High backhand slicing is very weak

[firstblud]

when I try to slice a high backhand ball, i usually can't put any juice on it to get it over the net. it tends to start floating and spins down into the net. any pointers on getting more drive into my high bh slice? i'm wondering if my pt of contact is too late

[split-step]

If your contact point is late, you should be hitting your slice way over the net and long.

Could possibly be weak shoulder. Or bad timing.
High backhand slice is almost all shoulder. (Body weight should be into the shot - goes w/out saying)

Try hitting it flat and really driving forward through the ball. Don't hit down on it. Don't worry if it goes into the net. just work on getting that timing.

Then work on adding slice to the shot and driving through.
Then you can work on hitting it short and angled etc.

1HBH, need this shot.

If you

[bad_call]

split step is right on this one. however typing skills are questionable.

[Vermillion]

go after it, really carve the ball and it will have good pace/spin.

considering you have good technique, positioning, etc.

[Element54]

The key is to drive through the ball, not downwards.

[Headshotterer]

you really want to hit through the ball as much as possible to get more pace and spin

try backing up a li'l then hitting thru hit. be sure your racket head is almost vertical at contact so it doesnt float

[phoenicks]

Try hitting it flat and really driving forward through the ball. Don't hit down on it. Don't worry if it goes into the net. just work on getting that timing.

1HBH, need this shot.

If you

hitting ( slicing ) it through is absolutely critical as it will help to flatten the slice BH ball trajectory as well as landing the ball deep.

another reason why your shot might float is beacuase your racquet goes up too much after contact ( or during contact ).

[superlobber]

Slice it through with conviction and put you wieght into it.

[halalula1234]

i find slicing a high ball difficult to master as well. it doesnt skid as easily as the lower ones.

[paulfreda]

Grip makes a big difference.

Using a SW BH grip allows one to easily hit it hard without it flying on you.

As said before, drive thru the ball and gravity will bring it down in to the court.

[Element54]

you've really got to weight transfer into those types of shots to get depth and ballspeed because you cant get the batspeed going enough to create depth and ballspeed

Yeah thats also crucial and I forgot it. Transfer your weight!

[Pet]

The key is to drive through the ball, not downwards.

I think that a slice always must be hit downwards (in this case a bit), depending on the ball position you hit with diferent racket angle.

[Djokovicfan4life]

Grip makes a big difference.

Using a SW BH grip allows one to easily hit it hard without it flying on you.

As said before, drive thru the ball and gravity will bring it down in to the court.

The OP was talking about slicing the ball. I'd like to see someone hit a slice with a SW BH grip. Also, good players don't depend on gravity to bring the ball down into the court.

[paulfreda]

The OP was talking about slicing the ball. I'd like to see someone hit a slice with a SW BH grip. Also, good players don't depend on gravity to bring the ball down into the court.

Respectfully, you apparently have never seen Gaudio play.
One of the best BH in the history of the game and he cut it back with his SW all the time. So do I, especially with a high ball. You just fan the face open and hold it that way thru the shot.

Strategy for a high BH should be depth and placement, not pace, so topspin is not needed and gravity is exactly the way to let it fall in to the court.

Even if you play with a different BH grip, a high ball will give you lots of time to set up and it is worth learning to change grips for the shot. The SWBH grip has a naturally closed face which is perfect for dealing with that high ball.

Cheers

[GeorgeLucas]

Bring your takeback out lengthwise, not upward.

[Ballinbob]

Honestly, you shouldn't even be letting yourself hit these shots. Take the ball earlier on these shots and step into your slices to get some power on them. If you do end up having to hit this shot, I would just chip it back I guess. I don't know what to say really, just try and float it deep. or you can try and loop the ball with topspin if you have a 1hbh, but with a 2hbh that will seem akward.

[CouldntBeSexier]

If youre going to hit a high slice backhand, you should be able to really drive through the ball and down more so than you would for the waist high or low backhand slices. Most important thing is to make sure your racquet face is at the correct angle and position, and you shouldnt miss, although it is not an easy shot!

[kelz]

I have the same problem, I tend to just hit a topspin ball back, going for depth and not pace.

[Dark_Angel85]

you're not hitting through the ball enough.

if it's just sinking into the net all you're doing is just slicing it too much without any forward juice in your ball.

clearing the net with some plow-through is important.

oh yeah... it requires a lot of rotation from your shoulder, and upper body too

[Andres]

Respectfully, you apparently have never seen Gaudio play.
One of the best BH in the history of the game and he cut it back with his SW all the time. So do I, especially with a high ball. You just fan the face open and hold it that way thru the shot.

Strategy for a high BH should be depth and placement, not pace, so topspin is not needed and gravity is exactly the way to let it fall in to the court.

Even if you play with a different BH grip, a high ball will give you lots of time to set up and it is worth learning to change grips for the shot. The SWBH grip has a naturally closed face which is perfect for dealing with that high ball.

CheersI have never seen Gaudio slicing a high backhand with his extreme backhand grip, and trust me, I HAVE seen Gaudio play... quite a lot!

[Rickson]

Sounds like you're getting under the ball too much.

[Djokovicfan4life]

I have never seen Gaudio slicing a high backhand with his extreme backhand grip, and trust me, I HAVE seen Gaudio play... quite a lot!

My wrist hurts just thinking about slicing with that grip! :shock:

[Rickson]

Gaudio drives a lot more than he slices although he does have a decent sliced dropshot as we saw against Coria.

[Andres]

The odd thing about Gaudio is his ability to topspin every ball, no matter how low or how high it is, he's able to topspin it back with authority.

[Rickson]

But you make it sound like he never slices. He doesn't slice often, but he does slice occasionally.