In sports, in particular
racquet sportRacquet sports are those where players use racquets to hit a ball or other object.-List of racquet sports:* Badminton* Ball badminton* Basque pelota** Frontenis** Jai alai* Beach tennis** Matkot* Bilbocatch* Frescoball* Lacrosse* Lotball...
s,
topspin is a property of a shot where the ball rotates as if rolling in the same direction as it is moving. Topspin on a shot imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air (see
Magnus effectThe Magnus effect is the phenomenon whereby a spinning object flying in a fluid creates a whirlpool of fluid around itself, and experiences a force perpendicular to the line of motion...
). It can be generated by hitting the ball with an up-and-forward swing, with the racquet facing below the direction it is moving.
In sports, in particular
racquet sportRacquet sports are those where players use racquets to hit a ball or other object.-List of racquet sports:* Badminton* Ball badminton* Basque pelota** Frontenis** Jai alai* Beach tennis** Matkot* Bilbocatch* Frescoball* Lacrosse* Lotball...
s,
topspin is a property of a shot where the ball rotates as if rolling in the same direction as it is moving. Topspin on a shot imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air (see
Magnus effectThe Magnus effect is the phenomenon whereby a spinning object flying in a fluid creates a whirlpool of fluid around itself, and experiences a force perpendicular to the line of motion...
). It can be generated by hitting the ball with an up-and-forward swing, with the racquet facing below the direction it is moving. A topspin shot is the opposite of the slice; topspin itself is the opposite of
backspinIn racquet sports, backspin , is a shot such that the ball rotates backwards after it is hit. The trajectory of the shot involves an upward force that lifts the ball...
.
Physical explanation
Bernoulli's principleIn fluid dynamics, Bernoulli's principle states that for an inviscid flow, an increase in the speed of the fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy...
helps to explain the way that the ball descends toward the ground. The top of the ball moves forwards against the flow of air, which consequently slows down the flow of air on the top surface. The bottom surface does the complete opposite of this. It moves in the same direction as the airflow, thus accelerating the airflow on the bottom. This causes the air pressure above the ball to be higher than the air pressure below the ball.
The pressure differences impart a downward force on the ball.
Competitive utility
The topspin shot is very effective on hard surfaces. The ball spins forward and descends toward the ground quicker, so it can be hit with more force compared to another type of shot.
On most court surfaces, topspin also makes the ball bounce higher. As a result, it is often used on clay or "soft" court surfaces which have a naturally higher bounce, in order to make the ball harder for the opponent to hit. An opponent with a one-handed backhand is especially vulnerable to a topspin shot because it is difficult to hit a high ball with a one-handed backhand.
The topspin shot is primarily used by tennis players as either a "safe shot" or rally ball, or it can also be used to construct a point. For example, a player may hit three topspin shots crosscourt, and then on the fourth shot hit a flat ball or a slice down the line to set him/herself up to win the point.
In
tennisTennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....
because of a net being in the middle of the court, using topspin will increase the player's consistency. Topspin also allows a player a greater margin of error. Because topspin brings the ball down toward the ground quicker, a player can hit the ball higher over the net, thus increasing the margin of error. Hitting low to high as the player approaches the contact point will impart lift. Keeping the racket face (the strings) slightly closed from perpendicular will impart the topspin to the ball that the player wants.
Other sports
In
SnookerSnooker is a cue sport that is played on a large baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regulation table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different ...
, PoolPool, also known as pocket billiards, is the general term for a family of games played on a pool table, with 6 receptacles called pockets along the rails, in which balls are deposited as the main goal of play...
and BilliardsCue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
, players use topspin to keep the cue ball moving, including after it hits other balls. They get top spin by hitting the cue against the top of the ball.
In
GolfGolf is a precision club-and-ball sport, in which competing players , using many types of clubs, attempt to hit balls into each hole on a golf course while employing the fewest number of strokes. Golf is one of the few ball games that does not require a standardized playing area...
shots may also have topspin, although this is nearly always the undesirable consequence of a topped shot.
In
CricketCricket is a bat-and-ball team sport that is first documented as being played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, cricket had developed to the point where it had become the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being...
, a
topspinnerA top-spinner is a type of delivery bowled by a cricketer bowling either wrist spin or finger spin. In either case, the bowler imparts the ball with top spin by twisting it with his or her fingers prior to delivery....
is a type of
deliveryA delivery or ball in cricket is a single action of bowling a cricket ball towards the batsman. The two words are about equally common and used interchangeably....
bowled by a
wrist spinWrist spin is a style of bowling in the sport of cricket. It refers to the mechanical technique and specific hand movements associated with imparting a particular direction of spin to the cricket ball...
or
finger spinFinger spin is a style of bowling in the sport of cricket. It refers to the mechanical technique and specific hand movements associated with imparting a particular direction of spin to the cricket ball. The other spinning technique, generally used to spin the ball in the opposite direction, is...
bowler with top spin, so the ball falls earlier and faster than normal. As a result, the ball drops shorter and bounces higher than might otherwise be anticipated by the batsman.
In
BaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
the
curveballThe curveball is a breaking pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that impart down and/or sideways spin to the ball. It is therefore considered a type of breaking ball. Contrary to a fastball , the curveball has a diagonal spin that creates a wake behind the ball,...
, a type of pitch which usually has downward movement, is thrown in such a way as to put topspin on the ball.
In competitive
Table tennisTable tennis is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth with rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Except for the initial serve, players must allow a ball played toward them only one bounce on their side of the table and must...
, effective command of topspin is indispensable, not only in order to be able to execute an attack shot counter to a backspin ball, but also in order to be able to execute a speed shot when the ball is already lower than the net.
In
Soccer topspin is used with
volleysA volley is an air-borne strike in football . A volley can be extremely hard to aim and requires good foot-eye coordination and timing. In general, the volley requires that the player strike the ball with the front of his foot, with the toes pointing downward, ankle locked, and the knee lifted...
to strike the ball forcefully while keeping it in play. It is also used on
freekicksA direct free kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football following a foul. Unlike an indirect free kick, a goal may be scored directly against the opposing side without the ball having first touched another player.-Award:...
and other shots to make the ball dip over a wall, or simply to keep it on target.
In
Volleyball Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of 6 players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules...
topspin is used during spiking and serving to allow players to hit the ball harder, while ensuring that the ball remains in play in the opponent's court. Topspin also stabilises the ball during its flight, allowing for more accurate serving.