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Pete and Greg: more topspin equals more "weight," but not always.
In the first "heavy ball" article on the serves of Pete Sampras and Greg Rusedski, we found that–everything else being equal–a higher topspin component in the serve appeared to produce a heavier ball at the time of the return.
Our data showed that the two players had virtually identical average ball speed and ball spin. But Pete’s ball was still heavier at the time of the return. The difference was in the axis of the rotation and the relative amounts of slice and topspin in the balls. Pete had a higher topspin component and this was the difference in the amount of topspin after the bounce and the height of the bounce. Interestingly our data was consistent with first hand accounts of what it was actually like to face the serve of both players. (Click Here.)
Pete’s racket moves slightly more upward and Greg’s slightly more across.
The Next Logical Question
The next logical question is how did Pete produce that heavy ball? And then, can I do it myself? What were the differences in Pete’s motion that produced the difference in the sidespin/topspin balance?
The obvious answer is…