Drive or Topspin

Raj Panesar Asked 15 years ago

hi alois and jeff

i was watching chen qi vs timo boll the other day and instead of hitting the topspin, they hit so many drives. the drive seems like a powerful speed shot, faster than the topspin, but more riskier. i tried this (the drive), but it kept going into the net. plz could u make a drive video and the countersmash video thanx

Alois Rosario Answered 15 years ago

Hi Raj,

It may look like they are not generating much spin but they are hitting the ball with a heap of topspin. It is deceptive because of the speed they are hitting but there is still a lot of spin on that ball.

The reason yours may be going into the net or off the end is because you are not generating enough topspin.  They ae hitting the ball quite thick to generate that speed but still maintaining some topspin on the ball.  This is a delicate balance and does take a lot of training.