Tips for my OHBH?

1HBHFTW · Sep 16, 2021

Below are videos of all my topspin backhands from 2 recent matches (shanks included).

the first match is on hardcourt where I feel much more comfortable with the timing of my backhand and tend to hit confidently. It was also against a better opponent where I had to be more aggressive.

The second match is on clay where i’m sometimes uncomfortable with my backhand timing. I was also against a pusher who I don’t really have trouble with, so my goal was generally just to hit to him and then come to net. But my swing still felt off.

1) is there a visible difference to the way I’m swinging between the two matches? The first i felt so much looser and had less errors, but I don’t know if it’s form or just confidence on hardcourt

2) I would also love any general OHBH tips you could share.

Thank you!

vex · Sep 16, 2021

Tip: learn a 2HBH while you’re still young.

1HBHFTW · Sep 16, 2021

vex said:
Tip: learn a 2HBH while you’re still young.

Once I got to my 30s I decided I was too old for new tricks

BallChaser · Sep 16, 2021

Nice looking backhand and footwork!
Support your racket by your left hand a tad longer and see what happens. Also, try lowering your right shoulder relative to your left during take-back. That'll make swinging forward more naturally and effortless.

ShinMezame · Sep 16, 2021

It looks like you're not pulling enough with your right shoulder and firing the hip to initiate the swing, coming off slowly like you're guiding the ball through muscling your arm instead. Also it looks like you grip the throat of the racket on only one side of the neck instead of having your fingers supporting both sides of the neck, which is pretty bad. Probably makes your grip way too continental making you hit so close to your body instead of out front more.

Slicerman · Sep 16, 2021

Which is your better shot? your forehand or your backhand?

Tactically speaking, it looks like you're taking every expense just to hit a backhand (eg. hitting bh just because you're obsessed with 1hbh

) , even though a forehand would have been the better shot in the situation. I don't think backhand should take priority over the forehand regarding shot selection, especially for a one-hander. For example, you should prioritize your forehand whenever you're receiving a ball to the body. The biggest difference is that the 1hbh has a very large 'minimum' contact distance compared to other shots like forehand or 2hbh. You will get jammed more often than not, especially against guys who can hit heavy and/or with pace.

From a technical aspect, there's a lot of things you could improve upon. Its hard to list it all. But for the sake of improvement, I would only focus on a couple of issues at a single time, and not overwhelm yourself with too many details. One thing that is evident to me is your balance, you could be in better balance in your base and also your weight transfer. Too many parts are moving at the same time, which can lead to spraying balls or more off-center hits. I find that you're opening the shoulders too early. And also moving your feet too much during the shot, like some kinda extra unnecessary recovery steps. One thing you could try is to stay sideways with the body longer and plant your feet more solidly. The result should be more consistent ball contact. For the footwork, focus more on positioning your feet before you reach the ball, as opposed to adjustment steps mid-way through the swing.

Hope this helps

pencilcheck · Sep 16, 2021

If I were you and I want to be more confident to swing out at higher level such as a 4.5 match or a 5.0 match, then I would forget everything you know about how you swing, how you think about swinging and rebuild it from ground up.

But if you just want to make a small tweak, then I suggest you grip a bit less extreme, and start with just a flat push to your right side for now, you don't even need to push hard, that is already good enough to give you very good control and should win a lot of your current matches.

Dragy · Sep 17, 2021

Some things to know about your BH:
- Your grip is quite extreme. It forces you to make effort to lift the ball and hinders your ability to hit through. You can still hit big with it if you rip the ball with explosive whole-body move... But should you?
- You don't utilize all-arm rotation (ISR to ESR) to release racquet head and send it above your hand, but pull with your arm up and through. That limits RHS.
- You let go of your off-hand too early. You can achive more solid initial acceleration by holding the throat longer.

On off-arm use:

PS Funny enough these videos popped up couple of months after we discussed it on TT

so hey there, youtubers

tenezlove · Sep 17, 2021

Not going to talk about overall technique, just the differences between the two scenarios....

-The person in the first video was giving you more pace, in the second you had to generate your own pace and straining to do so lead to errors
-Positioning was off a lot more in the second video, especially in the early part. With clay, you cannot set your feet too early since bounces are going to be uneven. You were getting jammed a lot

1HBHFTW · Sep 17, 2021

Thanks all for the feedback! I’ll definitely try to lower my right shoulder on take back more and work on balance. Will also play around with grip.

I have the bad habit of not actually rotating my grip from my forehand since my FH and backhand grips are the same except opposite racquet sides (so instead I don’t move the racquet but just twist my wrist in unit turn for BH). But I’ve noticed when I do this and don’t rotate the racquet in my hand then I don’t use my offhand properly. Instead I sometimes just let it mostly rest on the throat instead of using it to actually hold the racquet until release.

even when I’m not doing that bad habit though I agree I release too early based on the feedback. I’ll work on that too

tennis tom · Sep 17, 2021

1HBHFTW said:
I have the bad habit of not actually rotating my grip from my forehand...

The FH & BH grips are different--for an Eastern BH put the thumb squarely and firmly behind the racket handle grip--this will provide the support that the palm provides on the FH grip. This is what Don Budge and Harry Hopman did and recommended doing.

ballmachineguy · Sep 17, 2021

BallChaser said:
, try lowering your right shoulder relative to your left during take-back. That'll make swinging forward more naturally and effortless.

Or less natural and needing more effort.

ballmachineguy · Sep 17, 2021

Dragy said:
Some things to know about your BH:
- Your grip is quite extreme. It forces you to make effort to lift the ball and hinders your ability to hit through. You can still hit big with it if you rip the ball with explosive whole-body move... But should you?
- You don't utilize all-arm rotation (ISR to ESR) to release racquet head and send it above your hand, but pull with your arm up and through. That limits RHS.
- You let go of your off-hand too early. You can achive more solid initial acceleration by holding the throat longer.

On off-arm use:

PS Funny enough these videos popped up couple of months after we discussed it on TT so hey there, youtubers

The first video is good, the second one I’d email to all of my opponents.

Rattler · Sep 17, 2021

Try hitting through the ball…looks like your just brushing up on it…hit through low to high.

Dragy · Sep 17, 2021

ballmachineguy said:
The first video is good, the second one I’d email to all of my opponents.

If you mean the part about slingshotting, I agree. They got the longer use of off-arm weirdly (however this idea floated around for some time).
Ryan surprised me with understanding of what he called “1 and a half handed BH”, good stuff.

Fxanimator1 · Sep 17, 2021

1HBHFTW said:
Below are videos of all my topspin backhands from 2 recent matches (shanks included).

the first match is on hardcourt where I feel much more comfortable with the timing of my backhand and tend to hit confidently. It was also against a better opponent where I had to be more aggressive.

The second match is on clay where i’m sometimes uncomfortable with my backhand timing. I was also against a pusher who I don’t really have trouble with, so my goal was generally just to hit to him and then come to net. But my swing still felt off.

1) is there a visible difference to the way I’m swinging between the two matches? The first i felt so much looser and had less errors, but I don’t know if it’s form or just confidence on hardcourt

2) I would also love any general OHBH tips you could share.

Thank you!

Stay sideways longer. You’re uncoiling your body too early and it’s getting you out of balance at contact. This will help you drive through the ball instead of just flailing at it.
Get your left hand going backwards will help you to staying sideways a bit longer.

ZZdark · Sep 17, 2021

It's your takeback that needs the most work. You should always have the racket head point towards the sky before hitting the ball. You must have the L shape prior to contact so you can get the correct racket drop and swing to generate power. Your swing is very unruly and not controlled because your takeback is all over the place.

From now on, every time you take the racket back you must have the racket head point towards the sky. You will see immediate improvement. The swing will resolve itself.

Keep your mechanics simple while completing the rest of your stroke. Stefanos is very good technique to emulate and I use a slightly eastern backhand grip. You should also hit with a closed/neutral stance while keeping your feet active. My final tip is when I hit my OHBH I actually use my last 3 fingers with 80 percent of my strength and the index and thumb are used just for support. Using the last 3 fingers to really hold and hit with the racket allows me to get behind/under the ball when striking.

tenezlove · Sep 18, 2021

Dragy said:
If you mean the part about slingshotting, I agree. They got the longer use of off-arm weirdly (however this idea floated around for some time).
Ryan surprised me with understanding of what he called “1 and a half handed BH”, good stuff.

So, does the "1 and a half backhand" work for you? I found the tip to be a bit restrictive. I don't see players like Wawrinka and Federer doing it though Thiem and Tsitsipas do. My "speculative" theory was that this was a remnant of their having learned a two handed backhand first and it was a remnant of that. Curious to hear your (and other's) experience on this

Dragy · Sep 18, 2021

tenezlove said:
So, does the "1 and a half backhand" work for you? I found the tip to be a bit restrictive. I don't see players like Wawrinka and Federer doing it though Thiem and Tsitsipas do. My "speculative" theory was that this was a remnant of their having learned a two handed backhand first and it was a remnant of that. Curious to hear your (and other's) experience on this

The thing is, unlike FH, for BH there’s no solid link to support just single dominant arm for initial torso rotation acceleration. Later on centrifugal force pushes racquet hand outward, but initially many rec players tend to have their elbow collapse and wrap… Keeping it straight with triceps strength is not optimal.
So to support arm configuration for the initial acceleration one better use off-arm on the throat. Here’s Stan with torso rotation already initiated, off-hand still on the throat:

Chas Tennis · Sep 18, 2021

1HBHFTW said:
Below are videos of all my topspin backhands from 2 recent matches (shanks included).

the first match is on hardcourt where I feel much more comfortable with the timing of my backhand and tend to hit confidently. It was also against a better opponent where I had to be more aggressive.

The second match is on clay where i’m sometimes uncomfortable with my backhand timing. I was also against a pusher who I don’t really have trouble with, so my goal was generally just to hit to him and then come to net. But my swing still felt off.

1) is there a visible difference to the way I’m swinging between the two matches? The first i felt so much looser and had less errors, but I don’t know if it’s form or just confidence on hardcourt

2) I would also love any general OHBH tips you could share.

..............................................................................

Thank you!

Your videos are from an unfavorable camera angle for observing the one hand backhand. Your body blocks most of the important arm and shoulder sub-motions and many other motions.

I looked at some of the better ATP 1HBHs and Justine Henin's and identified several of the biomechanical characteristics of the best backhands.

Read minimum post #1, #51 and then afterward as each sub-motion was identified.

One Hand Backhand - Waht Force to Start Forward Swing?

One Hand Backhand - What Force to Start Forward Swing? I have just been watching great one-hand backhands at the Madrid Open. Including excellent slow motion that can be replayed in even slower motion or single frame with my DVR. Often when I try to swing forward for a one hand backhand...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

If you have a favorite player you can post their video above your videos in a new post or your OP.

Compare your videos one above the other and single frame. To single frame on Youtube use the period & comma keys. Always select the video holding alt key + left mouse click, otherwise the videos starts playing. You can go up to full frame and back down and the video stays on the same frame. For best accuracy select similar camera angles. Go to two impacts and single frame back and forth and study toss to impact. List all differences between your strokes and the pro backhand drives. Record the times of the videos that you are listing.

I don't recommend Feliciano Lopez's technique as he did not do the 'shoulder press'. Federer doesn't either.

Shroud · Sep 18, 2021

1HBHFTW said:
Thanks all for the feedback! I’ll definitely try to lower my right shoulder on take back more and work on balance. Will also play around with grip.

I have the bad habit of not actually rotating my grip from my forehand since my FH and backhand grips are the same except opposite racquet sides (so instead I don’t move the racquet but just twist my wrist in unit turn for BH). But I’ve noticed when I do this and don’t rotate the racquet in my hand then I don’t use my offhand properly.

i do the same. Dont sweat it. Its actually a plus since you get more time and can hit drive return of serves.
Sadly lots of advice is based on a classic eastern bh grip and doesnt really apply that well to your situation imho. You even see one poaster trying to get you to change

Dragy · Sep 18, 2021

Shroud said:
i do the same. Dont sweat it. Its actually a plus since you get more time and can hit drive return of serves.
Sadly lots of advice is based on a classic eastern bh grip and doesnt really apply that well to your situation imho. You even see one poaster trying to get you to change

Man you absolutely should instruct @1HBHFTW to modify his racquet to you specs - that will be best thing for his extreme grip OHBH!

PrinceMoron · Sep 18, 2021

It is a pretty soft stroke currently

point the butt of the racquet towards the ball
turn your shoulders twice as much

keep your arm against your chest as long as possible to get rid of the wafting lift you have currently

get someone to drop feed next to you and see if you can hit the ball hard

got to ask if a two handed by might be easier to get up and running than struggling with what you have right now.

1HBHFTW · Sep 18, 2021

Shroud said:
i do the same. Dont sweat it. Its actually a plus since you get more time and can hit drive return of serves.
Sadly lots of advice is based on a classic eastern bh grip and doesnt really apply that well to your situation imho. You even see one poaster trying to get you to change

I definitely agree on ROS. I just need to get better at consciously using my offhand better if I’m not rotating it.

____

Thanks everyone else for the feedback as well. I’m going through the videos etc and will try implementing some of the tips mentioned above. I’m not interested in switching to a 2HBH and am quite happy with my backhand overall. I’d just like to get more consistent and especially get more comfortable with it against slower hitters and on clay. In a “normal” (hard hitting) hardcourt match it’s typically my best shot, although I admit i shouldn’t run around my FH for it like I sometimes do right now

Raul_SJ · Sep 18, 2021

On the back swing, the shoulders must coil away more than hips, creating a hip shoulder separation. On the forward swing, the hips must open up first. Hips and shoulders must not open up at the same time. This applies to both forehand and backhand.

The opponent must be able to see the back of your shirt as you coil.
And you should be stepping diagonally into the ball. Your finish pic should be your set up pic. That lateral diagonal step will naturally facilitate a shoulder coil.

pencilcheck · Sep 18, 2021

Raul_SJ said:
On the back swing, the shoulders must coil away more than hips, creating a hip shoulder separation. On the forward swing, the hips must open up first. Hips and shoulders must not open up at the same time. This applies to both forehand and backhand.

The opponent must be able to see the back of your shirt as you coil.
And you should be stepping diagonally into the ball as in your finish. That lateral diagonal step will naturally facilitate a shoulder coil.

I thought this is tips for OHBH, how does this help?

Raul_SJ · Sep 18, 2021

pencilcheck said:
I thought this is tips for OHBH, how does this help?

Rotate the shoulders farther than the hips on the back swing, creating a hip shoulder separation. Lead with the hip on forward swing. The hips and shoulders should not begin rotating forward at the same time.

It applies to both forehand and backhand... Also added the Kevin backhand video.

pencilcheck · Sep 18, 2021

Raul_SJ said:
Rotate the shoulders farther than the hips on the back swing, create a hip shoulder separation. Lead with the hip on forward swing.
It applies to both forehand and backhand.

The problem is that the OP is already doing that probably not as far as pro but he is not a pro. Your advice doesn't seem to change anything.

Raul_SJ · Sep 18, 2021

pencilcheck said:
The problem is that the OP is already doing that probably not as far as pro but he is not a pro. Your advice doesn't seem to change anything.

The lateral step is a simple correction. This rec player was making the same footwork error as the OP. Changed it in one lesson. Watch the 10 minute video. Instant improvement.

Raul_SJ · Sep 20, 2021

tenezlove said:
So, does the "1 and a half backhand" work for you? I found the tip to be a bit restrictive. I don't see players like Wawrinka and Federer doing it though Thiem and Tsitsipas do. My "speculative" theory was that this was a remnant of their having learned a two handed backhand first and it was a remnant of that. Curious to hear your (and other's) experience on this

Ryan says the common rec player is to release the left hand early, as in the yellow circle pic. I never do that. In fact, I was never even taught to take it back that high. Was taught to take it back low, near thigh, as in second pic. But we digress.

I release the left hand at second pic. And then soon start to move left arm back as a counterweight.

Ryan says to continue moving left hand forward towards the ball as in third pic. Tried this out a bit yesterday. It feels
unnatural and there was no benefit. I am already balanced just fine when pulling left hand away earlier.

Ryan is usually pretty good but this tip is useless. "Huge backhand tip"? No. This is minor and more of a personal preference.

Women on court will often be attracted to a man hitting a one hand backhand. But this tip is not aesthetic either. Just look at Dmitrov in the last pic.

phoenix rescue mission

Raul_SJ · Sep 20, 2021

tennis tom said:
for an Eastern BH put the thumb squarely and firmly behind the racket handle grip--this will provide the support that the palm provides on the FH grip. This is what Don Budge and Harry Hopman did and recommended doing.

Is this similar to the Budge grip? Kevin says not to do this. He wants the thumb under the grip. Think I find myself shifting to this Budge grip. Get better feel.

1HBHFTW · Sep 21, 2021

Raul_SJ said:
Is this similar to the Budge grip? Kevin says not to do this. He wants the thumb under the grip. Think I find myself shifting to this Budge grip. Get better feel.

Yeah I don't like the thumb behind, felt unnatural to me. The argument with my grip is that I should switch to a "hammer" (right angle with arm and racquet) instead of a "pistol" (more of a straight line). I have gone back and forth with the two. I feel like the hammer gives me more power but I get more control with the pistol, especially DTL which is my favorite.

Fxanimator1 · Sep 21, 2021

1HBHFTW said:
Yeah I don't like the thumb behind, felt unnatural to me. The argument with my grip is that I should switch to a "hammer" (right angle with arm and racquet) instead of a "pistol" (more of a straight line). I have gone back and forth with the two. I feel like the hammer gives me more power but I get more control with the pistol, especially DTL which is my favorite.

Try using a "block grip" with all of your knuckles on the top bevel (bevel #1) and just swing naturally. You may have to adjust your swing a bit, but you will get a nice driving backhand, that people won't want to attack.
It looks like Kevin is mostly doing it in the bottom image (not the image with his thumb going down bevel #7).

tennis tom · Sep 21, 2021

Raul_SJ said:
Is this similar to the Budge grip? Kevin says not to do this. He wants the thumb under the grip. Think I find myself shifting to this Budge grip. Get better feel.

The first picture is the one--the thumb firmly behind on the flat for support that the palm of the hand provides on the Eastern FH grip. If it isn't firmly planted the grip will slip resulting in weak mishit slices. It takes practice to develop this grip and the timing on the BH. The OHBH is more difficult for most players although is some ways the BH is a more natural motion. The discipline to keep the eye on the ball and not open up the stance makes it tougher.

Shroud · Sep 21, 2021

1HBHFTW said:
Yeah I don't like the thumb behind, felt unnatural to me. The argument with my grip is that I should switch to a "hammer" (right angle with arm and racquet) instead of a "pistol" (more of a straight line). I have gone back and forth with the two. I feel like the hammer gives me more power but I get more control with the pistol, especially DTL which is my favorite.

I like the pistol too for the reasons you mention.

Wise one · Sep 21, 2021

Wrong grip. Use Eastern backhand grip.

matterer · Sep 21, 2021

Your better backhands looked like a result of inadvertently opening the racket face and not brushing the ball. Learn how to hit flat first, then go for topspin. A topspin shot is a lot closer to a flat shot than what you're imagining.

jz000 · Sep 21, 2021

You do what I did: not using the torso/hips.
It always looks like you're 'scraping the ball UP' on every shot trying to hit topspin.

Try this:
1. Use your torso/hips to rotate to the right. This gives you pace.
2. Your elbow/wrist can go from high low high - reverse windshield wiper. This gives you topspin.
3. Let the ball come a little 'behind' you and towards your left side.

Vary 1 and 2 for more/less pace/topspin

Put those 2 together, and I guarantee you will look somewhat like the pros.
Try it on waist high balls first.
You'll figure out which grip to use in the process. Just forget about it.

Good luck.

InSydeOut · Oct 6, 2021

jz000 said:
You do what I did: not using the torso/hips.
It always looks like you're 'scraping the ball UP' on every shot trying to hit topspin.

Try this:
1. Use your torso/hips to rotate to the right. This gives you pace.
2. Your elbow/wrist can go from high low high - reverse windshield wiper. This gives you topspin.
3. Let the ball come a little 'behind' you and towards your left side.

Vary 1 and 2 for more/less pace/topspin

Put those 2 together, and I guarantee you will look somewhat like the pros.
Try it on waist high balls first.
You'll figure out which grip to use in the process. Just forget about it.

Good luck.

#3 caught my eye. Could you please elaborate?

I have experimented with consciously opening up the hips earlier and with the resulting rotation the ball, almost like my hips are squaring up to the net. The next upper body rotation results in the ball hit more to my left side and feels a bit 'behind' me in terms of timing. I have been taught to stay closed to the ball else you will shank wide.

This technique feels "right" and seems to stress my shoulder the least but I have to adjust to the timing and control.. wondering if I am on the right track so I can continue putting time and effort into this. I have like 10 different ways I can hit the 1HBH. They all hit decent balls but this technique seems to have a promising cieling.

Chas Tennis · Oct 6, 2021

jz000 said:
Try this:
............................................................................
3. Let the ball come a little 'behind' you and towards your left side.
............................................................

Have you seen "the ball come a little 'behind' " in any ATP 1HBHs?

There is a 1HBH video in post #17.

jz000 · Oct 7, 2021

Chas Tennis said:
Have you seen "the ball come a little 'behind' " in any ATP 1HBHs?

There is a 1HBH video in post #17.

It's the 1st person view's perception, not the outcome.
Most people (myself included during pressure points) end up pushing the ball, because they're hitting it too early.
Too many people say 'hit in front' nonsense.
You will feel the ball 'soft', and 'firm', not HARSH, and see it zoom to the other side. That's how I describe it for myself.

jz000 · Oct 7, 2021

InSydeOut said:
#3 caught my eye. Could you please elaborate?

I have experimented with consciously opening up the hips earlier and with the resulting rotation the ball, almost like my hips are squaring up to the net. The next upper body rotation results in the ball hit more to my left side and feels a bit 'behind' me in terms of timing. I have been taught to stay closed to the ball else you will shank wide.

This technique feels "right" and seems to stress my shoulder the least but I have to adjust to the timing and control.. wondering if I am on the right track so I can continue putting time and effort into this. I have like 10 different ways I can hit the 1HBH. They all hit decent balls but this technique seems to have a promising cieling.

Yeah see my reply above.

It's your 1st person view's perception. (A first person shooter - a Gamer's term

)
Most people say 'hit the ball in front'. For me, that doesn't work to think that way.
The ball has to slide across the MAIN strings in order to have topspin.
From your own point of view, the ball has to pass your left shoulder, so you can 'pull' on it with your body/arm/hand whatever.
It's almost like you're hitting late. But if you have good mechanics, then the racket will accelerate through the ball, ending up with topspin. Or flat, depending on how you prepared the backswing.

I have an eastern/mild semi-western grip on my forehand, slightly more open than most players.
If I want more topspin, I let the ball come later, but generate more racket-head speed using my takeback preparation/body mechanics.
I end up looking at the ball to my 'right' - i'm a righty. Letting it come into my 'kill zone' - my entire body, past my left guiding hand.

So, the same for backhand, just mirrored.
Oh and FYI
- Everything just takes years of practice

Once you figure out forehand, you figure out backhand, but then lose some forehand

No pro has a superduper FH AND BH

And I'd also advise to invest time into the BH slice. You can literally jump to 4.0/4.5 with just a killer slice.

Chas Tennis · Oct 7, 2021

jz000 said:
It's the 1st person view's perception, not the outcome.
Most people (myself included during pressure points) end up pushing the ball, because they're hitting it too early.
Too many people say 'hit in front' nonsense.
You will feel the ball 'soft', and 'firm', not HARSH, and see it zoom to the other side. That's how I describe it for myself.

I believe that what the best players in the world are doing in 2021 has value for understanding technique.

I'd say that they all - like Tsitsipas - hit 'out in front' when not time pressured. They also have a strong uppermost body turn. Rec players have a hard time equaling racket head speed if they mostly use their weaker shoulder muscles to swing their arms. I added more uppermost body turn to my forehand and 1HBH shoulder joint motion and that helped my timing and racket head speed. Before, when receiving pace on my backhand, I was often 'late' and the ball was struck when the racket face still pointed more to the left.

I don't look to improve by considering what I do, what other rec players do, or what players that are a level better than I do. I try to disregard all that and go right to what the ATP players do for technique models. The reality, based on my limitations, is toned down in performance and safety is considered.

Suggest that you video your 1HBH and observe how much uppermost body turn vs shoulder joint motion you use to start your 1HBH. First uppermost body turn and then the shoulder joint motion is what I observed in 14 of the 15 players with 1HBHs in the top ATP 100 of May 2019. Here are some of the high speed videos for comparing the uppermost body turn to the shoulder joint motion (indicated by 'chest press') See other posts in this thread also.

Chas Tennis said:
Marco Cecchinato. Video starts at 30 sec. There are backhand drives around 30, 38, 54, 56 sec. Single frame using the period & comma keys.

Pablo Cuevas

Bonus Cuevas bonus, training in hotel room.

Dusan Lajovic. Single frame using the period & comma keys.

Ivo Karlovic video starts at slow motion backhand drive at 1:06. Single frame.

One-Handed Backhands In The Top 100 Of The ATP Rankings*

ATP Ranking Player
3 Roger Federer
4 Dominic Thiem
6 Stefanos Tsitsipas
19 Marco Cecchinato
24 Denis Shapovalov
28 Stan Wawrinka
35 Dusan Lajovic
39 Richard Gasquet
46 Grigor Dimitrov
47 Pablo Cuevas
54 Philipp Kohlschreiber
68 Leonardo Mayer
80 Daniel Evans
83 Marius Copil
94 Ivo Karlovic

*Based on 27 May 2019 ATP Rankings

This list is missing F. Lopez. Did he drop out of the top 100 in May 2019?

Tsitsipas and Shapovalov were not mentioned in the posts for listing bent vs straight elbow players.

I'd list
Bent Elbow
Federer
Dimitrov

Straight Elbow
The other 13 players from the 2019 list.

All are high level one hand backhands.

I mostly prefer the 'chest press' & straight elbow technique because the straight elbow forces the entire arm to accelerate with the uppermost body. But the bent elbow allows the forearm and racket to not be coupled to the full uppermost body acceleration.

Federer does not use chest press. Dimitrov?

Backhand at 35 sec. I'd say that he initiates with 'chest press' with a bent elbow.

Grigor Dimitrov Slow Motion Compilation

Enjoy Dimitrov in slow motion (120fps) in full hdServe, forehand, backhand, ...

youtu.be

The chest press seemed to be used by most or all of the 13 players with straight elbows, but I'd like to look some more and maybe find better videos if needed. If you look for chest press there is variation on when the chest press transitions to shoulder joint motion (upper arm moves away from chest & independently of uppermost body). Seeing the straight elbow is easy. But the chest press takes quality videos and looking at the relative upper arm and uppermost body movement. See the videos.

SEARCH_BACKHAND_TOP100

Chas Tennis · Oct 7, 2021

More 1HBH players from the ATP top 100 in 2019. Total of 15. See other posts in the same thread.

Chas Tennis said:
Marcus Copil at 14 sec.

Dan Evans

Leonardo Mayer. First backhand 12 sec.

Philipp Kolhschreiber

Fxanimator1 · Oct 7, 2021

jz000 said:
It's the 1st person view's perception, not the outcome.
Most people (myself included during pressure points) end up pushing the ball, because they're hitting it too early.
Too many people say 'hit in front' nonsense.
You will feel the ball 'soft', and 'firm', not HARSH, and see it zoom to the other side. That's how I describe it for myself.

Hogwash! You need to hire a coach, like, yesterday.

peoplespeace · Oct 7, 2021

1HBHFTW said:
Below are videos of all my topspin backhands from 2 recent matches (shanks included).

the first match is on hardcourt where I feel much more comfortable with the timing of my backhand and tend to hit confidently. It was also against a better opponent where I had to be more aggressive.

The second match is on clay where i’m sometimes uncomfortable with my backhand timing. I was also against a pusher who I don’t really have trouble with, so my goal was generally just to hit to him and then come to net. But my swing still felt off.

1) is there a visible difference to the way I’m swinging between the two matches? The first i felt so much looser and had less errors, but I don’t know if it’s form or just confidence on hardcourt

2) I would also love any general OHBH tips you could share.

Thank you!

Ur scooping the ball. Ur wrist is bent at contact and the racket head pointing downwards. Straighten the wrist, either all through the swing or as u swing forward. This will help u get the racket to horisontal position at contact. Since u wont be scooping the ball any longer u will have to hit trough the ball much more and ww as u raise the arm. For this u have to get more sideways with ur torso. It is to open.

Chas Tennis · Oct 7, 2021

jz000 said:
Yeah see my reply above.

It's your 1st person view's perception. (A first person shooter - a Gamer's term )
Most people say 'hit the ball in front'. For me, that doesn't work to think that way.
The ball has to slide across the MAIN strings in order to have topspin.
From your own point of view, the ball has to pass your left shoulder, so you can 'pull' on it with your body/arm/hand whatever.
It's almost like you're hitting late. But if you have good mechanics, then the racket will accelerate through the ball, ending up with topspin. Or flat, depending on how you prepared the backswing.

I have an eastern/mild semi-western grip on my forehand, slightly more open than most players.
If I want more topspin, I let the ball come later, but generate more racket-head speed using my takeback preparation/body mechanics.
I end up looking at the ball to my 'right' - i'm a righty. Letting it come into my 'kill zone' - my entire body, past my left guiding hand.

So, the same for backhand, just mirrored.
Oh and FYI
- Everything just takes years of practice Once you figure out forehand, you figure out backhand, but then lose some forehand
No pro has a superduper FH AND BH
And I'd also advise to invest time into the BH slice. You can literally jump to 4.0/4.5 with just a killer slice.

1st person view's perception?

I've heard many players say that they were surprised by what they saw in high speed videos. That has been my experience too with "1st person view's perception". After doing the serve completely wrong for 35 years, that was long enough. I have my lists of differences and I'm glad I know some of what is true.

You should video your forehand and backhand from the side camera view and see if your impact point is the same or different than ATP players. If different then consider what to do. It sound as if you may view the ball to the side of your body compared to most ATP player's drives.

Why not take a peek into the darkness and see the light? You don't have to change a thing. What do you have to lose?

jz000 · Oct 8, 2021

Chas Tennis said:
1st person view's perception?

I've heard many players say that they were surprised by what they saw in high speed videos. That has been my experience too with "1st person view's perception". After doing the serve completely wrong for 35 years, that was long enough. I have my lists of differences and I'm glad I know some of what is true.

You should video your forehand and backhand from the side camera view and see if your impact point is the same or different than ATP players. If different then consider what to do. It sound as if you may view the ball to the side of your body compared to most ATP player's drives.

Why not take a peek into the darkness and see the light? You don't have to change a thing. What do you have to lose?

Yeah my friend took a video early spring of me.
My stroke didn't end over the left shoulder, or left side even.
Most pros' strokes look natural.

So I think I've improved on that this summer. My swing starts from the legs n transfers to my body n elbow.
The ball has way more pace and I can t off winners on those 'sissy' balls even from behind the baseline.
I also don't have a job, play 24/7, hitting with this 5.0, and in my 30s

Scamvid can kiss my ass, as well ass scamaccines and JB. Can't force me to take vaccine shots n have a job

P

ATP Ranking	Player
3	Roger Federer
4	Dominic Thiem
6	Stefanos Tsitsipas
19	Marco Cecchinato
24	Denis Shapovalov
28	Stan Wawrinka
35	Dusan Lajovic
39	Richard Gasquet
46	Grigor Dimitrov
47	Pablo Cuevas
54	Philipp Kohlschreiber
68	Leonardo Mayer
80	Daniel Evans
83	Marius Copil
94	Ivo Karlovic

Tips for my OHBH?

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