Forehand vs Backhand strategy

[sgrv]

I am quite comfortable with my forehand. Of late, I have been able to add power and spin to it, which has caused difficulties for my opponents. Surely, there is room for improvement - mainly to generate more power, placement and improve consistency.

My backhand (2h) is a very different story. I get consistency, power and control only when I have enough time to position myself, which means the incoming ball has to be slow, not too high and not bounce close to my body. When I am challenged, I slice which is very consistent but then it does not lead to winners.

Here's the dilemma where I need some advice. Given that my 2h backhand is so sensitive and works only when I have time to setup. In such a case, I even have time to hit an inside out forehand and get back in position after hitting. So, I feel whether I should adopt a strategy to hit io forehands in such cases or develop 2h backhand? As my normal forehand is strong, I feel I can make io forehand into a weapon too. What do you think? And as I mentioned above, when I don't have time or ball is too close to body, I can slice which is fairly consistent.

 

[i8myshirt]

I think that hitting an inside out forehand for all of those shots that you could hit a good backhand will make you tired in a match. You should always try to develop your shots despite using a specific strategy.
However, hitting inside out forehands is a great way to be aggressive, so if your endurance and stamina can handle it, go for it!

 

[Headshotterer]

i usually set up my backhand real quickly
grip, turn, hit in about 2 or 3 seconnds

 

[ramseszerg]

Ummm, you have less than a second minus your reaction time for you to realize that you're gonna hit a backhand..

 

[Strings And Things]

^^^ Depending on your opponenents level of play/power level.

Loopty doopty could just dink a slow one, and you'd have 5 seconds to get set and go.

 

[Bagumbawalla]

If you are going to be serious about tennis you need to develop your backhand. This may involve lots of practice. Buy a book about tennis strategy and drills and practice them. Learn to hit all the shots and spins.

The moment your opponent realizes you have a weak backhand, well guess what will happen.

 

[snvplayer]

It really depends on your level, and time to practice.

If you have reached around 4.0~4.5 w/o much time to practice, then I'd suggest making your slice into more of a weapon and using your forehand.
Deep crosscourt bh to your opponent can give you midcourt ball that you can run around and hit forehand...(this also depends on the level and opponent).

If you are 3.0, a teenager with a lot of time to practice, I'd suggest working consistenly your bh, so that you can at least sustain a rally with your opponent. And you can use your slice bh to mix it up...
In this case, you can still run around and hit inside-out forehand on certain shots..

At some point in your tennis life, you have to recognize what your weaknesses are, and accept it. This is particularly true if you don't have time to take lessons and consistently work on your weakness. You can still improve it, but will still be a weakness....The time might be better spent on how to cover up your weakness..

 

[dropaced333]

if ur constantly slicing it and u get a nice deep slice then follow up with a volley

 

[larry10s]

develop your strengths forehand , slice backhand and work on improving your 2hbh. jim courrier made a carreer of running around his backhand. a slice backhand can be a weapon when driven and biting and used as an approach shot to finish at the net, it can be used to draw your opponent in with short angle a la federer, etc. in practice force yourself to hit the 2 hander in games stick with your strengths. best play down sometimes and only use the 2 hander to gain confidence

 

[Mahboob Khan]

We all try to hit insideout forehands whenever possible but that does not mean that the BH should be weak. If you overdo it your opponent will eventually find a way to go to your forehand (vacant spot). In a rally situation your BH should complement your forehand so that you don't have to run too much to run around your BH to hit FHs.

The key to the 2-handed BH set up is:

-- early watching the ball and tracking the ball to your BH

-- As the ball bounces on your side you should be ready to swing forward.

If there is any technical problem i.e. grip, backswing, point of contact, follow through, please let us know and we will try to help you.

Cheers,

Mahboob Khan

 

[sgrv]

Thanks for the great suggestions.

I will try to improve by 2h BH. As I mentioned earlier, my BH works when I have time to position myself, ball isn’t too fast, not too high and it does not drop close to my body. The negation of that is the source of my problems. Specifically, could you please provide tips for the following scenarios

1. If a medium paced ball drops close to the body, say 2 ft ahead of me and rises to waist level, how should I approach my stroke? It is in my strike zone but it’s too close for me to execute a stroke.
2. When the incoming ball is fast and I have enough time to judge, I pretty much block it back. Basically, I use a horizontal short swing which ends at the contact point, I don’t do follow though because there is no need as the swing was short and slow to just block the ball. I am afraid to use my full swing because the ball might just go out. I have a low-high stroke in my arsenal to impart topspin to keep the ball in but hesitate to use it. what alterations should I make?
3. When the incoming ball is fast and I am not in position, I hit a slice. Do you feel it’s right? As I mentioned earlier, I am quite comfortable hitting slices. Rarely it goes out. However, I don’t think my slices cause much difficulty for opponents who are generally 3.0ish
4. When the incoming ball is above my chest, I have a hard time hitting 2h BH. How should I approach high balls? I have tried hitting low-high, but then the ball does not have much power. Should I use a horizontal swing? On the other hand, if such a ball comes to my FH, I can pretty comfortable hitting a decent FH with my Western grip.

 

[sgrv]

Folks, please feel free to comment on one or more of my queries in the previous post..

 

[Noaler]

Thanks for the great suggestions.

I will try to improve by 2h BH. As I mentioned earlier, my BH works when I have time to position myself, ball isn’t too fast, not too high and it does not drop close to my body. The negation of that is the source of my problems. Specifically, could you please provide tips for the following scenarios

1. If a medium paced ball drops close to the body, say 2 ft ahead of me and rises to waist level, how should I approach my stroke? It is in my strike zone but it’s too close for me to execute a stroke.
2. When the incoming ball is fast and I have enough time to judge, I pretty much block it back. Basically, I use a horizontal short swing which ends at the contact point, I don’t do follow though because there is no need as the swing was short and slow to just block the ball. I am afraid to use my full swing because the ball might just go out. I have a low-high stroke in my arsenal to impart topspin to keep the ball in but hesitate to use it. what alterations should I make?
3. When the incoming ball is fast and I am not in position, I hit a slice. Do you feel it’s right? As I mentioned earlier, I am quite comfortable hitting slices. Rarely it goes out. However, I don’t think my slices cause much difficulty for opponents who are generally 3.0ish
4. When the incoming ball is above my chest, I have a hard time hitting 2h BH. How should I approach high balls? I have tried hitting low-high, but then the ball does not have much power. Should I use a horizontal swing? On the other hand, if such a ball comes to my FH, I can pretty comfortable hitting a decent FH with my Western grip.

1. Slice? Nothing you can really do there but to return a defending ball.

2. Practice using a full swing on hard-hitting opponents. It doesn't matter if it goes out during practice.

3. If your not in position then you should defend.

4. Hit defending ball? If you don't like that answer then I suggest just moving forward and hitting the ball.

Most of the time you should gather yourself in position, because

 

[user92626]

1, 2, 3, 4 all can be solved with good footwork.

 

[sgrv]

1, 2, 3, 4 all can be solved with good footwork.

Can you elaborate on how to do it in the above situations? Does the information that I have provided point to poor footwork on my part, if so please suggest corrections.

 

[volusiano]

I'm a little confused because you said your 2hbh is weak on those shots when you don't have time to set it up. But if you don't even have time to set up a 2hbh, where do you find time to run around the ball to the backhand side to hit an inside out forehand?

 

[sgrv]

I stated earlier that when I am challenged (meaning not in position), I slice back. In cases where I have time to setup, 2hbh generally works. However, in this case, I also have time to do io FH. Hope this clarifies any confusion.

 

[user92626]

Can you elaborate on how to do it in the above situations? Does the information that I have provided point to poor footwork on my part, if so please suggest corrections.

Sure,

1. Learn to read your opponent's shot and scramble early. You'd need good footwork to scramble effectively or at least improve tremendously.

2. Since you have enough time to judge, what's left to do is actual good footwork to set you up in good position and feel adequately comfortable to do any stroke.

3. "When the incoming ball is fast and I am not in position" More often than not, being out of position is the result of poor footwork, no?

4. When the incoming ball is above my chest, I have a hard time hitting 2h BH. How should I approach high balls? Move back fast, let the ball drops to your strike zone. Or, move in quickly and hit it on the rise.


If there's anything to learn from watching pro's play, it seems the winners are not the one hitting winners, but the ones who seem to be everywhere getting the shots. Nobody hits harder than Nadal and he lost to Murray, who could retrieve every ball.

 

[volusiano]

I stated earlier that when I am challenged (meaning not in position), I slice back. In cases where I have time to setup, 2hbh generally works. However, in this case, I also have time to do io FH. Hope this clarifies any confusion.

OK, I see. So this is the question of whether it's OK to pick a strong inside out forehand over a so-so 2hbh when you're in position. I think it's OK if you're confident that you'll hit a winner with it. If not, your opponent will notice it and will exploit that as a weakness because an inside out forehand tends to leave the deuce court open.

Also on your scenario 1, if the ball is too close to your backhand and there's really no time to step back a little bit for a full swing, I'd just try to catch it on the rise and kinda block it back by letting the ball bounce off the racket face back.

In scenario 2 with a fast ball, I think blocking it back is fine. That's part of the defense.

In scenario 3, I think a slice is OK, too. But you can try to hit your slice in different ways to turn it into an offense. Like really slice it hard to put extra spin on the ball. Or slice with less power to turn it into a drop shot.

In scenario 4, you should be able to slice a high ball, too. Maybe a flatter slice with less spin. More of a hard tap back. This can be done with either 1hbh or 2hbh.