I have to change the way I hit

[krnboijunsung]

I've hit mostly flat shots with my forehand, and beginning of summer, it was consistent for about three weeks, and now it's all gone. I'm going to have to learn to hit with topspin to minimize the long balls or the balls that go to the net.

But it's not like I haven't tried to hit with topspin. I've had trouble learning it. When I try to brush my racquet over the ball, I don't feel the pop, and feels more like a slice shot (Not a real slice, just the feel of hitting one). Is this the feel of topspin shots, or am I not doing it right?

I've seen some kids use western and extreme western with their racquets facing up during the backswing, instead of the racquet face facing towards the opponent. Is this a good way to generate topspin? If the racquet face is facing up in the backswing, wouldn't I have more time to brush the ball. I've tried it, and it seems I need to have a fast swingspeed to get the ball over.

I'm just wondering if I'm doing this the right way, since I don't want to learn it the wrong way, and it just doesn't feel right. There is no pop when I try to hit with topspin. Any suggestions? What grip, racquet facing towards opponent or facing up on backswing, does the follow through end over the opposite shoulder, or over the head like Nadal, what is the feel of the shot when hitting a topspin shot?

Thanks.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

you're very probably not "patting your dog": lay back your wrist and do it at the end of your takeback and at the beginning of accelerating into the ball (the so called "contraction" stage, as per easitennis.com, the period when you're "pulling the towel" in Bollettieri's FH video's).

the racket face must be at least partly closed (facing the ground) during that time in order to impart topspin

of course at contact the racket face must be vertical (perpendicular to the ground)

also your rackethead is not moving low to high in sync with your center of gravity

do it at the wall at slow speeds

 

[Marius_Hancu]

check Sampras with Eastern grip at:

http://www.dono.com.cn/tujie/sampras03.htm
http://www.dono.com.cn/tujie/sampras04.htm Running Reverse FH
(site is slow, be patient)
link - courtesy Exile
(use the slider on the left to slow motion)

 

[tom-selleck]

how does sampras hit eastern forehand with such an open stance???

i posted a thread about this exact subject...

i find it impossible to do properly.... sampras is definitely more flexible than me, but the whole thing just doesn't feel right.

i thought you hit eastern forehand with more closed stance....or do pro's play by own "rules"?

 

[TwistServe]

you're very probably not "patting your dog": lay back your wrist and do it at the end of your takeback and at the beginning of accelerating into the ball

"Patting the dog" is a nice analogy but some folks might not be able to relate to that story... Another one you could use to picture the wrist layback is "spank your girl's butt"... in order to do it properly, you must lay back your wrist and do it at the end of your takeback and at the beginning of accelerating into the ball

 

[kicker75]

You shouldn't "roll over" the ball to create topspin, nor should you really have an open racquet when hitting it either. I'm not saying that people can't generate topspin using these techniques, but it really isn't as effective as hitting the ball with a perpendicular racquet face to the ground. Topspin comes from the movement of the perpendicular racquet face moving from low to high, and of course the faster and more extreme that low to high movement takes, the more topspin. However, as Marius states, that does not mean you have a perpendicular racquet face the entire swing (only at impact) I tend to have my racquet closed about 3/4 on the take back (i use a sem-western grip) and you will have a fully closed racquet face if you use a full western grip. The more closed your racquet face is, the easier you will be able to generate topspin, because you're allowing your swing to more naturally move from low to high. As far as the follow through, I've seen people with wicked topspin finish with the racquets to their sides... I agree that Nadal's finish is the more natural finish for extreme topspin, but I counter that the finish doesn't really mean anything for topspin. If you have an extreme low high swing like Nadal, you'll have a lot of topspin no matter how you finish your swing... my point is you can finish as high as you want on your swing, but if you don't brush on the ball severely, you're not going to create as much topspin.

 

[joe sch]

"Patting the dog" is a nice analogy but some folks might not be able to relate to that story... Another one you could use to picture the wrist layback is "spank your girl's butt"... in order to do it properly, you must lay back your wrist and do it at the end of your takeback and at the beginning of accelerating into the ball

These are all good suggestions.
I bet your windup is your biggest deficiency.
High level tennis requires consistent full swings including the windups and follow thrus ! These swings are more important than the stances, grips and spins ! The swings are the biggest factor to consistency in tennis !

 

[krnboijunsung]

What about the the placement of your racquet at the end of the follow through. Does the racquet have to be over your opposite shoulder in a "back scratching" stance, or across your chest like some shots Federer does, or hitting through and than over your head like Nadal and Sharapova?

So this petting the dog thing, means the racquet face is facing down onto the ground?

 

[Marius_Hancu]

What about the the placement of your racquet at the end of the follow through. Does the racquet have to be over your opposite shoulder in a "back scratching" stance, or across your chest like some shots Federer does, or hitting through and than over your head like Nadal and Sharapova?

So this petting the dog thing, means the racquet face is facing down onto the ground?

forget about follow through for now. you must hit first through the ball. the Nadal and Sharapova FH is much too difficult at your level (reverse FH, a la Landsdorp, check Sampras in the 2nd pic too)

and yes, it means having the racket facing the ground (at least in part, not necessarily parallel) at some time during its advancing path (not all the time of course, that would be impossible)

for the articles by Landsdorp and many more clips, suggest a subscription to tennisplayer.net.

 

[krnboijunsung]

forget about follow through for now. you must hit first through the ball. the Nadal and Sharapova FH is much too difficult at your level (reverse FH, a la Landsdorp, check Sampras in the 2nd pic too)

and yes, it means having the racket facing the ground (at least in part, not necessarily parallel) at some time during its advancing path (not all the time of course, that would be impossible)

for the articles by Landsdorp and many more clips, suggest a subscription to tennisplayer.net.

Eh, I don't believe in paying mucho bucks for tennisplayer.net. And the links on your sampras site don't seem to work.

 

[joe sch]

What about the the placement of your racquet at the end of the follow through. Does the racquet have to be over your opposite shoulder in a "back scratching" stance, or across your chest like some shots Federer does, or hitting through and than over your head like Nadal and Sharapova?

So this petting the dog thing, means the racquet face is facing down onto the ground?

Dont consider any of the current pros extreme strokes until you can take a full windup and follow thru more straigt forward with a flatter trajectory from hitting the ball pretty much in the center. Once you are consistent hitting these "simple" strokes, you can try to use more western grips & follow thrus.
Keep it simple and you will be alot more successful !

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Eh, I don't believe in paying mucho bucks for tennisplayer.net. And the links on your sampras site don't seem to work.

but you believe in getting bits and pieces from here and there?
not a very systematic approach.

now, I don't encourage you to spend money, but to use wisely your time.

and btw, you're the first to say those Sampras links in the above don't work. you might not have Flash installed or whatever.

 

[mucat]

krnboijunsung, what grip do you use? If you use eastern, try hit the ball when it is lower, around knee height (personally, the lower the better), drop the racket and swing from low to high. Low ball is the easiest for eastern to generate topspin.

 

[krnboijunsung]

I use western, and I normally try to hit when the ball's up on ches to waist level.

 

[mucat]

Ha, western but cannot hit topspin. very suprising. The natural swing path of western should generate some topspin. Just close your eyes and swing from low to high, the topspin will be there if you hit the ball