the great willy ! the between the legs shot!

[salsainglesa]

I have never tried to learn it, but I am now!
How do you do it then?

any pointers?

grip?

How is it done?! Its a mistery to me

[salsainglesa]

spin? what spin should i use?!

[HunterST]

Don't do it. It's a stupid, low percentage shot. If you have enough time to do a tweener, you have enough time to either turn around and hit a groundstroke or throw up a defensive lob.

[salsainglesa]

But its great for coordination!! Learning new things and new ways to hit the balls can't hurt, altough this can actually be dangerous...

But I am brave!! lol

[RoddickAce]

Hold the racquet with an eastern backhand grip / western forehand grip. Now hit the tweener with the racquet face opposite to the face you would use to hit forehands/backhands in front of you.

Don't be afraid to hit the ball long/too high, aiming higher over the net usually results in a more successful tweener (for me at least).

When you see a lob, immediately start running back, don't hesitate to look at the ball fall, it will be too late because the lob, if executed well, will have sufficient topspin to pull away from you after it bounces.

[salsainglesa]

]Hey Roddick ace I like your signature but I think the two handed variation has advantages

Ok, i will try that tomorrow but more knowledge about timing and spin for example!
Do you actually hit below your body or is it slightly in front?

How do I not tear my shins appart?
or you know, something else.

[HunterST]

Originally Posted by salsainglesa

]Hey Roddick ace I like your signature but I think the two handed variation has advantages

Ok, i will try that tomorrow but more knowledge about timing and spin for example!
Do you actually hit below your body or is it slightly in front?

How do I not tear my shins appart?
or you know, something else.

The tweener really has no spin. You're just slapping at the ball. The key is to wait until the ball is as low as possible.

[RoddickAce]

haha if I could pull off any variation of my sig, I'd be happy XD

But ya, in terms of spin, I hit it relatively flat, but more on the left of the ball (you're facing the fence) to get some sidespin and pace.

As for your shins, you can get some shin guards , or if you watch the pros, they often do small steps to get their feet wide apart before hitting the tweener.

But for now though, I think you should just try and get the feel of hitting it from a static position so that you're not rushed or pressured.

[GetBetterer]

Continental grip:

[FedError]

I've slowly learnt the tweener over the course of the past few weeks - that's not to say that I can hit them perfectly and with pace though.

I acquired the feel of the shot just by practicing off a wall - it gives you a simple and low bounce to time against.

Very recently I hit my first successful tweener in practice, although I haven't had the opportunity to hit one in a match yet.

I decided to add it to my repitoire because it's one of the few shots you can practice while alone, and also sometimes a tweener can be your only option in a point - especially when you catch up to the lob as it is dropping low to your feet. Not to mention bragging rights if you manage to pull it off successfully à la Federer numerous times.

[SystemicAnomaly]

Originally Posted by HunterST

Don't do it. It's a stupid, low percentage shot. If you have enough time to do a tweener, you have enough time to either turn around and hit a groundstroke or throw up a defensive lob.

Yeah, Federer, Nadal, Agassi et all -- stoopid ppl! C'mon lighten up.

[SystemicAnomaly]

My pref is a conti grip (or semi-conti). Run it down so that you almost catch up to the bounce point. Now quickly get over the ball just before it is about to bounce again -- hit the ball a few inches or so above the ground. Hope that helps.

[xRain]

I'd suggest only doing it for fun.
Make sure that as you swing, the ball is low and between your legs. (Some people try to hit in front of them)

[MrFonzi]

Make sure you practice your victory celebration as well. Can't have one without the other!!

[HunterST]

Originally Posted by SystemicAnomaly

Yeah, Federer, Nadal, Agassi et all -- stoopid ppl! C'mon lighten up.

We're not pros. We have nowhere near the ability level that those guys have, and even for them, it's not the smartest shot. Look at Federer, he only goes for the tweener when he's way ahead in the match. He had an opportunity to do one against Simone and also against Djokovic and he chose not to.

If people want to learn to do them for fun, that's perfectly fine. However, I can't tell you how many times I've seen 12-16 year old juniors going for the tweener in USTA tournaments when they could easily turn around and make a more high percentage shot. People just want to do them to show off and boost their ego.

[onehandbh]

Originally Posted by HunterST

We're not pros. We have nowhere near the ability level that those guys have, and even for them, it's not the smartest shot. Look at Federer, he only goes for the tweener when he's way ahead in the match. He had an opportunity to do one against Simone and also against Djokovic and he chose not to.

I'd say the one situation where it is a good shot to hit is a lob that you
barely get to and by the time you get to it, the ball is already pretty low.
To me it's the easiest way to hit a line drive type shot in this situation.
(if you don't want to throw up a lob).

Originally Posted by HunterST

If people want to learn to do them for fun, that's perfectly fine.

For me, it does make tennis more fun. Other shots to try: dropshots that
spin back over the net, behind the back shot, overheads from the baseline
on balls that are not that high (drop down on one knee), extreme sides
spin dropshots, topspin lobs that bounce near the baseline and bounce
over your opponent, extreme sidespin underhand serves, reverse spin
serve, extreme angle dropshots, hitting around the post when pulled wide,
trying to bounce every overhead over the back or side fence. When I was
a teen, attempting these kind of shots made tennis more fun. Some, like
the around-the-post shot are ones you rarely have the opportunity to even
attempt. Of course, I didn't try them all the time in actual tournament
matches (except for the bouncing over overheads over the fence and
crazy angled dropshots).

Originally Posted by HunterST

I can't tell you how many times I've seen 12-16 year old juniors going for the tweener in USTA tournaments when they could easily turn around and make a more high percentage shot. People just want to do them to show off and boost their ego.

haha. I think I was around 15 when I first learned this shot. Once I learned
it I started hitting it all the time and overused it.

[Manus Domini]

Originally Posted by salsainglesa

]Hey Roddick ace I like your signature but I think the two handed variation has advantages

Ok, i will try that tomorrow but more knowledge about timing and spin for example!
Do you actually hit below your body or is it slightly in front?

How do I not tear my shins appart?
or you know, something else.

I think that the longest named shot is the "hit on the rise one-handed side spin behind the back drive volley short angle cross court passing shot on the run" 21 words to 15 lol

But in all honest, tweeners aren't always the best idea. wish I knew how to do the Nastase backfire though

[jwbarrientos]

Just in case... call you insurance agent and review the balls' article

Later practice.

[Fugazi]

Originally Posted by RoddickAce

Hold the racquet with an eastern backhand grip / western forehand grip. Now hit the tweener with the racquet face opposite to the face you would use to hit forehands/backhands in front of you.

Don't be afraid to hit the ball long/too high, aiming higher over the net usually results in a more successful tweener (for me at least).

When you see a lob, immediately start running back, don't hesitate to look at the ball fall, it will be too late because the lob, if executed well, will have sufficient topspin to pull away from you after it bounces.

Have to disagree on this one. I hit a pretty good tweener myself (NRTP around 5.0 or 5.5), and I can assure you that a continental/slightly more open continental grip is the way to go. Hitting the tweener with the opposite racquet face of a western FH grip is just too extreme, it will be uncomfortable and will provide no power (you're gonna break your wrist...). Using a continental or an extreme continental grip with good pronation will provide good power and feel.

[Fugazi]

Originally Posted by GetBetterer

Continental grip:

My point exactly. Either continental or a slightly more extreme version of continental. Notice the excellent pronation from frame 4 to frame 5.