Your stance resembles the stance you take when you step up to the plate and get ready to swing a baseball bat in both cases, your hands are up around your left shoulder. If you look at the top players in the world they know exactly how to use topspin and slice shots to their advantages. The result will help you generate even more topspin. However, once you miss your first serve, the pressure equalizes to a degree. Roger Federer was one of the tennis greats known for his undeniable skill of slicing.He was one of the best modern tennis players, and was renowned for his ability to control the ball with unmatched elegance and grace. The shot is executed with a flowing high-to-low action and a continental or Eastern grip, using a neutral or semi-open stance. Remember, when you serve, you have a considerable advantage because you begin the point on offense and can control and dictate the point from the start.
\n3. While weve tried to provide a thorough examination of the three kinds of serves, we realize it can be challenging to answer every question a reader might have. Do you like to hit a forehand slice? Swing forward with a high-to-low motion.
\nRelease the racquet with your left hand as you do this. It tends to put you on the defensive quite often, so you must be physically and mentally prepared for that. Instead, the best option is to stretch wide, perhaps in an open stance, and move the racket from high to low and through the line you want the ball to travel. Next, lets talk about how to make contact with the ball. The sports divide into a few tiers of serving advantages. As a result, most players hit flat groundstrokes sparingly. If you are defending desperately, you are unlikely to be able to execute a topspin lob. Kevin Leck is a Sport Psychology Consultant and Writer from Loughborough in the UK. First and foremost, its important to make sure youre using the correct grip for the flat serve. Similar to the flat serve, youll want to place your toss about 12-18 inches in front of you and approximately 6 inches to the right of your tossing arms shoulder at the peak of the toss, allowing for natural contact with the ball. Here are some tips on how to slice a ball in tennis: 1. Helpful Tip: The slice serves name comes from the brushing action, or slice, applied to the tennis ball to produce sidespin. On a surface like grass which creates less friction, the ball will tend to skid and stay low. Over the years, many techniques have been developed in tennis to make shots more difficult to hit. . By common sense, it is known that in tight situations players have to use larger body parts to lessen the impact of their muscles tightening. To hit a slice, you need to strike the ball with a high-to-low movement, thus imparting backspin. Slice shots never travel with a lot of pace. Disadvantages Lack of topspin Lower power potential Difficulty handling high bouncing balls How to Form a Continental Grip To form the continental grip, place the palm side of your index finger's bottom knuckle against the second bevel if you're right-handed or the eighth bevel if you're left-handed. Slice will make the ball stop short after it hits the court, so it is the obvious choice if you want to hit a short ball to surprise your opponent. The middle of the net is its lowest point, so its easier to execute a flat serve at that point of the net on either side. However, flat shots with little topspin won't bounce high - they'll almost skid across the court. But don't use it as a substitute for your flat or topspin forehand. Slow pace and the flat trajectory give your opponent two big advantages: more time and an ideal height, at about a foot above the net, to smash away a winner.
\nBasically, you hit the slice backhand just as you would hit your standard backhand (both one-handed and two-handed backhands), changing only the following things about your stroke:
\n1. Serve and volley: Due to the shorter reaction time that you may have fielding your opponents return, it can be challenging to move forward and volley. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when hitting a kick serve. Dummies helps everyone be more knowledgeable and confident in applying what they know. disadvantages of topspin -easier to judge it's bounce pattern -requires more technique -if too much is applied it may go too low and hit net advantages of slice -low bounce -harder for opponent to read bounce pattern -doesn't require as much energy as topspin disadvantages of slice -it's a defensive shot -slower bounce -gives opponent time to think An out-to-in movement can be incorporated to add side-spin. The latter has been a key element of Roger Federers defensive game for a number of years. 2. However, your ability to control the point is tied heavily to executing an effective serve that keeps your opponent guessing and prevents them from establishing a rhythm. Disguise is crucial, but if executed well against a player who is standing a long way back, it can be very effective. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The last comment and 5 other comment(s) need to be approved. Underarm (Underhand in the US) Serve. Rafael Nadal for example knows that with his extreme spin on the forehand he can make it difficult for a player like Roger Federer with his one-handed backhand to generate power. With the slice serve, youll want to make contact with the outer edge of the ball to generate sidespin. Modern tennis is dominated by the use of topspin shots. This is known as a squash shot and a good one will fly low and fast over the net. He knows like no other how to disrupt the opponents rhythm by using the slice in almost every rally or how to completely catch them off guard with a drop shot. Initially, you may be inclined to toss the ball a little farther right than you do for your flat serve to make contacting the side of the ball a bit more pronounced and establish feel. When a slice shot bounces, the ball stays low, forcing your opponent to really stretch to get to the ball. Your email address will not be published. Copyright 2017-2023 Rookie Road Inc. All rights reserved. Kevin is an LTA-accredited coach, and is world ranked in the over-55 age group. Heres a photo that shows the contact point against the ball as well as the correct racquet face angle, which is flat to avoid putting spin on the ball. Its subtle, but hopefully, compared with the flat serve, you can tell the racquet is coming toward the ball at an angle with a bit of upward motion. A flat groundstroke is usually more challenging to hit while keeping the shot within boundaries of the tennis court since there isn't much topspin. To achieve this, play the return rather like a volley, with a continental or Eastern grip, a short take-back and a punchy, high-to-low action. About a 90-110 degree bend at the elbow. Wrist strains. Now that you know the three different types of tennis serves, it pays to keep in mind that each serve can be hit in countless places in the service box, providing you with even greater variety. Create a free account and explore my latest videos below. The slice serve is perfect for opening up the tennis court. Some people love the camaraderie and sense of interdependence that goes with being part of a larger sporting group, like in a football, soccer, or basketball team. By entering your email address and clicking the Submit button, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Dummies.com, which may include marketing promotions, news and updates. ), your position on the court and the direction you want to hit. A low margin of error: Easily, the biggest downside of the hard flat serve is that its challenging to keep it in, let alone place it well in the service box. When your backswing is complete, your right shoulder is close to your chin, and your right elbow points in the same direction as your right foot. Another instance when you are using a slice is if you want to surprise your opponent with a drop shot. The most common variations are the slice and the topspin. The Top 3 Best Babolat Tennis Rackets Under $100. In-depth Resources It also has a slightly lower margin for error than the kick serve, because it doesn't have as much top spin to make the ball dip into the service box. When youre first getting started with tennis, your primary goal will likely be to develop a single reliable serve that allows you to begin a point and play the game. Turn the racquet face as you bring it back so that the hitting surface ends up facing upward, as shown in Figure 1.
\nThis position makes it easy and natural to brush your strings under the lower portion of the ball, producing backspin. Another essential element to the kick serve is racquet head speed. Topspin shots are also used to come towards the net as previously mentioned it pushes the opponent back, which gives you time to advance to the net. Ultimately, the greater variety of serves you can hit, the more you can adjust your strategy to compete at a higher level against different players and on various court surfaces. Babolat have been producing tennis equipment since 1875, and today they manufacture a range of rackets that offers something for everyone. While this might seem like another no-brainer, its common for players to be tentative with their serve, which prevents them from executing to their fullest. Basically, a slice causes the ball to rotate backward (toward the person who hit the ball). Think of your racquet face as an elevator that you need to move to the right "story" or height to pick up the passenger, a bright yellow tennis ball!