Backhands from ET Clinic this past Weekend

[Hondasteve]

I was in Baltimore, MD this past weekend at an Essential Tennis clinic. Among many other things, we did a video analysis segment. I picked my backhand, as it has been off and on and I wanted to see what I was doing correctly and what I needed to improve.

Here's the video that Ian took for us to review. There's a few forehands mixed in, but I mainly hit backhands in this clip. I've been working on the stroke for about four years straight now, and I'm finally starting to get some consistency on the shot. I've got a ways to go, but I think I've come a long way. The main thing I've been working on lately is getting the ball in the proper strike zone, which involves a great deal of concerted footwork. I tend to move a lot better to my forehand, as it's my more comfortable shot,obviously.

Anywho, give it a look and let me know what you think. Note: most of these were in - I notably react to the out balls! :?)

http://vimeo.com/12187839

 

[Geezer Guy]

I hit with a 1hbh also. I've been told to keep my back foot (left foot) on the ground and push off as I hit the shot, to drive the ball more. A lot of those you're pretty upright, balanced on your right foot only.

 

[Hondasteve]

Thanks, anyone else?

 

[jrod]

My sense is your contact point looks late, particularly on the higher balls. Also, weight transfer seems to be off on those same balls. On the lower balls, you set up well and tend to load properly on your left foot and move forward into the shot better. One thing you might want to try and exaggerate is the shoulder turn. You may find you get a little more power this way, but do try to maintain that contact point out in front.

 

[anchorage]

Most of the time, you're off balance. My bet would be that, if you try to hit with real power, it goes all over the place - way out or bottom of the net.

Also, try to stay more side on through the stroke. A good way to do this is to point the non-hitting hand behind you. Sometimes you do this, sometimes you don't.

Finally, maintain the angle of the racket & hitting arm throughout the stroke.

 

[larry10s]

your weight transfer is nonexistent. you do not step into the shot. your left leg jumps up. you are very upright.

 

[Ptrac]

like what others have said, keep your left foot on the ground so you can load it and transfer the weight forward to your right foot. You might also want to extend your left arm away from your body and back to open up your chest and stay balanced.

 

[NLBwell]

It's all about your contact point. It needs to be more in front of the body. Since you are contacting the ball at or behind the front hip, you can't be moving your weight forward (or you would be contacting it even further behind you) and tend to move upwards or go backwards. The only ones that were good were when you had to move forward to get to the ball.
As a drill for a pretty easy fix, hit backhands with your front foot maybe 2 feet behind the baseline, but work on hitting the ball just as it crosses above the baseline. Pretty easy to get the hang of it; it will take a while to break the bad habits.
Was there no instruction in this clinic?

 

[Hondasteve]

There was plenty of instruction - it was more focused on drilling and match play, less on individual strokes. We did a group session Sunday AM where we reviewed the video clips taken the day before. I already received most all of the tips that everyone noted above. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Dominik]

Try to make your shoulder rotation a bit more extreme, especially on the ones you have time to set up for. Right now it's fairly minimal.

Also, make sure your hitting arm is not so bent at the point of contact during a regular backhand ground stroke. This robs the stroke of solidity/power and makes it more prone to falling apart under pressure.

 

[NLBwell]

There was plenty of instruction - it was more focused on drilling and match play, less on individual strokes. We did a group session Sunday AM where we reviewed the video clips taken the day before. I already received most all of the tips that everyone noted above. Thanks for the feedback.

Just goes to show that you need to pul your knowledge of the game from many sources. An individual session with a GOOD pro would have picked up on flaws in your stroke in minutes (or seconds) and ways to help you fix them. Then you would have had focused work on that particular flaw. However, you wouldn't have gotten the number of balls you get in a drill or the knowledge and experience you would get from being overseen in your match play. All are important to your improvement.

 

[ProgressoR]

a variation on the above comments. I saw the first minute or so, and as you know many shots you were on the back foot, not able to transfer the weight forward. when you did move forward to a shorter ball the execution was much better. I have this issue also. For me the reason was i hit much better moving forward into the stroke, i think you do too. When the ball was close to my body and quite deep, i couldnt move forward into the stroke and ended up arming the ball, etc.

So what i try to do is make my first steps backwards and to my right to create some space between where i was positioned and where i want to hit the ball. Then as i execute i then step into the stroke with the correct weight transfer and contact point etc and that really helps me a lot.

 

[NLBwell]

^
Yes, that will help him get into the correct position once he starts training his body to hit at the right point. It will give him time and space - hopefully, he will use it vs. just waiting longer and hitting in the same location.

 

[KiNG]

Rule number one for coaching: One correction at a time

IMHO just keep your hitting arm as straight/stiff as possible from start to finish. You can not easily feel where the power comes from with a loose arm like yours in the vid.

 

[Bacterio]

I feel like your footwork is poor and it's resulting in your contact point being all over the place. Were you purposely trying to look casual or graceful? It seems like you weren't really hustling to get to where the ball was going to be.

I used to be guilty of this very thing when I was either warming up or just rallying. I was thinking, "It's a warmup, I don't need to go 100%", but this really hurts you in the longrun. Always move to the ball with efficient small steps and don't worry about looking like you're trying too hard. Eventually, your footwork will become second nature and you'll be able to get to the ball quickly and efficiently and look graceful doing it.

 

[Slazenger07]

I think your footwork needs to be alot better, youre kind of lax with it right now and its causing you to hit your 1hbh late.

Faster feet, better use of the legs, and make contact with the ball earlier to get more power and a better shot more consistently.

Also I think youre opening up too much with your backhand, keep your shoulder turned, even right at contact and begin to open up as your hitting arm extends towards your target after contact.

I hit a 1hbh as well...

 

[sureshs]

I already received most all of the tips that everyone noted above.

You are quite good for a recreational player.

In the future, you might consider just posting a video here and getting the comments and saving some money, since most of the comments you got were available here for free

 

[Charlzz]

I think a healthy diet of bacon will improve your backhand!