The myth that pro's with 1hbh's are weaker against high balls...

[tennisdad65]

Not a myth, even for the pro's. They may hit it well and it looks great, but it is just not consistent enough for the pro level.

In this situation, either move back or move forward and take it at a better height. If you are taking it above your head with a 1HBH topspin you are in the wrong position. If it is over my head, I slice it back.

[bjsnider]

Originally Posted by always_crosscourt

Gasquet also does a jumping 1hbh, he hit a winner off a Nadal forehand in Monte Carlo using it.

As for how chin ups will help with the 1hbh - they strengthen the posterior shoulder musculature as well as the lats. Both of these help to adduct and extend the arm, which are actions that occur in the 1hbh.

If all these people complaining how hard it is to hit a high 1hbh were doing chin-ups with an additional 140lbs tied around their waist, I wonder how hard they would find to hit a high 1hbh. My guess is nowhere near as hard as they are currently finding it.

Tennis players are always going on about how they shouldn't touch weights, but you can get stronger without getting heavier.

I'll spend the next 5 years in the gym 6 hours a day 7 days a week, put on 25 pounds of muscle, and get back to you on the 1hbh issue.

[NLBwell]

People who say one-handers can't handle high balls to the backhand never saw tennis prior to this decade. Guys like Muster and Kuerten or any of the other clay-courters of earlier decades never had any trouble.
It is a different stroke with often much different grip than the one Federer hits. Most clay-courters now grew up with 2 handed backhands, so you just don't see them as much.

[ultradr]

Of course they can be handled. It's just that,... There are more 1 handers
with some trouble than ones with trouble.

Players with potent 1 hander, say like Gasquet, is very rare. Very very rare.

[Feather]

Originally Posted by NLBwell

People who say one-handers can't handle high balls to the backhand never saw tennis prior to this decade. Guys like Muster and Kuerten or any of the other clay-courters of earlier decades never had any trouble.
It is a different stroke with often much different grip than the one Federer hits. Most clay-courters now grew up with 2 handed backhands, so you just don't see them as much.

Well, they never dealt with the insane amount of topspin that Nadal generates So you never know.

[BevelDevil]

Originally Posted by Feather

Well, they never dealt with the insane amount of topspin that Nadal generates So you never know.

Wawrinka handles it fine.

And so did Zeballos, lol. (Muster was left handed, also)

[cmarshall7]

Originally Posted by NLBwell

People who say one-handers can't handle high balls to the backhand never saw tennis prior to this decade. Guys like Muster and Kuerten or any of the other clay-courters of earlier decades never had any trouble.
It is a different stroke with often much different grip than the one Federer hits. Most clay-courters now grew up with 2 handed backhands, so you just don't see them as much.

Remember though that strings were different back then. There's no way a player back in the 80's/90's could hit a shot as heavy as someone like nadal can these days.

[NLBwell]

Originally Posted by cmarshall7

Remember though that strings were different back then. There's no way a player back in the 80's/90's could hit a shot as heavy as someone like nadal can these days.

Brugera, I believe, has the highest documented topspin on the forehand of anyone other than Nadal. Poly does add a few % more, enough to make a difference to the pros, but it isn't a fundamental difference. It definitely opens up more angles, but the difference in bounce height on clay is greater day-to-day from the weather conditions (which can be quite a lot) than from poly to non-poly. By the way, there was poly around in Kuerten's day - that what he used.