Slice, or backspin, causes the tennis ball to spin back toward the source of impact (you). And, an athlete like Mima Ito, proves beyond a doubt that the banana flip can be even more effective . Your ability to hit more than one type of serve will allow you to be more competitive against different players and on various court surfaces. 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. You may want to be slightly lower for a push as usually we play this shot against lower, backspin balls. This motion gives the ball the spin or slice that youre looking for while also making sure theres just enough topspin to bring the ball back down into the court. Its consistent, provides players with a significant level of control, and can be used to attack a returners weaknesses with precision. If well placed, the flat serve can be extremely challenging to . Generally speaking, coaches and players will talk about three main spots in the service box: Since you can hit your serve in any of these locations, youll have a minimum of 9 serves in your back pocket that you can hit at any given time pretty sweet, right? For an in-depth review of the serve toss, be sure to check out our post on perfecting your serve toss technique. 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. Again, this is in favor of the two-handed backhand. They expect each ball to bounce to them after it lands, and they expect the ball to bounce low from a slice in order to avoid getting injured. The sports divide into a few tiers of serving advantages. Your email address will not be published. Frequently, players who are just learning to serve want to hit with power, so they try hard and attempt to muscle the serve over the net. As the ball approaches and you rotate your shoulders to your left, bring your racquet back above your left shoulder.
\nYour 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. Those two qualities can catch your opponent off guard and screw up her timing.
\nA word of caution: Slice backhands make poor passing shots. If you are a beginner or recreational player, or a junior just considering your first full-sized racket, you will be pleased to know that Babolat offer a range aimed squarely at you. link to The Best Babolat Tennis Rackets (for Every Type of Player), link to The Top 3 Best Babolat Tennis Rackets Under $100. Second, it can be difficult to generate power with a slice. Members of a larger team often take on different roles, and there will generally be a captain to lead. Using this technique, you can make it very difficult for your opponent to return your shot with topspin, making the slice a great defensive shot. Since a big flat serve has a lower margin for error, its worth being thoughtful when you choose to use it. During a slice shot, the racket travels in a downward motion, before slicing underneath the tennis ball. After all, if you have a question, its likely another reader does too, which helps our entire community. Related Tags. However, by hitting up on the ball, you generate topspin, which can bring the ball back down into the court even though youre hitting up. Rallying. Disadvantages of Tennis Potential for serious injuries Tennis equipment can be costly Not a team sport Tennis cannot be played alone Lack of tennis courts Tennis takes some time to learn Motivation might be a problem Tennis may be time-consuming Need for a trainer to get to the next level Pressure can be high May conflict with your corporate career She has even used the shot effectively on hard courts, which is probably more difficult than employing it on softer surfaces. At the highest level, many matches go by without a single sliced forehand being played. 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. Helpful Tip In fact, hitting a slice serve at 75% of your max swing speed can be a great tactic because the sidespin combined with the change in pace will often throw off your opponent. A "tennis slice" is when the ball hits the ground and bounces back into play. Follow through until your racquet arm is fully extended, with the head pointing toward the ground at a moderate angle. Upper Body Exercises Safe for Tennis Elbow, How to Choose a Grip Size for a Tennis Racquet, How To Handle The High Bounce To The Backhand Side In Tennis. To hit a slice, you need to strike the ball with a high-to-low movement, thus imparting backspin. Helpful Tip: Once again, Ive provided a view of this serve in slow motion so you can easily see the nuances of the different pieces. Disguise is crucial, but if executed well against a player who is standing a long way back, it can be very effective. Ive included brief stops to help you get a sense for toss placement, contact, point, and racquet angle. Here are some tips on how to slice a ball in tennis: 1. Aerodynamically it will appear to rise and then dip, kicking forward and up off the court surface when it lands. This is known as a squash shot and a good one will fly low and fast over the net. Just before you start your forward swing, raise the racquet head to shoulder height, open the face so that the hitting surface faces up, and produce slice by cutting under the ball with a long, smooth stroke.
\nThe slice forehand is easy to master, and a fair number of hackers resort to it. Low bounce: as the name suggests, flat serves have minimal spin. Read our weekly recap of the 5 most interesting things we dig up in tennis. Home > Instruction > Serve > 3 Types of Tennis Serves, Improve your game alongside our community of tennis players. Here are a few tips to help execute an effective slice serve: When youre learning the slice serve, it can be relatively easy to overhit as you attempt to generate side spin. If youre looking to develop an effective serve thats a weapon, then its crucial to understand and learn how to execute the three different types of tennis serves. Heres a video that showcases the kick serve, including the toss, contact point, and racquet angle necessary to generate topspin. For that reason, its vital to add different types of shots to your repertoire. Once again, when hitting a kick serve, you should rely on your continental service grip, which is ideally suited for this serve. However, the shot is not always . Your email address will not be published. In this section, I will look at some of the circumstances in which a forehand slice shot can be played successfully, and the broad technique which should be used. Even at pro level, doing damage is still all about the forehand. The type of tennis court surface that you play on can have a major influence on how the game is played as well as on the effects of Tennis on your body. It should go without saying that your legs are critical to your serve, but unfortunately, its not second nature to most players. It doesn't break your bank. If you hit this shot from a comfortable, set position (at about the center of the baseline), your racquet should be pointing toward the right netpost. There are a few disadvantages of using a slice in tennis. Hopefully, youve enjoyed this post on the three different types of serves. The racquet head instead should be pointing at the back fence, at about a 45-degree angle.
\nWhen 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.
\n2. However, assuming you have the correct serve stance, behind you is parallel with the baseline and an important distinction when it comes to the kick serve. Within tennis, the serve is a bigger weapon for men than for women, in part . 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!
\n4. This will allow you to hit the ball with a slicing action. By using the proper topspin or backspin techniques during your next competitive match, you will be able to easily keep your opponent on their toes, making it much more difficult for them to adjust to your techniques throughout the entirety of your match. A slice ground stroke causes the ball to rotate backwards towards the person who hit the ball. High bouncing balls are ideal for hitting slice shots, but you can play balls at any height with a slice by bending more at the knees and/or adjusting the height of your back and forward swings. As a result, it can be beneficial to avoid overusing a big flat serve and to use other types of serves that have a higher margin of error while focusing on quality placement to put the pressure on your opponent. Kevin is an LTA-accredited coach, and is world ranked in the over-55 age group. If something isnt clear or you have questions, please feel free to submit a comment below wed love to hear from you! The result will be a more fluid motion that helps you achieve a better serve. Nonetheless, the shot can be very useful in a variety of situations, and some professionals have enjoyed quite a bit of success using it as their main option on the forehand side. As a result, you should aim to toss the ball directly above your head and slightly behind you, so that when you can swing up to contact the ball, youre coming from under the ball. To be successful with this tactic, you will need to stay low and develop plenty of racket-head speed, to allow you to control the trajectory of the ball. Required fields are marked *. The forehand slice is a shot which is rarely taught or discussed in modern tennis. 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. Disguise is key, so you will prepare as though you intend to hit an aggressive topspin, and, at the last second, cut under the ball with a high-to-low action, perhaps adding some side-spin for good measure.