Two-handed BH issue

[yegreatone]

I have a pretty good one-hander but have been trying to transition to a two-handed over the past ~6-8 months. I think my two-handed is progressing overall well, but one issue I noticed is that my right shoulder (I am a right) moves up during the swing, while looking at pro footage, their right shoulder seems to stay almost level and well below their left shoulder. Any tips for how to go about solving this? Thanks!

 

[NattyGut]

 

[mad dog1]

I have a pretty good one-hander but have been trying to transition to a two-handed over the past ~6-8 months. I think my two-handed is progressing overall well, but one issue I noticed is that my right shoulder (I am a right) moves up during the swing, while looking at pro footage, their right shoulder seems to stay almost level and well below their left shoulder. Any tips for how to go about solving this? Thanks!

Spacing needs to be fixed, ball contact needs to be fixed, body alignment needs to be fixed. In other words, a lot of things need to be fixed.

 

[Physical_Current]

Zverev is hard to imitate, he‘s tall and the height of the contact is hard to reach, best backhand to imitate, Fognini, short swing and compact and pay attention to footwork :

 

[fuzz nation]

I have a pretty good one-hander but have been trying to transition to a two-handed over the past ~6-8 months. I think my two-handed is progressing overall well, but one issue I noticed is that my right shoulder (I am a right) moves up during the swing, while looking at pro footage, their right shoulder seems to stay almost level and well below their left shoulder. Any tips for how to go about solving this? Thanks!

Hard to know exactly what's going on with your two-hander, but looking at that snapshot gives me the impression that you could still be hitting your one-hander with your other hand (left hand) along for the ride. I say this because I think that the right shoulder is more prone to moving up like you're describing when hitting a one-hander compared with a two-hander.

I've always had a much stronger aptitude for hitting a one-hander myself, but I've also worked a good deal on building a useful two-hander for certain occasions. What's been a big help for me and also for many of the young sluggers I've coached is to work on letting the other side - your left side - be more in charge of the two-hander. This can be tougher than it sounds, especially if you instinctively trust your one-hander.

The drill I like to use for working on this is to take a two-handed bh grip, remove the bottom hand (your right hand), leave the other hand in that "choked up" location on the handle, and take several practice swings to find a comfortable tempo. Then hit some left-handed forehands with that same left hand location on your handle. These aren't real shots, so don't get hung up on where they go. Just find a comfortable swing to decent contact that includes pushing off your left foot similar to how you push off your right foot to drive your righty forehand. If you're using that wall in the pictures for drills, you can hand feed yourself with your right hand to get some left-handed reps.

If your left side is more in charge of your two-hander, your left hand will probably want to sort of roll over the top of your right hand as you release the racquet through contact. When that happens, your shoulders will probably want to remain more level or your right might slightly drop as you follow through with your hands and wrists progressing left-over-right. It might also feel like your shoulders want to rock from left to right (tilt left-up-right-down) as you swing.

One more tricky aspect of the two-handed backhand: If we approach it like it's an off-handed forehand, its best contact point will probably be further back than what works best with the one-hander. Try to experiment with different contact points while focusing on that left hand being the primary driver of the racquet for your two-hander. This is something I need to routinely brush up on to keep my two-hander in half-decent working order.

Sorry for the novel, but hopefully there's a nugget or two in here that you can put to work.

 

[yegreatone]

Hard to know exactly what's going on with your two-hander, but looking at that snapshot gives me the impression that you could still be hitting your one-hander with your other hand (left hand) along for the ride. I say this because I think that the right shoulder is more prone to moving up like you're describing when hitting a one-hander compared with a two-hander.

I've always had a much stronger aptitude for hitting a one-hander myself, but I've also worked a good deal on building a useful two-hander for certain occasions. What's been a big help for me and also for many of the young sluggers I've coached is to work on letting the other side - your left side - be more in charge of the two-hander. This can be tougher than it sounds, especially if you instinctively trust your one-hander.

The drill I like to use for working on this is to take a two-handed bh grip, remove the bottom hand (your right hand), leave the other hand in that "choked up" location on the handle, and take several practice swings to find a comfortable tempo. Then hit some left-handed forehands with that same left hand location on your handle. These aren't real shots, so don't get hung up on where they go. Just find a comfortable swing to decent contact that includes pushing off your left foot similar to how you push off your right foot to drive your righty forehand. If you're using that wall in the pictures for drills, you can hand feed yourself with your right hand to get some left-handed reps.

If your left side is more in charge of your two-hander, your left hand will probably want to sort of roll over the top of your right hand as you release the racquet through contact. When that happens, your shoulders will probably want to remain more level or your right might slightly drop as you follow through with your hands and wrists progressing left-over-right. It might also feel like your shoulders want to rock from left to right (tilt left-up-right-down) as you swing.

One more tricky aspect of the two-handed backhand: If we approach it like it's an off-handed forehand, its best contact point will probably be further back than what works best with the one-hander. Try to experiment with different contact points while focusing on that left hand being the primary driver of the racquet for your two-hander. This is something I need to routinely brush up on to keep my two-hander in half-decent working order.

Sorry for the novel, but hopefully there's a nugget or two in here that you can put to work.

Thanks, really appreciate the thoughtful reply. I'll give your suggestion a try. I think I agree with your intuition - the brain understands, but just hard to get away from the one hander technique (which is one of my best shots ...).

 

[fuzz nation]

Thanks, really appreciate the thoughtful reply. I'll give your suggestion a try. I think I agree with your intuition - the brain understands, but just hard to get away from the one hander technique (which is one of my best shots ...).

Funny - we always say that it ultimately comes down to the player and not the equipment being used, but I know that I'm way more comfortable and confident using some racquets to hit a two-hander and less so with others. Not sure why and I don't think it's even about having a longer grip on the handle to accommodate both of my hands.

I usually like to have maybe the index finger of my top hand on the throat just above the grip for better feel of the racquet's orientation in my hands. I think that if the throat is more rounded, I can't feel the racquet position as accurately or find the right angle on the face compared with a little more squared or rectangular throat. Small detail, but it seems to help things click for me.

I've been using a Prince Phantom 97 since the summer and while this racquet had turned out to be a decent fit for me overall, I'm more confident that ever with my so-so two-hander when using this frame. Its throat does have more of that rectangular profile compared with the two older Volkl models I used for a lot of years. Just a small detail that seems to make a significant difference for me.

 

[ey039524]

Funny - we always say that it ultimately comes down to the player and not the equipment being used, but I know that I'm way more comfortable and confident using some racquets to hit a two-hander and less so with others. Not sure why and I don't think it's even about having a longer grip on the handle to accommodate both of my hands.

I usually like to have maybe the index finger of my top hand on the throat just above the grip for better feel of the racquet's orientation in my hands. I think that if the throat is more rounded, I can't feel the racquet position as accurately or find the right angle on the face compared with a little more squared or rectangular throat. Small detail, but it seems to help things click for me.

I've been using a Prince Phantom 97 since the summer and while this racquet had turned out to be a decent fit for me overall, I'm more confident that ever with my so-so two-hander when using this frame. Its throat does have more of that rectangular profile compared with the two older Volkl models I used for a lot of years. Just a small detail that seems to make a significant difference for me.

Same racquet, different left hand position (right handed):

I'm trying to switch to a 2hbh, and I find it easier to hang my right pinky off the butt cap and choke down w my left as far as I can. This makes me use my left hand more, which makes it feel more like a lefty fh. When I first started this, I would sometimes hang both my pinky and ring finger off.

I also saw Serena say that she will hit a few lefty FHs to fix her 2hbh.

 

[WildVolley]

Your contact point looks too far out in front in that picture, though I can't be certain because of the angle. A drive 2hbh should have a contact point more like hitting a slice bh with a continental grip than ripping a 1hbh topspin drive.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Thanks, really appreciate the thoughtful reply. I'll give your suggestion a try. I think I agree with your intuition - the brain understands, but just hard to get away from the one hander technique (which is one of my best shots ...).

Make sure that your R hand assumes a conti grip. This should help make it less dominant for your 2-hander. The conti grip is also your goto grip for your 1h slice Bh.

Avoid hitting your 2-hander with such an extreme closed stance. This stance is fine for the 1h Bh but you need to adjust your footwork so that most of your 2hBh strokes are closer to a neutral stance.

When you are hitting L-handed forehands, use a choked-up Eastern or mild SW grip. And avoid using a modern open-stance Fh with a wiper finish. Your lefty Fh should be more of a classic Fh, in a neutral stance, with an OTS (over the shoulder) finish.