u/Hunt-Extra

Is hitting the bottom of the frame on both the forehand and backhand side. Now this is like more than half the shots I hit which is quite concerning, sometimes the shots are really great and my coach for example makes comments like “when his forehand is switched on it’s dangerous”.

Now my guess is for whatever reason once I’m on court I really exaggerate the brushing motion to get topspin because:

1. I want the ball to clear the net safely.

2. I want the ball to dip down harshly so I can add more power.

3. I’m not yet confident enough to trust that hitting THROUGH the ball with proper technique will still reward me with proper topspin and I fear it’ll go long since I naturally hit with decent power.

I know the answer is just hit through the ball more but can anyone else relate to this at all or just anyone advanced point to me with what their goal is in each shot?

I’m not even aiming for loopy Nadal type spin just a natural amount that’ll bring the ball down enough.

My shots also have a tendency to go higher than I want unless i consciously tell myself to aim lower than it’s a nice trajectory (couple feet from the net).

Currently adding split stepping to my game and it feels awkward as hell am I supposed to be doing it as the opponent makes contact?

I keep framing the ball when going big, I noticed when I kept my head still and eyes on the ball rather than looking up too early contact was cleaner, any other tips for cleaner contact?

With the serve I keep hitting the net and if I slightly raise the angle I hit, it just goes long and it’s so frustrating, any tips on how to get the sweet spot to consistently hit the service box?

If I do make clean contact it goes higher than I want it too and it’s not a penetrating and effective shot so what’s the fix for that?

I’d really appreciate help for any of these 🙏.

This is something that is really getting to me, basically I’m still a beginner/almost intermediate and one thing i really struggle with is reading the balls trajectory coming off the opponents racket.

This is mainly with serving, since I’m a low level a lot of the serves I encounter are quite slow and floaty and while I stand at the baseline or even just inside slightly, I can’t read whether the ball is heading to my feet or just barely creeping over the net?

And when I eventually realise it’s way ahead of me and bounced into the service box i sprint as fast as I can and either am too late or I get back the ball with no pace which allows a clear winner from them.

Any advice on this? It’s such a hindrance in my current game.

Edit: to clarify I mean after the ball has bounced, I can’t tell whether the ball is travelling fast enough to just naturally end up where I am or whether it slows down a lot and I need to run.