In the Topsin forehand the body position is “in front of the net” (open stance), which can also be semi-open (with his feet on a slightly diagonal line compared to the network).

photo: semi-open stance

photo: the correct position (half-open) allow to close the shot with a 180° rotation (with the chest facing the opposite side than at the start of the stroke).

● open stance: the body totally parallel to the net does not allow to give a strong boost to the ball: the boost can only be given by a movement back -> ahead, and with feet parallel to the net is difficult to move a body part ahead. The open stance favors the brushed (spin), the shots become more curved, but become slower (less boost), and lighter for the opponent. This stance can be useful for special shots, they have to get off soon after the net, such as certain types of passers-by, and especially the short angles.

● semi-open stance is the best for “ordinary” shots of topspin forehand. The position of the feet tilted to the net (left foot is ahead) enables the body to the forward movement of a body part – the right hip.

In this case the right hip, which moves forward to give the rotation to the body (which, in windshield-wiper is as if it were hinged in the spine), in the first part of the movement is able to give a strong forward movement of the right side of the body.

● caution: the body in the traditional position (perpendicular to the net) do not allows a real topspin (windshield-wiper motion of the racket). In the topspin, in fact, carrying the weight of the body on the front leg, does not allow the anterior shoulder rotate (you end up in a very precarious position); in this position your right shoulder (rear) approaches the front shoulder and “tangles” (the arms as if you wanted to hug a person). In any case the traditional position, as we have of tightrope walkers, you cannot rotate 180° body needed to produce an excellent topspin.

photo 1: in this case the trunk did not follow the rotation (there was almost only an advancement of the arm), and there is rotation of racket (windshield-wiper) very partial. What you see in the photo happens, for example, when your feet are in the traditional position, on a line perpendicular to the net.

photo 2: Stan Smith, a champion of the past: in this posture, with his feet on a line perpendicular to the net, you could not do a 180° rotation of the torso.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS ON THE STANCES

One of the advantages of the open position (and semi-open) stance is that it allows you to hit the ball doing a step in less than the traditional stance on wich you need to arrive with our feet on a line perpendicular to the net (that is, you can get more quickly to the ideal position to hit the ball – this is crucial when playing on fast surfaces).

 

photo: Murray performs a step further than parallel to the net location

ROTATION (TORSION) OF THE BODY

In forehand topspin technique there is no longer a transferring body weight forward (toward the front leg) that there was in ‘traditional’ tennis (the body perpendicular to the net), but there is a rotation of the body (the boost of the ball is given by the advancement of the hip)

That is, if the traditional shot gave the boost (push) to the ball with the transfer of the weight to the left leg (front), in the in the topsin forehand is the hip that gave the boost, which advances to produce rotary motion.

In other words in the topspin forehand the rear leg pushes forward the body (in a different way than the traditional shot anyway), but being the body as anchored on a vertical axis (in the spinal cord) it rotates rather than push forward. What actually moves forward is just the right hip, and this is sufficient (along with other particulars of technique) to give a strong boost to the ball.

Recall that the topspin is born (1) to allow a ball hit with power, to land prior to baseline; (2) to pass the ball to a sufficient height over the net to play safely. And consider that it is pointless to have so much power and if the ball leaves the field length, or, in long exchanges, you pass very close to the net and risk to miss the point.

Note how visually windshield-wiper technique appears opposite compared to the traditional one: traditional stroke lightens your right leg (rear), while the opposite happens in forehand topspin (phto below) – often you see your front leg up from the ground in the closing stroke.

 

In the picture you can see how in topspin there is a rotation of 180° (as you can see, the sequence miss the start and end frames of stroke): you start with the chest facing the right edge of the field (while the feet are in semi-open stance) and ends with his chest looking the other side of the field (missed frame).

As described elsewhere, at the stage immediately prior to impact, the push of the right leg (the hip move forward) brings the body to arch forward. This allows, among other things, the ability to set the head of the racket in a vertical position (grips are used “under the handle”), and a better rotation of racket in the windshield-wiper mode.

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