Driving/pushing out through the ball

[ShockTreatment]

Hi,

as my forehand topspin is getting shorter and shorter this time, I searched for this problem in the forums and found tipps like: Remember to push through the ball or don't forget to drive through the ball, you could have a windshield wiping motion.

Could you try to explain me of what you're really thinking when you tell me: push out trough the ball!
How can I improve?

Thanks

 

[TennsDog]

Make the racket move more out and away from you instead of just up. You want to get the racket face to go more straight through the ball instead of just brushing up the back of the ball. If you think about windshield wipers, they are fixed at one point and just rotate on that same plane, not moving forwards or backwards. If your racket face does this too much, you will not get any depth or penetration. Now think of what the windshield wipers would look like to you if you were watching them as the car drives past you. They are mostly going forward because the car is driving faster than the wipers can rotate, but they are also rotating, so if this motion were to continue, it would produce a corkscrew-type spiral in space, rather than just a circle. This is what your racket should look like from the side, more of a spiral motion.

I know that explanation may be a bit confusing, so I will offer this bit of advice: don't put as much topspin on the ball -- hit it more flat.

 

[ShockTreatment]

Thanks for your explanation! It wasn't confusing for me!

But actually, I don't wanna lose too much top spin. Can I still hit much topspin also when I drive more through it?

 

[TennsDog]

Yes, you can, it just involves more racket head speed. However, there will always be some tradeoff between pace and spin. You can never have the max of both, but you can get a lot of both. It is hard to explain how to do so, it is kind of self explanatory. I always hesitate to just give the advice to hit harder, but in your case: hit harder. If you want the same spin with better depth, that is really the only way. However, do not simply go out and smash the ball all over -- you must find a certain compromise between spin and pace so that you always remain in control. I would say just go out on the court and mess around for an hour or so and try some things: try hitting out more with less spin, try hitting harder, try hitting higher over the net, etc... See what feels comfortable (or at least not terrible, since it will take some getting used to if you change your stroke) and works, then work on it and develop consistancy and whatnot. Hope it helps...

 

[SageOfDeath]

There is this exercise I learned that you can do to help you drive through the ball. You aren't going to lose a lot of topspin you are just putting a lot of more drive into it. Topspin is great for getting the ball over the net but without drive the ball won't go more than a foot. If you brush up too quickly then you will be likely to do a mishit. I'm assuming that you have either a FW or a more extreme SW.

Here is what you should do. (I'm not quite sure if the measurements are right but it will still help)
Get three tennis balls and put 12 inch spacing between each ball. Make sure that they are parallell to each other. Stand open stance and do you forehand loop. Make sure that you handle and the head of your racquet is straight across as you hit through each of the three balls. DON"T brush up until you've hit through the third ball.

I'll try to make an image of it online because its hard to explain but really easy to do.

* <---- ball 3
* <----- ball 2
* <----- ball 1
---000 <--- racquet

Make sure you racquet stays flat like this until you hit through the 3rd ball and then you can brush up. Do this slowly about 500 times (I know..... its a lot......) If you do about like 50 a day your forehand will look a lot better. You can adjust the measurements a bit if you found your contact point because that's where the 3rd ball would be. Remember topspin is whipped cream but drive is your icecream

ONE last thing remember to look at your strings because that will help you hit the ball at the center of the strings so you don't have a mishit