HEAVY TOPSPIN DOESN’T START AT CONTACT. IT STARTS DURING THE PREPARATION.

Watch Carlos Alcaraz’s backhand in slow motion.

Before contact, the racket head drops well below the level of the ball. It looks like a small technical detail, but it’s actually one of the biggest reasons why he can produce such heavy topspin while maintaining incredible control and consistency.

Many beginner and intermediate players make a different move. They begin their forward swing with the racket already too close to the height of the ball. The result is usually a flatter shot, less spin, and a much smaller margin over the net.

The lower the racket head starts, the more room there is to accelerate upward through the ball. That upward path creates the topspin that allows players to swing aggressively without sacrificing control.

But the biggest lesson isn’t technical.

It’s about preparation.

Great shots are rarely created at the moment of impact.

They’re created several moments before.

And that principle applies just as much to the mental side of tennis as it does to technique.

Many players try to fix mistakes after they happen. They focus on the miss, the error, or the outcome. But just like Alcaraz’s backhand, the real cause usually appeared much earlier.

By the time the racket reaches the ball, the shot has already been decided.

One of the most important principles in both coaching and performance psychology is this:

The final outcome is usually the consequence of something that happened much earlier.

Contact with the ball lasts only a fraction of a second.

It’s too late to make meaningful corrections.

By the time the racket reaches the ball, the body has already made hundreds of decisions.

Your footwork.

Your spacing.

Your balance.

Your shoulder rotation.

Your racket path.

Your timing.

Everything has already been set in motion.

This is why great coaches rarely spend most of their time correcting contact itself.

Instead, they correct the preparation.

The exact same thing happens during matches.

A player says,

“I missed my backhand.”

But the missed backhand is often just the visible consequence of something else.

Maybe the split step was late.

Maybe the player arrived too close to the ball.

Maybe the preparation started half a second too late.

Maybe the knees never lowered enough to allow the racket head to drop underneath the ball.

The error everyone sees is often just the last link in a much longer chain.

Elite players learn to investigate that chain.

Average players simply react to the final mistake.

That difference changes how improvement happens.

It also changes how confidence develops.

Many players respond to errors with thoughts like:

“I need to be more careful.”

“I have to stop missing.”

“I need more confidence.”

But those solutions are aimed at the effect, not the cause.

A better question is:

“What happened before the mistake?”

Did I prepare early enough?

Was my body low enough?

Did the racket head actually get below the ball?

Did I create enough space?

Did I read the incoming shot early enough?

Questions like these transform every mistake into useful information.

And information is what improvement is built on.

WHY PRESSURE CHANGES YOUR TECHNIQUE

There is another fascinating aspect to this.

Under pressure, the brain naturally looks for shortcuts.

Movements become smaller.

Preparation becomes shorter.

The body rises higher.

The racket starts closer to the ball.

Everything speeds up.

Ironically, the brain is trying to make the movement faster.

Instead, it often makes the shot less effective.

This is one of the reasons players frequently say,

“My arm got tight.”

But the arm is often not the real problem.

The preparation became too small.

Watching Alcaraz teaches us something important.

Even when playing at incredible speed, he never rushes his preparation.

He doesn’t hurry to hit the ball.

He hurries to prepare well.

That is a completely different mindset.

And it explains why his shots remain so heavy, even under pressure.

PRACTICAL DRILL: BUILD THE SHOT BEFORE YOU HIT IT

During your next practice session, spend ten minutes focusing only on preparation.

Forget about power.

Forget about winners.

Forget about pace.

Instead, check these three elements before every backhand:

  • Is the racket head clearly below the ball?

  • Are my legs low enough to create an upward swing?

  • Am I accelerating through the entire swing instead of only trying to hit hard at contact?

If possible, record yourself.

Many players believe they are dropping the racket head much lower than they actually are.

Video often tells a very different story.

The best players don’t rely only on how movements feel.

They verify what they are actually doing.

That habit alone accelerates improvement.

Ultimately, Carlos Alcaraz’s backhand teaches a lesson that goes far beyond technique.

Great shots are not created at contact.

They are created during preparation.

The same is true mentally.

Confidence is prepared.

Composure is prepared.

Focus is prepared.

Peak performances are almost always the result of invisible work that happened long before anyone noticed.

Just like the quiet drop of the racket head underneath the ball.

The next time you miss a shot, instead of asking what went wrong at contact, ask yourself this: what part of my preparation had already determined that mistake before the racket ever touched the ball?

Federico Coppini
Mental Performance Coach & Tennis Coach
Founder – Coppini Tennis Academy
🎾 https://www.coppinitennisacademy.com

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