Critque my strokes plz (video)

C

counterfeit25

Rookie
Hi, I just recently started to post, but I've looked around these boards for a long time, so I hope I can get some advice/comments on my strokes.
I just recorded a video of my forehands and backhands while rallying with a coach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZZSIr5qpkM

A little background: I'm 5'8, 135 lbs, and I've been playing tennis seriously for about 3 years.
I think my forehand is OK for now. My backhand is incosistent, and my slice is just really bad!
Any advice/comments are welcome.

Btw, based on what you see in the video, what NTRP rating do I look like?? I always wondered but I never knew...
 
You're not doing anything after you hit the ball, you just stand..improve your footwork buddy,stand on your toes,you're flat-footed.
 
Nice looking groundies!

Only three things I noticed and all of them can be easily corrected:
1) You should be split-stepping as your opponent makes contact with the ball. This will help you gather your weight so you can move more explosively around the court.
2) Your weight was going backwards on a lot of forehands that you were hitting. Make sure you are staying low and moving your weight through the ball. You did a much better job doing this when you hit your backhand and FH approach shots.
3) You would wait for the ball too much when it went low to your backhand. If you see the ball coming low into your backhand, move in so you can take it in your strike zone and put it away.


Also, try to hit more slice backhands. Your backhand looks very strong (assuming your placement is decent) and if you were to throw in some skidding slices as a change-up, that would be devestating.
 
Dude, we are just alike. Your swings look good, but your footwork is very lazy. Your partner needs to be moving you more... side to side, forward and backward. You might also like to hit with someone a level higher, to make you move. I would say you are a 3.5 from this limited clip.

You step in and bend you knees on the FH, but have straight legs on the BH... which is why you're reaching for a lot of balls. (I'm addressing that now b/c my strike zone is small and I'm often off balance) Your slice sits up b/c you snap at it, not drive through it; better weight shift will help.

Is that SW or Western grip on the FH? What is your BH grip. Overall, we are very similar. Our footwork is preventing us from moving up b/c we don't have good balance or proper lower body mechanics in defensive situations.
 
Thanks for the comments guys!
I agree my footwork was really sloppy that time. I really should be moving in on those backhands!
Btw, I was just trying to rally with my coach, so that's why he didn't move me around that much. Maybe next time I will film a video where he plays points against me, I think that would be better.
 
On my FH, my grip is between SW and Eastern. For my backhand, my left hand is in Eastern forehand grip, my right hand varies between continental and eastern BH (I don't think too much about my right hand on my backhand).
 
My regular FH grip is E/SW too. I'm trying to move more to a full SW or mild W though b/c many 4.0+ get the balls up near my shoulders (I'm 5'7). Hitting aggressively with an E/SW sometimes has a problem. Lower players might get the ball high, but it's not a "heavy" ball and I can just wait for it to come down. My BH grip is about the same. All other strokes are continental.

When you say your BH is inconsistent, do you mean: into the net, long, wide, short, etc? I switched to a 2H last fall and still want to keep a closed stance (my body wants to stay closed, I do NOT!!) on most balls. Sometimes I'll hit out of an open stance or, ideally, I'll bend my knees so the back leg steps forward at the end of the stroke. (like this - http://www.northyorkkoreantennisclub.com/tennislesson/47.html ).

I think the major reason your BH is inconsistent is b/c you're not bending the knees and you're hitting a flat drive instead of a "steady" topspin roll you can depend on going in every time.
 
Yea, my BH is really flat (I've been trying to copy Safin too much!), I'm thinking about developing a rally-type topspin BH.
Btw, when I get a high ball to my forehand, I try to hit it on the rise, or, I make contact around/above my shoulder. I just put some spin on it and try to place it deep. At least that's what I tried to do in the video ;)
 
I did the same thing, copy the flat hitters. It's very pretty and effective when hit to the open court, but we don't practice enough to rely on it exclusively.

The BH in the link has helped me visualize what I need to do, but I haven't broken the habit. Basically the differences are: keep the knees bent, start the racquet further below the ball, and step up (right leg) and around (left leg).

Since we already know how to hit topspin the instructions can be simplified to: knees bent and step forward with the back leg. I like to think of it as hitting the ball with my left knee. You'll probably feel more weight shift (forward) and the right foot will open up and point more toward the court. When you compare this to your forehand it will be similar, like a lefthanded forehand.

Since you'll be hitting the ball slightly slower (higher trajectory), you'll also have more time to recover ...given that the ball is hit with depth.
 
Your groundstrokes look smooth. Try playing with different players to learn to respond to different balls. Also, learn how to hit different spins and heavyness of the ball to add dimensions to your game.
 
FH2FH said:
I did the same thing, copy the flat hitters. It's very pretty and effective when hit to the open court, but we don't practice enough to rely on it exclusively.

The BH in the link has helped me visualize what I need to do, but I haven't broken the habit. Basically the differences are: keep the knees bent, start the racquet further below the ball, and step up (right leg) and around (left leg).

Since we already know how to hit topspin the instructions can be simplified to: knees bent and step forward with the back leg. I like to think of it as hitting the ball with my left knee. You'll probably feel more weight shift (forward) and the right foot will open up and point more toward the court. When you compare this to your forehand it will be similar, like a lefthanded forehand.

Since you'll be hitting the ball slightly slower (higher trajectory), you'll also have more time to recover ...given that the ball is hit with depth.
Click to expand...

a question: can you have a heavy topspin twohander using a closed stance exclusively?
 
ramseszerg said:
a question: can you have a heavy topspin twohander using a closed stance exclusively?
Click to expand...

Probably, but it helps when the legs bend. With his BH footwork (mine is the same) it encourages a flat ball. We're not bending our knees enough or moving our weight into the ball.
 
you should take your racket back earlier, because that can sometimes cause late timing. i noticed you take it back around the same time the ball is about to bounce. overall your groundies look good. keep those feet moving.
 
the forehand looks good but i can see why your backhand might be inconsistent at times. On your take back the racquet face looks like its flipping open. It should be straight up and down or slightly closed which will improve your consistency.
 
Mate, a rating on how you hit the ball is totally irrelevent. A lot of kids look impressive with all these flashy groundstrokes, but then it all falls apart in a match. They have no tactics or even patience, consistency etc. I went undefeated last comp against all these so called hot shot kids, i'm 43!.
I'm an improving 4.0 and it's proven by results, not looking good.
 
andyroddick's mojo said:
you should take your racket back earlier, because that can sometimes cause late timing. i noticed you take it back around the same time the ball is about to bounce. overall your groundies look good. keep those feet moving.
Click to expand...

On the BH, I was told I was hitting the ball late last night also by two players 4.0/4.5 at different times (I'm a practice ho). I tried taking it a little earlier and that seemed to help. One of them also told me to forget about footwork, which I put so much emphasis on in my posts yesterday. Maybe it's just a timing issue?

Blubber, yes there are more videos on that site. Not sure what the home page is, but you can browse the directory if you remove the html page...
 
counterfeit25 said:
Hi, I just recently started to post, but I've looked around these boards for a long time, so I hope I can get some advice/comments on my strokes.
I just recorded a video of my forehands and backhands while rallying with a coach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZZSIr5qpkM

A little background: I'm 5'8, 135 lbs, and I've been playing tennis seriously for about 3 years.
I think my forehand is OK for now. My backhand is incosistent, and my slice is just really bad!
Any advice/comments are welcome.

Btw, based on what you see in the video, what NTRP rating do I look like?? I always wondered but I never knew...
Click to expand...
Could use more knee bend, but good followthrough and hitting through on the forehand. Backhand looks like bunts at times, but not too bad. Switch to a one hander and make another vid.
 
Your strokes are good. Footwork is lazy. Forehand is good and backhand is good in my opinion. The BH will come with time from what I see. Oh, and you ARE hitting a bit hard for a "casual rally."

AND YOUR COACH IS AN ANIMAL WITH THOSE MOANS.
 
Rickson said:
Could use more knee bend, but good followthrough and hitting through on the forehand. Backhand looks like bunts at times, but not too bad. Switch to a one hander and make another vid.
Click to expand...

I have played around with a one-hand BH before, and I think its good for hitting medium-slow balls, but fast and/or heavy balls are very annoying (this includes service returns).
I certainly don't have a "good" one-hand BH by any means, but I just don't think it's worth putting serious effort into developing (I'm kinda short for it anyway -_-)

As for the video, I agree I can use more legs in my shot.

It seems like footwork is a big problem of mine. I barely do any footwork drills for my tennis... maybe I should start doing them... =D
 
Strokes look good > great place to be after 3 yrs! Footwork. --don't seem to adjust for deeper balls to FH, so it looks like your weight is sometimes not behind the ball, i.e., sometimes your torso explodes up and slightly back > forcing you to arm the ball. Exploding up is now common b/c angular momentum uses the ground as a push off, so you're fine there .. but, I suggest you move your feet more on both sides. You don't want to bend/lean forward at the back for the backhand (height adjustment has to be done with knees and foot positioning) -- and, you don't want to lean back for the forehand, also correctable with more explosive mini-steps.
 
Haha, yea man that's how I learned to play tennis. Anywaayyyys, I guess I should evaluate your strokes huh. Well, judging just from your video, I'd say you are .....just about pro level! :P I recognized your forehand pretty quickly and on top of that it said u were in Ann Arbor so I figured it was you. Good to see that your still hitting. It looks good. Lets hit once we're back at school.
 
chapufo1 said:
Haha, yea man that's how I learned to play tennis. Anywaayyyys, I guess I should evaluate your strokes huh. Well, judging just from your video, I'd say you are .....just about pro level! :P I recognized your forehand pretty quickly and on top of that it said u were in Ann Arbor so I figured it was you. Good to see that your still hitting. It looks good. Lets hit once we're back at school.
Click to expand...

Thanks! =)
We should def. play once school starts.
 
You hit the ball good. But that footwork is non-existent. It makes you look like a casual tennis player.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys! I'll work on my footwork and I'll make a new video once I get the chance.
Unfortunately, I crashed in a go-kart 2 days ago, and I sprained my ankle + got a bunch of stitches... so I'll not be able to play tennis for 6 weeks at least -_-

emo5, yes my racket is a Head Flexpoint Prestige mid. I like it!
 
counterfeit25 said:
Yea, my BH is really flat (I've been trying to copy Safin too much!), I'm thinking about developing a rally-type topspin BH.
Btw, when I get a high ball to my forehand, I try to hit it on the rise, or, I make contact around/above my shoulder. I just put some spin on it and try to place it deep. At least that's what I tried to do in the video ;)
Click to expand...


Looks good! Forehand is great.

On the two hander, however, your backswing is messed up. Study how Safin takes his racket back and you will see it is very different than yours. He takes his racket up first with arms in. It helps develop rhythm and timing. Your takeback is too stiff and rigid. See the Safinator here:
http://www.hitechtennis.com/twohander/videos/safin/marat_two_hander_2.swf

I like your forehand, and I like how you drive through the backhand.
 
JCo872 said:
Looks good! Forehand is great.

On the two hander, however, your backswing is messed up. Study how Safin takes his racket back and you will see it is very different than yours. He takes his racket up first with arms in. It helps develop rhythm and timing. Your takeback is too stiff and rigid. See the Safinator here:
http://www.hitechtennis.com/twohander/videos/safin/marat_two_hander_2.swf

I like your forehand, and I like how you drive through the backhand.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the video! Lots of good videos on that site... I might get a membership once my injury heals
 
Your forehand is good, but you have problems hitting it on the run. I know you said you tried to hit it high with topspin, but consider hitting it more in your strikezone and move your feet to get in position. Your backhand is ok, but looks unreliable right now. Like someone said, you let the ball drop too much, so move closer to the ball. Your strokes are similiar to mine except yours is a bit better since I don't hit with anyone as much. Assuming your serve is comparable to the rest of your game, you are probably a solid 3.5. My serve has proven to be a big asset recently, so that makes up for my weaker groundstroke game.

You could compete and hit with 4.0s, but you will fall apart if they pick on your bh. If you read my other post, it's similiar to how a 3.0 was up 1-4 with me until I made a conscious decision to attack his backhand relentlessly. After that, I rattled off 5 games in a row to win. I have a slice bh to fall back to if my topspin/flat ever falls apart.
 
Yeah, nice looking strokes but very lazy footwork. The title does say "casual rally" but still, you should get into the habit of moving forwards and backwards in addition to moving side to side. So much of this game is footwork.
 
XD I watch this vid so many times! Looks so cool! lol seriously, this made me go to the park last saturday and hit with my friends.... Yah, I agree with what the others said, but I never noticed what you were doing wrong until they said it. =\ I wanna hit flatter now.
 
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