How to Flatten out My 2Handed backhand

[Roy125]

Originally Posted by crash1929

i just first get my high to low going, exaggerate it and when i start hitting that well and get in a groove, i slwoly start leveling my swing path.

High to low? High as in the backswing and low as in the contact spot?

[crash1929]

Sorry no I meant to write low to high stroke going. Its much easier to brush the ball back with a two hander this way. Just start looping em over. The flat bh is harder- but if you get the low to high topsin brush going well you will be able to start flattening it eventually. Again exaggerate the low to high when getting warmed up. Then just start leveling the swing path. Now that I think about it this is how nadals bh evolved overtime.

[LeeD]

Crissy and Tracy had somewhat flat backhands.
Were two of the most consistent 2HBH's ever in the game.
They learned not to get excited and overswing. You can too, if you take enough drugs..

[Roy125]

I get excited too many times when I play tennis. That's why my coach always says to calm down 10 times each session. The power of youth rocks.

[LeeD]

Not youth, but rather INEXPERIENCE !
Some great junior players with steady minds, calm and casual, due to tennis experience.
That's what all this topspin current craze is all about! You get excited, you get a burst of energy/adrenaline, you hit MORE TOPSPIN to keep it inside the baseline.
Now when you calm down, you look to see where your balls are landing. Short, hit higher. Long, more topspin.

[xFullCourtTenniSx]

Originally Posted by Roy125

Ever since I've had my 2Handed backhand, it has always been the stroke that I have least control over. I always produce a shot that has a lot of top spin and goes near the baseline. I want to know how to make my backhand more flat for those passing shots.

Oh and can someone explain the advantages/disadvantages of the neutral stance over the other stances? I use an eastern and conti. grip for my 2 Handed backhand by the way.

Video would help a lot, because I severely question your ability to put heavy topspin on the ball if you're having so many stroke problems and are using a very conservative grip on the backhand side. My guess is that you're using the conventional low to high motion, but open up the racket face and hit a flat lob. Such a shot has very little spin. Though heavy spin is quite relative, so your idea of heavy spin will be very different from mine.

There are a few things I think you should look at in your stroke:
1) At contact, is your racket face perfectly (or very close to) perpendicular to the court?
2) If not, fix it and make sure your racket face is perpendicular to the court. As you get better, it will end up slightly closed. If it is perpendicular to the court already, then guide your racket straight through contact and towards your intended target area. As you get better, swing faster through the contact zone. You want to minimize the lift (or brush/spinning) action you get with your stroke at contact.
3) Add lift as necessary to get the ball over the net.
4) Add spin as necessary to keep the ball inside the lines or to control the depth.

The most important part of any stroke is what happens at contact. The way you set up merely allows you added racket head speed, and the follow through makes it easier on your body to avoid injury. Good footwork pretty much allows for consistent contact and consistent swinging (since we take rather large swings at the ball, where there is plenty of places where error can occur).

[Roy125]

OH MY GOD! I think that I found out the problem with my backhand. It feels restricted when I do my 2H backhand. It's like my 2 hands are out of sync and my control for the stroke goes awry. I have no idea how but even when I drop the ball and hit it with my backhand, it's difficult for it to hit outside the service line.

[xFullCourtTenniSx]

Originally Posted by Roy125

OH MY GOD! I think that I found out the problem with my backhand. It feels restricted when I do my 2H backhand. It's like my 2 hands are out of sync and my control for the stroke goes awry. I have no idea how but even when I drop the ball and hit it with my backhand, it's difficult for it to hit outside the service line.

If that was the real problem, I think you would've naturally moved on to a one handed backhand a LONG time ago...

[Roy125]

Originally Posted by xFullCourtTenniSx

If that was the real problem, I think you would've naturally moved on to a one handed backhand a LONG time ago...

It's that surprising.