Strokes
Hi everybody,
I would like to have some advice about the forehand topspin. I think my preparation to the shot is quite good (right foot behind to form a side angle of 45 degree, bat behind the right knee) but i still have some trouble with the follow-up after hitting the ball. I know I have to swing the arm till , as you say, the imaginary line between head and shoulder. If I am able to do it during shadow playing when I actually hit the ball (as friends told me) I instinctively stop the swinging too early with the result that the ball has little spin. Moreover it seems I tend to lean backward with back when I'm taking the shot. I've been trying for weeks to correct such mistakes but I can't find the way out. Are there any exercises that can help me ?
Thank you very much
Vito
Hi Vito,
When you practice the topspin for a while, I want you to play them slowly to start with. At the end of each stroke I want you to actually follow through and touch your right eyebrow, very gently. Don't swing back and get ready for the next ball until you have touched the eyebrow with your bat. This will feel strange. Be strong enough to do this for a good 5 minutes or so when you start your forehand topspin practice and you will soon find a difference.
Keeping the ball slow is a key. Don't worry if the path up to your eyebrow is crooked or it even takes half a second when you finish your stroke to get the back up to the right position. Eventually you will start to get the bat through on a straight path and smoothly through your stroke.
This lesson provides you with some tips to deal with a backspin ball when playing the backhand topspin loop.
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Claus Hamacher Posted 13 years ago
Good question - I have exactly the same problem.
And an interesting answer - I'll give that a try.
Vincent Munoz Posted 13 years ago
Do some shadowing without the ball for 10minutes or more. You can also do shadowing with footwork. Forehand to the far right, forehand to the middle, backhand to the far left then big side step back to forehand on the far right of the table. Do this repeatedly every time you practice without a ball. This is very effective. Chinese kids do this for hours.
Cheers! Hope it helps.
Ittipat Amonrungmetham Posted 13 years ago
Thank you for a very good tip!
What about the follow through of backhand topspin, Alois :)?
Mandy Sutter Posted 13 years ago
vito memoli Posted 13 years ago
Hi Alois,
I really appreciated your video. You're so good. This evening I will try the drill. Just hope my sparring partner will have the patience to feed me smooth balls. (:-) I'm sure he will ).
I wish I could come to Australia to practice TT with you !!
Bye
Alexander Szymanski Posted 12 years ago
I like it!
Jonathan Lau Posted 12 years ago
Hi Coach,
I found this tip so good. What about the start position for topspin vs backspin or topspin vs block?... do you have ideas for this? so we can learn the movement, and teach to the body and mind to do the movements better.
Mark Baker Posted 12 years ago
This video is troubling to me. I have only been playing seriously for about a year and I tried to copy all the pingskills strokes, however I know that on some stokes I am not aware of my flaws. My forehand topspin (actually I think I hit it flatter than most) against topspin or block has improved greatly over the past few months and I win a lot more points with it, however after seeing this video I checked my stroke and found that I start out low but finish in front of and about at the same elevation as my left shoulder. This stroke feels very comfortable to me. I guess I picked it up because I use to play a lot of tennis and it is the same stroke essentially that I used in tennis except in tennis I would continue my follow through around my neck. I feel very uncomfortable trying to follow the video but I am looking at long term results and do not mind changing if it will make me a better player in the long run. On my forehand against backspin my finish position is correct, I use a more vertical motion. Please advise.
Dang Toi Posted 12 years ago
This video is useful, my FH topspin is better than before. Thanks!
TranHung LamVien Posted 12 years ago
thank you so much! :)
Rajul Desai Posted 11 years ago
THANKS SIR, IT WAS REALLY HELPFUL. I GOT MY TOP SPIN SHOTS LANDING PERFECT WITH YOUR GIVEN ADVICE. I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO KNOW CAN WE HAVE SOME VIDEO SHOWING BACKHAND TOPSPIN FOLLOW THROUGH.
RAJUL
shashank kumar Posted 11 years ago
can you please tell me how to come forward when playing boll so away from the table?
Ajoy Kumar Posted 11 years ago
Alois
when doing this should I feel l am hitting the ball with the hand on the way to to the forehead or rubbing / carrying the ball on the bat for a bit?
thanks
Harsh anonymouse Posted 11 years ago
i think you should hit it from the middle of ur raquet.
as i always do like that i get a good topspin.
BTW ALOISE IS THE EXPERT!
j s Posted 11 years ago
What about taller players ? Should they follow through lower ?
Ralph Goodman Posted 11 years ago
I notice when Jeff illustrates the top spin finish position, his follow through ends on the left side of his face, while you state to try to finish on the right side. I imagine there will be some variance to this, so is it OK if you do like Jeff does or should I work at keeping my follow through as you show.
Sandor Istvan Posted 10 years ago
Thank you for this video because this type of stroke not was in my arsenal.
Istvan