Low Forward Topspin???

[ForehandFiend]

I played a match today at school against this UCLA freshman who made the team. I was dumbfounded because his forehand had a flat trajectory but the spin pushed it forward. It was low, and instead of jumping up like normal topspin, the ball jumped forward. Is this shot generated by brushing the ball at a particular spot?

[StringingIrvine]

depends how the topspin shot was created. If he put regular topspin on the ball but drove the through the ball, it could create the forward spin your thinking of.

So instead of using the regular loopy topspin shot that would bounce higher he prob hit it with more forward trajectory to get the ball to stay low and speed up.

maybe? i dunnno, i'd have to see the shot.

[soyizgood]

I played a match today at school against this UCLA freshman who made the team. I was dumbfounded because his forehand had a flat trajectory but the spin pushed it forward. It was low, and instead of jumping up like normal topspin, the ball jumped forward. Is this shot generated by brushing the ball at a particular spot?

It's one of those low-clearance flat looking shots that kick up huh? Something like a Federer-type forehand I'm assuming. I've been working on those for a couple of months. At least with mine I dip my racquet just slightly while swinging towards hit. In my case I strike it in a way I would with an eastern forehand (I use extreme eastern) and let the follow-through put that amount of spin in. It works best on cross-court forehands. But pretty well with a windshield wiper finish when going for the alley.

I would imagine this flat type of shot works best with balls in the waist to chest-high range. At least for me that's the case.

[Noaler]

Has some side spin

[jmverdugo]

It is all on the trajectory of the head of the racket before the contact. If you want the ball to fly "flat" the racket must have a trajectory parallel to the ground, if you want and arc your trajectory before contact must be from low to high. In both cases I am talking of the WW type FH.

[Sublime]

Its the relationship of the spin of the ball relative to the angle it comes down on the court and the pace of the ball that effects how the ball acts after it bounces.

A high spin rate, but little pace and a steep angle towards the court makes the ball jump up (a sitter).

A good mix of spin and pace, combined with a steep angle results in a ball that jumps up and at you. Think Nadal.

What you played against was good mix of spin and pace, and a shallow angle of impact. This causes the ball to jump out at you, but stays relatively low. Think Federer.

[jmverdugo]

Its the relationship of the spin of the ball relative to the angle it comes down on the court and the pace of the ball that effects how the ball acts after it bounces.

A high spin rate, but little pace and a steep angle towards the court makes the ball jump up (a sitter).

A good mix of spin and pace, combined with a steep angle results in a ball that jumps up and at you. Think Nadal.

What you played against was good mix of spin and pace, and a shallow angle of impact. This causes the ball to jump out at you, but stays relatively low. Think Federer.

Yes ... but the way to control it is with the direction of the trajectory of the racket before the contact with the ball. And you can hit both types of stroke with the same head speed.

[Sublime]

Yes ... but the way to control it is with the direction of the trajectory of the racket before the contact with the ball. And you can hit both types of stroke with the same head speed.

I agree. My response was more to the OP's question of "Is this shot generated by brushing the ball at a particular spot?" as if there was a degree of magic to it.

What you said is correct. Given a set amount of racket head speed, this is just a flatter stroke with a lower trajectory and less net clearance. Less spin and more pace than the ball that jumps up on your.

[Dreamer]

My stubborn friend hits this shot often. Except he's not good enough to correctly execute half the time.

So, the shot usually has low clearance as someone has mentioned and penetrates deeply into the court?

Sounds like a flat forehand fed or blake would hit. Both forward motion and topspin are generated at a high rate. The trick is how do you do this? Normal human beings have to sacrifice forward motion for topspin or vice versa. Also when putting that much force behind the ball, it's harder to find the balance to keep the ball in the court.

[Mansewerz]

I think I do it too, but it's usually a short ball. How do you get it to go deeper?