Hard and Soft Chop

Mars De Los Santos Asked 14 years ago

I encountered the terms hard and soft chop while I went to a club to play. What does these terms mean? What is the difference between the two and how do I return these? Thanks in advance! :D

Jeff Plumb Answered 14 years ago

Hi Mars,

I'm not familiar with these terms but i can have a guess at what they mean. It sounds to me like hard chop is referring to a chop where the defender places as much backspin on the ball. This will make it more difficult for the attacker to lift the ball over the net. If this is right then the soft chop would probably refer to a chop where the defender does not put much backspin on the ball. By mixing up heavy backspin chops and light backspin chops, the defender puts the onus on the attacker to really watch the ball and determine the right stroke to play to counter the varying backspin. 

I would normally refer to these strokes as a heavy chop (lots of backspin) and a float (very light or even no backspin).

To return a heavy chop you need to really lift the ball when playing your topspin. Against a float you don't need to lift the ball as much and can swing more forward and have the angle of your bat more closed.

If you get a chance to ask the members at your club I'd love to hear if my guess was right about these terms. Please let me know if you find out.