best perform. Remember, we try not just to teach tennis, we try to teach each individual how to play their best tennis, so knowing cause and effect for each individual helps in that task. Considering the sport we are coaching is so much about tracking the flight of a ball, such insight for both coach and student would seem to be very important.

Recall how often the phrase “hand-eye coordination” is used in referencing the skill of using your hands to accomplish a physical task. The following is how that process occurs. “Hand-eye coordination refers to the ability to use your eyes to guide your hand movements, essentially meaning the coordinated function of your eyes and hands to perform tasks by processing visual information and directing precise hand actions; it involves the brain receiving visual input from the eyes and then sending signals to the hands to react accordingly, allowing for actions like catching a ball, writing, or typing.” Tennis is not mentioned, but it is obvious that tennis qualifies as a sport in great need of quality hand-eye skills.  

If a coach feels that explaining this analysis may be a bit overwhelming for their student, that is understandable. Effecting change without explanation can often be a better approach. But it goes without saying, that most coaches who have a passion for their work and a curiosity of how their students learn, will always embrace having as much knowledge as possible about each student’s individual characteristics. When the goals of both the student and the coach are common, both trying to optimize their skills, their relationship and results are almost always positive.