2HBH Controlling Hand?

[Funbun]

I just realized there is quite a bit of discrepancy over which hand is the dominant grip in the 2HBH. I've read in a thread that Agassi essentially uses a 1HBH with the non-dominant hand riding along. Nadal, however, appears to drive the ball with his right hand. I've even heard some people just use 50-50, relaxed grip tightness.

Is there a technically correct controlling hand in the 2HBH? Or it's simply a matter of preference?

 

[tricky]

For majority of righties, it should be their left hand.

 

[Heroesque]

I'm a lefty. For my 2hbh I use my right arm mainly, and the left hand only as a guide. Using both hands usually screws me over.

Since my 2hbh is pretty decent (if not better than my fh) I drive the ball pretty fast. But if I get caught up and try to drive the ball as hard as I can, I unintentionally start using my left hand for more power. This really messes me up, til I realize what I'm doing..

 

[Zefer]

I use both my arms equally... that's probably what makes it so much stronger than my forehand... well it's not any more, but it used to be literally twice as hard.

 

[soyizgood]

I just realized there is quite a bit of discrepancy over which hand is the dominant grip in the 2HBH. I've read in a thread that Agassi essentially uses a 1HBH with the non-dominant hand riding along. Nadal, however, appears to drive the ball with his right hand. I've even heard some people just use 50-50, relaxed grip tightness.

Is there a technically correct controlling hand in the 2HBH? Or it's simply a matter of preference?

There's plenty of ways going about the 2HBH. Tricky's right (no pun intended) that the non-dominant hand should be the driving hand.

Agassi's backhand is more or less old school in the Borg/Wilander/Connors method. He pulled with his strong hand and pushed with the weak hand. Borg and Wilander used their weak hand to impart topspin before their weak hand let go of the racquet. That's easier said than done for most people. For example, I tried that one day and my upper right arm was in pain.

These days people treat it like a weak hand forehand. Nadal's actually a righty, so he can get massive racquet head speed with his backhand.

 

[Funbun]

Is there an orthodox grip tightness ratio among the two hands? I've been experimenting with a tighter-gripped right hand (I'm a lefty), sometimes with a looser grip, edging the 50-50 ratio, but I can't find a good balance.

Of course, I don't want to death grip with either hand, but should my non-dominant hand be tighter or looser? I've also read that Djokovic likes to keep a loose grip, while Roddick grips rather tight.

 

[Davis937]

... hey, Funbun ... I agree with those who posted that the nondominant hand should be the crucial hand for the 2HBH ... I'm right handed ... for my 2hBH I use a Continental for my RH and use a Semiwestern grip for my LH ... although there is always going to be some variance and "personal preference" ... traditional thinking today on the 2HBH is that the driving force, power, and top spin will come from your nondominant hand (... think of it, if you're RH, as a left handed forehand stroke) ... I struggled with the 2HBH for severl months until I lost my stubbornness .. and ... learned to use my LH as the driving force for this shot ... once I made that "mental" switch ... progress cam swiftly ... to the point that after three years I now rely on the 2HBH as my more consistent and reliable stroke ... it's much more compact than my forehand ... and ... this is important ... much less prone to breakdowns ... I LOVE the 2HBH!

 

[tricky]

Is there an orthodox grip tightness ratio among the two hands?

The "driver hand" (leftie => right hand) should feel firm and "empowered." Particularly, you want to feel load/stretch in the driver arm as you take the racquet back. The "guide hand" (leftie => left hand) should feel light through most of the stroke.

To set up strong hand dominance, you want to initiate the takeback with the guide arm. Then let the driving hand lead the rest of the takeback.

The simple way to do this is to simply let the thumb and bicep of your guide arm dip the racquet below the ball. This usualy takes care of everything: smile pattern, hand dominance, and getting low to the ground to drive.

 

[Funbun]

Thanks for the tip, tricky. Always the master at analysizing and "looker" for the 2HBH.

I'll try this sometime. I usually just guide the racquet takeback with both hands, then drive with my right. Guiding the racquet on the initial takeback motion with my left will be something new.