Help PLease, why on the one handed backhand takeback the head can be open.
- Thread starter millenium
- Start date
John McEnroe, an admitted possible weirdo, kept his racket vertical for his topspin backhands.
Don't think disquise has anything to do with it, the low to high swingpath gives it away.
The action of going from open to closed as you swing forwards gives a bit more power and can be easier to maintain, rather than a purely slightly closed racketface throughout the entire stroke.
I haven't figured out the open to closed motion yet, so currently hit topspin 1hbh's with a vertical racket face similar to McEnroe, just not nearly as good.
Don't think disquise has anything to do with it, the low to high swingpath gives it away.
The action of going from open to closed as you swing forwards gives a bit more power and can be easier to maintain, rather than a purely slightly closed racketface throughout the entire stroke.
I haven't figured out the open to closed motion yet, so currently hit topspin 1hbh's with a vertical racket face similar to McEnroe, just not nearly as good.
Chas Tennis
G.O.A.T.
I guess this is the open racket position that you are referring to in the OP? See video.
Single frame on Vimeo. Hold down the SHIFT KEY and use the ARROW KEYS.
Could it be that his hand on the throat works better with face up (open)?
He comes out of that racket position as he brings the racket down in what looks like a forearm/arm rotation.
I believe that the farther from impact a racket position is - in the take back or the follow through - the more variations might be seen in the strokes of different players. It makes understanding why the hand or racket orientation is being used more difficult and uncertain. First study how many one hand backhands use the 'open racket' orientation that you are interested in.
To get a quick look of many pictures (on any subject) -
Google: one hand backhand take back images
To post pictures that are allowed, right click on the picture and select "Copy Image Location". Paste into a reply using the picture icon (mountains..) at the top of the reply box.
Post illustrating how the racket is brought down after the 'open racket' orientation.
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/inde...tart-forward-swing.462997/page-2#post-9818922
The later posts of the above thread describe the 'credit card one hand backhand'. This is the biomechanical mechanism that I believe accelerates the forward swing at its start for the strongest one hand backhands.
Single frame on Vimeo. Hold down the SHIFT KEY and use the ARROW KEYS.
Could it be that his hand on the throat works better with face up (open)?
He comes out of that racket position as he brings the racket down in what looks like a forearm/arm rotation.
I believe that the farther from impact a racket position is - in the take back or the follow through - the more variations might be seen in the strokes of different players. It makes understanding why the hand or racket orientation is being used more difficult and uncertain. First study how many one hand backhands use the 'open racket' orientation that you are interested in.
To get a quick look of many pictures (on any subject) -
Google: one hand backhand take back images
To post pictures that are allowed, right click on the picture and select "Copy Image Location". Paste into a reply using the picture icon (mountains..) at the top of the reply box.
Post illustrating how the racket is brought down after the 'open racket' orientation.
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/inde...tart-forward-swing.462997/page-2#post-9818922
The later posts of the above thread describe the 'credit card one hand backhand'. This is the biomechanical mechanism that I believe accelerates the forward swing at its start for the strongest one hand backhands.
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The laid back wrist causes this. However, the wrist should not be locked in this position throughout the stroke. You can slightly adjust the wrist ext/flxn through contact to control the racquet face angle (more ext than flxn), but the wrist needs to remain firm during this adjustment. And the wrist lays back again for the follow thru. This whole adjustment happens like a loaded spring. For lower height contact the wrist can remain laid back but it's not a good habit since it will cause problem for higher contact.
For me there are two reasons to open the racket face on the OHBH at full take back. One reason is that I naturally roll my upper arm back (ISR) in the take back, and it undoes itself into the hit with some opposite rolling (ESR). For some reason I started lifting my hitting hand knuckles at max take back, and it took a kink out of my forward swing. I haven't got a physio explanation. I can only say "do some ISR, open the face by rolling up the knuckles, the swing will be smoother and faster." If it doesn't work for others, what can I say?
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Lance L
Semi-Pro
If I'm reading you correctly, youi are talking about the differences between a low(ish) take back and a high take back. Both a sound techniques.
I've always had a pretty good slice bh, but not a topspin/drive bh. The breakthrough for me was the high take back, like Gasquet above. The low takeback(like Henin) was what I was trying, then I watched videos of Federer/Gasquet etc, and the high takeback was the difference.
It turns the backhand stroke into a parabolic shape, where the first part of the swing naturally generates the energy needed to hit the ball. it made sense intuitively and and worked in practice. The engineer in me likes to think that the high take back has greater potental energy at the start that is easier to convert into kinetic energy.
I also like the efficiency. If you are in a good ready position and turn your shoulders 90ish degrees to your bh side, you are basically already in the high takeback position.
I've always had a pretty good slice bh, but not a topspin/drive bh. The breakthrough for me was the high take back, like Gasquet above. The low takeback(like Henin) was what I was trying, then I watched videos of Federer/Gasquet etc, and the high takeback was the difference.
It turns the backhand stroke into a parabolic shape, where the first part of the swing naturally generates the energy needed to hit the ball. it made sense intuitively and and worked in practice. The engineer in me likes to think that the high take back has greater potental energy at the start that is easier to convert into kinetic energy.
I also like the efficiency. If you are in a good ready position and turn your shoulders 90ish degrees to your bh side, you are basically already in the high takeback position.
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