How to hit short slice

[bostontennis]

People aren't talking about slice a lot. Many youtube videos teach you how to hit a offensive/knifing slice, or defensive slice. However, short slice is a good set up, especially against baseline players.

I practice many slice this year. My understanding of the power source of slice is 1. backswing (elbow to shoulder high, racquet head behind head). 2. swing path forward, 3 body forward movement or weight transfer. If I use the high backswing and make swing path more downward, aka more steep, the ball trajectory would be lower and will skid after bouncing from the court. However, the problem is that the net clearance is small and not very safe.

I am not sure how to adjust to have a more reliable and more effective short slice. Someone says to use volley technique. My understanding of volley to short slice would be short take back (power reduce), limited weight transfer, but not much downward swing path.

Any thoughts, suggestions?

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

People aren't talking about slice a lot. Many youtube videos teach you how to hit a offensive/knifing slice, or defensive slice. However, short slice is a good set up, especially against baseline players.

I practice many slice this year. My understanding of the power source of slice is 1. backswing (elbow to shoulder high, racquet head behind head). 2. swing path forward, 3 body forward movement or weight transfer. If I use the high backswing and make swing path more downward, aka more steep, the ball trajectory would be lower and will skid after bouncing from the court. However, the problem is that the net clearance is small and not very safe.

I am not sure how to adjust to have a more reliable and more effective short slice. Someone says to use volley technique. My understanding of volley to short slice would be short take back (power reduce), limited weight transfer, but not much downward swing path.

Any thoughts, suggestions?

This doesn't answer your question directly but I never worried much about the power source of a short slice: I'm concerned about keeping it low, short, and angled. I would classify this as a touch shot rather than a power one. I think the volley technique is a great place to start.

Don't try to do too much: you want to yank your opponent out of his comfort zone, not try to hit a low % shot that lands close to the sideline.

Another option is the DTL BH slice; even better if you add some sidespin so it tails away from your opponent.

Hand feed yourself and hit 100 slices, experimenting with swing speed, trajectory, and racquet face angle. You'll get a feel for what works and what doesn't.

After you're comfortable, do some cooperative rallying and test out the shot. This will be a big step because the ball won't be in the same place every time but it more closely resembles match play.

For effectiveness, look at Federer and Barty.

 

[LeeD]

Hit soft, aim low

 

[FiReFTW]

You just hit it, lol what? I dont get this question, just slice it short.

 

[bostontennis]

This doesn't answer your question directly but I never worried much about the power source of a short slice: I'm concerned about keeping it low, short, and angled. I would classify this as a touch shot rather than a power one. I think the volley technique is a great place to start.

Don't try to do too much: you want to yank your opponent out of his comfort zone, not try to hit a low % shot that lands close to the sideline.

Another option is the DTL BH slice; even better if you add some sidespin so it tails away from your opponent.

Hand feed yourself and hit 100 slices, experimenting with swing speed, trajectory, and racquet face angle. You'll get a feel for what works and what doesn't.

After you're comfortable, do some cooperative rallying and test out the shot. This will be a big step because the ball won't be in the same place every time but it more closely resembles match play.

For effectiveness, look at Federer and Barty.

Thanks. I like to have a reliable short slice first, it doesn't need to have a great angle, i just need it to disrupt my opponent. In fact I can see some angle actually helps on % on my side, because I would have more court space to work with.

On the short slice, if I start with volley technique, in your opinion, what would be best adjustment on volley in order to make a short slice?

 

[bostontennis]

Hit soft, aim low

i interpret soft as lose grip. but i don't understand "aim low" quite well. if the racquet face is more close to "aim low", how to keep a good net clearance?

 

[boilerfan]

i interpret soft as lose grip. but i don't understand "aim low" quite well. if the racquet face is more close to "aim low", how to keep a good net clearance?

Not necessarily. You don't want slice to become wristy or you lose the control. For a full court slice backhand, you are going to have a nice long swingpath where you have more acceleration. Shorten the swing a bit and slow down that acceleration to make it land shorter in the court. Keep the wrist and hand firm so you can control the direction. For aim low, it is up to you and your level of play and comfort level in the shot. Start with thinking about a drop shot which has a higher trajectory and more of a cut under the ball, but bounces straight up. The lower you go over the net with a firmer shot, the more skidding you will get. As the level of play gets higher, the trajectory over the net better get lower or it is an easy sitter.

 

[5263]

Thanks. I like to have a reliable short slice first, it doesn't need to have a great angle, i just need it to disrupt my opponent. In fact I can see some angle actually helps on % on my side, because I would have more court space to work with.

On the short slice, if I start with volley technique, in your opinion, what would be best adjustment on volley in order to make a short slice?

I teach that about the only difference between the slice and volley is that one is off the bounce and the other is out of the air. If they say one is longer I counter that in the same circumstances, both of them will vary their length accordingly. That said....to your question.

The short angle slice is where you come into the shot with your body pretty strong, the use the arm/hand to soften and spin across the contact. Just like when serving how you brush the edge more for spin and drive thru the ball more for power....it is the same for this slice shot.

 

[Dou]

I'd answer it in the sense that you just need to improve the overall shot quality/control, so that you can aim low over the net and also have it bite.

what most people are missing is the grip pressure.. use the left hand to hold the neck so the right hand can loosely hold it with grip pressure of 1 out of 10... this during your movement to the ball and during the take back. this loose pressure allows you to have free movement, a lot of feel, and more importantly, a lot of power.

similar to the volley, the power source comes from the hand! you start from the 1/10 grip and when you slice into the ball you increase that pressure to 8/10 and that generates a lot of racket speed!

because this method starts with great feel, you have good accuracy to aim low and short... you can also vary the squeeze to say 4/10 to make it even shorter.

also use this method for the volley you will see great results.

 

[bostontennis]

I'd answer it in the sense that you just need to improve the overall shot quality/control, so that you can aim low over the net and also have it bite.

what most people are missing is the grip pressure.. use the left hand to hold the neck so the right hand can loosely hold it with grip pressure of 1 out of 10... this during your movement to the ball and during the take back. this loose pressure allows you to have free movement, a lot of feel, and more importantly, a lot of power.

similar to the volley, the power source comes from the hand! you start from the 1/10 grip and when you slice into the ball you increase that pressure to 8/10 and that generates a lot of racket speed!

because this method starts with great feel, you have good accuracy to aim low and short... you can also vary the squeeze to say 4/10 to make it even shorter.

also use this method for the volley you will see great results.

thanks for your answer on the grip pressure. about the swing, do you think it should be long slice as regular slice, or short swing like volley? how much weight transfer should i put there. offensive slice has more weight transfer, defensive slice have less, volley has some degree of weight transfer but give short time not much.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Thanks. I like to have a reliable short slice first, it doesn't need to have a great angle, i just need it to disrupt my opponent. In fact I can see some angle actually helps on % on my side, because I would have more court space to work with.

On the short slice, if I start with volley technique, in your opinion, what would be best adjustment on volley in order to make a short slice?

I would literally start with the same motion as a volley and go from there. Remember, the incoming ball from your opponent will have a certain amount of pace so you shouldn't have to swing that hard. Experiment and get a feel for the shot.

 

[Dou]

thanks for your answer on the grip pressure. about the swing, do you think it should be long slice as regular slice, or short swing like volley? how much weight transfer should i put there. offensive slice has more weight transfer, defensive slice have less, volley has some degree of weight transfer but give short time not much.

if you experiment you will find the optimal swing length. yes the volley has very little swing.. and the slice is just a bit longer. the beauty of this method is that you can stay in balance better.

I'd not worry much about the weight transfer.... you control the power level by the arm swing speed as well as the 'squeeze'... since the slice does not dip like a top spin shot, you can't really get overly aggressive. the slice is mostly a control / pace change shot.... unless if the ball is high then you can slice down aggressively, and the situation calls for a slice instead of a top spin drive.

 

[Dou]

1 more point about the loose grip to start the slice or the volley....

most people can handle a jam volley on the bh, but the fh is very tough... if you have a loose grip you can easily roll the fingers to change to a E or SW fh grip and volley the ball directly in front of you.

 

[bostontennis]

today i got a chance to experiment this with volley technique. i found that short slice needs more power than volley, because 1: volley shot goes less than 1/2 of court length, but if you short slice at baseline and you want 2nd bounce before opponent's baseline, then it will travel about 3/4 court length; 2: if the incoming ground stroke ball with the same speed, volley intercept the ball before it bounces and short slice is after the bounce hence slower speed.

the measurements i got it working:
1. weight transfer: max weight transfer as backhand volley
2. swing length: slightly longer than volley, but definitely less than regular slice
3. arm power: max as backhand volley, i use left hand to pull the racquet throat before fire the shot, the finish is longer than regular volley, racquet head naturally pointing downward at finish
4. grip pressure: generally tight as volley @Dou I didn't use loose grip then tight grip at contact as you suggested because i naturally got it by changing from volley.

result: I feel the outgoing ball has decent speed, spin and net clearence, I feel the control of the length but not direction.

As the first experiment, generally I feel good. I believe with more practice, I will increase the directional control and reduce the error. One more benefit is that, based on this, I can develop better slice return.

 

[Dou]

today i got a chance to experiment this with volley technique. i found that short slice needs more power than volley, because 1: volley shot goes less than 1/2 of court length, but if you short slice at baseline and you want 2nd bounce before opponent's baseline, then it will travel about 3/4 court length; 2: if the incoming ground stroke ball with the same speed, volley intercept the ball before it bounces and short slice is after the bounce hence slower speed.

the measurements i got it working:
1. weight transfer: max weight transfer as backhand volley
2. swing length: slightly longer than volley, but definitely less than regular slice
3. arm power: max as backhand volley, i use left hand to pull the racquet throat before fire the shot, the finish is longer than regular volley, racquet head naturally pointing downward at finish
4. grip pressure: generally tight as volley @Dou I didn't use loose grip then tight grip at contact as you suggested because i naturally got it by changing from volley.

result: I feel the outgoing ball has decent speed, spin and net clearence, I feel the control of the length but not direction.

As the first experiment, generally I feel good. I believe with more practice, I will increase the directional control and reduce the error. One more benefit is that, based on this, I can develop better slice return.

good experiment

couple of things -

the power level is more dependent on the contact point right? if the contact point is above the net you can power on, but if below the net then you have to control it.

give the loose grip start a try, should improve both the volley and the slice.... when you squeeze from pressure 1, basically the thumb pushes the handle down and the fingers push it up. this generates a ton of speed without moving the arm that much... you will have enough power even to hit deep slices from a wide stretch, very useful if you are on the run... basically a little ulnar deviation plus the thumb/finger push is enough to generate a deep penetrating slice.

 

[bostontennis]

good experiment

couple of things -

the power level is more dependent on the contact point right? if the contact point is above the net you can power on, but if below the net then you have to control it.

give the loose grip start a try, should improve both the volley and the slice.... when you squeeze from pressure 1, basically the thumb pushes the handle down and the fingers push it up. this generates a ton of speed without moving the arm that much... you will have enough power even to hit deep slices from a wide stretch, very useful if you are on the run... basically a little ulnar deviation plus the thumb/finger push is enough to generate a deep penetrating slice.

I used machine, so my contact point was kind of stable, it's about waist high, somewhere around net height. so i cannot say it's above or under. since i slice the ball at baseline, it probably doesn't matter that much.

i will try to do the grip thing. but my technique comes from volley, i don't change grip pressure in volley. this is something new, i need time to try.