The Topspin Sidespin Forehand

[Hardserve]

Well Leed I added your sidespin component to my Topspin forehand, the result is a fast-dipping forehand that opens up the court more with the short angles. Now I can hit those fast little dips or hit down the line more easily without fear of hitting too flat into the net or hitting the ball out of the court.

If you flatten out the heavy spin, it hits a powerful deep flat drive, so this kind of spin gives me more safety. If you keep the ball high and deep well, the heavy spin makes the ball behave more like a moonball because when it lands it's always boucing high over the guy's head, this puts a more vertical spin on the ball making it very difficult for the guy's backhand to counter.

So I've seen big changes happening since adding that into my game..

But for some strange reason, you can see some sidespin when you hit with a used ball, but with brand new match balls, you don't see
sidespin much and the bounce stays pretty much the same, the only difference I have seen is that I have another 3-6 feet
of more court angle now opened up to me than before so you can get some acute angles because of the heavy spin, its acting like a full western clay court forehand but I am using a semi western grip.

IN SERVING Even if there is no wind blowing around the court, there is still air pressure going through the strings (like having a fan
blowing full strength on your racquet and that creates arm drag when you swing the racquet. so I changed to an aerodynamic swing instead to lessen drag because I had one of those heavy Wilson Pro 95 pro frames that was leaving my wrist a little sore after playing
with it and so I suspect the heavy frame could be putting a strain on my wrist and that I need to switch to a lighter frame.

The Slice and Topspin serve adjusted very quickly to the new swing path (using the slice grip), it likes it and it gives a
high arcing serve over the net for clearance, but not the flat serve which uses the continental grip.

My flat serve didn't like the new change I made to the swingpath and if it liked the change, then I would've had
a flat slice pronation serve as a result, but instead the flat grip is all upset with the change and the new slice flat
pronations are spraying all over the place.

I'm hoping it will eventually settle down.

I made the change a week ago.

 

[LeeD]

Cool, you now hit that arcing forehand.
I find, being old and injured, that more often than I'd like, my kicks end up in the strikezone of taller players, who then pummel a topspin right at my incoming big clumsy feet.
So I have to concentrate not only on height clearance over the net, but also more importantly, on DEPTH. That's why me, as a lefty, don't often twist down the middle on ad court. I'll twist out wide on duece court, aiming for the deep corner only, to get the above the shoulder bounceheight.
When I go wider, it's a twist, but not high and not arcing, not deep, but wide of the intersect lines. Placement there is my only hope for success, as bounce height would be right into my opponent's favorite strikezone.
So more practice than I have inclination to do...
Like flat first serves, they only work if it's forcing your opponent into a weak return. Some get blasted back.

 

[Tennisplayer0123]

Just wondering but are you talking about when you hit a topspin forehand down the middle, that your shot bouncing sideways?
\
0
|
|
|

Here's my little diagram to show what happens. The | is the travel of the ball before it hits the ground, 0 is when the ball hits the ground, and \ is how my shot travels after it hits the ground, it kicks up diagonally. Really weird? Doesn't happen all the time, but i'm wondering how or why it happens.

 

[Hardserve]

Just wondering but are you talking about when you hit a topspin forehand down the middle, that your shot bouncing sideways?
\
0
|
|
|

Here's my little diagram to show what happens. The | is the travel of the ball before it hits the ground, 0 is when the ball hits the ground, and \ is how my shot travels after it hits the ground, it kicks up diagonally. Really weird? Doesn't happen all the time, but i'm wondering how or why it happens.

No mine dosen't do that.

If hitting straight with the ordinary forehand then it will go straight, but hitting either crosscourt loopy or flat with ordinary forehand then the ball will be hitting short angled crosscourts from inside the baseline or severe angles from up near the net because this forehand arcs the ball pretty high over the net with the heavy spin this is why I get the angles.

But this forehand can also keep the spin deep as well not just hit only short crosscourt
angles so this kind of heavy spin is a ideal weapon also for inside-out forehand because this spin is good for going down the line with or crosscourt.

If I mishit off the frame, and that's not often the ball always skies up out of the court. So the ideal freak lob to me
is a ball that hits the netcord and goes up into the air over the guy's head and lands on the baseline.

 

[AaronBurr]

Is it actually side spin or a sort of 45 degree angle spin?

 

[Hardserve]

Cool, you now hit that arcing forehand.
I find, being old and injured, that more often than I'd like, my kicks end up in the strikezone of taller players, who then pummel a topspin right at my incoming big clumsy feet.

So I have to concentrate not only on height clearance over the net, but also more importantly, on DEPTH. That's why me, as a lefty, don't often twist down the middle on ad court. I'll twist out wide on duece court, aiming for the deep corner only, to get the above the shoulder bounceheight.

When I go wider, it's a twist, but not high and not arcing, not deep, but wide of the intersect lines. Placement there is my only hope for success, as bounce height would be right into my opponent's favorite strikezone.
So more practice than I have inclination to do...
Like flat first serves, they only work if it's forcing your opponent into a weak return. Some get blasted back.

Yes when I hit the serve out short and wide to that area of the court, it goes to that spot you talk about but it bounces up
above the net. When it sits up it ruins the point of serving short and wide is to try to get an ace or place it so that it's difficult to return it back into the court and get opponents more on defense instead of attack.

That's why i thinking of using my racquet to adding a Slice component to my flat pronation to get the flat serve swinging
short and wide but staying lower but the thing is you need enough arc to just clear the net by a few inches and enough slice
to keep the ball low to get that short wide angle and then lastly able to hit it with s little pace so you can turn it into a
serve that aces people.

 

[LeeD]

Not easy to slice out wide, and force the returner to give up on the ball because he's pressed against the side fence.
But it can be done, better with some practice.

 

[Hardserve]

Not easy to slice out wide, and force the returner to give up on the ball because he's pressed against the side fence.
But it can be done, better with some practice.

yeah I might have toi pronate a bit more to keep the ball down

 

[LeeD]

Or toss more into the court.
Or stay sideways longer thru the shot.
Or lean more into the shot.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Just wondering but are you talking about when you hit a topspin forehand down the middle, that your shot bouncing sideways?
\
0
|
|
|

Here's my little diagram to show what happens. The | is the travel of the ball before it hits the ground, 0 is when the ball hits the ground, and \ is how my shot travels after it hits the ground, it kicks up diagonally. Really weird? Doesn't happen all the time, but i'm wondering how or why it happens.

Is it actually side spin or a sort of 45 degree angle spin?

It is the spiral spin component, not a (vertical axis) sidespin that causes the sideways bounce. Spiral spin is the same type of spin that you would see with a badminton shuttle or an (American) football. A strong spiral spin on a kick serve results in a twist serve. This serve bends one way in flight because of the side spin but bounces the other way because of the spiral spin.