Let me show you how to slice. In tennis you have three types of shots. You can
hit the ball flat, that means the ball is not really rotating. It's coming straight
out of the racket and without any rotation. You can hit with topspin, that
means the ball is rotating forward or you can hit with slice, that means that
you hit it in such a way that the ball is rotating backwards, toward to you.
What are the advantage of hitting with slice?
Well, what slice does is that it stays low or it stops moving forward, so it is
very useful for situations where you want to keep the ball low on that side.
For instance, an approach shot. If I hit a deep approach with slice, the ball is
gonna stay low and the opponent is gonna have to hit up. If I'm at the net, I'm
gonna be able to volley. The other very useful shot with slice is when you want
to hit the ball short. If you hit it with slice, the ball is just gonna stop. So I
think it slice is a very useful tool for you. Let me explain how it works. In order
to hit with slice you really have to hit a little bit on the bottom part of the
ball. If this is a ball, half of the ball. Here you want to hit on the bottom part
of the ball, and you want to hit with the open racket head. So the best grip for a
slice shot is a Continental Grip just like a hammer.
Okay, that's your Continental grip. You can use it for a backhand or you can use
it for a forehand. Very important with the slice is that the wrist stays up. The
racquet head above the hand. Same thing on the backhand, you racquet head a
little bit above your contact point. The racket is going to come down to the
ball and then it's going to go through it. So it's gonna come down and through.
You're not really chopping at the ball. The other important thing to remember
with the slice is that your racket is not really open. A lot of people think
that if they hitting slice, they're chopping under the ball like that. iI you
do that the ball is just gonna spin and just gonna land right in front of you.
Actually, at contact your racket is gonna be a little bit open but fairly parallel
to the net. If this is parallel, it's gonna be just a little bit open. If you
do that and hit through the ball you're gonna have a nice aggressive slice. If
you want to hit the ball shorter, then you're gonna have to open the racket a
little bit more, hit a little bit softer at the ball. Very important is the wrist
doesn't really move ,so you're not hitting slices by moving your wrist like
that. Okay? Your wrist stays fairly stable. You want the wrist stable you want to
have the racket - if you're hitting a backhand the racket it's gonna start
open in the back, it's gonna come forward, your wrist is gonna stay firm, you're
gonna get to contact and the racket is going to close a little bit. If it
started like that it's going to close a little bit. You're gonna hit the ball and
then you're gonna open up. If you're trying to hit the slice and the ball is
kind of popping up like that, that means that you're getting too much under the
ball. The racket is too open at contact, so keep your racket closed and then just hit
through the ball. Just lead a little bit with the lower edge. That is gonna help
you. So racket above the hand, firm wrist, start above the ball and then go to the
ball and slightly down, racket is slightly open at contact and then hit through
it.That is important! You want the ball to go fairly fast and through, you don't
want it spinny and high. You want to make sure it's a solid shot. Don't use your
wrist to slice and don't chop down at the ball. That is the slides for you