Top Spin Wins for Nadal at the French Open

Rafael Nadal has won the French Open Tennis tournament four times. He owes many of these wins to his exceptional top spin forehand. As he goes for his fifth title in 2010, we thought it would be interesting to analyze some video and describe why top spin wins on clay.

Tennis balls loose much of their speed when they bounce on clay tennis courts. This means that the powerfully hit flat shots that Roger Federer uses to destroy opponents on hard courts and grass lose much of their speed on clay. The ball also tends to bounce higher on clay. The flat forehand  that normally stays low to the ground slows down and bounces higher, allowing the opponent to hit it back with interest.

Top spin is the effect on the tennis ball created when it rotates in the same direction that it is travelling. Top spin shots are ideal for clay:

1. Top spin shots can be hit higher over the net and deeper into the court. This is because the top spin makes the ball drop quickly with a downward force known as the Magnus Effect. The deeper you can push your opponent on a clay court the harder it is for them to play an offensive shot in return.
2. Top spin ensures that the ball bounces higher too. The top spin bounce along with the extra high bounce on clay results in a return shot that is hit at shoulder height or above making it much more difficult to return with power, especially with a one handed backhand like Federer's.
3. Top spin also creates a heaviness in the shot.  As the ball is spinning toward your opponent and in the same direction as it travels, a well hit top spin shot will come onto the racket faster after the bounce. This is more evident when the shot is used on hard courts, but Nadal is powerful enough and creates sufficient top spin to have players comment on this aspect of his shot even on clay.

So now that we know what makes top spin effective on the clay at Roland Garros, lets take a look at Nadal's top spin forehand in slow motion in the video below.



Nadal imparts top spin on the ball by swing his racket from a low position to a high position, using the racket to skim over the ball and creating a rotation in the same direction as he is hitting.

As you watch the video notice how Nadal uses all his big body parts, hips, torso and shoulders to create the power in the shot and then uses the arm and racket to create the top spin and direction.

1. He starts by rotating his hips, torso and shoulders away from the ball as he brings his racket back to a low starting position.
2. He positions his feet and then starts by rotating his hips first, followed by his chest and shoulders toward the direction he plans to hit, using the kinematic sequence to create racket speed.
3. Now he can swing his arm and racket through the ball, using the power that was created by his body and the control created by his arm and wrist.
4. He swings the racket low to high, sliding the racket over the ball during the shot. Some call this a windshield wiper action. This action creates the top spin.
5. Nadal ends with the racket at shoulder height and over his right shoulder. Depending on the shot he sometimes follows through with the racket even higher than this.

Knowing why Nadals top spin forehand is so effective on clay and how he hits it is one thing, offering effective counter to such a shot is something else. Another French Open final between Nadal and Federer would be a great test of Nadals top spin and clay court skills versus Federer's creative and adaptive style. In previous years Nadal's top spin has won out, but Federer has 16 Grand Slams and is playing better than ever.

Federer Practices his Between the Legs Shot!

If you were watching the US Open Men's Semifinal between Roger Federer and Novack Djokovic, you most likely saw Federer's incredible between the legs winner.

If not here it is:



Although we have video and some great angles, I am not sure that I am ready to analyze this shot. It is simply incredible. However, Federer said in the post match interview that he does sometimes practice the between the legs shot. We have also seen him use it before in match play, but never with such great power and precision.

Great players and athletes in any sport analyze and practice their technique all the time. They use video regularly to help them understand how to make improvements. Remember that all you need is a video camera and some basic understanding to analyze your own performances using video. Follow us here and look back through our previous posts to learn some tips and tricks for video analysis.

Federer Serves His Way Towards the US Open

Last week, Roger Federer won the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters tournament for the third time. Only Mats Wilander, Andre Agassi, and Pete Sampras have done the same (Wilander actually won it four times). This tournament is part of a series of tournaments leading up to the US Open, and the players use it as an opportunity to reacquaint themselves to the hardcourt surface. After having been in a bit of a slump, partly due to injuries and a formidable opponent by the name of Rafael Nadal, Federer appears to have returned to winning form as of late, and is once again considered a favorite in the upcoming US Open.

Although Federer's serve is quite respectable in terms of speed (averaging around 120 mph for his first serve), it is his ability to disguise the spin and direction that make it extremely effective. As Federer has demonstrated, blistering serves can be returned consistently if the returner can anticipate where the ball will be hit. By keeping his opponents from being able to easily read his serve, adjusting the pace only increases Federer's effectiveness.

One of the main ways Federer is able to disguise his serves is with a consistent toss. As is true with most sports, keeping your eyes on the ball throughout a point/play is one of the basic concepts that helps you play well; tennis is no different, and a server can give away a lot of information about the type of serve he will hit by significantly moving his toss around. By tossing the ball in the same location, and instead adjusting his swing path to direct the ball and apply various spins, Federer gives his opponents just a fraction less time to anticipate where the ball will go; and at 120 mph, that lost time can make a big difference whether the serve is returned successfully.

Of course, just knowing your serve's effectiveness can be improved by having a consistent toss is only half the battle; having the ability to do this and make minor adjustments to your swing path/grip (not to mention having perfect timing) are just some of the skills that separate us amateurs and weekend warriors from the pros. Below is a slow-motion video of one of Federer's serves at Wimbledon. Enjoy, and learn what you can from perhaps the greatest tennis player of all time (to this date, anyway - keep practicing kids!).

How to Slide on a Clay Tennis Court: Video Analysis

Every year around May the pro tennis players make the switch from the hard courts in the US to the clay courts of Europe in their quest to be the world's best. Playing on clay forces the players to make changes in their game and as we know not many players are able to adapt completely and win on both the hard and clay court surfaces. Amongst the men, only Rafa Nadal has proved he can win consistently on both, while the women have only seen Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova as perfect examples.

The differences between playing on a hard or grass court and on clay are are logical as well as tactical. Here are a few:

1. The clay court is softer and therefore puts less stress on the players' joints.
2. The ball moves slower on most clay courts than on hard courts. This means players cannot dominate with their serves.
3. The ball "sits up" more on clay, which means that it seems to hang in the air ready to be hit. This is why players hit more topspin shots on clay.
4. Baseline ground strokes are much more prevalent than volleys on clay because of the reasons described above. The players find it difficult to hit a good approach shot. Failure to hit a good approach may allow their opponent to have a chance to hit a passing shot.
5. Top players slide into shots on clay. This is more difficult to do on other surfaces.

We are going to analyze the slide shot on a clay surface. Players slide on clay so that they can change direction more quickly after hitting their shot. It's easier to stop and turn on hard courts because of the surface's friction; however clay courts can be slippery, and once a player stops running and positions his feet to hit a shot, his momentum will cause him to slide on the surface.

Therefore if the player does not slide correctly he will overrun the ball or cramp his shot. Assuming he was able to return the ball effectively he would then need to stop his momentum so he could return to the middle of the court and prepare for the next shot.

Let's look at some video. We found some video of one of the greatest female tennis players, Steffi Graf, sliding on a clay court. Watch it below:



We can see Steffi running and sliding into a forehand and then doing the same for a backhand. We can also see that she uses the slide to help her change direction and prepare for her next shot. In both her forehand and her backhand, she slides first and hits the shot at the end of the slide. This means she is hitting the shot from a set position.

We also note that after sliding and hitting the shot she no longer has any momentum carrying her further away from the center of the court. She can now recover quickly and get ready for the next shot. Watch how she is slides into her forehand and is able to quickly recover and get ready to run for the next shot, the backhand. Once again she slides before hitting the backhand and easily changes directions to get back into position to hit the winner against Monica Seles who is approaching the net in this point.

Before starting to slide we also see that Steffi positions her feet correctly in preparation to hit the shot she wants. She does not try to reposition her feet once she is sliding and before hitting the shot.

Our video analysis of Steffi Graf sliding on a clay court gives us some insight on how to slide correctly on clay. Here are some pointers:

1. Slide before hitting the shot. This means your timing has to be perfect so that you slide into the correct position to hit a good shot.
2. The slide is about recovery and changing direction. Therefore you do not want to continue to slide after you have hit the shot. After hitting the shot you need to be almost stationary so that you can push off and recover for the next shot. Once again timing is critical here.
3. Get your feet into the correct position to hit the shot you want, before starting your slide. Once you are sliding you will find it difficult to change your stance without messing up the shot or falling over.
4. You need to be able to slide for both forehand and backhand shots. If you cannot slide in one direction then your opponent may be able to take advantage of this weakness. Therefore when you practice sliding on clay, practice sliding to hit a forehand as well as a backhand.

This year's French Open Tennis has already begun and we are excited to watch the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Safina. We will be watching as they slide around the courts and looking for more clues to how to slide effectively on clay.

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