Hit Topspin like Rafa

Topspin gives you a greater margin for error because the physics of the shot spin the ball forward and downwards, allowing you to hit higher and deeper while still keeping the ball on the court. Topspin causes the ball to drop sooner and at a steeper angle. Flat shots are useful if you want the ball to land quickly and not bounce high, such as in passing shots or down-the-line shots.

Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras are two Hall of Fame tennis players who hit with heavy spin. On the average, a Pete Sampras serve traveling at 120mph is spinning at around 2700 rpm. To understand the amount of force this spin generates, start your car, put it in neutral and rev the tachometer to 2700rpm. That’s a lot of force. It’ll propel your car down the highway at 65mph.

This part is brief because I don’t recommend using this post or a YouTube video on the subject to be your main source of topspin instruction – work with a teaching pro. To hit topspin you pronate your grip (see below) and brush up on the back of the ball swinging from low to high.

Your racket grip size is important too. The conventional wisdom is that “the average grip size is 4-3/8. Most normal size ladies are 4-3/8. Smaller ladies, take a 4-1/4 or 4-1/8. Average men measure between 4-3/8 and 4-1/2.” Rafa uses a 4-1/4 grip and he’s 6’1. I use 4-1/4 too. I’m 5’8 and going to that size from a 4-1/2 grip has given me substantially more spin. Here’s a great article on how to reduce your grip size or just reach out to me and I’m happy to help. https://www.sportsrec.com/476064-how-to-reduce-the-grip-size-of-tennis-racquets.html.