The good news is that youll use the continental grip for all three types of serves, so you only need to learn this one grip if youre not already familiar with it. 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. But knowing how to use the topspin to your game (strategy) has its advantages: After that, I somehow ended up with a flat slice (something similar to Rosewall's backhand), probably in my attempt to firm up the face on contact. As a result, most players hit flat groundstrokes sparingly. The flat serve is one of the most popular and most useful serves in tennis. However, once you miss your first serve, the pressure equalizes to a degree. However, it makes it challenging to get under the ball and apply maximum topspin for the kick serve. In this article I will tell you what you need to know about how and when to play a tennis forehand slice by answering some of the commonly asked questions. If you miss, then youll have to rely on your second serve to keep you in the game with your opponent, who is ready to take a chance themselves and close out the game. The ideal contact point and racquet angle. It gives the opponent more time to get to the ball. With the kick serve, youll want to contact the ball from bottom to the top of the ball so that youre hitting or brushing up on the ball. Modern-day tennis players utilize topspin frequently, as it can appear that the ball will sail over the net and out of bounds before dropping well within the lines of play. Sources: rio2016.com, itftennis.com. 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. Dummies has always stood for taking on complex concepts and making them easy to understand.

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Figure 1: Hold your racquet at a 45-degree angle to the fence when you slice your backhand.\t

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3. It's a defensive shot that you should use on only three occasions: If you have trouble effectively hitting the flat backhand, you can use a slightly different stroke that carries many players far in the game the pure slice backhand. Helpful Tip Like all slice shots, the forehand version is hit high-to-low, with the strings brushing under the ball. He used the slicing technique very often to outdo his opponents at the highest international stages of the sport. Both arms should be out in front of you. It moves forward and down, coming around to your right side only at the tail end of your stroke, long after the ball is gone.

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Make contact with the ball, with the racquet \"slicing\" under it, when it's at a point about even with your right shoulder. As a result, the overuse of a hard flat serve can lead to giving away too many free points or forcing you to rely heavily on your second serve. Basically, 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: 1. Those two qualities can catch your opponent off guard and screw up her timing.

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• Slice shots travel in a flat trajectory. You don't have to lift the ball over the net in an arc and then get it to drop back down inside the boundaries of the court like you do with your other shots.

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A word of caution: Slice backhands make poor passing shots. Turn the racquet face as you bring it back so that the hitting surface ends up facing upward, as shown in Figure 1. If players like to attack the net and volley, they slice a lot.

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The slice can be a useful weapon, but it does have some disadvantages. The slice forehand is easy to master, and a fair number of hackers resort to it. Do you like to hit a forehand slice? It's a defensive shot that you should use on only three occasions:

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• When you're scrambling to retrieve a good, angled shot by your opponent (this is called making a get) and can't set up to hit a conventional forehand you can swipe the ball back with slice and buy yourself a little time to get back into position.

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• When you're moving forward toward the net and you want to drive a low-bouncing ball into the corner of your opponent's court.

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• When you want to surprise your opponent with a drop shot.

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Dressing up your backhand with slice

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If you have trouble effectively hitting the flat backhand, you can use a slightly different stroke that carries many players far in the game the pure slice backhand. Tennis is not recommended for individuals who. Drop Shots. However, if you do adjust your toss, keep in mind that a good returner might pick up on the change in your toss and give them a hint of the type of serve and where you might be inclined to hit it. If well placed, the flat serve can be extremely challenging to . All three have their benefits and all three result in a very different bounce of the tennis . But what is the difference between these two groundstrokes? 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. If youre short, the flat serve is more challenging to execute because you have less clearance over the net, which reduces your margin of error. what is a backhand slice in tennis; how to return a slice in tennis; disadvantages of topspin in tennis; slice serve in tennis 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. 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.

Michael Kernicki is currently the Head Professional at the Indian Creek Country Club in Miami Beach.

Michael Patrick Shiels writes frequently for golf magazines and is the official golf writer of the PGA of America's Michigan section. ), your position on the court and the direction you want to hit. The slice can be a useful weapon, but it does have some disadvantages. The slice backhand suited their approach to the game, which was based on control rather than power.

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The slice backhand offers the following practical and tactical advantages:

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• The slice stroke is simple. You hit under the ball, instead of through and over it, as you do on the flat backhand. In general, slicing can be very effective, but considerable precision is needed to use it frequently against a strong hitter. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Tennis Warehouse, Amazon, and other companies linked to on this site. For example, if youre lucky enough to have access to grass courts, keep in mind that the slice serve is a fantastic serve for this surface. Slice shots don't bounce as high, either. The amount of torsion the arm suffers increases as the court gets more worn, because bounces become more unpredictable, leading to more off-center hits. But don't use it as a substitute for your flat or topspin forehand. Return of serve. 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.
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  The slice forehand is easy to master, and a fair number of hackers resort to it. 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. Table tennis forehand push. Join the conversation with other members of the community. 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. A topspin shot, on the other hand, rotates forward toward the opponent as it travels through the air. The same can be set for other net approaches. 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. Here, well share as much knowledge and experience as we can, so we hope you enjoy it! Ive had the chance to play against great names of the new generation, like Christian Garin, Cameron Norrie, and Kyle Edmund. About a 90-110 degree bend at the elbow. As for the angle of your racquet head, youll want the edge to be roughly parallel with the baseline. This leaves it tough for the opponent to hit it back with much pace. The three primary types of tennis serves include the flat, slice, and kick serve. That's just plain easier.

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• Slice slows the ball down. A ball hit with any kind of spin travels slower than a flat one. 6. For an in-depth review of the serve toss, be sure to check out our post on perfecting your serve toss technique. Backspin is most commonly achieved when using a slice shot technique. A "slow" surface such as clay will interact with more of the ball's surface area and there will be more friction placed on the ball. Your opponent can do almost anything he wants with them, especially from a position up at the net. Aerodynamically it will appear to rise and then dip, kicking forward and up off the court surface when it lands. 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. 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? The racquet head instead should be pointing at the back fence, at about a 45-degree angle.
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  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.

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  2. Sometimes, especially on a low-bouncing court like grass, your opponent may hit a low, short ball. Release the racquet with your left hand as you do this. Related Tags. 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. Lets take a look at some of the details that will help ensure you can hit a great flat serve. Discussion Boards However, with practice and the proper technique, you shouldnt need to swing considerably harder to create more spin. Babolat have been producing tennis equipment since 1875, and today they manufacture a range of rackets that offers something for everyone. 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. After watching some players in action, you could be forgiven for thinking that the answer to this question was no, but of course this is far from the truth. They are something you should work on and get better at but in the end, are extremely fun to use. Tsvetana Pironkova and Monica Niculescu have both enjoyed success using this tactic, particularly on grass. As the ball approaches and you rotate your shoulders to your left, bring your racquet back above your left shoulder.

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  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. The slice serves name comes from the brushing action, or slice, applied to the tennis ball to produce sidespin. Noticed one disadvantage is playing on a slower court. Unfortunately, this approach usually lends itself to tension, which is your serves worst enemy and, over time, can lead to injury. The ball will follow a low, flattish path through the air and then bounce up (but not far forward) on a grippy court surface like acrylic. The best choice is, using a continental or Eastern grip, to cut sharply under the ball with a high-to-low action, following through either straight up the court or cutting across the line to impart additional side-spin. Its strength lies in its speed and difficulty to return. It should go without saying that your legs are critical to your serve, but unfortunately, its not second nature to most players. Your opponent can do almost anything he wants with them, especially from a position up at the net.

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  Mastering the forehand slice

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  Slice always imparts control. The same can be said about Federers use of the backhand slice. On Friday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the Grand Slam champions earned themselves a nomination for point of the year. Your email address will not be published. Turn the racquet face as you bring it back so that the hitting surface ends up facing upward, as shown in Figure 1.

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  This position makes it easy and natural to brush your strings under the lower portion of the ball, producing backspin. The Best Babolat Tennis Rackets (for Every Type of Player). And, an athlete like Mima Ito, proves beyond a doubt that the banana flip can be even more effective . Tennis may not be right for you if you suffer from heart disease or have high or low blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis or osteoporosis. It is said to be the fastest shot in tennis. 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. 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. Many pros, including the legendary Australian champion Ken Rosewall, used the slice backhand stroke as their only backhand. Over the years, many techniques have been developed in tennis to make shots more difficult to hit. When comparing table tennis to tennis, golf, ice hockey, football, or nearly anything, you will find that it is rather cheap. Copyright 2017-2023 Rookie Road Inc. All rights reserved. First, it can be difficult to control the ball. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when hitting a kick serve. The forehand smash is a fast, hard and powerful stroke that aims to force the opponent away from the table or to win a point outright. When hitting a flat serve, youll want your toss to be roughly 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. Typically, your opponent will be in defense mode when returning your first serve because they know that you can throw anything at them. One of the biggest challenges of the game of tennis is adjusting your stroke according to the incoming ball (high, low, topspin, slice, fast, slow, etc. 2. As a result, when the ball hits the court, it stays low, which forces a player to have to bend and get low or return out of their strike zone. When a slice is done correctly, the racket adds a backspin to the ball when it is struck. The slice can be used effectively in several matchplay situations. 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. Second, changing your grip can be a dead giveaway to your opponent as to what type of serve youre about to hit. Even if good spin and placement are used, if the ball lacks pace, it can easily be attacked. The racquet head instead should be pointing at the back fence, at about a 45-degree angle. disadvantages of the two backhand strokes in relation to the style of play. The slice can be a useful weapon, but it does have some disadvantages. Once again, when hitting a kick serve, you should rely on your continental service grip, which is ideally suited for this serve. This can put the person slicing very much on the defensive and makes the game extremely hard work. A player can add slice or topspin to shots by hitting the ball in different places. Those two qualities can catch your opponent off guard and screw up her timing.

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• Slice shots travel in a flat trajectory. You don't have to lift the ball over the net in an arc and then get it to drop back down inside the boundaries of the court like you do with your other shots.

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A word of caution: Slice backhands make poor passing shots. However, on grass, that same kick serve wont jump nearly as high, so you might rely on your slice serve, which stays low, making it challenging to return when playing on grass. Your email address will not be published. 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. My slice backhand is more dangerous than my topspin backhand to some of my opponents. First and foremost, its important to make sure youre using the correct grip for the flat serve. Make contact with the ball, with the racquet "slicing" under it, when it's at a point about even with your right shoulder. This photo was snapped at the height of the toss so you can get a sense of accurate placement. Basically, a slice causes the ball to rotate backward (toward the person who hit the ball). Since youre looking to hit the ball flat or without any spin, youll want to try to strike the ball directly from behind without brushing up on the ball or hitting the side of the ball.

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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.

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Slice, or backspin, causes the tennis ball to spin back toward the source of impact (you). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The last comment and 5 other comment(s) need to be approved. It doesn't break your bank. Second, it can be difficult to generate power with a slice. 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!

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4. Members of a larger team often take on different roles, and there will generally be a captain to lead. Figure 1: Hold your racquet at a 45-degree angle to the fence when you slice your backhand. However, its often one of the most challenging serves to develop. The slice serve is a highly effective serve that can become a huge weapon when perfected. MyTennisHQ is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to websites like TennisWarehouse.com and Amazon.com. It is possible to play every single forehand shot as a slice, but this is unlikely to be the most effective way to play. Speed: The faster a serve is hit, the less time your opponent will have to react, which can cause players to make contact with the ball late or mistime their shot. Topspin and slice shots are a necessity in tennis. When executing a tennis slice, the player will swing downward in a "slicing" motion, angling the racket anywhere between fully flat and entirely diagonal. It's a defensive shot that you should use on only three occasions:

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• When you're scrambling to retrieve a good, angled shot by your opponent (this is called making a get) and can't set up to hit a conventional forehand you can swipe the ball back with slice and buy yourself a little time to get back into position.

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• When you're moving forward toward the net and you want to drive a low-bouncing ball into the corner of your opponent's court.

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• When you want to surprise your opponent with a drop shot.

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Dressing up your backhand with slice

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If you have trouble effectively hitting the flat backhand, you can use a slightly different stroke that carries many players far in the game the pure slice backhand. The answer to this question depends upon whether you are aiming to reply in kind with a slice, or to hit a topspin. 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. Reference: tennis slice vs topspin. It is easier to control and creates a less predictable bounce with no pace for my opponents to work with. This position makes it easy and natural to brush your strings under the lower portion of the ball, producing backspin. 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. This requires care, however, as the ball may be low, and will not rise off the racket as readily as a ball which comes to you with 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. An out-to-in movement can be incorporated to add side-spin. On slice shots, the racquet doesn't come around and up, making an arc. However, youll also want to hit up slightly to give the ball a bit of topspin so that it drops back down into the court. Approach shots. Only a few top players will use a forehand slice routinely for a rally ball, but on a low-bouncing surface like grass the shot can be effective in preventing an opponent from attacking and keeping them on the move. A "tennis slice" is when the ball hits the ground and bounces back into play. Oh, and I had lunch with Brad Gilbert once. Disguise is crucial, but if executed well against a player who is standing a long way back, it can be very effective. 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. 2. But don't use it as a substitute for your flat or topspin forehand. The sports divide into a few tiers of serving advantages.

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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. Last but not least, another element that will help you produce a fantastic serve is going for it and hitting with confidence. 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.

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Basically, 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:

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1. Follow through until your racquet arm is fully extended, with the head pointing toward the ground at a moderate angle. If youre playing on a clay court, you may love your kick serve, where you benefit from the higher bounces that make this serve even more challenging to return. 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. Im extremely passionate about the mental and technical part of the game. Many players will want to take the initiative from the slicer by hitting an aggressive topspin. On a surface like grass which creates less friction, the ball will tend to skid and stay low. The result will be a more fluid motion that helps you achieve a better serve. First, if youre using an eastern grip, youre most likely overcompensating for poor technique. To be a complete tennis player and to be competitive you need to master every shot and you need to know when to use them. 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. If players like to attack the net and volley, they slice a lot. {"appState":{"pageLoadApiCallsStatus":true},"articleState":{"article":{"headers":{"creationTime":"2016-03-26T22:57:30+00:00","modifiedTime":"2016-03-26T22:57:30+00:00","timestamp":"2022-09-14T18:12:05+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Home, Auto, & Hobbies","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33809"},"slug":"home-auto-hobbies","categoryId":33809},{"name":"Sports & Recreation","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34001"},"slug":"sports-recreation","categoryId":34001},{"name":"Tennis","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34033"},"slug":"tennis","categoryId":34033}],"title":"Slicing and Dicing, Tennis Style","strippedTitle":"slicing and dicing, tennis style","slug":"slicing-and-dicing-tennis-style","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Slice, or backspin, causes the tennis ball to spin back toward the source of impact (you). Rookie Road may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Disadvantages Of Slice In Tennis The slice forehand has many advantages, but using it for rally balls on slow surfaces like clay and some hard courts can result in the ball bouncing slowly and steeply, seemingly asking to be attacked. 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. Slower Pace: Kick serves are slower than flat or slice serves. Add to that the ability to hit your serve at different speeds to throw off your opponent, and you can begin to see why developing various types of serves can be such a huge advantage. Like all slice shots, the forehand version is hit high-to-low, with the strings brushing under the ball. 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. Slice shots never travel with a lot of pace. Nuanced shots can effectively deceive your opponent, causing them to approach the ball incorrectly while increasing the likelihood that they will not be able to return your shot. For the taller opponent, who might not move as well as a shorter player, you might hit a slice serve at their body because theyll struggle to reposition themselves quickly when returning. The flat serve is perhaps one of the most sought-after serves in tennis because its synonymous with power and the ability to hit an ace. One of these techniques is the slice, which gives a confounding backspin to a serve or return.Find more information on slice strokes in tennis below. The forehand slice is a shot which is rarely taught or discussed in modern tennis. Believe it or not, when the pros hit a kick serve, their racquet is traveling at roughly the same rate or faster than their flat or slice serve. Most of the more adaptable players will also use the forehand slice for approach shots when necessary, although some are better at it than others. In contrast, a sliced groundstroke will appear to be rotating anti-clockwise. Implementing finesse into your shots when competing against other tennis players is a great way to throw off your opponent by forcing them to change their game plan on the fly. You just need to learn to use it for a great slice serve, which takes time and patience. There are many variations of the topspin forehand where players will choose a desired Western or Eastern grip depending on their style of play. What is the difference between tennis slices and tennis tops? There are basically three major types of court surfaces: Hard Courts, Grass Courts, and Clay Courts. Rallying with a sliced forehand is mainly done by players who lack confidence in their topspin game, but it can nonetheless be very effective in the right conditions. As the ball approaches and you rotate your shoulders to your left, bring your racquet back above your left shoulder. You can find his 2020 book: ', Seniortennisclub.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to. 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. 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. The slice backhand suited their approach to the game, which was based on control rather than power. The first thing you need to do is grip the racket properly. 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. If you look at the top players in the world they know exactly how to use topspin and slice shots to their advantages. 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. Slice shots that are hit from lack of confidence or in a desperate attempt to just get the ball back tend to float, and they travel through the air slowly. More consistent - means with which one you can hit more or less the same shot over and over again.

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