My One Hander

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D

Deleted member 56360

Guest
Here's my backhand. People seem to be throwing up their backhand lately. I'll add to the list. These are warm up intensity backhands I was hitting with a friend. He was wearing jeans and he saw I had an extra racket and asked to hit a few. I'll get some full blown backhands up here in no time.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kKfgZBnwS4
 
Last edited by a moderator:
D

Deleted member 56360

Guest
ronalditop said:
It looks a little too wristy. Try keeping your wrist firmer on impact and you will gain more control.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ronald. I've had some of the adults who I play with at the public court tell me that too. One of em even even told me to do my backhand in slow motion. As I approached the end of the backhand and he saw my wrist flick, he said, "Oh hell no. That's not tennis. That's ballet. Hit the ball the way it was meant to be hit and stop posing."

OUCH!
 
USERNAME

USERNAME

Professional
Get more shoulder rotation and yeah cut out the big wrist snap. Also shift ur weight to ur front foot when making contact.
 
D

Deleted member 56360

Guest
Okay, thanks for the constructive criticism, USERNAME! I never thought weight transfer was one of my main problems, but I will work on it. I also didn't know I had such a great wrist snap until seeing myself on camera.
 
Mick

Mick

Legend
hey if you can beat other people with shots that look like ballet, why change it ? ballet is something beautiful :)
 
USERNAME

USERNAME

Professional
Hrandyrko said:
Okay, thanks for the constructive criticism, USERNAME! I never thought weight transfer was one of my main problems, but I will work on it. I also didn't know I had such a great wrist snap until seeing myself on camera.
Click to expand...

Yeah I personally hated seeing myself on cam for the 1st time, really seems to highlight mistakes. Doesnt help to have a coach saying "I TOLD U" at the same time lol! My 1hbh had the same type of snap u have, my coach cut that out real quick tho. He said that the snap is ok in small doses and when ur trying for a shot that needs spin, but using it all the time can lead to injuries and inconsistancy against bigger hitters.
 
D

Deleted member 56360

Guest
USERNAME said:
Yeah I personally hated seeing myself on cam for the 1st time, really seems to highlight mistakes. Doesnt help to have a coach saying "I TOLD U" at the same time lol! My 1hbh had the same type of snap u have, my coach cut that out real quick tho. He said that the snap is ok in small doses and when ur trying for a shot that needs spin, but using it all the time can lead to injuries and inconsistancy against bigger hitters.
Click to expand...

You're so right, there are some big hitters around here too. My forehand holds ground well against them. But when it comes to the backhand, it gets ugly early. Next time I am outside, I will work on keeping a firm wrist.
 
USERNAME

USERNAME

Professional
Hrandyrko said:
You're so right, there are some big hitters around here too. My forehand holds ground well against them. But when it comes to the backhand, it gets ugly early. Next time I am outside, I will work on keeping a firm wrist.
Click to expand...

HOLD ON!! U dont wanna do that either lol! Keep the wrist loose, it looks like ur forcing the snap in ur vids (u might b trying or it may b natural.)
 
D

Deleted member 56360

Guest
USERNAME said:
HOLD ON!! U dont wanna do that either lol! Keep the wrist loose, it looks like ur forcing the snap in ur vids (u might b trying or it may b natural.)
Click to expand...

Oh no. It happens naturally =] Instead of saying "firm wrist" I probably should have said "firmer wrist". My mistake.
 
X

xFullCourtTenniSx

Hall of Fame
Hrandyrko said:
Thanks Ronald. I've had some of the adults who I play with at the public court tell me that too. One of em even even told me to do my backhand in slow motion. As I approached the end of the backhand and he saw my wrist flick, he said, "Oh hell no. That's not tennis. That's ballet. Hit the ball the way it was meant to be hit and stop posing."

OUCH!
Click to expand...

He's right. Stop trying to pose as Federer. :?

You lack a firm wrist. No matter what, you cannot hit a big one handed backhand if your wrist is weak and whippy.

Also, your stroke is rather small.

Power does not come from shoulder rotation into the shot. Turning your shoulders away from the net will add power to your shot and put your shoulder in the right position to hit the shot. The power comes from your rotator cuff (or whatever muscle is on the backside of the shoulder joint). Your shoulders should not open up through the stroke. If you do, the shot won't be as consistent because you lose the ability to hit through the ball properly and add sidespin instead of topspin.

Your footwork needs work. Ask your coach about that cause there's a LOT of stuff about footwork.

There is no wrist snap into any one handed backhand. There is forearm supination, but that's it. Even then, that's not something that should be taught or advocated. If it comes naturally, then fine. The follow through should be higher over the head.

And overall, your grip seems to be weak. And I think you're using a continental grip too...
 
MasturB

MasturB

Legend
I only wrist snap on low balls, or if I'm trying to put some extra heat on it my wrist naturally snaps.
 
G

GuyClinch

Legend
That's a 3.0 backhand, IMHO. Were you the guy that said you wanted to go pro? You don't seem to be forcefully swinging through the ball - like your kinda lazily continuing your swing once you hit it..

Your footwork needs to be more aggressive where you really STEP with that front foot - transfer your weight and accelerate through the ball. You also need a more aggressive shoulder turn.
 
C

Carlito

Semi-Pro
Im not sure because the camera isn't close enough, but I think the issue that is causing the "wristyness" everyone is talking about is your grip. It looks like like a continental grip and not a true backhand grip. My backhand didn't really imporve untill my coach showed me the right grip. Also the footwork isn't that bad except you don't have enough knee bend. Really plant down on the front foot and drive your weight forward.
 
D

Deleted member 56360

Guest
The_Steak said:
da fu?

OP you fraudin'? You said you were 14 and had a 2 hander. OP played us all. Ryan, you are tricky.
Click to expand...

Lol, I used a two handed when I first began playing tennis.
xFullCourtTenniSx said:
He's right. Stop trying to pose as Federer. :?

You lack a firm wrist. No matter what, you cannot hit a big one handed backhand if your wrist is weak and whippy.

Also, your stroke is rather small.

Power does not come from shoulder rotation into the shot. Turning your shoulders away from the net will add power to your shot and put your shoulder in the right position to hit the shot. The power comes from your rotator cuff (or whatever muscle is on the backside of the shoulder joint). Your shoulders should not open up through the stroke. If you do, the shot won't be as consistent because you lose the ability to hit through the ball properly and add sidespin instead of topspin.

Your footwork needs work. Ask your coach about that cause there's a LOT of stuff about footwork.

There is no wrist snap into any one handed backhand. There is forearm supination, but that's it. Even then, that's not something that should be taught or advocated. If it comes naturally, then fine. The follow through should be higher over the head.

And overall, your grip seems to be weak. And I think you're using a continental grip too...
Click to expand...

Thanks again, FullCourtTennis


GuyClinch said:
That's a 3.0 backhand, IMHO. Were you the guy that said you wanted to go pro? You don't seem to be forcefully swinging through the ball - like your kinda lazily continuing your swing once you hit it..

Your footwork needs to be more aggressive where you really STEP with that front foot - transfer your weight and accelerate through the ball. You also need a more aggressive shoulder turn.
Click to expand...

I was not forcefully swinging at any of the balls but the first one.

Carlito said:
Im not sure because the camera isn't close enough, but I think the issue that is causing the "wristyness" everyone is talking about is your grip. It looks like like a continental grip and not a true backhand grip. My backhand didn't really imporve untill my coach showed me the right grip. Also the footwork isn't that bad except you don't have enough knee bend. Really plant down on the front foot and drive your weight forward.
Click to expand...

I am certain that I am using a correct continental grip.
 
K

Ken Honecker

Rookie
Hrandyrko said:
I am certain that I am using a correct continental grip.
Click to expand...

The thing is as far as I can tell few if any use the continental grip for groundstrokes. It is recommended for serves and volleys but then everyone switches to something else for the rest of their game. Personally I use Eastern forehand and backhand which seems to do everything I'm trying to get done but others like something different. Continental is sort of a wishy washy grip.
 
D

Deleted member 56360

Guest
I'm at school at the moment. I'll take a picture of the grip I am using and post it up here. I am 99.9% sure that I am using an eastern backhand grip.
 
35ft6

35ft6

Legend
I would switch to an eastern or extreme eastern backhand grip, try to drive through it more. Looks like you're hitting with a continental grip.
 
D

Deleted member 56360

Guest
dsc01618.jpg


There's my grip. The eastern backhand grip.
 
X

xFullCourtTenniSx

Hall of Fame
Hrandyrko said:
dsc01618.jpg


There's my grip. The eastern backhand grip.
Click to expand...

Seems like a pretty weak eastern backhand grip... But if you firm up your wrist I guess you can manage.

There are like hundreds of variations on the same grip. Most variations work fine.

Also, if you really wanted to go pro, you should've stuck with the two hander. You would've been far more likely to make it with a two hander as opposed to that one hander. The one hander takes far more time to fully develop. Though I'm not saying a two hander would've gave you a decent chance to go pro, just saying that with the time frame you had it would've increased your chances by at least 50% of what you were already at. (So the end result still would've been 0.0010 ---> 0.0015)
 
T

The_Steak

Rookie
Why did you switch to a one hander? Just because Roger Federer uses a one hander doesn't mean you should. You shoulda stuck with the 2 hander. Now you have absolutely no chance to go pro.
 
D

Deleted member 56360

Guest
The_Steak said:
Why did you switch to a one hander? Just because Roger Federer uses a one hander doesn't mean you should. You shoulda stuck with the 2 hander. Now you have absolutely no chance to go pro.
Click to expand...

Okay, thank you.
 
D

Deleted member 56360

Guest
The_Steak said:
Why don't you just answer the question?
Click to expand...

You apparently already had your mind made up as to why I switched to the one hander.

Anyway, the one handed backhand looks a lot sweeter. The way I describe the two hander is "mechanical".

When I first got together with my coach, he saw me using the one handed backhand. Since I was a beginner, he insisted I use a two hander. Later in time, when we began doing private lessons together, I told him that I would no longer like to use the two hander and he completely respected my decision. And that was it.
 
T

tricky

Hall of Fame
Hmm, is that picture of the grip you? Because I think the skin color is different than the 1H BH video clip???

Anyhoo . . . you're kinda breaking the one cardinal rule of the 1H BH. It's not like a FH where you swing laterally. It's an old-fashioned down-to-up motion, and the key thing is to swing through the ball without excessively opening up the torso.

Initially work on finishing with the racquet above your head, on your hitting side.

Your takeback is very short. Honestly, I don't think that's such a bad idea because it forces people to use their feet to generate power rather than arm the shot. But eventually, you want to execute a full takeback, which means your front shoulder will go under your chin.
 
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D

Deleted member 56360

Guest
tricky said:
Hmm, is that picture of the grip you? Because I think the skin color is different than the 1H BH video clip???

Anyhoo . . . you're kinda breaking the one cardinal rule of the 1H BH. It's not like a FH where you swing laterally. It's an old-fashioned down-to-up motion, and the key thing is to swing through the ball without excessively opening up the torso.

Initially work on finishing with the racquet above your head, on your hitting side.

Your takeback is very short. Honestly, I don't think that's such a bad idea because it forces people to use their feet to generate power rather than arm the shot. But eventually, you want to execute a full takeback, which means your front shoulder will go under your chin.
Click to expand...

Lol yes; the grip picture is me. Thanks so much for your very detailed post!
 
B

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Your backhand seems to be mostly arm (and wrist) motion. You need to begin the motion with the legs, hips, back and shoulders which, in turn drives the motion of the arm.

In a couple of the shots, maybe, you almost, sort-of have the motions, but not quite. In many, however, you just kind of stand there and swat through the ball with a realitively weak arm motion. Not horrible, but not as good as you could or should be.

If your forehand is better than the backhand, then you might try this. Go to a wall. Find a distance from the wall that allows the ball to bounce into your comfort zone and then keep the ball going and alternate hitting forehands and backhands. Strive for the same solid feeling and shifting of weight off the backhand as you get from the forehand.

Concentrate on getting the feel of really driving your weight and energy THROUGH the ball.
 
heretoserve

heretoserve

Rookie
Great! But remember your two most efficient sources of power are the fall of the racquet and the legs lifting/uncoiling(but not opening). Take your racquet back higher(and quicker) with the body. Then let them fall in sync and lift in sync.
 
G

GuyClinch

Legend
Anyhoo . . . you're kinda breaking the one cardinal rule of the 1H BH. It's not like a FH where you swing laterally. It's an old-fashioned down-to-up motion, and the key thing is to swing through the ball without excessively opening up the torso.
Click to expand...

Good call, IMHO. You got a knack for this kinda thing tricky. There was something really awkward about his shot but I think you pegged it.
 
D

Deleted member 56360

Guest
Thanks to all who gave me useful advice. Let me sum it all up right here =]

I need to create a bigger backswing.

There should be little to no wrist action in the one handed backhand. The only thing that should really occur is forearm supination.

I must concentrate on making a more deliberate down to up motion on the one handed backhand.

It is vital to the success of my one handed backhand that I use weight transfer from my back leg to front leg to drive through the shot.
 
L

luthertn

Rookie
In your vids ...your not really low to the ground with a bent knee .. thats gona help you keep it better ...so far I seen you are lifting yourself off the ground not stepping into it ....What you can do to get a better stroke, get a basket of balls and do drop balls and try to get topspin on your 1hbh....I had the same problem as you did when i switch from 2hand to 1hand but some of my friend in college told to drop balls and slow down your process . I hope it helps
 
M

moroni

Rookie
many people said that samprass's bk was too wristy ..actually it is easier ti hit wristy on low balls i am a bit wristy on low balls .. not on high ones though do not cancel the wrist snap fully just get rid of it on high balls
 
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