All points are spot on. I’ve been coaching tennis and soccer at the highest youth levels for over 40 years, and point #3 is what I preach. Our biomechanics are all different. Find what works best for you to be successful at each shot.
I really like your videos John! I'm an instructor myself (and past physical therapist) and recommend a ton of your videos because of your comprehensive yet simple explanations. In this video (and in many others I've seen from Zane and other YT instructors) wrist joint movement is often referenced, however, I think you really mean the forearm joint? The rotational movement that is needed to generate topspin is mostly produced from forearm pronation/supination and not actually movement at the wrist joint proper. Am I wrong in thinking this? Interested in your thoughts.
The forearm is not a hinge, which complexifies John's simplified narrative. If you watch all the other channels, every single video that instructs topspin where the paddle begins with the tip pointing downwards is primarily hit using forearm rotation. This is a wiper topspin technique where the spin is applied hitting the ball from behind. There is also a lagged, brush topspin that begins with the paddle contacting the top of ball, where the ball rolls along the paddle face and is finally launched from behind like a slingshot. Ideally the slingshot portion of this stroke is driven by locking the lag of the wrist out, so that you have no choice at all but to begin to rotate the paddle face behind the ball. This particular spin is entirely in the wrist hinge and only uses the forearm to maintain a linear paddle path. I'm 6'5" and I can generally get over top of the ball for most groundstrokes, so I like the brushed topspin, which works even better with an elongated paddle. The brushed topspin mechanics are less versatile than the wiper topspin and I'm not sure I will have enough time under more pressure to do this as I move up through the 4.0+ tier. What I like about the brushed topspin is that it is very hard for the opponent to accurately read how much spin you apply to the ball, because it depends on timing and the precise angle of paddle at ball contact. I have a pair of serves with the same motion, hitting the ball at close to the same speed from the same place, and one ball lands on the floor six feet earlier. It's hard to call this a cradling motion when my paddle is above the ball, but it does stretch out the dwell time quite a bit. The wiper topspin actually does combine a linear push of the paddle forward (a little bit of everything, but mainly the shoulder) while synchronizing with the forearm rotation. Done right, it is probably not too sensitive to where the ball first makes contact with the paddle face, if the rotation is in a plane purely perpendicular to the forward drive. If your linear drive and your plane of rotation are not purely orthogonal, errors in the two motions will cross-pollute. I'm gradually learning the wiper topspin on the inchworm system. At present, I use very tiny versions of the motion, and I slowly enlarge my motion by another inch every week or two. Just consistently arriving behind the ball with my paddle tip down is already good preparation. I've already got a different heavy topspin drive from backcourt (or any attackable bounce in transition), so no great rush. On a different channel, a new guy with a background as a coach to the pros-who has already had Ben Johns on as a guest-for the situation of dinking backhand from out wide, he stresses having your backswing complete before you arrive at the ball and then using a pure shoulder slice with an aggressively open paddle face. Having my backswing complete before my feet come to rest is the single largest RUclips advice insta-boost I've experienced in the last six months. It's like the shot is now only 2/3 as long as it used to feel. It used to feel like a long crosscourt, now it feels like a short chip. On the matter of timing foot motion, there's one guy I play against, whenever he sets up to hit the ball hard, no matter what speed I attempt to reverse to gain separation, the ball lands near my foot every time. I steal an extra step, same as the last time. It's a hopeless battle. He's not ever going to let me back up enough to receive an easier bounce. So back up quick if you have the chance, and then drop anchor hard, with whatever separation you've managed to get, right as the ball is struck, exactly as John says here. It's not just that you are late to respond when you keep moving your feet as the opponent strikes the ball, but that a good opponent will fully factor that additional motion into their targeting every time. His/her hand is faster than your feet. It's not a winnable battle.
Great info like always. Thanks John. A small feedback for you consideration. There is a lot of competing demand for our attention. The amount of instructions available is increasing at an explosive speed. And our available time is not. I suggest that you go straight into your whys and what and hows. I noticed that you spent 2 minutes justifying why you need to give the whys. Those who can have clear and crisp info in the shortest amount of time will do well in this information overloaded world
John, I like your videos. I watch all of them. However, for this one I don’t agree with you when you said using one hinge for one shot. Some shots are impossible to do well by using only hinge, e.g, serving. For top spin dinking I believe it will be better to use both wrist and elbow hinge.
Sorry but I disagree with you. Again, everyone is different. But most top pros use mostly their elbows as their hinges for forehand topspin dinks. You’ll see little to no wrist movement. Anna bright comes to mind.
BZER Balls: bit.ly/3BSkkPr
Thank you for providing context and a clear framework. Solid instruction for a strong foundation!
Glad to help!
Love this style of coaching! Breaking down shots at the component level is incredibly helpful for learning proper technique imo.
All points are spot on. I’ve been coaching tennis and soccer at the highest youth levels for over 40 years, and point #3 is what I preach. Our biomechanics are all different. Find what works best for you to be successful at each shot.
Thanks John, excellent video and training techniques, very relatable. Bonus on the BZER warm-up balls!
Bought bzer balls. Thanks for the code. Love the breakdown.
I really like your videos John! I'm an instructor myself (and past physical therapist) and recommend a ton of your videos because of your comprehensive yet simple explanations. In this video (and in many others I've seen from Zane and other YT instructors) wrist joint movement is often referenced, however, I think you really mean the forearm joint? The rotational movement that is needed to generate topspin is mostly produced from forearm pronation/supination and not actually movement at the wrist joint proper. Am I wrong in thinking this? Interested in your thoughts.
The forearm is not a hinge, which complexifies John's simplified narrative.
If you watch all the other channels, every single video that instructs topspin where the paddle begins with the tip pointing downwards is primarily hit using forearm rotation. This is a wiper topspin technique where the spin is applied hitting the ball from behind.
There is also a lagged, brush topspin that begins with the paddle contacting the top of ball, where the ball rolls along the paddle face and is finally launched from behind like a slingshot. Ideally the slingshot portion of this stroke is driven by locking the lag of the wrist out, so that you have no choice at all but to begin to rotate the paddle face behind the ball. This particular spin is entirely in the wrist hinge and only uses the forearm to maintain a linear paddle path.
I'm 6'5" and I can generally get over top of the ball for most groundstrokes, so I like the brushed topspin, which works even better with an elongated paddle. The brushed topspin mechanics are less versatile than the wiper topspin and I'm not sure I will have enough time under more pressure to do this as I move up through the 4.0+ tier.
What I like about the brushed topspin is that it is very hard for the opponent to accurately read how much spin you apply to the ball, because it depends on timing and the precise angle of paddle at ball contact. I have a pair of serves with the same motion, hitting the ball at close to the same speed from the same place, and one ball lands on the floor six feet earlier. It's hard to call this a cradling motion when my paddle is above the ball, but it does stretch out the dwell time quite a bit.
The wiper topspin actually does combine a linear push of the paddle forward (a little bit of everything, but mainly the shoulder) while synchronizing with the forearm rotation. Done right, it is probably not too sensitive to where the ball first makes contact with the paddle face, if the rotation is in a plane purely perpendicular to the forward drive. If your linear drive and your plane of rotation are not purely orthogonal, errors in the two motions will cross-pollute.
I'm gradually learning the wiper topspin on the inchworm system. At present, I use very tiny versions of the motion, and I slowly enlarge my motion by another inch every week or two. Just consistently arriving behind the ball with my paddle tip down is already good preparation. I've already got a different heavy topspin drive from backcourt (or any attackable bounce in transition), so no great rush.
On a different channel, a new guy with a background as a coach to the pros-who has already had Ben Johns on as a guest-for the situation of dinking backhand from out wide, he stresses having your backswing complete before you arrive at the ball and then using a pure shoulder slice with an aggressively open paddle face. Having my backswing complete before my feet come to rest is the single largest RUclips advice insta-boost I've experienced in the last six months. It's like the shot is now only 2/3 as long as it used to feel. It used to feel like a long crosscourt, now it feels like a short chip.
On the matter of timing foot motion, there's one guy I play against, whenever he sets up to hit the ball hard, no matter what speed I attempt to reverse to gain separation, the ball lands near my foot every time. I steal an extra step, same as the last time. It's a hopeless battle. He's not ever going to let me back up enough to receive an easier bounce. So back up quick if you have the chance, and then drop anchor hard, with whatever separation you've managed to get, right as the ball is struck, exactly as John says here.
It's not just that you are late to respond when you keep moving your feet as the opponent strikes the ball, but that a good opponent will fully factor that additional motion into their targeting every time. His/her hand is faster than your feet. It's not a winnable battle.
Very helpful video, John. This is simple, but amazing!
Hair cut looking fresh
John, excellent content. It appears you are hinging at the hip and knees when you dink? I agree that hip hinging alone when dinking is less effective.
Great info like always. Thanks John. A small feedback for you consideration. There is a lot of competing demand for our attention. The amount of instructions available is increasing at an explosive speed. And our available time is not. I suggest that you go straight into your whys and what and hows. I noticed that you spent 2 minutes justifying why you need to give the whys. Those who can have clear and crisp info in the shortest amount of time will do well in this information overloaded world
Thank you, this information will be very useful to me....😊
Excellent video
hey great video. what shoes are u wearing? very nice
Nice! If you could incorporate some grip info into videos that would be very helpful too!
sick 007 paddle bro
Can you do a video on how to hit a backhand dink with topspin? I guess you have to use 2 hands for that?
not sure why the discount code for the bzer balls not working? could it be my location?
Never use "MultiBle" hinges when spell checking
Content is good too
John, I like your videos. I watch all of them. However, for this one I don’t agree with you when you said using one hinge for one shot. Some shots are impossible to do well by using only hinge, e.g, serving. For top spin dinking I believe it will be better to use both wrist and elbow hinge.
Sorry but I disagree with you.
Again, everyone is different. But most top pros use mostly their elbows as their hinges for forehand topspin dinks. You’ll see little to no wrist movement. Anna bright comes to mind.
@ do you see anyone using one hinge to serve?
@chunpingding1196 I thought context of this video and above comment is dink though
@@chunpingding1196 this is for dinking. Not serving. Using multiple hinges for dinking is a recipe for inconsistency