Stop Hitting Long: Close the Face, Drive Forward, Contact Out Front

Summary

Tyler (Universal Rackets) breaks the soft-then-net / hard-then-long loop: power usually isn’t the cause. Geometry is — paddle face, swing path, and contact location.

Open faces send the ball long; close the face slightly (laser out the paddle center pointing where you want the ball) and dial it like a knob, not a switch. Mistake two: lifting the body with an upward path instead of driving forward — stay down through contact (paparazzi/smile-for-camera cue keeps balance). Mistake three: contact too close to the body opens the face automatically — get the ball out in front. Fix those three and you can hit firm without sailing long.

Key takeaways

• Long balls are usually face/path/contact — not “too much power”
• Close the face slightly (laser cue); dial in small increments
• Drive forward, stay down, and take contact out in front of the body

Action items

• Feed 20 FH drives at ~60–70% — only count balls that land deep inside the baseline
• Film from the side: check face angle and whether contact is beside the hip vs out front