When I try to hit with a flatter trajectory, either I hit into the bottom of the net and on correction, hit them out
I play with a semi-western grip and would like some pointers to hit a flat ball. Also, looking for ways to practice it..drills etc.
To hit a flatter stroke, you need two things to happen:
1) lowering the net clearance (because a flat ball doesn't fall as fast down);
2) reducing the spin rate.
You should also be able to hit a slightly faster shot because less of your energy is expelled in producing top spin.
You achieve (1) mostly by flattening out your swing path. In other words, if you get your racket too low bellow your tennis ball, you'll make the ball climb too high in the air for the spin you intend to put on it. If your racket moves too vertically, so will the ball...
For (2), you'd need to lessen the forward tilt of your string bed (make the racket less forward tilted at impact so that you hit more of the back of the ball and less of the upper edge). There are two main ways to do this.
That can be done by altering slightly your preparation. As your forearm supinates (that opens the racket face gradually) naturally during the acceleration phase of your stroke, you should end your take back with the racket face parallel to the ground to get a closed faced at impact. If you want to get it less closed, say, almost to the point of being perpendicular to the ground, you can simply close it less in your take back. That's solution 1. The other solution is to alter your follow-through.
If you have a high level forehand, you probably get your wrist joint involved in your stroke. To be very clear, what people call a "wrist lag" is what I have in mind. If you watch Federer, Nadal, Verdasco, Del Potro, or any other big forehand on the tour, you'll notice that this lag enables them to let their hand go around impact -- it's the nice late movement fans call the "wrist snap." That movement has the nice advantage of forcing your racket to stay further closed and to accelerate the ball even more. However, you can exaggerate components of it to get a loopier or a flatter ball, as desired -- and you do this by changing your follow-through. If you draw a nice rainbow (the usual WW forehand), you'll be increasing how vertical the ball flies once it leaves your strings, as well as its spin; if you finish your stroke more leveled with your contact point, the ball will fly more horizontally.
If you watch how pros hit their shot, you'll notice no two shots are the same. However, their follow-through can be grouped in generally similar groups and each group corresponds to a different shot and a different intention. If you want to alter your shot, try to see how a player with similar strokes to you ends his shot when he hits the ball you want to hit -- and aim to end in a similar position... doing so will change how you swing at the ball without you having to worry about it.
