Stay Low-Hit Up
There are many opposites in tennis. This article applies to the general tennis playing public who hit their groundstrokes after the bounce has peaked and is on the way down.
One opposite is to be able to hit up, you have to stay down! Topspin is created by brushing up the backside of the ball, creating a forward spin that makes the shot dip down, keeping it in the court. There is a natural feeling to lift the body entirely while hitting topspin to, what we think, help it over the net. The exact opposite effect is true, if we lift too soon, the ball genuinely goes down.
Topspin contact needs to be struck on the top half of the racket face. As we brush up, the ball is sliding on the strings, thus creating the spin. If we stand up too soon, the head of the racket comes up with us, resulting in contact being made on the lower half of the face, meaning there is not enough strings brushing the ball to get it over the net.
Let’s say we miss a shot … where would you like to miss it? The answer is either long or wide. There is no chance of winning the point if our shot is lying at the bottom of the net. If we hit it over the net, at least it has a chance of staying in. Picture a putt on the golf course. Good golfers want their missed putts past the hole. If the putt is short, it cannot go in. We have to think like good putters—everything over the net.
At the start of the forward motion on forehands or backhands, remember that if there is a slight bend in your back knee in the closed stance, or a slight bend on the loaded knee in the open stance until contact, you will hit the ball up. By all means, come up and rotate, but there is a fine line … make contact and come up. Come up and then make contact, it will go down.
