Ambidextrous player seeks strategy advice

[Frank Silbermann]

I've been playing tennis for 39 years. About 29 years ago I replaced my right-handed backhand with a left-handed forehand. Two years ago I got one of those double-handled rackets to make switching faster.

I don't claim to be very good. My serve (now left-handed) has a lot of spin but not much control -- so my main objective when serving is to limit the double faults (but I'm working on it and it is improving). Due to the left-handed spin, it's effective at my level -- at least when I don't double-fault.

My reflexes and agility have never been all that good so I've always been weak at the net, but I've been practicing more intelligently and now that is starting to improve. (I try to hit a good enough approach shot that the volley is not too difficult.) I have never had much speed, endurance or sustained concentration, so I've never been much of a retriever.

My strength would be my left and right forehands. For my level, I have pretty good power and topspin; I rarely backspin my ground strokes (usually only if I'm off balance or trying to hit a drop-shot). Occasionally I will use side-spin to take a slightly cross-court shot and send it down-the-line. Until a year ago my right hand was better, but I've been practicing the left and now I think that one is better -- but neither has ever been so much better that I would go out of my way to hit it.

My basic strategy has been to hit the ball wherever would make it easier for me to prepare for the next shot. When given a moderately deep ball down the middle that means hitting to either corner; but returning all deep wide shots cross-court. I like to stand in close so I can take short balls near the top of the bounce, hitting (not very well-directed) half-volleys and drive-volleys if the ball lands near the baseline. If the ball is short and high (e.g. a weak second serve) I will pound it; if it is short and low I will slide it down-the-line and approach the net. (If my opponent is too old to run it down I might instead go for drop shot or a sharp-angle topspin cross-court.)

I don't worry much which is my opponent's stronger or weaker side; at my level very few opponents have a shot that is truly dangerous, and I don't trust my control to reach a stroke that he's trying to hide. I figure if my shot is directed towards his strength, that will force him to expose his weak side. (With two eastern-towards-semi-western forehands I don't have to worry much about my opponent bouncing the ball over my effective strike zone.)

One opponent told me, "When I play you I have to keep everything deep because you jump on anything short." (If he were smarter or more ruthless he'd alternate drop-shots and lobs to take advantage of my weak net game -- but not too many people like to play that way.)

He added, "It's very confusing playing someone who is equally good on both sides." (I thought, "Tennis books always used to say, `Never run around your backhand -- instead practice it until it is as good as your forehand.' Why don't you just pretend I'm a conventional player who took that advice?")

Any suggestions as to other strategies I should consider, or shots I should work on (besides my weaker serve, volley and overhead)?

 

[Timbo's hopeless slice]

Work on the ball hit straight at your feet, as that is what I would do if faced with a player such as yourself.

(which I am, every wednesday night, only he is a 5.0, Hi Glen!)

My aim in this is to force him (or, hypothetically, you) to play a BH volley or half-volley and thus take him out of his comfort zone. As you would know, it is quite hard to move far enough quicky enough to make either of your FH shots if the ball is hit forcefully right at you.

Ok, as for your own tactics, sound like you have it about right, just be relentless with your CC groundstrokes until you get a weak one, then hit it into the open court...

Adn maybe keep working hard on that serve!

Good luck

 

[LeeD]

I'd play you by dropshotting you to death, choosing wide passes when you finally position yourself up there, or lob you to run you, since your groundstrokes are probably superior to mine. Since you probably volley with open stance, you don't have the wide reach of a normal volleyer.
Work to counter that, and work on the serves.

 

[Timbo's hopeless slice]

Lee, the dropshots make sense, but why let him use his wingspan? he can reach further either side!

 

[LeeD]

I dont think so.
A one handed player stretches wide to his forehand side with a step from his pushoff side.
OP can't do that, needing to stay square so he can switch grips to cover either side.

 

[Timbo's hopeless slice]

Hmmn, maybe my view is clouded by my regular practice opponent Glen who is 6' 5" and a 5.0, he seems to have an awful lot of reach, but that's probably a function of his height and tennis level more than his ambidextrousness!

 

[Frank Silbermann]

Work on the ball hit straight at your feet, as that is what I would do if faced with a player such as yourself.

(which I am, every wednesday night, only he is a 5.0, Hi Glen!)

My aim in this is to force him (or, hypothetically, you) to play a BH volley or half-volley and thus take him out of his comfort zone. As you would know, it is quite hard to move far enough quicky enough to make either of your FH shots if the ball is hit forcefully right at you.
...
And maybe keep working hard on that serve!

Good luck

At the net I can volley with either forehand (with more of an eastern-towards-continental grip), but since I wait with both hands on the racket I hit reflex volley's two-handed. I found that if I loosen my rear (forehand grip) so it's more of a backhand volley I can cover balls hit straight at me. I guess I'd better practice for better players who will make me use it more often. (And maybe also work on my forehand half-volleys from the baseline, as better players will also give me deep ground strokes more frequently.) Thanks!

The serve is finally starting to improve, slowly, because I've finally found some free on-line videos from Essential Tennis and also Jeff Salzenstein that explain how the parts fit together. I think the serve requires the most body coordination of any shot -- and body coordination is something that is most _unnatural_ to me!

 

[Frank Silbermann]

Lee, the dropshots make sense, but why let him use his wingspan? he can reach further either side!

Actually, you're both right. I have a pretty wide reach at the net, but wide shots still trouble me due to my slow reaction time. All to often I see the ball going past me while thinking, "I could have reached that one."

I think I've got to spend more time watching people hit so I can pick up hints of their intended direction without waiting for the ball to get half-way to the net before determining its direction.

 

[mightyrick]

There's an older ambidextrous guy who practices regularly at the courts that I frequent. I've hit with him several times. And I can honestly say that his ambidextrous-ness is a hindrance to his game. He lacks crispness in every one of his shots on his non-dominant side.

All I have to do is hit (with pace) to him side-to-side and force him to be switching his racquet from one hand to the other repeatedly. It draws lots of floaters, shanks and errors. He can't switch fast enough or with enough accuracy.

I've told the guy that I personally think that he should just switch to a two-handed forehand. Forget all of the single-handed ambidextrous crap. Hit a two-handed forehand and a two-handed backhand and be done with it.

But I think he likes the eccentricity and of his choice. To each his own, I guess. But competitively, I think it hinders him a lot more than helps him.

 

[5263]

At the net I can volley with either forehand (with more of an eastern-towards-continental grip), but since I wait with both hands on the racket I hit reflex volley's two-handed. I found that if I loosen my rear (forehand grip) so it's more of a backhand volley I can cover balls hit straight at me.

Have you considered the Bh volley and slice for both sides? It seems that is the better
way to slice and volley and you can learn to use it for both sides.

 

[LeeD]

What's wrong with the FrewMcMillian, GeneMayer, and early JimmyConnors 2hbh volleys?
He's already unconventional, and a strong 2hbh volley allows him to pressure the opponent more than his weak volleys does currently.

 

[5263]

What's wrong with the FrewMcMillian, GeneMayer, and early JimmyConnors 2hbh volleys?
He's already unconventional, and a strong 2hbh volley allows him to pressure the opponent more than his weak volleys does currently.

Not suggesting anything is wrong with anything. Just asking if he considered
the 1h Bh slice for both sides. I love my Bh slice and might like to have it on
both sides...same for the Bh volley. This does not mean he can't use the second hand
to some extent either. The point is using the Bh as the primary aspect for both
sides when slicing and volleying. Remember I have a son who hits the TS Fh on
both sides and have some experience with this.

 

[LeeD]

Op chooses to hit all forehands while on the baseline. Why teach him to hit all backhands while at net?

 

[Def]

Two-handed racket? Have any video of that in action, I've seen some, but only in commercial like videos, never in an actual match.

 

[Timbo's hopeless slice]

Two-handed racket? Have any video of that in action, I've seen some, but only in commercial like videos, never in an actual match.

here you go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdLYo7ooqL0

Brian's a great guy and a pretty decent player (obviously, as Chris Wettengel is no bunny!)

Not for everyone, though, that's for sure!

(and yes, thay serve is legal!)

 

[Frank Silbermann]

What's wrong with the FrewMcMillian, GeneMayer, and early JimmyConnors 2hbh volleys?
He's already unconventional, and a strong 2hbh volley allows him to pressure the opponent more than his weak volleys does currently.

I often do hit volleys two-handed in doubles, as the play is often faster (not that I play doubles much). But there's just not that much reach. Right now my volleying trouble is due to things like not knowing how to move at the net, not closing in on the ball, using too much hand instead of my body -- elementary stuff that would ruin any kind of volley.

When I went to the two-handed racket a pretty much had to give up the one-handed slice backhand due to the angle of the grip with the racket staff. I mainly use the one-handed backhand for digging up low balls in desperate "gets". Besides, I don't see many players at any level run around their forehands to hit backhand slices.

 

[Frank Silbermann]

here you go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdLYo7ooqL0

Brian's a great guy and a pretty decent player (obviously, as Chris Wettengel is no bunny!)

Not for everyone, though, that's for sure!

(and yes, thay serve is legal!)

When Brian and his brother were in their early 20s they never got higher than top 1,000 or so rankings. Since then the pro game had only gotten tougher and now they're entering their thirties. After taking up the two-handled racket they've risen to like top 200. To make such a significant improvement as you're aging out -- that's impressive to me.

But those guys hit mainly two-handed off both sides with left and right one-handed forehands for wide shots. At my age I need the extra reach _all_ the time, and since the age of 26 every attempt to hit two-handed topspin has given me back spasms.

 

[LeeD]

I don't get it.
Players use 2 handed strokes from both sides from the baseline. When at net, you have less time, but you also need to cover much less court, so it's the same.
As for the 2handed volleys, it cures all your problems. Hitting 2handed volleys, you use 2handed conti grip, which forces you to turn your body, move forewards into the ball, use the whole body and not just your arms, AND volley harder with more control than a 1handed volley.
But it's your game, so hope it works out.
And yes, I used a 2handed backhand volley in every A/Open and Q I played.

 

[Frank Silbermann]

Not suggesting anything is wrong with anything. Just asking if he considered the 1h Bh slice for both sides.

My impression is that most people who rely on a slice backhand depend on their steadiness with it. I don't have the endurance or extended concentration to play that way, so I need to be able to hit forcing shots and winners. Hitting forcing shots and winners with a slice backhand requires great skill and talent, which I also lack. I believe that a sub-mediocre talent has the best chance to develop a kill shot when taking short high balls on his one-handed forehand.

 

[Frank Silbermann]

I don't get it.
Players use 2 handed strokes from both sides from the baseline. When at net, you have less time, but you also need to cover much less court, so it's the same.
As for the 2handed volleys, it cures all your problems. Hitting 2handed volleys, you use 2handed conti grip, which forces you to turn your body, move forwards into the ball, use the whole body and not just your arms, AND volley harder with more control than a 1handed volley.
But it's your game, so hope it works out.
And yes, I used a 2handed backhand volley in every A/Open and Q I played.

I'll practice it both ways and see which approach improves faster for me.

Hitting two-handed volleys might even improve my one-handed attempts if it forces me to get used to turning my body, moving forwards into the ball, using my whole body.

 

[Frank Silbermann]

There's an older ambidextrous guy who practices regularly at the courts that I frequent. I've hit with him several times. And I can honestly say that his ambidextrous-ness is a hindrance to his game. He lacks crispness in every one of his shots on his non-dominant side.

All I have to do is hit (with pace) to him side-to-side and force him to be switching his racquet from one hand to the other repeatedly. It draws lots of floaters, shanks and errors. He can't switch fast enough or with enough accuracy.

I've told the guy that I personally think that he should just switch to a two-handed forehand. Forget all of the single-handed ambidextrous crap. Hit a two-handed forehand and a two-handed backhand and be done with it.

But I think he likes the eccentricity and of his choice. To each his own, I guess. But competitively, I think it hinders him a lot more than helps him.

It might be due to a lack of talent with his non-dominant hand. Or, this may be a relatively new approach for him which he just hasn't yet had enough time to develop.

Yeah, switching the racket takes time. Until I got the two-handled racket I couldn't do it fast enough unless I hit on one side with a choked up grip. I had more control on that side, but much less power.

 

[LeeD]

While there's something to be said for "go with the flow", maybe in tennis, it's better to be a little more specific than..."I'll go with what works right now".
Some strokes are worth the time to take to learn. A double conti 2handed volley from both sides is one example.
Does it really work?
Frew was #2 in doubles with Hewitt.
Mayer was #4 in doubles with a variety of partners.
There is no way a 1 handed volley can hit as hard as consistently as a 2 handed volley, since the incoming ball is moving fast with varied spin.
Not saying you NEED to hit a 2 handed volley, but since your current one handed volley is probably hit with an open stance, and you don't get your bodyweight into the shot, 2h cures two problems.

 

[5263]

My impression is that most people who rely on a slice backhand depend on their steadiness with it. I don't have the endurance or extended concentration to play that way, so I need to be able to hit forcing shots and winners. Hitting forcing shots and winners with a slice backhand requires great skill and talent, which I also lack. I believe that a sub-mediocre talent has the best chance to develop a kill shot when taking short high balls on his one-handed forehand.

You and Lee are both missing my point I believe. I'm not suggesting you should slice when you could hit TS. I'm not even saying you should do anything really,
but just asked had you tried....

To Lee's pt though, at the BL the Fh is the best and most versatile stroke, but while
at net, I think the Bh is the best and most natural volley... that's all.
I'm assuming he is hitting TS Fh at the BL because it is the strongest stroke for the job...not to avoid a Bh. For the same reason, the Bh is the best stroke
for slices and volleys in most situations and is very versatile and can be nasty.

 

[LeeD]

Maybe just me, but I hit a good slice forehand volley well before my forehand groundie was developed.

 

[5263]

Maybe just me, but I hit a good slice forehand volley well before my forehand groundie was developed.

No, that is quite common and most never understand or get good enough with
the Bh slice/volley to realize it's superiority. I heard about it for years before I
experienced it.

Also the Bh handles the jammer right back at you much better as well.

 

[LeeD]

I think part of the reason some good players have great backhand volleys is that they needed to practice it more, use good form, turn shoulders, move feet, and move in.
Forehand volleys were so easy that they lost or forgot the necessary mechanics
Certainly in doubles, a forehand poach putaway is much more consistent than the backhand poach putaway, for almost everyone.

 

[Frank Silbermann]

BTW, I played a doubles set on Friday. All my volleys were hit double-handed. I'm still not a good volleyer, but I did better than the last time I played doubles.

I don't have a deliberate policy, but I tend to hit two-handed volleys in doubles, and one-handed volleys in singles. I think that's because in singles I rarely go in except behind a strong approach shot that puts my opponent behind the baseline, and then I have the whole court to cover. In doubles, I'm frequently at the net when my partner delivers his poop-it-in second serve that is taken from two steps behind the service line. Yikes! No time to react!

I have much more reach with one-handed forehand volleys, but much quicker reflexes with both hands on the racket. Maybe it's a false choice; maybe I should develop both.

 

[5263]

I have much more reach with one-handed forehand volleys, but much quicker reflexes with both hands on the racket. Maybe it's a false choice; maybe I should develop both.

No problems with both, and Bryan Bros do use 2 quite a bit.

 

[5263]

Certainly in doubles, a forehand poach putaway is much more consistent than the backhand poach putaway, for almost everyone.

yes, but this is because, while almost everyone can volley, almost everyone is not real good at it.