In ball sports, topspin or overspin is a property of a ball that rotates forwards as it is moving. Topspin on a ball propelled through the air imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air (see
Magnus effect). Topspin is the opposite of
backspin.
Baseball
In
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
, the curveball, a type of pitch which usually has downward movement, is thrown in such a way as to put topspin on the ball. Its close relatives are the
slider and the
slurve
The slurve is a baseball pitch in which the pitcher throws a curve ball as if it were a slider. . The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to pitcher.
Cue sports
In
snooker
Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in ...
,
pocket billiards
Pool is a classification of cue sports played on a table with six pockets along the , into which balls are deposited. "Pool billiards" is sometimes hyphenated and/or spelled with a singular "billiard". The WPA itself uses "pool-billiard" in ...
and
billiards
Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as .
There are three major subdivisions ...
, 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.
Cricket
In cricket, a top-spinner is a type of delivery bowled by a cricketer bowling either
wrist spin
Wrist spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket. It refers to the cricket technique and specific hand movements associated with imparting a particular direction of spin to the cricket ball. The other spinning technique, usually used to ...
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. In both cases, the topspinner is the halfway house between the stock delivery and the ''wrong'un'' - in the wrist spinner's case his
googly, and in the finger spinner's case his
doosra.
A topspinning cricket ball behaves similarly to top spin shots in
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
or
table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
. The forward spinning motion impedes air travelling over the ball, but assists air travelling underneath. The difference in air pressure above and underneath the ball (described as the
Magnus effect) acts as a downward force, meaning that the ball falls earlier and faster than normal.
In cricketing terms, this means that the ball drops shorter, falls faster and bounces higher than might otherwise be anticipated by the batsman. These properties are summed up in cricketing terms as a "looping" or "loopy" delivery. Also, the ball travels straight on, as compared to a
wrist spin
Wrist spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket. It refers to the cricket technique and specific hand movements associated with imparting a particular direction of spin to the cricket ball. The other spinning technique, usually used to ...
or
finger spin stock delivery that breaks to the left or right on impact. A batsman may easily be deceived by the ball, particularly given that the action is quite similar to the stock delivery.
In delivery, the topspinner is gripped like a normal side spinner. For a legspinner the back of the hand faces the cover region and the palm of the hand faces the mid wicket region at release. For an offspiner, these directions are reversed. The ball is then released either with the seam going straight on to the batsman, or with a scrambled seam. A spinner will frequently bowl deliveries with both top spin and side spin. A ball presenting with roughly equal amounts of both is usually called an "overspinning" leg break or off break.
Tactically, a bowler will bowl topspinners to draw a batsman forward before using the dip and extra bounce to deceive them. In particular, batsmen looking to sweep or drive are vulnerable as the bounce can defeat them.
In modern-day cricket
Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble (; born 17 October 1970) is a former Indian cricket captain, coach and commentator who played Test and One Day International cricket for his national team over an international career of 18 years. Widely regarded as one of the best ...
is considered the foremost leg spin exponent of the top spinner. Muttiah Muralitharan is an example of an offspinner who frequently uses this delivery.
Golf
In
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
, shots may also have topspin, although this is nearly always the undesirable consequence of a
topped shot.
Racquet sports
The topspin shot (also called a topspinner) is primarily used by tennis players and table 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.
A topspin shot 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 a "slice".
Table tennis
In competitive
table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
, 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 table tennis the best defense for a top spin loop is a block close to the table which involves a firm fixation of the paddle and a slight movement forwards with an angle less than 90 degrees. Another way of defending the topspin is to counterattack with a topspin or slice the ball.
Tennis
In
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
, 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. This may help in lobbing an opponent who is waiting at the net, or playing directly to a player's feet. Hitting low to high as the player approaches the contact point will impart lift. Keeping the racquet face (the strings) slightly closed from perpendicular will impart the topspin to the ball that the player wants. However, balls that bounce lower due to greater force or backspin are much more difficult to return using a grip that confers topspin such as the semi-western and western grips, as the racket is angled too far downwards to 'lift' the ball back over the net. As such, topspin is more effectively used on slower, higher bouncing surfaces such as clay. Topspin is also far more difficult to impart on backhand strokes due to the physical limitations of an arm stretched across the body.
Physical explanation
Topspin on a shot imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air (see
Magnus effect). In racquet sports, 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
backspin.
One way of explaining the Magnus effect is that - because of the rotation and the fact that air acts as a viscous or "sticky" substance on the surface of the ball, a stream of air in the wake of the ball is being ejected upwards. As a reaction to this, the ball is pushed downwards.
Often
Bernoulli's principle is used to explain the topspin effect, as the difference in speed between ball surface and air is ''greater'' on the top of the ball. For example, if the air flowing past the bottom of the ball is moving faster than the air flowing past the top then Bernoulli's principle implies that the pressure on the surfaces of the ball will be lower below than above. In other words, since there is more air friction occurring on the top surface of the ball compared to the bottom, this differential causes a greater pressure to be applied on the top of the ball, resulting in the ball being pushed ''down''.
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.
See also
*
Spin (cue sports)
The following is a glossary of traditional English-language terms used in the three overarching cue sports disciplines: ''carom billiards'' referring to the various games played on a billiard table without ; '' pool'', which denotes a host of gam ...
, types of spin
*
Spin (pickleball)
This glossary provides definitions and context for terminology related to, and jargon specific to, the sport of pickleball. Words or phrases in italics can be found on the list in their respective alphabetic sections.
0–9
;0–0:See '' Zero� ...
, definition and types of spin
*
Spin (table tennis)
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table di ...
, effects of spin
*
Backspin
External links
Nasa - Beginner's Guide to Aerodynamics
{{Tennis box
Tennis shots
Pickleball terminology