How to Deal with High Balls that bounce near the baseline?

[johnchung907]

Hello, just wondering, how would you deal with high balls near the baseline. My style is hitting nice low topspin strokes but once in a while I encounter a high hitter and always loose those high balls he pulls off. It gets me ****ed off and when I try to wait for the ball to come down, I hit a high ball back that usually is out. When I try to jump and do a forehand, it mostly goes into the net. Please help!!!

[ATP100]

Originally Posted by johnchung907

Hello, just wondering, how would you deal with high balls near the baseline. My style is hitting nice low topspin strokes but once in a while I encounter a high hitter and always loose those high balls he pulls off. It gets me ****ed off and when I try to wait for the ball to come down, I hit a high ball back that usually is out. When I try to jump and do a forehand, it mostly goes into the net. Please help!!!

Don't back up, whatever you do. Hit the ball on the rise....just takes a little practice.

[RF20Lennon]

thats kinda what fed has to go through against the backhand with nadal. I would suggest stepping in closer to baseline and taking the ball early before it gets up that high! but the problem is your timing has to be perfect!! Another thing you is a drive slice! that will keep the ball low so when your opponent tries to hit the big topspin stroke again its not going to kick up that high this time!! This is the one I usually do on the backhand. On the forehand I usually hit it flat because spin is what will most likely hit the net

[LeeD]

The timid can back up to 8' behind the baseline, then hit it back high and deep.
The bold might take it on the half volley, adding extra topspin to the ball, and go for the open court, hoping for a forcing shot or a winner.
The middle ground is to take it on the half volley, but use a short controlled swing and hit it pretty flat and clearing the net by less than 3', but higher than a foot to continue the rally.
The strong SW and W grip guys might just hit a reverse forehand, as a rally ball mainly.

[Power Player]

I hit high balls near the baseline and face them as well. I don't think it's necessarily timid to set back and let the ball drop if you can hit back deep and with power.

I sat at a pro tournament on the court and watched pros do it when they had to.

The main thing is you need to move your feet and be prepared before the ball bounces.

[LeeD]

A confident Roger or anytime JohanKriek would never back up to continue the rally. They'd just punish that first high deep ball for a forcing shot, end of high deep incoming balls.

[Power Player]

Cool. 2 examples out of the millions of people who play tennis. One is the greatest ever who has perfect footwork and lost many times to deep balls from Nadal.

[LeeD]

You don't pass the car ahead of you by following directly behind it, do you?
You don't beat a guy by trying to play his game better than he can.

[serveitup911]

Lately, I've been sticking pretty close to the baseline for the heavy jumping deep topspin shots and catching them between chest and shoulder height, hitting a driving underspin forehand off of them.

It is very easy to master this shot with just a little practice, and easier to control because you are not reversing the spin of the ball. This shot stays nice and low, so it makes it tough for opponents with extreme grips to hit another one of their loopy topspin shots back. The key is to make sure you don't chop down steeply on the ball, but make an extended volley stroke that starts slightly above the contact point and extends forward toward the target.

On the backhand side, I like to either take it very early, just off the bounce with a short flat stroke, or step back and rip the ball through the court.

[NTRPolice]

If you jump and the ball dives into the net all that means is you didnt flatten out your swing. High balls hit with ground strokes from the baseline have to hit with "more flat" swings and not "more loopy" swings if you're constantly finding that your ball is diving into the net. If the ball is too high to do that, just hit an overhead. They overhead doesnt need to be a flat 120 mph attempt either. You can hit a "second serve" overhead and its a pretty "safe" shot.

The ones that jam me up are high balls to the backhand where running around and hitting an overhead is not an option. Hitting a slice here is a bit risky if the ball doesnt have a lot of pace on it you can borrow. When this happens I just take the ball early, swing flat and through the ball and hope for the best. Main thing about this is noticing the problem well before it gets to you. If you can see the problem coming well before the ball bounces these types of baseline balls become dramatically easier.

[boramiNYC]

If you can't get the feel of jumping FH, you must catch the ball in your strike zone either before it bounces higher or wait until in falls. My advice is catch early before it bounces high but try not to be overly ambitious about hitting a winner or a great shot. Focus on a good contact but generally aim toward middle of the court and loop it back. You should be able to shorten your swing somewhat for good contact not for power. If the ball makes back you have another chance and the opponent understands you can defend that shot and will be pressured to hit a better shot. But, if the opponent can do that over and over, call it too good.

[vil]

If the ball lands that deep, you can step forward and make a volley. Just as another option. It depends on the situation and your position of course. If it goes on my forehand I sometimes play drive forehand volley. You cut the time with that shot and if rush to the net, you can exert enormous pressure to your opponent.

[johnchung907]

Well my jump forehands do work sometimes I think I just aim downwards to much sometimes. Is it better to hit topspin on that jump forehand then flat?

[Power Player]

Originally Posted by LeeD

You don't pass the car ahead of you by following directly behind it, do you?
You don't beat a guy by trying to play his game better than he can.

Sure..you can shop the ball down too.

Or do you want to learn and play that game? There are multiple options. Both work. I like mine better - it is higher %. A lot of guys that chop my shots down hit the net more of than they'd like.

[johnchung907]

I also find that I reply better to high balls with a youtek ig radical pro compared to my pro staff six one 90. As I mentioned before, I love hitting low topspin balls and find that the youtek ig radical pro gives me the ability to hit lower balls more often and gives me better serves. The only thing that I do better with my pro staff six one 90 is my backhand. It's my strongest shot (double-handed) and I'm wondering why the radical lets me hit lower balls more constantly. I'm using the same technique (windshield-wiper) but get different results. Could this be cause by the tension? (Both have the same strings). The radical had significantly higher tension and a dampener added to it.

[johnchung907]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Sure..you can shop the ball down too.

Or do you want to learn and play that game? There are multiple options. Both work. I like mine better - it is higher %. A lot of guys that chop my shots down hit the net more of than they'd like.

So you suggest to chop the ball? Like a slice? I do that sometimes but my results are sometimes unsatisfactory. If I hit a good slice they usually reply with even a lower slice of their own which I can't counter. I but sidespin on my slice to but it has no effect on them. The ball even swerves quite dramatically to their right side (I can't fix that... It just is a natural feeling.) Or do you mean to hit high balls back. See I usually play guys that hit the ball lower over the net (like me) and if I hit a high forehand to a accidental high forehand that they made, they'll punish me either with an amazing slice (this guy is consistent with the slice) or do an inside outside jump forehand.

[Power Player]

I think you should work on your topspin game and footwork. It sounds like you are giving the guy easy balls no matter what you are trying right now.

[Satch]

Originally Posted by johnchung907

Hello, just wondering, how would you deal with high balls near the baseline. My style is hitting nice low topspin strokes but once in a while I encounter a high hitter and always loose those high balls he pulls off. It gets me ****ed off and when I try to wait for the ball to come down, I hit a high ball back that usually is out. When I try to jump and do a forehand, it mostly goes into the net. Please help!!!

try to hit the ball on the rise in front of you. if you are not that quick, you need to go back a few steps and hit it ( i dont suggest you that).

I try sometimes to change my grip to western like and hit the forehand above my shoulders (it is hard and you need to work on it) but i dont suggest this to you as you need to change grip, and thats not really good.

[johnchung907]

Originally Posted by Power Player

I think you should work on your topspin game and footwork. It sounds like you are giving the guy easy balls no matter what you are trying right now.

I have pretty good footwork and can run down dropshots. My topspin game is good but I only reply good if they hit the ball a medium to low shot. And I do give him angled shots side to side but he keeps running them down. You see he pops a high ball once in a while and I just want to know how to get a free point off of that. I also play against my coach (moonballer) and he always does the high ball to me. He claims it's topspin he's putting on it. He says the more topspin you put on the higher the ball goes. He definitely does put topspin on his shots. It ****es me off when the ball goes high because as I said before, I don't return them well. I do overhead smashes which is fine but say it's not high enough for me to do overhead smashes.

[Power Player]

Like I am saying, you wont get free points off those shots. They are defensive shots meant to reset a point.

So you need to get back and let that ball drop and then hit it deep into a corner or you need to try and block it early and get it low. You can also come over it right off the bounce. But all those options require very good movement and practice.

dont try and hit winners off those shots..just work on returning the ball deep.