Tweener/hardcourt long balls, cure?

[boramiNYC]

Originally Posted by dman72

Maybe if you have little girly arms...I can hit the back curtain on a ball that clears the net by 2 feet if I swing with an Eastern grip completely flat.

LeeD has a point. you have to be discerning about which ball you can hit flat. A ball at shoulder or chest level can be hit very flat with a little bit of topspin from followthrough (which is inevitable) that is aimed at about 2ft over the net will most likely go in. Waist level shot not so much.

on a second thought, 2ft might be a little high. say about a foot.

[dman72]

Originally Posted by boramiNYC

LeeD has a point. you have to be discerning about which ball you can hit flat. A ball at shoulder or chest level can be hit very flat with a little bit of topspin from followthrough (which is inevitable) that is aimed at about 2ft over the net will most likely go in. Waist level shot not so much.

on a second thought, 2ft might be a little high. say about a foot.

Of course, but I think it is a mistake to teach swinging down at the ball, as most mid court balls are probably being struck at waist height or lower, in which case swinging flat or down is a disaster. I think to be safe, swinging down at the ball should be relegated shoulder height balls only. It's a bad habit to get in to and I see it time and time again in myself and people I play....people trying to hit put aways by swinging flat or down at the ball are missing as many or more then they are making.

If you watch court level videos of pros, you will see them using topspin strokes clearing the net by quite a bit on short balls exclusively unless the ball is near their shoulders.

[boramiNYC]

Originally Posted by dman72

Of course, but I think it is a mistake to teach swinging down at the ball, as most mid court balls are probably being struck at waist height or lower, in which case swinging flat or down is a disaster. I think to be safe, swinging down at the ball should be relegated shoulder height balls only. It's a bad habit to get in to and I see it time and time again in myself and people I play....people trying to hit put aways by swinging flat or down at the ball are missing as many or more then they are making.

If you watch court level videos of pros, you will see them using topspin strokes clearing the net by quite a bit on short balls exclusively unless the ball is near their shoulders.

No huge disagreement but mid court balls should be hit at as high contact point as possible. Low ones due to bad habit or laziness of course shouldn't be hit flat.

And trust me I've seen my share of tournies, the pros net clearance on short ball is quite low and often they just graze over the net.

[Relinquis]

Originally Posted by anubis

I'm glad you had a good result! Just for the record though, just what tension are you playing with?

I'm currently using a 16g multi* at 58 lbs, which is in the middle of the range of the stick 53-63 lbs.

* Using Wilson Sensation, but will probably switch to a softer/higher quality multi, like Babolat Xcel, at 17g or natural gut the next time i get it strung.

[LeeD]

dman, no you can't.
And neither can Tsonga, Monfils, or any pro tennis player.
If you could, you can hit 200 mph serves, which you can't.
Think of your serves, your FASTEST stroke. It curves downwards a LOT by the time it reaches the opponen't baseline.
Your forehand and backhand don't hit nearly as hard.

[therecanbeonlyone]

Strictly from reading the title, my answer was going to be "boxer briefs."