How To Get More POWER on Drives and TOPSPIN By Shaping The Ball - Tennis Tip

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Today we show the difference between driving versus shaping the ball. This video is for players with a PlayYourCourt rating of 70 and up.
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#tennis #power #topspin

[@sl9081]

really great advice for advancing players!!

[@Playyourcourt]

Glad it was helpful!

[@andygarcia6619]

Great instruction 👍🏻

[@1lefty123]

Excellent concise video. TY!

[@Playyourcourt]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@truckerjoseph3949]

Yeah true.. Great video man! Never hurts to learn all the tools Incase somethings not working i agree!

[@marcelovoto3536]

Good tip guys! I Will try this concept tomorrow at play court and than i'll come back here to tell you what happend! TKS.

[@davidduke9123]

Great clip guys that really help me out

[@Playyourcourt]

Happy to help!

[@adityamukherjee9462]

This concept is new to me but I feel as though it will help a lot. Thanks for sharing.

[@Playyourcourt]

Aditya Mukherjee Glad to hear you enjoyed the vid! To check out more of our instruction and to never miss a video, go to our website at bit.ly/youtubePYC There you’ll find a practice / match finder tool, a challenge league and discounts on lessons and gear from out affiliates. Thanks for watching!

[@Ali4451_]

This is outstanding. Thank you

[@Playyourcourt]

You're very welcome!

[@allaneugenio8206]

Excellent video. Very informative and explained really well.

[@Playyourcourt]

ALLAN EUGENIO Glad to hear you enjoyed the vid! To check out more of our instruction and to never miss a video, go to our website at bit.ly/youtubePYC There you’ll find a practice / match finder tool, a challenge league and discounts on lessons and gear from out affiliates. Thanks for watching!

[@sidhanthmishra8488]

Superb video. I am beginning to find the optimum balance between going for broke and setting up the point (trade off between deep topspin shots and flat drives). This is improving my consistency big time.

[@Playyourcourt]

+Sidhanrh Mishra thrilled to hear the tip helped. Thanks for the feedback!!

[@balispiritual]

Thank you very much. God blesses us all. Rahayu rahayu rahayu.🌞🌛🙏

[@Playyourcourt]

Our pleasure!

[@ahnguyen1]

great tips which i have never heard before

[@Playyourcourt]

Glad you enjoyed it Vinh-An! Thanks for the feedback.

[@BThack]

I needed this lesson in my life. It makes so much sense. Apparently, I naturally default to "shaping" I'll have to start hitting the ball at its apex when I'm wanting to get aggressive.

[@Playyourcourt]

brandon thacker glad you enjoyed it sir. Thanks for watching!

[@MikaelGotlib]

How is it that you only have 6.7k subscribers, quality content this is I must say, nice work!

[@Playyourcourt]

Thank you for the kind words Mikael. As for the 6.7 subscribers...we’re just getting started my dude! 😉💪🏼

[@kylewilliams5131]

How do you classify a swing volley that is decending at contact?

[@michaelhenderson2657]

I went to Tennis Tech at Tyler Junior College ...we loved tennis mechanics..You guys would love it....i love your teaching and dedication..

[@Playyourcourt]

Thanks Michael!!!

[@investigator-wx2qd]

in Texas?? I was at Collin

[@klaw03]

Great video! I can hit hard, I can hit heavy and I can angle my opponent off the court. However, because I naturally like to shape the ball, I wait for the ball to descend before hitting it and give my opponent too much time to recover. I've been working on trying to drive the ball. I try to hit the balls on the rise but I still end up hitting with too much topspin. My coach gave me the same advice you gave about keeping my racquet high but it doesn't seem to help. I feel like I have been hitting heavy spin all this time that it is difficult to unlearn this. Could you please post another video with more detail about drive technique, maybe with slow motion video analysis? I'd really appreciate it if you did!

[@jorgeandrescoppiano.5715]

Try giving your racquet path a more linear path. Not so much low to high. But rather mid to mid. Like mid to across the chest. After your take back and before contact, do not let the racquet head go too below the height of the ball before contact.

[@user-ww1tf3ed1b]

Practice hitting while inside the baseline and your partner in their regular baseline position. Start slow with not a lot of movement and progress to your partner hitting hard ,but ,consistent, and moving you around. Volley if it is real deep or going out, just stay inside the baseline. Attack short balls accordingly... You will develop on the rise/attacking skills quickly. To master this area you have to make fast situational stroke adjustments . From the short super defensive abbreviated half volley at your ankle to shoulder high mid court where you have time to use a longer stroke, maybe with a little wrist lag slap for a drive or a little more of a loop to shape it a bit for an angle. Spend sometime doing this and you will be amazed at your improved timing, movement, and stroke adjustments.

[@kangman11]

Great video! Do you recommend shaping or driving a slice ball? I’m more of a driver but when I try to drive a slice it always seems to go into the net or out.

[@Playyourcourt]

joe great question my man. If a slice sits up I would certainly look to drive it at the apex. If it stays low to the court however it’s way more difficult to drive due to the trajectory. It can be done but I would suggest shortening the backswing and ensure that you’re balanced. Shaping the ball is much easier but may require you to move back off the court opening the court for your opponent to attack. If you go this route certainly shape back to the opponents weaker side. Hope this helps, thanks for watching!

[@kevinm.1565]

Wow! Never thought about this. Looking forward to trying it on court. (3.5)

[@Playyourcourt]

Kevin M. Let us know how it goes! Thanks for watching :)

[@BarChordA]

I'm interested to know if this concept extrapolates into taking the ball on the rise (before the apex). Is that a totally different shot or some combination of the two, since you'd be striking the ball early, but lower? Seems like that would be an even more aggressive shot with perhaps a lower margin for error. I'm sure you guys have a video on that, so I'll go search for it.

[@Playyourcourt]

+Jason Hollowell thanks for the question. Taking the ball on the rise would be the highest developmental point of driving the ball. OTR takes a significant amount of time away from your opponent making it one of the key points of optimal performance. With most of our students we start by having them locate the Apex to drive and then as their timing progresses we have them look to take the ball OTR by understanding positioning. In the video below we discuss OTR. Thanks for watching. Love the question. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJ3YZ2uLp9GNb5Y

[@SparkytheNerd]

What if the Apex of the ball is at head level. Can you drives those or should you always shape those?

[@Playyourcourt]

Hi Christopher, It really depends on your positioning in the court. Ideally your striking the ball closer to the shoulder but there are times that you can drive with the ball at head level. If you receive a short ball that has you well inside the court you can certainly drive with the ball above your shoulder. While on the baseline, if the ball is particularly deep and rising fast you may be forced to take the ball above the shoulder. if the incoming ball is shorter in the court but heavy so that it kicks up, this is when you have an option of shape vs drive. Hope this helps, thanks for watching!

[@jbuckeye1702]

How do you handle a low slice to your forehand?

[@Playyourcourt]

jbuckeye ******* at a high level you can take the ball early as it ascends or even on the rise. Because slice is often the trickiest just off the bounce, we may want to take a step back and allow the ball to diffuse as we look to shape it back over the net. This is particularly useful at a recreational level. Keep in mind it’s always easiest to go with the spin so if it has backspin it will be easier to slice it back that change the direction of the ball with topspin. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching!

[@HewManatee]

🙌🏽

[@BarChordA]

One more question: Are you for/against switching between an eastern forehand grip for driving and semi-western for shaping? I assume that would require lightning reflexes and an entirely different swing path, but could it maximize the effectiveness of your intended shot?

[@Playyourcourt]

Jason Hollowell good question. A slight variation between grips is not all that uncommon but to go from a SW over to a Eastern grip entirely would be really difficult and ill advised. Many pros will move the knuckles and palm. location just a bit to flatten the ball out but their go to grip rarely changes. The good news is the Eastern swing path and SW swing path should be the same, so no change needed there. Thanks for the feedback!

[@online9191]

Darn it. I am another Jason. I do the exact same thing as Mr. Hollowell. I switch to eastern grip if I want to drive a ball that is short and above net, if the ball is short and below net a lot, I will get low and switch to extreme western grip and do a full power swing, so the ball has a ton of spin and a lot speed too, but it won’t go out of bound. I know this is not ideal, I did try to maintain the same SW grip, but I noticed I still brush a lot when I try to drive a ball, I guess it is because I swing below the ball naturally? For short and low ball, if I use a power wing with SW, I hit it out more often, if I close the face more, then hitting to the net is more often.

[@Playyourcourt]

jason hu if it works for you embrace it! We all play the game a little differently and that’s ok as long as the mechanics and health of the athlete holds up. Thanks for watching!

[@Playyourcourt]

Want to meet new players & play more tennis? Try PlayYourCourt for free here: bit.ly/2HjZ0Gj Want more power and spin on your forehand? Grab our Forehand Mastery Course for free here: bit.ly/37mXTR6 Want to work with Scott & Nate? Check out upcoming live events and workshops here: bit.ly/36UGkXV

[@dropshot118]

should you always drive a short ball down the line? what about up the middle?

[@Playyourcourt]

dropshot118 you may drive a short ball at a variety of targets (including middle) but depending on your opponents position there are certain advantages on the given situation. The drive simply refers to “when” your hitting the ball not necessarily where. Just remember ascending = drives, descending = shapes. Hope this helps. Thanks for the question!

[@boyzone5000]

Is that a 16x19 pure strike or 18x20?

[@hannesmuller9991]

16x19

[@hannesmuller9991]

You can count

[@GeneralRock114]

So, is it better to let the ball drop instead of hitting it on the rise? If you play a player that hits with lots of topspin, good luck with that.

[@Playyourcourt]

The more advanced the player the earlier they typically take the ball in order to maintain court position and to take time away from the opponent. Players looking for more time and the ability to create more spin can back off the line helping with those two factors but sacrificing court position. Regardless of ability every player will shape and drive at some point in a match, rather it's a tactical decision or simply happenstance. If someone is hitting with heavy top it is ideal to take it early before the ball rises above the shoulder making it a more difficult shot. Hope this helps clarify. Thanks for watching!

[@davidraman3477]

Nate me old son, where are you from? You dialect is amazing.

[@Playyourcourt]

David Morrison lol, I’m asked that quite a bit and the truth is no where terribly exciting. I reside in Virginia Beach, Va. My family is from the south so that may be the cadence you’re picking up on.

[@davidraman3477]

@@Playyourcourt haha! I think it sounds exiting compared to the grey places I've lived in, maybe. Ps thanks for the reply. Merry Christmas great Hogmanay as they say where I hail from.

[@davidraman3477]

@@Playyourcourt pardon my ignorance what state is Va?

[@Playyourcourt]

David Morrison Great Hogmanay! That’s of Scottish origins if I’m not mistaken? Va refers to the state of Virginia in the Us.

[@3Slippers]

0:51 'True Lies' car salesman

[@topspin3788]

This video should be called "How to talk for 8:54 minutes without saying anything".

[@Playyourcourt]

Good talk sir.

[@topspin3788]

@@Playyourcourt T'was my pleasure.