Why Is It So Much Easier to Pop Up Slow Balls?

[lordmanji]

played a few sets without a warmup today and so for about the first set or so especially, i was sending quite a few dink serves a few feet past the baseline. if it comes fast over or even semi w/ pace, im much more consistent. but those dinkers really make me hit some ugly ues on my forehand. backhand, serve and volleys were very consistent though.

ive hit those balls fine w/ warmup but w/o it, i start stoning them. but i have no idea why technically. heck, sometimes i'll net it too. so if anyone's got some answers, let me know.

[Steady Eddy]

I think you said it. When they're giving you a consistent pace, you become consistent as well. But when the speed of the ball suddenly changes, that can lead you into an error.

[DarthCow]

It used to happen to me when i played this guy a lot in practice sets.
His second serve was horrible. EPIC dink. At first i was hitting them long aswell.
He refused to work on his second serve, and so i got used to those serves as they were all the same. REsult: Clean winners.

But i find that with other opponents who hit faster serves, it means that they are generating the power, and makes it easier for you if you make clean contact.

[lordmanji]

I think you said it. When they're giving you a consistent pace, you become consistent as well. But when the speed of the ball suddenly changes, that can lead you into an error.

i tried to emphasize having a warmup for this reason. this past wkend i was hitting winners off exactly the same dink serves and i can be consistent at this but why is it technically that w/o a warmup, im hitting them long? thats my question. it feels so weird to say i just need to groove my stroke w/o knowing how im exactly grooving it. maybe w/o warmup, im opening the face too much? thats my guess i guess.

[Nellie]

Keep your eyes on the ball and move your feet. One of the reason that people miss slow shots is that they are used to a pattern, like look for .5 seconds, start stepping, start looking up, and then swinging into the ball. Once you get a ball that takes you out of this pattern, you shank it.