flat forehands?

[tennisenthusiast]

Last week I changed strings on my raquet from babolat xcel to duraflex due to arm problems. with babolat xcel i never had problems hitting forehands because i used to hit topspin forehands. now with duraflex i am having such a hard time hitting topspin forehands nor can i hit flat forehands. i am totally out of confidence. what can i do? i do not want to go back to old babolat strings because of the arm issues.

how can i hit flat forehands?

[esgee48]

What was the tension and gauge in the Xcel and the current tension and gauge for PSGD? Strictly speaking, you should be able to hit TS with either string since TS is the product of mainly technique.

Hit flatish FH by using a simple Eastern or Continental grip.

[pvaudio]

Two things. First, Xcel is far, far softer and more arm-friendly than PSGD. Are you sure you were using Xcel? It's their top of the line multifilament. Switching from it to syn gut is like switching racquets from a Dunlop to a Babolat because you want more flex.

The string aside, the change has no effect on your ability to execute topspin or flat shots. How much topspin is a different story, but even with full syn gut, you can get plenty of RPMs on a ball if you have the technique for it. The difference between a flat and a topspin ball is simply in how you hit it, not what you hit it with. I truly do not want to sound mean, but this is in your head. I think going from what I'm assuming was actually a poly and not Xcel to a syn gut has made it seem as though you can no longer hit topspin. Trust me, if you could before, then you still can.

[pvaudio]

Is this what you were using before?

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Babo...B-BPHTX17.html

[tennisenthusiast]

Originally Posted by pvaudio

Is this what you were using before?

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Babo...B-BPHTX17.html

It is not hurricane. I don't remember exactly...sorry.

[tennisenthusiast]

Originally Posted by pvaudio

Two things. First, Xcel is far, far softer and more arm-friendly than PSGD. Are you sure you were using Xcel? It's their top of the line multifilament. Switching from it to syn gut is like switching racquets from a Dunlop to a Babolat because you want more flex.

The string aside, the change has no effect on your ability to execute topspin or flat shots. How much topspin is a different story, but even with full syn gut, you can get plenty of RPMs on a ball if you have the technique for it. The difference between a flat and a topspin ball is simply in how you hit it, not what you hit it with. I truly do not want to sound mean, but this is in your head. I think going from what I'm assuming was actually a poly and not Xcel to a syn gut has made it seem as though you can no longer hit topspin. Trust me, if you could before, then you still can.

Thanks for your advice. I will try going back to Xcel next time.

[dominikk1985]

if a string forces you to change your style of play you need a new string

[TomT]

Originally Posted by tennisenthusiast

Last week I changed strings on my raquet from babolat xcel to duraflex due to arm problems. with babolat xcel i never had problems hitting forehands because i used to hit topspin forehands. now with duraflex i am having such a hard time hitting topspin forehands nor can i hit flat forehands. i am totally out of confidence. what can i do? i do not want to go back to old babolat strings because of the arm issues.

how can i hit flat forehands?

Just curious. What exactly does it feel like? How is it different? How has this led you to alter your stroke to the extent that you've lost confidence in it?

Or is it that the string change requires you to alter your stroke, and you have been having some difficulty in finding the correct alteration, and therefore have lost confidence in your stroke?

[TomT]

Originally Posted by pvaudio

Two things. First, Xcel is far, far softer and more arm-friendly than PSGD. Are you sure you were using Xcel? It's their top of the line multifilament. Switching from it to syn gut is like switching racquets from a Dunlop to a Babolat because you want more flex.

The string aside, the change has no effect on your ability to execute topspin or flat shots. How much topspin is a different story, but even with full syn gut, you can get plenty of RPMs on a ball if you have the technique for it. The difference between a flat and a topspin ball is simply in how you hit it, not what you hit it with. I truly do not want to sound mean, but this is in your head. I think going from what I'm assuming was actually a poly and not Xcel to a syn gut has made it seem as though you can no longer hit topspin. Trust me, if you could before, then you still can.

Just read this post. Must agree. I just use cheap syn gut on all my racquets including vintage wooden ones, am a very low level competitor, and am able to hit effective topspin, flat drives, undercut drives, and heavily sliced and sidespin balls (well, I can do any of this when I have enough time ).

So, yeah, not really clear to me what the OP's problem is.

[zapvor]

Originally Posted by pvaudio

Two things. First, Xcel is far, far softer and more arm-friendly than PSGD. Are you sure you were using Xcel? It's their top of the line multifilament. Switching from it to syn gut is like switching racquets from a Dunlop to a Babolat because you want more flex.

The string aside, the change has no effect on your ability to execute topspin or flat shots. How much topspin is a different story, but even with full syn gut, you can get plenty of RPMs on a ball if you have the technique for it. The difference between a flat and a topspin ball is simply in how you hit it, not what you hit it with. I truly do not want to sound mean, but this is in your head. I think going from what I'm assuming was actually a poly and not Xcel to a syn gut has made it seem as though you can no longer hit topspin. Trust me, if you could before, then you still can.

this. changing the string would not go from topspin to flat........what is up with all these threads recently??? there was teh one thread where the guy said fuzz on the strings was affecting his spin. WTF

[TheCheese]

Try messing with the tension. You shouldn't have to hit flat forehands ever. You should either hit a loopy topspin ball or a flat trajectory topspin ball. Never flat.

[tennisenthusiast]

Originally Posted by TheCheese

Try messing with the tension. You shouldn't have to hit flat forehands ever. You should either hit a loopy topspin ball or a flat trajectory topspin ball. Never flat.

why not flat? just curious.

[zapvor]

heres the truth, and its secretly guarded by federer and nadal: if you string tension at below 44.27lbs, you will always get huge massive crazy topspin, but if you go over 55.69lbs you will always get a flatter ball. there now you know. becareful what you choose!

[charliefedererer]

Originally Posted by tennisenthusiast

why not flat? just curious.

Thought TheCheese might respond himself.

But since he hasn't yet, I hope he doesn't mind my butting in.

None of the pros are able to bash a completely flat forehand and keep it from flying long.
They have realized there just is not enough fall of the ball from gravity to keep the ball from flying long.
Hence they employ a fair amount of topspin even when they "flattenen" their put -aways.

[zapvor]

yea but we arent pros here. at our level its good to see people still hit flat. we are in the minority! and there's nothing wrong with hitting flat

[tennisenthusiast]

Originally Posted by charliefedererer

Thought TheCheese might respond himself.

But since he hasn't yet, I hope he doesn't mind my butting in.

None of the pros are able to bash a completely flat forehand and keep it from flying long.
They have realized there just is not enough fall of the ball from gravity to keep the ball from flying long.
Hence they employ a fair amount of topspin even when they "flattenen" their put -aways.

Will hitting topspin forehands put pressure on your body/arms? Is it good for you opposed to flat forehands in the long run?

I prefer long "tennis as a hobby" career to "tennis as a pro player" career.

[zapvor]

its technique and timing not what kind of ball you hit

[pvaudio]

Originally Posted by charliefedererer

Thought TheCheese might respond himself.

But since he hasn't yet, I hope he doesn't mind my butting in.

None of the pros are able to bash a completely flat forehand and keep it from flying long.
They have realized there just is not enough fall of the ball from gravity to keep the ball from flying long.
Hence they employ a fair amount of topspin even when they "flattenen" their put -aways.

Indeed, I think his comment was actually quite misleading if anything. Reason being, it's not really possible to hit a flat groundstroke if it has any power on it at all. Even then, I hit my backhand fairly flat and like to hit it like that. The ball still lands in no-man's land. When I hit a topspin BH, it lands around the service line. The flat BH isn't truly flat but is definitely traveling with more pop.

[TomT]

Originally Posted by pvaudio

Indeed, I think his comment was actually quite misleading if anything. Reason being, it's not really possible to hit a flat groundstroke if it has any power on it at all. Even then, I hit my backhand fairly flat and like to hit it like that. The ball still lands in no-man's land. When I hit a topspin BH, it lands around the service line. The flat BH isn't truly flat but is definitely traveling with more pop.

How much is "any power"? Would 70 to 80 mph qualify? Seems to me that a basically flatly contacted ball can be hit with that amount of pace (maybe even a bit more) and land inside the baseline, especially if the point of contact is somewhat high and the trajectory of the ball is a more or less straight line from the contact point to the landing point.

[TheCheese]

Originally Posted by tennisenthusiast

why not flat? just curious.

Yeah, like CharlieFederer said. There's no point going flat. You can hit the same shot with topspin and it'll be more consistent and have more accuracy.