Of all the different pickleball clinics we run, the ones focused on spin are by far the most popular. There are three kinds of spin: backspin, sidespin, and topspin. In this article, we are going to talk about topspin, why it matters, and when to use it.
First, let’s be clear on what topspin is. As you hit the ball and it’s traveling away from you, the ball will have some kind of rotation. Topspin is when the ball moving away from you is also spinning away from you. That is, the ball is rotating forward as it’s traveling forward.
Topspin does a couple of important things. Once the ball lands, it will jump forward more than a ball hit without topspin. But even more importantly, topspin makes the ball dip — all things being equal, a ball hit with topspin will travel a shorter distance than the ball hit without spin. This brings us to three key moments to use topspin.
Serving. The serve is a great opportunity to gain an advantage. By hitting the ball fast, you give your opponents less time to prepare for the return. This can put pressure on them and make them miss their shot altogether or give you an easier ball to handle. The risk when hitting fast, of course, is that the ball travels too far and lands out of play. This is where topspin can help. By applying topspin, those fast-moving serves that would otherwise land a few inches past the baseline will dip a little and land in the court. Additionally, you can serve a little higher over the net, giving yourself more room to work with, and use topspin to make the ball drop and keep it in play. We can say that topspin can allow you to be more consistent when serving hard.
Third Shot Drops and Drives. Another great time to use topspin is when hitting a third shot. If you’re driving the ball, the rationale is the same as the serve: you can hit the ball faster and still keep it in the court.
But topspin isn’t just for when it’s banging time!
Using topspin on a drop can also be helpful. Since the spin will make the ball dip, you can send your drop a little higher (and safer) over the net and use the spin to get it down low to your opponents, forcing them to hit up on their next shot. Topspin is one more tool that will make it more likely you neutralize the team at the net with your drops.
Dinks. One of the things we see with high-level players is that many consistently use topspin when dinking. Since the primary goal of the dink is to keep the ball low and difficult to attack, topspin can be very helpful. Brushing up the back of the ball and making it spin forward can make those dinks that would otherwise sit up and be attackable get a little bit lower. Also, once the ball bounces, it will tend to skip forward more than a non-spinning ball. This can make it more challenging for your opponent to hit their shots the way they want.
Bonus Use: Lobs. Offensive lobs can be a great way to push your opponents off the net and cause them to scramble. But one of the risks of playing a lob is that you hit a bit too high or a bit too hard and it sails past the baseline. A little bit of topspin can allow you to get that ball up and over the opponent and still have it drop in.
It’s one thing to talk about the uses of topspin, but it’s another altogether to master it. A little bit of practice can go a long way in learning how much spin to apply in different circumstances. Here are a couple of videos that might help you:
So get out there, practice using topspin, and see if you can find ways to make your pickleball game even better.
