Tension holding bat to get spin
Danttgeek asked 4 months ago
Hi Guys,
Really enjoying the new masterclass.
For some time I have been uncertain about the whole concept of tension and as my experience and skill increased, I have become even more confused.
Specifically the issue is around whether to hold the bat loosely or whether to squeeze it at contact for maximum spin.
For the dribble spinny open up, I developed the habit of squeezing the blade and even having tension in my body for tremendous spin. So I thought that was key for spin.
As I developed as a player, I realised that tension in the body slows the shots and quality and can also mess with timing, so I learned to relax more.
But then I learned how to do the super side-spinny loop from mid distance. Now this shot has RIDICULOUS amounts of spin and people often struggle to get their bat to the ball. However, I found that in order to make good contact and get really good spin and keep the ball travelling slowly with maximum rotation, that I needed to hold the blade very loosely.
So now I am confused – both shots are very similar, both seek to create a ball that is slow and has heavy spin – so is maximum spin generated with holding the blade tightly or holding it loosely?
This is of course a really important concept for the serve – I used to always grip hard at contact but now I am trying loose and am not sure what I think – all I hace noticed is that with a hard grip it seems harder to keep the ball short.
Very confused – hope you guys can clarify why I am having this varied experience and what the best grip and body tension is for spin generation.
Danttgeek answered 4 months ago
PS: Just wanted to say that the YouTube channel and the TTD team is awesome to watch – have to say it’s been really inspirational watching Dan play and seeing the tremendous improvement to your backhand since you had that focussed practice a year or two ago – really goes to show how we can keep improving – your backhand is amazing now and doesn’t compare to the old one.
It looks like your playing level is about to breakthrough. I know the guys tease you a bit, but I think they might eat their words soon because frankly there is still a little gap between your ability and match play and when that closes, they will eat their words when you beat them. It looks like you are about to start winning a lot more matches once you get used to winning. (I think sometimes when we play better then we expect we back off at the end of games) Go Dan, crush them!
Dan Academy Coach answered 4 months ago
Hey Dan, thanks I’ve been working hard on my game and backhand the last year so it’s good to see some improvements coming in now, still a long way to go but I’m getting there. I’m a danger haha definitely potential in there to beat them and make them eat their words like you said! 🙂 Great to hear you are enjoying the TTD Team videos, it’s a lot of work but good fun!
Ok so on your question of tension I think it’s a bit of a personal thing and how you feel comfortable. For sure most of the time it’s important to be relaxed and not grip the bat too tightly, however in the exact timing of when you contact the ball it’s good to then try to squeeze the bat and create that tension through the contact point. This gives you that sudden bite on the ball which generates a lot of spin. If you are totally relaxed all the way through on shots like the open ups or serves you can still get spin of course but to really get big amounts I think you do need that element of tension right on the contact. So I would say keep focused on being relaxed in general play but on the open up shots or when you want a lot of spin and on serves, try to squeeze your first finger and thumb slightly on the contact for that bit of tension and then relax off again. It does’t need to be really hard but I think this is the balance you are looking for. Hope this helps.
Dan 🙂
DanttgeekThanks Dan – really appreciate your answer. Always impressed by your and Tom’s humble attitudes.
Clearly when we block a ball holding the racket tightly, it bites more and ball jumps – so it does make sense why the tensing at contact would get more spin. I wonder if the issue has been that the squeezing causes a momentary misalignment of the bat reducing the quality brush – hence the dichotomy of it sometimes working for me and sometimes against me. This reduction in brush would also explain the increase in the power of the shot making it hard to keep the ball short (ie. harder contact means more energy into forward momentum instead of spin)
I imagine that proper alignment of the thumb and forefinger opposing each other strongly is key so that the squeeze doesn’t cause a tilt. I have played with this a bit after your comment and can see that the squeeze can cause a bit of a twist during the pendulum action in particular. Food for thought. I wonder if these micromovement problems are common in people’s serves – wonder if that’s what separates the great servers from the mediocre ones.
DanHey, Yeah that’s right the thumb and finger being directly opposite each other will help this feeling and avoid the bat twisting like you said. This could be why you find it inconsistent and not working all the time. I think with plenty of practice on this and time getting used to the feeling on serves and topspin shots it will help you generate more spin consistently.
