Forehand top spin lands out of the table most of the time.

Kiran Cherian Asked 17 years ago

Hi Coach,

The problem that i am facing as of now is that my forehand top spinners are landing out of the table most of the time i.e when I going on for those ferocious winners. When I do it slow, it is ok.

Missing out on winners is causing a bit of concern for me. Is it because my body posture/movement is not correct or is it that I am using too much force behind the shot.

On my forehand I am using the Mendo Mp and on the back hand i use the Sriver Fx.

Thank you for your help.

-/ Kiran

Alois Rosario Answered 17 years ago

Hi Kiran,

Without seeing your actual topspin it is hard to tell exactly.  However, these are some common things that I see when coaching.

When the faster ball is going off the end of the table it can be due to:

The contact of the ball being too flat, therefore not getting enough topspin on the ball to make it dip onto the table. This may be due to your swing getting too flat, that is too horizontal.  When you want to play the ball fast the swing still needs to have a slight upward action to impart the topspin, similar to when you are playing a slower topspin.  Only if the ball is really high do you swing flatter.

The angle of your bat may be too open and the contact too thin therefore lifting the ball off the end, 

or, you may be hitting the ball too late so that it is dropping too low and therefore can't be hit fast with too much accuracy.

Remember when you are trying to hit the ball faster, just swing your arm through faster with a very similar swing and contact point to the slow topspin off block.

Let us know if this helps.