Strokes
Is it a bad habit to come up with my own strokes especially for a sidespin? I saw your video on sidespin and I thought it was too hard for me to do, so I changed the stroke up a bit and still came up with a decent sidespin. Do I have to do it exactly like you or can I make it my own?
Hi Esteban,
If it is working consistently for you then it is probably OK.
There are 3 basic areas to focus on when learning a stroke: 1) The position of your feet. 2) The starting position of your bat. 3) The finishing position of your bat. Of all these 3 elements the finish position is the most critical. Watch this video to find out why.
Watch NowBecome a free member to post a comment about this question.
DHS Lover Posted 12 years ago
Esteban Mendez Posted 12 years ago
The sidespin stroke. You know Jan Ove Waldner? His sidespin stroke was like a stab on the side of the ball. I saw him do it in a video of his 1987ish match. I found this easier to control than doing a hook.
Frendy,
The key is disguise. If your opponent knows it is a short sidespin serve, they will be able to flick it. Backspin is definitely a safer serve.
A long backspin serve can be good as a surprise. Waldner does it because of his extremely strong defense and blocking. He knows that they can't topspin through him. Where you have to be careful is if they have a strong topspin and can put you on the defensive.