THE LOST ART OF UNDERSPIN: Rediscovering The Most Undervalued Tennis Skill

By Paul Dale | The 3AM Method

IS UNDERSPIN MAKING A COME-BACK?

Is there a resurgence in the use of underspin in tennis today? Having witnessed years of topspin domination and underspin neglect, we're finally seeing underspin getting the recognition it deserves from top male and female players.

Here's what most tennis players need to understand: Every failed volley, every floating approach shot, every defensive slice that sits up for easy winners stems from fundamental underspin technique errors that have been ignored for decades.

We're approaching underspin training all wrong. Players don't need more slice practice—they need systematic technical foundations that create consistent underspin under match pressure.

Your next breakthrough in net play and defensive skills doesn't come from hitting more slice shots. It comes from mastering the underspin fundamentals that separate recreational players from professionals.

The Underspin Execution Problem (You've Seen This)

Picture this: Your player needs to approach the net on a short ball. A perfect tactical opportunity, with good court positioning and confident execution. Then the approach shot arrives...

The ball floats high with no penetration. Opponent steps in for an easy passing shot winner.

Sound familiar?

This wasn't a tactical mistake or poor timing. It's the result of players attempting underspin shots without understanding the technical fundamentals that create effective slice, volleys, and approach shots under competitive pressure.

What's Happening At The Grand Slams...

Over the past few years, at professional tournaments including the French Open, players have been employing underspin groundstrokes during rallies to keep balls low and utilising it for defensive positioning when necessary. Underspin is also a key element in the modern drop shot, which we now see from almost all players.

As tennis becomes increasingly diverse in its skill levels, players today must understand how to technically incorporate underspin into their game and, just as important, when to execute it during points.

Over many years of coaching, I have observed that successful underspin execution requires systematic technical understanding, not just random slice practice. The difference between effective underspin and floating errors lies in mastering three fundamental elements.

Let's start with the technical part first.

Here are the key points I emphasise when teaching underspin:

1. THE LOCKED WRIST: Creating Solid Contact

Elite Underspin Foundation

Players with great underspin understand that consistent slice execution begins with wrist discipline. I teach players to lock their wrists whenever they want to use underspin, whether for volleys, approach shots, or one-handed underspin groundstrokes.

The advantage of a locked wrist is that it creates a solid surface (racquet face) for the ball to rebound. Having achieved a solid racquet face from a locked wrist, there is no need to add any swing or use extra wrist action during contact because the locked wrist allows the player to use the natural rebound of the ball off the racquet face.

A locked wrist creates a 90-degree angle between the arm and the racquet, providing the stable platform that elite players use automatically.

Insisting on a locked wrist means the player has to work harder on their stroke positioning. If the player doesn't get close enough to the ball to play the underspin, they cannot maintain a locked wrist. If players need to extend their wrists to reach the ball, they aren't close enough. This is why volleys and great movement go hand in hand.

Close-up view of racquet face angle during underspin contact, demonstrating proper open face position for effective slice spin

"Having achieved a solid racquet face from a locked wrist, there is no need to add any swing or use extra wrist action during the contact..."

Coach Action: Make locked wrist positioning non-negotiable for all underspin shots. Create drills where players cannot complete the stroke without proper wrist discipline. Connect poor underspin results directly to wrist positioning errors.

Player Action: Practice the 90-degree wrist angle before every underspin shot. If you cannot maintain this position throughout contact, your court positioning needs immediate adjustment.

2. LATE CONTACT POINT: Maintaining Racquetface Control

Professional Underspin Timing

Exponents of great underspin understand that underspin contact timing differs completely from topspin technique. One of the biggest mistakes you can make with underspin is to hit the ball too early and in front, or worse, to "punch" the ball in front of you.

I know that you've heard forever that to hit great volleys, it's essential to "punch the ball in front." All the books and coaches you've encountered over the years have repeated this advice to you. I'm here to tell you that they are incorrect. Hitting volleys and approach shots in front of your body or using a punching motion to play the stroke will destroy your underspin.

Contacting the ball early in the contact zone (out in front) will "open" the racquet face and create a flatter contact, meaning you will lose your feel for depth control.

Underspin requires the contact point to be later, roughly parallel to the side of your body, so the racquet face stays "open" throughout contact with the ball. This late contact maintains the correct amount of underspin through the ball, helping you control shot depth and keeping the bounce low at the other side of the net.

To achieve a late contact point on a short ball in front (both for volleys and approach shots), the player must learn to use a sideways crossover step. I like to work this crossover step into fitness workouts so that the skill can be learned and perfected until the player becomes sufficiently confident in manoeuvring this way.

"Hitting volleys and approach shots in front of your body or using a punching motion to play the shot will destroy your under-spin."

Coach Action: Eliminate all "punch in front" teaching for underspin shots. Train sideways crossover steps during fitness sessions. Make late contact point positioning a measurable technical requirement.

Player Action: Practice contact timing by focusing on ball contact parallel to your body rather than in front. Master the crossover step to achieve proper positioning for late contact on short balls.

3. USE OF THE ELBOW: Adding Power and Penetration

Elite Underspin Power Generation

Great players generate underspin power through systematic elbow technique rather than wrist manipulation. We have now locked the wrist, and energy for the stroke will come from the rebound effect of the locked racquet face. But what if we want to increase speed and penetration on volleys or approach shots?

We can generate extra speed and penetration by extending the elbow slightly through contact with the ball.

As soon as you know that you're playing any stroke using underspin, prepare a locked wrist, but allow yourself a slightly relaxed elbow. As the ball is contacted, the wrist remains locked, and the elbow extends through the contact to provide increased feel and penetration.

You'll need to work on coordinating the elbow, but the benefits will be worth the effort in creating effective underspin shots under match pressure.

Coach Action: Train elbow extension as a separate technical element after wrist locking is mastered. Create progression drills that build elbow coordination without compromising wrist discipline.

Player Action: Practice the sequence: locked wrist preparation, late contact positioning, then elbow extension through contact. Master each element separately before combining them.

Advanced Underspin Applications

THE VOLLEY: Placement Over Power

The volley is a placement shot and not a put-away shot. Accurate volley placement is always better than attempting to hit the ball forcefully. The volley is often used to finish points; your mindset should always be to find a target.

Be aware of the height of your contact relative to the height of the white band. A ball struck below the height of the white band puts you in a neutral or even defensive situation, meaning you need to be more cautious with what you decide to do. In contrast, any ball above the white band will signal offence and an opportunity to finish the point.

THE APPROACH SHOT: Body Movement Creates Timing and Power

The ball's energy and timing are primarily supplied by the forward movement of your body as you run to the net. Don't overdo the racquet work! Underspin is always a slow arm movement (use a fast arm for topspin). Your primary objective is to keep yourself safe at the net by keeping your opponent's feet deep in the court and maintaining a low point of contact.

THE O

THE ONE-HANDED BACKHAND: Ground Force Integration

Maintain a disciplined finish after the completion of your stroke. The finish should end with the knuckles of your racquet hand in front of you and at head height. Finishing out to the side of your body shows you are using too much shoulder in your swing. Master the stroke by extending your elbow.

Establishing a contact foot helps you draw power up from the ground. Many players who typically use a two-handed backhand groundstroke can sometimes struggle with strength when attempting a one-handed underspin backhand. Enlist the help of ground forces to supply sufficient power to the single-handed backhand.

Why Most Players and Coaches Get Underspin Wrong

Here's the uncomfortable truth: Most tennis instruction treats underspin as a secondary skill rather than a fundamental technique requiring systematic development.

We've become so focused on topspin dominance that we've forgotten that underspin requires completely different technical foundations than topspin shots.

The Traditional Approach:

Practice slice shots through repetition
"Punch the ball in front" for volleys
Hope underspin works under pressure
Treat slice as a defensive-only technique

The 3AM Underspin Method:

Systematic technical foundations (locked wrist, late contact, elbow extension)
Positioning discipline for the proper contact point
Underspin is both an offensive and defensive weapon
Technical mastery that survives competitive pressure

Tennis player completing one-handed underspin backhand with proper finish position, knuckles forward at head height

Immediate Actions You Can Take Today

For Coaches:

The Underspin Technical Checklist – Make locked wrist, late contact, and elbow extension non-negotiable for all slice shots
Crossover Step Integration – Include sideways movement training in fitness sessions to build proper positioning
Contact Point Discipline – Eliminate "punch in front" teaching and train late contact positioning systematically

For Players:

Wrist Lock Practice – Master the 90-degree wrist angle before attempting any underspin shot
Contact Timing Awareness – Practice hitting balls parallel to your body rather than in front for all slice shots.
Elbow Extension Training – Learn to generate power through elbow movement while maintaining a locked wrist position.

The Bottom Line

Underspin tennis technique separates recreational players from professionals through systematic technical mastery, not random slice practice. Every underspin shot either builds or reveals your technical foundation under competitive pressure.

The question isn't whether you can hit slice shots in practice. It's whether your underspin technique can create effective volleys, approach shots, and defensive slices when matches demand precision under pressure.

Underspin mastery isn't built through hope—it's developed through systematic technical training that others won't commit to perfecting.

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