Arm and body for forehand topspin
Strokes and Technique
sanjay k Asked 8 years ago
hi alois and jeff :)
when hitting a forehand topspin should my arm and body be tight or loose? i find that keeping it tight generates a lot of spin on the ball but it takes a lot of effort. this makes it very tough to overcome heavy backspin but i can do it successfully during practice.
but during a match i dont know where the ball is going to come so i cannot be fully prepared and i end up with slight adjustments on my topspin against backspin and against block, i find that the ball goes to the net a lot, especially when there is heavy backspin or when the block is fast. when this happens my action becomes stuck and uncomfortable
i tried to resolve this by keeping my body and arm very loose and free. i found a lot more consistency in my topspins even in matches, the ball did not go to the net often plus it did not take much effort. the downside was that my topspins did not have nearly as much spin as before when i used to put a lot of effort, plus they felt a lot lot flatter. what i mean is before i could really feel when i imparted spin on the ball, but now i cannot. finally my opponents dont struggle to block anymore and often punch winners past me.
this is my problem. if i try to impart more spin the ball goes to the net a lot during matchplay, if i choose consistency and effort free topspins they are not effective. please give a suggestion on what i should do
Thanks a lot :)
Alois Rosario Answered 8 years ago
Hi Sanjay,
It is better to keep the arm relaxed. You will eventually be able to generate more spin as well because you will get the bat moving faster. Focus on getting a good contact to generate the spin.
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martinand bernard Posted 8 years ago
I think the key, always cool and relaxed but it's difficult
sanjay k Posted 8 years ago
thanks for the help :)
Linh Vu Posted 8 years ago
I am having the same fundamental problem.
Before, I used my elbow, upper arm, shoulder to brush heavy underspin balls. I used so little of my waist and knees. it generated a tremendous amount of topspin. In fact, it bounced off my opponents' rackets so fast that the balls went off the table most of the time. There were advantages and disadvantages:
advantages: generate a tremendous amount of topspin from a heavy underspin ball so deep down below the table surface. no one can return the balls effectively
disadvantages:
To generate that much amount of spin, I had to swing my shoulder, arm, elbow really fast and still be able to brush the ball with thin contact.
- As a result, I missed the balls quite a lot.
- As a result, it consumed a lot of my energy. I was so exhausted after so many such loops. Many times, I won first two sets as no one could return my underspin loops. I lost the next three sets because I did not have energy anymore to loop. Overall, I lost many 5-set games this way.
- I would lose the point if the ball came back to me. I did not have enough time to recover myself. My body could not recover soon enough for the consecutive loops.
Now, I loop underspin balls in a totally different new method. I bent my knees a lot more than before. I swing my shoulder as far back as possible. My arm also swings in the direction of my shoulder. My hand and racket is near the floor. Before, I only had upward motion no rotation motion. Most the upward motion was generated by my elbow, to lesser extend, my upper arm and my shoulder. no lower body movement. it generated a lot of topspin at the cost of exhaustion. Now, my new loop has upward motion and rotation motion
upward motion: 80% of my knees pushes up my entire body. just like before, my elbow pushes up my racket, contributing to the upward motion. Shoulder and upper arm contribute some upward motion
rotation motion: 20% of my knees rotate my entire body. My waist, shoulder, upper arm rotate too.
The introduction of rotation motion lead to some advantages and disadvantages:
advantages:
- My knees contribute most of the upward motion. My elbow still does some upward motion. it is not as important as before. As a result, I don't have to snap my elbow as much as before. That alone saves me from exhaustion.
- Rotation motion helps me increase consistency. before I had no control over the trajectory of the ball. As long as the balls cleared the net, I was happy. With rotation motion, I can change the trajectory of the balls, high or low. Before, I could not loop an aggressive fast push ball into my body. Under this circumstance, my loops were always under the net. Now, I can change the mix of rotation and upward motions. I have no trouble looping such aggressive fast push balls.
- increased consistency in general. requires less energy from my elbow, upper arm, and shoulder. saves me from exhaustion.
- before I had trouble lifting the heaviest underspin balls. now I have no trouble lifting the balls at all, thanks to my knees push up
disadvantages:
- a lot less spin. most players can block my new loops. my underspin loop is no longer a straight winning stroke. instead it is a setup stroke for other follow up attacks.
- with the rotation motion, it is now very difficult for me to brush the balls with thin contact. I can only now hit the balls. This generates a lot less spin.
- Because my loop generates less spin, I have to hit the balls earlier when they are still high at table surface. If I wait for the balls to fall down low, my loop becomes inconsistent.
Do you experience the same way?
sanjay k Posted 8 years ago
what was happening to me was very similar. but i have found that it is possible to lift heavy underspin balls with a good amount of topsin using less effort.
this can be done by keeping the arm and body loose but moving the arm faster and focusing on a brushing contact, one has to use the waist and knees to make it effortless, also i noticed that playing slightly more forward rather than upward increased the spin a lot, also the speed. As Alois said , with practice and small adjustments eventually you will be able get really good spin. what you described at the end ( flattish contact at the top of the bounce ) i think is a dummy topsin ( with barely any spin).