How to swing very fast at a slice AND keep it in the court? (Like Dolgopolov)

thomasferrett

Hall of Fame
I expend a lot of energy on my topspin strokes (trying to get a very pronounced and fast whip up the back of the ball), but when I hit a slice I tend to use a slower racket head speed. I can hit a slice OK, but it seems kinda lazy to hit it that way. I want to hit slices with extreme racket head speed.

Whenever I swing at a slice as fast as I do at my topspin strokes, the ball just seems to keep floating on and on until lands well out.

Look at how fast Dolgopolov swings at this slice;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09CyBRe5eU4

The momentum of the shot carries his hitting shoulder over his head. Now THAT is how you should hit slices!

But my question is - how do you swing as fast as you can at a slice AND keep it in the court?

My guess would be that you have to aim so low over the net that you're actually aiming the ball below the height of the net, but you swing so fast downwards that you create enough backspin that the ball lifts itself up above its initial trajectory as it travels forwards (due to the Magnus effect) so that it has just managed to lift itself over the net by the time it reaches the net...?

Any ideas?
 

Aretium

Hall of Fame
A lot of my game is based on my slice. I have different types of slice depending on the situation.

The one dolgopolov hit is very hard to execute and I class it as an offensive shot. To execute it you have to swing fast with sidespin as well as underspin but barely contact the ball (at least that's how it feels). It helps if the ball is relatively low so you can swing more across the ball.

On high balls I actually occasionally slice with not that much spin and utilise a faster ball which penetrates the court more.

So the key is to have a sidespin component which stops the ball floating or controls the flightpath, at least that's my opinion.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Topspin, aim low over the net.
Slice goes slower, but fast slices at 75 mph skim the net.
 

GoudX

Professional
If you swing as fast as Dolgopolov and hit with mostly backspin the ball will sail long unless it is traveling really slow, so instead you need to chop across the ball with lots of sidespin to have any chance of making those kinds of ridiculous slices!
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
While underspin keeps the ball up in the air, adding sidespin does allow the ball to drop somewhat, but not like pure topspin.
Matt Lin hits a lot of his DTL backhands with sidespin.
MalcolmAllen also, lots of sidespin, low net clearance, DEEP, and lots of ball speed, maybe 70-80 mph.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
No doubt, those two guys were BASHING the ball.
Dolgo slice goes low over the net, goes deep, goes easy 75-80mph, a real ATP slice.
But even in the pro ranks, it's difficult to hit a heavy slice followed by a hard deep topspin shot. Everyone grooves into one kind of shot.
 

FitzRoy

Professional
You have to control the trajectory of the shot. Spin isn't the only thing that shapes the ball; I can hit a really heavy topspin ball that barely clears the net, or a ball without much spin that clears the net by a lot. Trajectory is its own thing.

So for what you're asking, you have to put a lot of slice on the ball and also keep the trajectory of the shot pretty low- doing both of those will allow you to keep it in if executed well
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Loose grip seems to help with spin production, while tight grip can hit flatter shots.
I think you need BOTH for tennis.
 

Aretium

Hall of Fame
Loose grip seems to help with spin production, while tight grip can hit flatter shots.
I think you need BOTH for tennis.
Sometimes too much spin is bad, I love hitting relatively flat slices off of high balls, they don't change their trajectory too much but you get serious court penetration.
 

oble

Hall of Fame
Now THAT is how you should hit slices!

Not on every slice backhand. You wouldn't be hitting that kind of slice if it's a defensive shot.

It looks like Dolgopolov imparted some pretty heavy side spin to it, and the ball barely cleared the net, curved to Dimitrov's right, and then skidded further to the right after bouncing.

Very risky way of slicing your backhand though.

But yes, I think aiming at the net tape is the way to go for knifing low, skidding slices, and much easier to do off a low-pace shot that's below waist level vs anything chest-high and above coming at you with lots of top spin. I posted elsewhere before that I can slice pretty decently on low shots and I can sometimes get it to stay real low and skidding when I'm in a good position. On the other hand, it's very hard to do on anything chest-high and above and I have better success at a driving/flat-ish slice on those balls as advised by other fellow TT posters with good slice backhands in another thread.
 
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