Верхнее вращение было сильным.

It breaks down like this:

• верхнее вращение = the subject
• было = was
• сильным = strong

So the structure is:

• [subject] + [past tense of to be] + [predicate adjective]

A very literal gloss would be:

• upper spin was strong

In normal English, that is usually something like the topspin was strong.

Because было is the neuter singular past form of быть.

The noun вращение is neuter, so the past-tense verb agrees with it:

• masculine: был
• feminine: была
• neuter: было
• plural: были

Since вращение ends in -ие and is a neuter noun, the sentence needs было.

Because верхнее is an adjective modifying вращение, and it has to agree with that noun.

Вращение is:

• neuter
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective also becomes:

• neuter
• singular
• nominative

That gives верхнее.

Compare:

• верхний удар = masculine
• верхняя подача = feminine
• верхнее вращение = neuter

It is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence.

You can see this in the pair:

• верхнее вращение = nominative subject
• было = agrees with that subject in gender and number

So the sentence is saying something about the topspin; it is not acting as an object here.

This is one of the most common questions.

After быть in the past tense, Russian often uses the instrumental case for the predicate adjective or noun. That is why you get:

• было сильным

rather than:

• было сильное

So сильным is the instrumental singular form.

A useful pattern to remember:

• Он был уставшим. = He was tired.
• Она была довольной. = She was satisfied.
• Вращение было сильным. = The spin was strong.

By contrast, in the present tense, Russian usually drops to be, and then you normally use the nominative:

• Верхнее вращение сильное.

So:

• past: было сильным
• present: сильное

Yes, very often it is a sports term meaning topspin.

Literally, верхнее means upper or top, and вращение means rotation / spin. But together, in the right context, it means the kind of spin called topspin.

So even though the words are transparent literally, the whole phrase is often best understood as a single sports expression.

Because Russian does not have articles like a or the.

So Верхнее вращение can mean:

• topspin
• the topspin
• a topspin effect

The exact interpretation comes from context.

English learners often want to know where the went, but in Russian it simply is not expressed with a separate word.

Yes. Russian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The sentence as written:

• Верхнее вращение было сильным.

is the most neutral and straightforward order.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• Сильным было верхнее вращение.

That might sound more marked, with extra focus on strong.

So the original order is usually the best default for learners.

The stress is:

• Ве́рхнее враще́ние бы́ло си́льным.

A rough English-style pronunciation guide would be:

• VYERKH-nee-ye vra-SHCHYE-nee-ye BYE-la SEEL-nym

A couple of useful notes:

• вращение has the stress on -ще-
• сильным has the stress on the first syllable: си́ль-
• было is pronounced more like BYE-la

Usually:

• Верхнее вращение сильное.

Russian normally omits present-tense to be, so you do not usually say есть here.

So the contrast is:

• Верхнее вращение было сильным. = past
• Верхнее вращение сильное. = present

That change also explains why the adjective form changes from сильным to сильное.

Yes, especially in a technical or descriptive context.

It sounds like someone is analyzing the spin on a ball, for example in:

• tennis
• table tennis
• other ball sports

Depending on context, a native speaker might also say something more specific, but this sentence is grammatically natural and easy to understand.

It has a slightly descriptive, analytical feel: someone is assessing the quality or intensity of the topspin.