any tips for hitting a forehand without much topspin?

[darylrulez]

any tips for hitting a forehand without much topspin? i find it hard to hit a ball flatter cause when i hit a ball flat,it goes out. so i spin the ball a lot wheni hit a forehand thus allowing my opponent to get the ball cause the spin slows down the speed of the ball doesnt it? do u guys have any tips on how to hit a flatter shot without the ball getting out?

[Marius_Hancu]

any tips for hitting a forehand without much topspin? i find it hard to hit a ball flatter cause when i hit a ball flat,it goes out. so i spin the ball a lot wheni hit a forehand thus allowing my opponent to get the ball cause the spin slows down the speed of the ball doesnt it? do u guys have any tips on how to hit a flatter shot without the ball getting out?

As you might imagine, something of concern to many ...

I'd suggest you should do first a search in this forum.
A search for
flat forehand
would've given you lots of postings to consult, including these threads:

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/viewtopic.php?t=14046&highlight=flat+forehand

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/viewtopic.php?t=16171&highlight=flat+forehand

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/viewtopic.php?t=11399&highlight=flat+forehand

[Bungalo Bill]

It all boils down to how you practice a shot you cant perform. With any sport you have to first slow down the mechanics in order to learn.

A flatter shot goes through the ball more. the upward path to the ball is less severe.

If your forward swing is below the ball and you go through the ball - you will impart topspin. You need to extend out towards the target so that you can have both a flatter trajectory and also impart topspin to keep the ball in play.

Also, a flat ball does not necessairly mean it is going out. It depends on the speed of the ball.

If you simply take a natural angle upward toward the ball and hit it while following through you should get the results you want.

If you veer off and make the racquet go up in a steeper angle you might not get the results you want.

Tip: Hit balls that are fed to you slowly. Bring your racquet lower then the ball, then go upward toward it and make contact while keeping the same ascent upward. Dont suddenly go straight up - that is too steep.

[paulfreda]

You said ...
"i find it hard to hit a ball flatter cause when i hit a ball flat,it goes out."

It goes out because the racquet face opens up naturally.

I encountered this too in learning to hit a flat FH with a Continental grip. I found that I had to make the top of the racquet point toward the target at finish. Almost like I was pointing with my right hand index finger. To do this successfully I needed to break my wrist a little thru the shot letting the strings pass my hand quickly. This is considered a no-no by most pros, but this is what worked to keep from opening the face in the follow through.

Hope that helps you.

[10nisNe1?]

tip: use a small headsize and dense-string pattern racquet. e.g. head prestige 93, wilson ps 6.0 85, prince diablo mid

its better to use these racquets for hitting flat balls because you can swing these racquets through your stroke, instead of abbreviating your swing and closing the racquet face after contact as you do with larger headsized racquets. in my opinion, not finishing your stroke is the major cause of tennis-elbows.

[Hyperstate]

BB's comment: "A flatter shot goes through the ball more. the upward path to the ball is less severe," is the key.

I play with a SW FH. To impart more spin, the stroke is generally more "whippy", ie the follow-thro swing is at a higher angle to the ground, say 40 to 70 degrees (arm angle to ground). To hit a flatter shot, go through the ball more. Your follow-thro should be more level to the ground, say 15 to 40 degrees. You gotta find your own follow-thro angles :D Good luck!

[darylrulez]

alrite thanks

[Tiger Paw]

Imagine your racket is an airplane about to take off. It turns onto the runway, applies power and gains speed as it moves straight down the run way. It gradually rises off the ground at a ten or fifteen degree angle as it continues in a straight line.

[Marius_Hancu]

A flatter shot goes through the ball more. the upward path to the ball is less severe. .

The racket path to the ball being upward is generally true. However:

"When the racket moves vertically to produce tospin, you sacrifice some horizontal racket speed and the shot generally can lack pace. This has prompted some players to hit their forehands with less topspin, preferring to flatten out their shots, especially when the ball is well above the net. This provides for a forehand played from high to low that speeds up the game and gives the opponent less time to react"
[Crespo and Higueras, in "World-Class Tennis Technique", 2001, p. 168]

Jose Higueras is of course the former coach of Jim Courier and Michael Chang.