forehand and backhand counter hit

Robert Davis Asked 12 years ago

In these strokes does the bat move upward in order to create topspin and hence improve control?  In the forehand counter hit video it appears to me as though the bat is tilted foreword, but I don't believe this was mentioned.  Are these strokes primarily for control and keeping the ball in play rather than being offensive?

Jeff Plumb Answered 12 years ago

Hi Robert,

With the counterhit you do generate a little bit of topspin and that does help with control as it causes the ball to dip down. There is not a lot of topspin on the counterhit strokes though. For this stroke you can start with the bat fairly flat. The counterhit is not used in games at the top level very much. This is because they tend to use the forehand topspin which is an extension of this stroke. With the forehand counterhit against a block, the angle is tilted more and the contact is more of a brushing contact which generates the extra topspin.