This is my problem. I started tennis watching nadal, that made me starting tennis with topspin in mind, always. Now in my 30s, i struggle to use small headsize racquet because my shots tend to be short because i'm used to brush the ball, instead of hitting THROUGH the ball.
Thanks, that is what my message is about, too much topspin too early without developing a clean flat shot will cause lots of problems. Work on hitting lower and flatter as part of your development. Again, I am not saying you should play balls flat and low forever, but I am saying that hitting like that for 15 minutes of even the whole hour will be very beneficial for later when you want to hit with more spin.
Really good explanation, makes lots of sense. I tend to get ahead of myself and just topspin like crazy but your right hitting through the ball will create more consistency and your balls won’t be out, as much as top spin hits. Will keep this in mind.
Yup me too. I'm glad you also understand what Tomas is saying. I think however he is going to get a lot of pushback from some players who can't separate regular spin (which we all do anyhow) from that crazy Nadal topspin which is what coach is referring to. So many times I mishit the ball or off the rim because I'm trying to Nadal topspin...going to knock it off right now 😂
@karen9244 Safer shots is one of the purposes of topsin, so you shouldn't get more balls out with it, quite the opposite. But Tomaz is on point as it does wear you out.
I think there are two kinds of topspin shots. Extremely loopy high trajectory Nadal-style topspin, but also a low trajectory superficially 'flatter' shot where the ball is still rotating forwards and has a very tight spin, it just doesn't look like a topspin shot.
Federer has close to as much topspin as Nadals has but it's hard to see it on TV. If you see his short crosscourts from the right angle you can see the crazy dive on his ball, a mere mortal hitting that shot in that speed would have put it far outside the double line.
What a coincidence that you made this video today. I have been thinking a lot about how I shape the ball because I make a lot of mistakes. Mostly off center hits or shanks. And I’ve been thinking that the way I learned to play tennis, as a mostly self taught 35 year old, has something to do with it. I think I overemphasized topspin in the beginning and now the foundation of the shot is “always topspin” irrespective of my positioning or contact point. And I use a grip that is sort of half way between eastern and semiwestern, which makes high balls more of a problem.
Hi, very good points. Thanks for your reply to the question I saw below about moving from Eastern grip to semi Western grip. Ive been trying to generate too much forced spin recently by heading my grip more towards semi western, and my game has suffered through inconsistency.
I started with eastern and flat, but i tried switching to semiwest grip and changing my swing to add some spin, and it was the most detrimental thing i've ever done to my game.
Thanks for sharing, yes, that is what happens with extreme grips and not having good clean swing path through the ball. Changing grips is very very risky and best not to do at adult age. Any grip can hit flat and topspin, just practice...
At about 6:40 (7:19) you state that hitting flat is the foundation of tennis, and if you wish to proceed to hitting with increase topspin, you'd best master the "flat" shot first. I'm a beginner and I'd certainly agree. Forehand, straight and flat, first, then play around with different spinning levels.
I love Tomasz's instruction, but I have to say that at 58 I can hit heavy balls for 2-3 with no problem. The keys: Be in great shape and #2 relaxation.
Tomaz, really interesting concept. I play with a lot of top spin (level 3, the ball is on or above my opponent's shoulder), but I struggle to produce those shots. Only once in a while I get that level of bounce. Most balls are short. After watching this video I realize is because of my focus in on spinning the ball as much as I can, paying not attention to other factors as hitting clean, or going deep. Any advice on how to hit the flat, clean shot?
i've never had any coaching in tennis, i picked up a racquet and just started swinging. I guess all my shot making early on was just bad variations of a flat ball with only the most vague amounts of spin. These days i tend to overuse slice shots where my racquet passes somewhat under the ball. Some of my shots are literally "bend it like beckham" and since i play doubles only it will curve past the net player hit the ground and bounce away from the one i was cross court rallying with. At the end of the day, I dont even know how i picked up that, and i bet i'll never know how to topspin
The physicality to hit with top spin still allows you to hit a flat shot. The problem with a flat shot is it does not develop the physicality to hit top spin. You literally demonstrate this in the video, more later. Moreover the shots you are calling flat is what most people would call top spin Furthermore when defining the difference between flat and top spin, most of all your shots the top of the balls trajectory is much closer the bounce, where as a flat shot the top of the trajectory and the flaw/area of improvement for most players is the hit the ball with the top of the trajectory is close or at the top of the net. Also in the scheme of things, most errors are into the net, so hitting flat does not solve one of the major barriers to success in tennis, which is, To hit the ball over the net AND in LAST. Finally, swinging your racquet with what is primarily an arm based swing, will tire you out very quickly when trying to hit with a lot of top spin Words have meaning, and when people start redefining what words mean, then anybody can say anything and you cannot say they are wrong, because in their universe, up means down, left means right, black is white, etc etc.
The shots that I call flat are flat tennis wise, what all tennis experts agree on and what I feel. The ball either spins sideways or spins foward with very low rate of spin - which again we call flat. So if you say "most people would call topspin what I call flat" - no, only amateurs would call that topspin. Tennis coaches of higher level call that flat. "Flat" is also a solid contact of the ball that 95% of recreational players never find, they are unable to so effortlessly hit the ball off their racket as they always "brush" the ball upwards. I constantly hit into the sweet spot very flat. Rec players cannot only dream about that. That is the whole premise of this video - you have got to learn and keep mastering the ability to hit flat clean shots (every pros does that at the start of the warm up) as when you start adding spin on to them later you have the right type of penetrating spin. What is the purpose or meaning of your comment I have no idea.
You're conflating physicality and technique. And the video is definitely showing relatively flatter shots, not sure where you're getting the "most people call that top spin" from.
Would be good to clarify terms like racquet launch angle etc. What kind of racquet is Tomas using? Proper loading is required for the amount of racquet head speed that getting decent amount of topspin requires. Legs, hips, shoulder line and most importantly a loose wrist.
Ok, but the point of my video is to NOT to obsess about topspin but rather work on hitting the ball clean and flat as you see all higher level players capable of doing. This is our foundation and we can add topspin on top of it if we need to get a fast topspin shot whereas most club players lose all the speed if they try to hit with lots of topspin.
@@feeltennis True. Even Nadal, a pro, suffered from this. I've seen him lose matches where his heavy topspin balls land just around the service line and a player steps in and just hits flat past him or puts him immediately on defense. Or worse, he has the advantage, but the shortness of his ball gives his opponent time to get back into the play because he hasn't hit through the court. I agree with the video...at rec level, we especially need to be able to consistently hit the ball flat, clean, efficiently and deep in the court or else you just give your opponents the opportunity to step in and run you around.
My understanding was that there are two barriers to overcome. First is the net and the second is side and back of the opponent's court. Topspin allows a greater margin of safety in getting ball over the net and into the opponents court. Isn't this why most advanced players use the semi-western or strong semi-western grip? If you're old and unfit then the least tiring and safest shot is the slice. Many older players do slice much of the time and just push the ball back. it can be frustrating to play against.
You have to watch the video more carefully. You arguing against a point I never made which seems to be that I recommend people to play flat and not topspin. That is NOT what I am saying. I am saying the hitting flat is the FOUNDATION of tennis groundstrokes where you develop the ability to hit effortlessly and cleanly the ball into the sweet spot which gives the ball very easy power. If you develop that foundation and nurture it over the years constantly, then when you decide to apply topspin to the ball, you will have a good penetrating topspin. If on the other hand you are trying to hit the ball with lots of topspin just like 95% of the online tennis pros hype you to (since they don't know tennis well), then you will hit too much around the ball (you will "brush" it) and while you will have topspin your shots will be SLOW and SHORT! They will land around the service line or shorter because you lack the foundation of hitting THROUGH the ball cleanly which only develops over years and years of also practicing hitting very clean and flat shots. At 4.0 NTRP and higher you will be constantly attacked and you will lose matches all the time because your shots are too slow and too short. Do you understand now?
Many older players use continental grip for all strokes and they would feel like Nadal if they managed to hit something close to those "flat shots" and cleared the net with more than 10 inches. :)
I think you should research a little more. While you’re right that topspin won’t “solve all your problems” The leading difference between college players and pro is the amount of topspin they can hit
I think his channel is geared more towards rec players though. Rec players sometimes try to copy pros and college players and it can cause more harm than good.
As you saw the comment below - there are no college players watching mine or any other TH-cam channels. You also have not really watched the video in full to really understand my point and to what audience at what level I am speaking to.
The GOAT of coaches for us rec players. Will you ever come back to Singapore? I'd love to get a lesson from you!
This dude is the OG
This is my problem. I started tennis watching nadal, that made me starting tennis with topspin in mind, always. Now in my 30s, i struggle to use small headsize racquet because my shots tend to be short because i'm used to brush the ball, instead of hitting THROUGH the ball.
Thanks, that is what my message is about, too much topspin too early without developing a clean flat shot will cause lots of problems. Work on hitting lower and flatter as part of your development. Again, I am not saying you should play balls flat and low forever, but I am saying that hitting like that for 15 minutes of even the whole hour will be very beneficial for later when you want to hit with more spin.
Good and clear explanation of use of top spin in 🎾👍🙏
Really good explanation, makes lots of sense. I tend to get ahead of myself and just topspin like crazy but your right hitting through the ball will create more consistency and your balls won’t be out, as much as top spin hits. Will keep this in mind.
Yup me too. I'm glad you also understand what Tomas is saying. I think however he is going to get a lot of pushback from some players who can't separate regular spin (which we all do anyhow) from that crazy Nadal topspin which is what coach is referring to.
So many times I mishit the ball or off the rim because I'm trying to Nadal topspin...going to knock it off right now 😂
@karen9244 Safer shots is one of the purposes of topsin, so you shouldn't get more balls out with it, quite the opposite. But Tomaz is on point as it does wear you out.
Hey coach, great lesson. Thank you.
I think there are two kinds of topspin shots. Extremely loopy high trajectory Nadal-style topspin, but also a low trajectory superficially 'flatter' shot where the ball is still rotating forwards and has a very tight spin, it just doesn't look like a topspin shot.
Federer has close to as much topspin as Nadals has but it's hard to see it on TV. If you see his short crosscourts from the right angle you can see the crazy dive on his ball, a mere mortal hitting that shot in that speed would have put it far outside the double line.
What a coincidence that you made this video today. I have been thinking a lot about how I shape the ball because I make a lot of mistakes. Mostly off center hits or shanks. And I’ve been thinking that the way I learned to play tennis, as a mostly self taught 35 year old, has something to do with it. I think I overemphasized topspin in the beginning and now the foundation of the shot is “always topspin” irrespective of my positioning or contact point. And I use a grip that is sort of half way between eastern and semiwestern, which makes high balls more of a problem.
Excellent video coach! Thanks 👍🏼
Hi, very good points. Thanks for your reply to the question I saw below about moving from Eastern grip to semi Western grip. Ive been trying to generate too much forced spin recently by heading my grip more towards semi western, and my game has suffered through inconsistency.
I started with eastern and flat, but i tried switching to semiwest grip and changing my swing to add some spin, and it was the most detrimental thing i've ever done to my game.
Thanks for sharing, yes, that is what happens with extreme grips and not having good clean swing path through the ball. Changing grips is very very risky and best not to do at adult age. Any grip can hit flat and topspin, just practice...
At about 6:40 (7:19) you state that hitting flat is the foundation of tennis, and if you wish to proceed to hitting with increase topspin, you'd best master the "flat" shot first. I'm a beginner and I'd certainly agree. Forehand, straight and flat, first, then play around with different spinning levels.
I love Tomasz's instruction, but I have to say that at 58 I can hit heavy balls for 2-3 with no problem. The keys: Be in great shape and #2 relaxation.
Tomaz, really interesting concept.
I play with a lot of top spin (level 3, the ball is on or above my opponent's shoulder), but I struggle to produce those shots. Only once in a while I get that level of bounce. Most balls are short.
After watching this video I realize is because of my focus in on spinning the ball as much as I can, paying not attention to other factors as hitting clean, or going deep.
Any advice on how to hit the flat, clean shot?
i've never had any coaching in tennis, i picked up a racquet and just started swinging. I guess all my shot making early on was just bad variations of a flat ball with only the most vague amounts of spin. These days i tend to overuse slice shots where my racquet passes somewhat under the ball. Some of my shots are literally "bend it like beckham" and since i play doubles only it will curve past the net player hit the ground and bounce away from the one i was cross court rallying with. At the end of the day, I dont even know how i picked up that, and i bet i'll never know how to topspin
The physicality to hit with top spin still allows you to hit a flat shot.
The problem with a flat shot is it does not develop the physicality to hit top spin. You literally demonstrate this in the video, more later.
Moreover the shots you are calling flat is what most people would call top spin
Furthermore when defining the difference between flat and top spin, most of all your shots the top of the balls trajectory is much closer the bounce, where as a flat shot the top of the trajectory and the flaw/area of improvement for most players is the hit the ball with the top of the trajectory is close or at the top of the net.
Also in the scheme of things, most errors are into the net, so hitting flat does not solve one of the major barriers to success in tennis, which is, To hit the ball over the net AND in LAST.
Finally, swinging your racquet with what is primarily an arm based swing, will tire you out very quickly when trying to hit with a lot of top spin
Words have meaning, and when people start redefining what words mean, then anybody can say anything and you cannot say they are wrong, because in their universe, up means down, left means right, black is white, etc etc.
The shots that I call flat are flat tennis wise, what all tennis experts agree on and what I feel. The ball either spins sideways or spins foward with very low rate of spin - which again we call flat. So if you say "most people would call topspin what I call flat" - no, only amateurs would call that topspin. Tennis coaches of higher level call that flat.
"Flat" is also a solid contact of the ball that 95% of recreational players never find, they are unable to so effortlessly hit the ball off their racket as they always "brush" the ball upwards. I constantly hit into the sweet spot very flat. Rec players cannot only dream about that.
That is the whole premise of this video - you have got to learn and keep mastering the ability to hit flat clean shots (every pros does that at the start of the warm up) as when you start adding spin on to them later you have the right type of penetrating spin. What is the purpose or meaning of your comment I have no idea.
You're conflating physicality and technique. And the video is definitely showing relatively flatter shots, not sure where you're getting the "most people call that top spin" from.
Would be good to clarify terms like racquet launch angle etc. What kind of racquet is Tomas using? Proper loading is required for the amount of racquet head speed that getting decent amount of topspin requires. Legs, hips, shoulder line and most importantly a loose wrist.
Ok, but the point of my video is to NOT to obsess about topspin but rather work on hitting the ball clean and flat as you see all higher level players capable of doing. This is our foundation and we can add topspin on top of it if we need to get a fast topspin shot whereas most club players lose all the speed if they try to hit with lots of topspin.
@@feeltennis True. Even Nadal, a pro, suffered from this. I've seen him lose matches where his heavy topspin balls land just around the service line and a player steps in and just hits flat past him or puts him immediately on defense. Or worse, he has the advantage, but the shortness of his ball gives his opponent time to get back into the play because he hasn't hit through the court.
I agree with the video...at rec level, we especially need to be able to consistently hit the ball flat, clean, efficiently and deep in the court or else you just give your opponents the opportunity to step in and run you around.
In all my 5 decades of playing tennis I've never heard or come across anyone saying topspin is the "holy grail" of tennis.
My understanding was that there are two barriers to overcome. First is the net and the second is side and back of the opponent's court. Topspin allows a greater margin of safety in getting ball over the net and into the opponents court. Isn't this why most advanced players use the semi-western or strong semi-western grip? If you're old and unfit then the least tiring and safest shot is the slice. Many older players do slice much of the time and just push the ball back. it can be frustrating to play against.
You have to watch the video more carefully. You arguing against a point I never made which seems to be that I recommend people to play flat and not topspin. That is NOT what I am saying. I am saying the hitting flat is the FOUNDATION of tennis groundstrokes where you develop the ability to hit effortlessly and cleanly the ball into the sweet spot which gives the ball very easy power.
If you develop that foundation and nurture it over the years constantly, then when you decide to apply topspin to the ball, you will have a good penetrating topspin. If on the other hand you are trying to hit the ball with lots of topspin just like 95% of the online tennis pros hype you to (since they don't know tennis well), then you will hit too much around the ball (you will "brush" it) and while you will have topspin your shots will be SLOW and SHORT!
They will land around the service line or shorter because you lack the foundation of hitting THROUGH the ball cleanly which only develops over years and years of also practicing hitting very clean and flat shots. At 4.0 NTRP and higher you will be constantly attacked and you will lose matches all the time because your shots are too slow and too short. Do you understand now?
Many older players use continental grip for all strokes and they would feel like Nadal if they managed to hit something close to those "flat shots" and cleared the net with more than 10 inches. :)
I think you should research a little more.
While you’re right that topspin won’t “solve all your problems”
The leading difference between college players and pro is the amount of topspin they can hit
I think his channel is geared more towards rec players though.
Rec players sometimes try to copy pros and college players and it can cause more harm than good.
As you saw the comment below - there are no college players watching mine or any other TH-cam channels. You also have not really watched the video in full to really understand my point and to what audience at what level I am speaking to.
Ok yeah you’re right