2 Handed Backhand "Down the line"

[ajspurs]

This is a shot i have a lot of trouble with, well... i dont drastically miss but i struggle to get any winners with it,i can repeatedly hit the 2 hander cross court hard all day but my opponents always know im gonna go cross court and i almost completely catch them out when i hit a really soft 2 hander down the line so it would help my game a lot if it was a shot i could produce power on it. Is there any tips for this shot? like if i need to move my feet or slightly change my grip.

Cheers.

 

[dave333]

Its a shot that can be difficult to master, but its an absolute weapon once you have it down. In the pro tour, a powerful down the line shot into open court is deadly, and it is just as fatal in recreational (though it doesn't have to be hit as hard).

Practice, practice, practice. You can have someone feed it to you and hit it in the alley to practice.

 

[thefan]

Experiment with different foot/body position. ALso, when I go for a down the line shot I always hit it a bit late.

 

[babar]

aim a few feet inside the line?

I have been told that the reason most ppl miss this shot is that we aim right down the line, along the sideline, and hit it pretty flat as a 2-hander. If you aim the shot a few feet inside the sideline and make sure you get some topspin (to get it over the high part of the net), you might develop a better 2-hander down the line. Plus, if you are hitting it off a cross-court shot, then the extra few feet of space you give way to the sideline will help to keep the ball in from the angle of rebound off the cross-court ball. I have been trying to develo that shot for the same reason as you, but it is slow going. I have better luck hitting it with a one-hander than with a 2-hander since my 2-hander down the line shot always tends to land too short and without much pace. Good Luck.

 

[Medved]

Usually when I go down the line on the backhand side I make sure I have time. Hence I don't try it on service returns unless I absolutely have to. Given a little time it really helped me to close my stance and make sure to get away from the ball more. I still have to hit with as much topspin as I can since I'm hitting a shorter shot over the higher net.

You don't always have to hit a winner with the down the line backhand. It can be a good way to turn the rally from a backhand rally to a forehand rally. I've always found a well hit (not necessarily go for broke) backhand down the line sets up a forehand down the line very well.

 

[babar]

thefan and Medved make a good point that your body position should be closed for the 2 hander down the line. I have found that I can get away with an open stance for cross-court shots, but down the line shots really work better with a closed stance.

 

[J011yroger]

Go to page 8, post 160 of my stroke inventory. I write a very long in depth answer to this question, and some others that Fitzroy asked me about two handers.

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=140404

J

 

[ajspurs]

Sorry for late reply, internet problems but cheers for the feedback guys, seems like an experimenting thing, yea i have also found the need for my body to be quite closed. A lot of the time i do aim for the lines but i sometimes aim for just that side also, and i get more success when i do that. I can really only play a hard shot down the line if i really go for but i never feel comfortable doing that. But... today i hit the courts and after watching some of the pros hitting their 2 handed backhands i noticed how far up there left hand (right handed players) was on the racket grip so i tried it, my left hand was right at the top of my racket grip and although it felt really uncomfortable at first it really helped, i was actually able to hit hard shots down the line, also i felt i could generally strike the ball harder. Hopefully ill be able to maintain that shot the next time i play, and yroger i havn't looked at that link yet but ill check it out now, cheers.

 

[ChocolatePie]

I turn my shoulder a little more to the right (right hander)

 

[J011yroger]

yroger i havn't looked at that link yet but ill check it out now, cheers.

The mods deleted a bunch of posts out of that thread so it jived with the post numbers. If you have not found it yet it is in this thread http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=140404&page=8

Pg 8 post #145

J

 

[Micky]

Sorry for late reply, internet problems but cheers for the feedback guys, seems like an experimenting thing, yea i have also found the need for my body to be quite closed. A lot of the time i do aim for the lines but i sometimes aim for just that side also, and i get more success when i do that. I can really only play a hard shot down the line if i really go for but i never feel comfortable doing that. But... today i hit the courts and after watching some of the pros hitting their 2 handed backhands i noticed how far up there left hand (right handed players) was on the racket grip so i tried it, my left hand was right at the top of my racket grip and although it felt really uncomfortable at first it really helped, i was actually able to hit hard shots down the line, also i felt i could generally strike the ball harder. Hopefully ill be able to maintain that shot the next time i play, and yroger i havn't looked at that link yet but ill check it out now, cheers.

According to Mister Nick Bollettieri you have to use the "Neutral Stance".

 

[DraGoNoFfiR3]

i also have recently improved my 2 hander down the line. i just put my right foot in front of my left and hit a bit late. its not usually a winner but it keeps my opponents on defense.