Altering Swing Path

[tigers87]

does anyone have any good tips or drills to flatten out a players swing path?

I have a student who has come to me and has a full western forehand grip and has a very vertical swing path, even on short balls. He is struggling to keep the height of the ball down while still hitting it aggressively.

 

[Lukhas]

Well with a western grip it is possible to flatten a ball out, but the western grip places your hand underneath the handle. It makes it easier to hit upwards and lift the racquet, but he'd have to compensate more to hit flat. I suggest trying a SW grip, which is easier for flattening out and still is good spin game see Nadal).

 

[LeeD]

First have him hit flat against a wall.
Second, he can self drop feed flat shots over the net.
Now, you can feed him shots from the net, him hitting flat with low finish.
Finally, feed from the baseline, all with him hitting flat shots.
Not ideal, western grip is for hitting extreme topspin.

 

[tigers87]

thanks for the responses. I would like to alter grip too, back toward western, but I know that will also require a bunch of balls that I'm not sure he will have the time to hit.

 

[tigers87]

back toward semi-western i meant

 

[rkelley]

does anyone have any good tips or drills to flatten out a players swing path?

I have a student who has come to me and has a full western forehand grip and has a very vertical swing path, even on short balls. He is struggling to keep the height of the ball down while still hitting it aggressively.

It seems like you're talking about two issues (please correct me if I'm wrong).

If he just needs to bring the ball down he can close the racquet face a bit. Given the same vertical swing path he'll get a ball with a lot of topspin, but lower. This is a super useful shot at times, especially on lower short balls where you have to have the spin to keep the ball in if you're going to hit it hard.

OTOH, if he's looking to hit more through the ball, i.e. a ball with less topspin and more energy going into pace, that can certainly be done with a W grip. This is not a shot that I'd use on a low short ball because you'll tend to hit it long. But it's great for more power from deeper in the court, or on a ball above the net that you can pound. Basically (regardless of grip), the racquet needs a greater component of its velocity going into the ball as opposed to brushing the ball. With that grip he'll have to allow his wrist to have more ulnar deviation to increase that part of the motion of the racquet. Note, you're not forcing the wrist to move that way, you are allowing it freely swing in that motion. The power still comes from the core and legs. It's a little tricky to do.

I'm not sure how to coach this. I don't think I'd get into the complexities of wrist motion. At the end of the day you're still just creating a swing path that moves the racquet head more into the ball as opposed to brushing up the back, and for the player that's probably the best way to think of it.

It's a bit easier to get that into the ball motion with a SW grip (as you said) because the that same swing path now involves more flexing of the wrist. But with all of these motions you're still mostly just allowing the wrist to move, not forcefully contracting the muscles and making it move in that way.

 

[Jim Lefty]

does anyone have any good tips or drills to flatten out a players swing path?

I have a student who has come to me and has a full western forehand grip and has a very vertical swing path, even on short balls. He is struggling to keep the height of the ball down while still hitting it aggressively.

Typically a semi-open stance helps the western forehand a great deal when it comes to depth and penetration.

 

[RajS]

Is there anything wrong with controlling the ball trajectory using the back swing height? If I want to loop the ball, I start the forward swing from well below the ball. If I want flatten the ball, I start the forward swing almost level with the ball. In both cases, the stroke mechanics are basically the same, since I don't change anything else (I think).

 

[rkelley]

Is there anything wrong with controlling the ball trajectory using the back swing height? If I want to loop the ball, I start the forward swing from well below the ball. If I want flatten the ball, I start the forward swing almost level with the ball. In both cases, the stroke mechanics are basically the same, since I don't change anything else (I think).

Wrong? No, what you say above sounds completely correct.

 

[mightyrick]

does anyone have any good tips or drills to flatten out a players swing path?

I have a student who has come to me and has a full western forehand grip and has a very vertical swing path, even on short balls. He is struggling to keep the height of the ball down while still hitting it aggressively.

Very tough to do with a western grip from the baseline.

If you look at Djokovic, he simply doesn't drop the racquet head as much. But due to the lack of a steep low-to-high path, the extreme SW/western grip forces him to do pretty drastic forearm contortions to get the racquet face perpendicular. I wouldn't be surprised if this is what causes him wrist issues. The guy does nothing but flatten out the ball constantly.

The goal of "flattening out the ball" is to take time away from your opponent. There is more than one way to achieve that goal without taking the ball head-high and twisting your forearm to death.

I personally think extreme-grippers should focus on taking the ball off the bounce or on-the-rise -- very early. "Bounce-hit" drills are awesome for this.

When I watch really good HS kids play, their coaches seem to be focusing much more on teaching them to take the ball right off the bounce... rather than giving the ball space and trying to flatten it out way up high.

 

[RajS]

Wrong? No, what you say above sounds completely correct.

Okay, thanks, rkelley. I just wanted to confirm that it was as simple as that and that I hadn't missed any nuances.

 

[LeeD]

Possibly, too many changes at once?
You want him to hit SW grip forehands.
AND, you want him to change his swingpath, which he must do for both his current W and the new SW grip?
Sounds kinda confusing.
How about, get him to embrace SW grip first, then see how it goes.