Moving sideways when playing a topspin

martin k Asked 7 years ago

Hi. I am right handed and my forehand topspin works kind of ok, but I feel that I have this issue of dropping my left shoulder when playing the stroke instead of rotating more horizontally. This happens especially when lifting a backspin. To some extent getting the footwork more right and being in position helps a bit, but this still happens and sometimes I even move sideways. The result might be quite a weak shot without proper acceleration, and the stroke can become more "muscled through". With more backspin, the ball ends into the net :(

I really do not know how to break this habit and what to focus on to get the stroke more forward and with better and effortless acceleration.

Alois Rosario Answered 7 years ago

Hi Martin,

Sometime a tight shoulder can be the reason for this happening.  Try to firstly relax the shoulder and let the arm swing through naturally.

Next work on the rotating of the waist during the stroke.  This can be awkward as you are moving the was it around and the arm up.  Do this without the ball to start with to get the feel of the movement.  Then translate it to playing a stroke with the ball.