How to flatten out high balls on the 1hbh?

[tennis_hack]

I find that when I am given a high ball on the 1hbh, the natural thing to do is to hit it at the peak and loop it back with heavy topspin.

However, when you want to flatten out these types of balls, how do you do it?

You can obviously flatten out high shots if you take them on the rise, as that generally gives a much flatter trajectory, but how do you do it if you want to take the high ball at the top of its bounce?

I want to take it at the top of the bounce because that's my more natural contact point for the backhand, and hitting on the rise can result in errors - so how do you flatten out a 1hbh whilst hitting a high ball at the top of the bounce?

I use a sw grip if it helps.

Thanks

 

[Lukhas]

You don't. As simple as it is. Except if you're 6'6" tall or something. If your opponent sends loopy balls to your BH, it because he knows you can't attack it. If it was that possible, Nadal would've changed his strategy for a long time.

You wouldn't on a forehand either because that's difficult, but the slight difference being that you can do a "simili-smash" on that side (hit down with E/C grip instead of doing a full swing). Send it back with top-spin or slice it. Or attack it on the rise (Federer) or wait for the ball to fall in your comfort zone (Gasquet).

 

[sureshs]

By switching to a 2 handed BH

 

[tennis_hack]

By switching to a 2 handed BH

No thanks, I switched to a 1hbh from a 2hbh precisely because it let me hit high balls better, not about to switch back.

 

[VoodooChild24]

This is also my problem but guess what? It is also Federer's problem against Nadal so we are in good company. I agree with Lukhas that you don't flatten those. What I usually do is slice it and go for placement and if you don't like slicing it, you can hit the ball on the rise like you mentioned.

Call Fed Maybe?

 

[tennis_hack]

Basically I want a backhand equivalent of this shot;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt4OBL45GIE

Weight is falling backwards, ball bounces deep and at over head height, being able to flatten it out on the backhand side for a winner.

Do people with 2hbh's manage this shot easily?

 

[Lukhas]

1) It's a FH, which I said could be flattened like a "simili-smash", the player here violently slams the ball down;
2)The player is playing the ball in extension while jumping, which requires excellent coordination;
3) It's Nadal of all players,
4) If that shot became an highlight, there's a good reason for this.

Keep dreaming, it's not possible to do so with a BH because you cannot crush the ball like that with a BH. Unless you have a reversed elbow. And for the same reason a BH smash isn't remotely the same thing as a "regular" smash. The only thing even remotely close would be a jumping BH.

 

[President]

Almagro and Soderling are good examples for a 1HBH and 2HBH respectively hitting huge, flat shots on relatively high balls. I don't have the time to look up video clips but just watch highlights of any of their matches against Nadal, there's bound to be a few in there.

 

[10isfreak]

1) It's a FH, which I said could be flattened like a "simili-smash", the player here violently slams the ball down;
2)The player is playing the ball in extension while jumping, which requires excellent coordination;
3) It's Nadal of all players,
4) If that shot became an highlight, there's a good reason for this.

Keep dreaming, it's not possible to do so with a BH because you cannot crush the ball like that with a BH. Unless you have a reversed elbow. And for the same reason a BH smash isn't remotely the same thing as a "regular" smash. The only thing even remotely close would be a jumping BH.

It's funny because I can flatten out high balls in my one handed backhand, hitting them hard and with a downward trajectory... so, yeah, you can crush high balls on your backhand. However, I have yet to see someone hitting his backhand as hard as his forehand consistently -- which is the main problem... you can't as comfortably accelerate on high balls with a backhand, meaning you need to take a bigger risk to hit that big shot.

Besides, who will try to hit an inside backhand? They'd rather hit a forehand and the outside backhand will be yet harder to hit big. All of this make the high flat backhand a very risky play, not to say even a dumb play most of the time.

 

[newpball]

However, when you want to flatten out these types of balls, how do you do it?

If pros do not even do that why would you want to do that?

But if you insist, I'd say get a ball machine, program it so it get's high on your backhand and then just keep practicing until you get it.

Keep us informed about your progress.

 

[newpball]

It's funny because I can flatten out high balls in my one handed backhand, hitting them hard and with a downward trajectory... so, yeah, you can crush high balls on your backhand.

Wow, you must be good.

 

[10isfreak]

Wow, you must be good.

It's not as hard as it looks like. If you have a good backhand, just start your take back higher, much closer to the height of that ball or even slightly higher. That way, you'll be able to swing that ball flat or downward, even if it's pretty high.

I practiced high contacts a lot two years ago; my friend used to hit moonball after moonball... and I worked on attacking these. As they say, practice makes perfect and thousands of high balls did make a difference.

 

[newpball]

It's not as hard as it looks like. If you have a good backhand, just start your take back higher, much closer to the height of that ball or even slightly higher. That way, you'll be able to swing that ball flat or downward, even if it's pretty high.

I practiced high contacts a lot two years ago; my friend used to hit moonball after moonball... and I worked on attacking these. As they say, practice makes perfect and thousands of high balls did make a difference.

Do you have a video where we can see how you crush those high balls?

 

[10isfreak]

If pros do not even do that why would you want to do that?

It's useful to have the option, just as it might help you improve your backhand motion. However, as you hinted, it's not a good play... if your opponent hits a good high ball to your backhand, you can give him some credit and respect this ability of his. Anyway, you won't hit too many high flat backhands successfully.

 

[10isfreak]

Do you have a video where we can see how you crush those high balls?

I might make one some day, but since I just sprained my ankle, it will take some time. I'll try to practice them again once I can play anew and I'll think of making a video, but I think you'd have a better model using Federer in his match against Nadla at the WTO finals a few years ago. If you're waiting to see me crushing high balls, expecting 80+ mph flat backhands above my shoulders, you'll be disappointed, obviously, but I can hit a high flat backhand.

With that said, the point of this anecdotal comment is to nuance the seemingly alleged impossibility of that shot... it's not impossible to flatten out high backhands, even with a semi-western one handed backhand.

 

[Lukhas]

No it's not, I agree. But when you can patiently wait for it to come down, I wonder why you'd try to hit a much more difficult shot to begin with (jumping drive OHBH). It's like the guys who don't let the ball bounce on a smash despite having the sun in their eyes. But much harder. Which makes very good "Djokovic moments" on court... :twisted:

Difference with Almagro is that he's forced to hit those BH since he's a pro level clay courter. Not to mention he's a ball basher.
Hello Mr. Wilander, let's see what you have to say on the matter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPs39T75-hI

Stop playing like Agassi/Davydenko/Ferrer, they makes it look easy but it's not to hit half volleys on the baseline. That's when you notice good tennis: they make it look easy, but anyone who picked a racquet will tell you it isn't.

 

[Shroud]

I find that when I am given a high ball on the 1hbh, the natural thing to do is to hit it at the peak and loop it back with heavy topspin.

However, when you want to flatten out these types of balls, how do you do it?

You can obviously flatten out high shots if you take them on the rise, as that generally gives a much flatter trajectory, but how do you do it if you want to take the high ball at the top of its bounce?

I want to take it at the top of the bounce because that's my more natural contact point for the backhand, and hitting on the rise can result in errors - so how do you flatten out a 1hbh whilst hitting a high ball at the top of the bounce?

I use a sw grip if it helps.

Thanks

Hitting with a sw I know the shot you are talking about. I hit that on occasion because the ball "gets past me" and its all you can do.

However think about it. What other shot could you hit?? On its own its not a bad shot to get the ball back with spin and deep.

Couple things. I like taking those on the rise when I can and maybe you should practice that.

But I think it will help you if you adjust your take back so it is higher than normal. THink about it, on a normal backhand, the racket is what about 1ft below the contact point, but on the high loopers a normal take back will make the racket 3-4ft below the contact point. THat why they are all spin. Try a takeback that starts at shoulder high.

 

[Nellie]

Bring back the racket high (at shoulder height) and swing straight through the ball. With a SW grip, you will need to hit in front. It is not an easy shot on the elbow.

 

[movdqa]

I can hit a relative hard high backhand if the footwork and timing are right (where placement may suffer) but what's the point? My usual response is a topspin backhand in return. I can vary the spin/pace combination depending on what I'm trying to do and the odds of making an error are a lot lower than hitting something back at least three feet over the net with a fair amount of spin. If you're a few to many feet behind the baseline, the other person should have enough time to get to the ball unless you're near perfect with pace and placement.

 

[tennis_hack]

Hitting with a sw I know the shot you are talking about. I hit that on occasion because the ball "gets past me" and its all you can do.

However think about it. What other shot could you hit?? On its own its not a bad shot to get the ball back with spin and deep.

Couple things. I like taking those on the rise when I can and maybe you should practice that.

But I think it will help you if you adjust your take back so it is higher than normal. THink about it, on a normal backhand, the racket is what about 1ft below the contact point, but on the high loopers a normal take back will make the racket 3-4ft below the contact point. THat why they are all spin. Try a takeback that starts at shoulder high.

Thanks, I do have a very high take-back normally as well. Should the swing path be more through the ball though? Or should it be a normal high to low swing path with a more closed racket face?

I notice that sometimes when I accidentally close the racket face too much, the ball goes very low over the net, but usually has a lot of topspin on it as well...

 

[movdqa]

I find that it's easier to hit high backhands with a lot of spin/pace with a high swingweight - as long as you can handle it.

 

[boramiNYC]

I'm going to explain this from the E bh grip's perspective and I don't have enough experience with SW bh grip, so please make any necessary adjustments when trying.

the range of motion of the arm around the shoulder, which is much biased toward the front side than the back, dictates that with the normal closed stance the arm cannot effectively rotate around the body like a fh does. so, flattening out a high ball with the normal closed stance with the final weight on the front foot cannot be effectively done. however, a topspin can be hit with the normal closed stance even on high balls. and Gasquet and Almagro sometimes hits a sharp angled CC topspin 1hbh on a high ball.

However, flattening out a high ball is still possible with 1hbh with some adjustment to the technique. to flatten a high ball, the swing needs to be flat and rotate around the body. a special case of weight transfer can help achieve this. instead of final weight on the front foot, you finish the swing with the weight on the back foot helping open up the body quickly as the flat swing is made. this allows you to flatten out a high ball. but i'd say this is a high level technique that must be used specifically and shouldn't be made into habit otherwise you can develop a poor 1hbh.

I have seen this shot made many times by Almagro and sometimes Gasquet when they hit an aggressive 1hbh DTL on relatively high bouncing balls. Next time you watch them play watch out for those instances. for lower ball 1hbh DTL they use normal stance but sometime they switch the weight toward the back quickly to open up and make more flatter shot.

as an example I found an Almagro's shot where his weight is quickly transferred toward the back foot toward the end of the swing:

Almagro

 

[tennis_hack]

Thanks for the above. Although I did see Almagro had his weight on the front foot as he hit the shot - he just jumped to the back foot pretty quickly.

Are there any who hit 1hbh with weight on the back foot as contact is made?

Perhaps Wawrinka when streched out wide and still hitting topspin?

 

[Cheetah]

I'm going to explain this from the E bh grip's perspective and I don't have enough experience with SW bh grip, so please make any necessary adjustments when trying.

the range of motion of the arm around the shoulder, which is much biased toward the front side than the back, dictates that with the normal closed stance the arm cannot effectively rotate around the body like a fh does. so, flattening out a high ball with the normal closed stance with the final weight on the front foot cannot be effectively done. however, a topspin can be hit with the normal closed stance even on high balls. and Gasquet and Almagro sometimes hits a sharp angled CC topspin 1hbh on a high ball.

However, flattening out a high ball is still possible with 1hbh with some adjustment to the technique. to flatten a high ball, the swing needs to be flat and rotate around the body. a special case of weight transfer can help achieve this. instead of final weight on the front foot, you finish the swing with the weight on the back foot helping open up the body quickly as the flat swing is made. this allows you to flatten out a high ball. but i'd say this is a high level technique that must be used specifically and shouldn't be made into habit otherwise you can develop a poor 1hbh.

I have seen this shot made many times by Almagro and sometimes Gasquet when they hit an aggressive 1hbh DTL on relatively high bouncing balls. Next time you watch them play watch out for those instances. for lower ball 1hbh DTL they use normal stance but sometime they switch the weight toward the back quickly to open up and make more flatter shot.

as an example I found an Almagro's shot where his weight is quickly transferred toward the back foot toward the end of the swing:

Almagro

I disagree. It should still be hit with the same weight transfer, footwork and overall technique as any other ball.

Almagro hit that shot hit off his front foot with his weight transfer going forward. He's pulled off the court and catches his balance with the rear leg. He's not transferring any weight to his left leg to open up or flatten it out.

The pic shows his follow though, still sideways, weight on his front leg, rear leg in the air pointing back towards right side fence. It looks like any other shot.

The ball is long gone at this point. ... and then he lands on the left because he left the ground due to it being a high ball and he was pulled wide to his left. There was no choice other than to land on that leg due to momentum.

Hitting a flat shot on a high 1hbh is accomplished with takeback, racquet head position and swing path modifications. Rotation and weight transfer etc etc is the same as other shots.

 

[Frank Silbermann]

Basically I want a backhand equivalent of this shot;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt4OBL45GIE

Weight is falling backwards, ball bounces deep and at over head height, being able to flatten it out on the backhand side for a winner.

That's one of the reasons I switched to hitting ambidextrous left and right one-handed forehands.

 

[boramiNYC]

I disagree. It should still be hit with the same weight transfer, footwork and overall technique as any other ball.

Almagro hit that shot hit off his front foot with his weight transfer going forward. He's pulled off the court and catches his balance with the rear leg. He's not transferring any weight to his left leg to open up or flatten it out.

The pic shows his follow though, still sideways, weight on his front leg, rear leg in the air pointing back towards right side fence. It looks like any other shot.

The ball is long gone at this point. ... and then he lands on the left because he left the ground due to it being a high ball and he was pulled wide to his left. There was no choice other than to land on that leg due to momentum.

Hitting a flat shot on a high 1hbh is accomplished with takeback, racquet head position and swing path modifications. Rotation and weight transfer etc etc is the same as other shots.

here's another shot by Wawrinka. it's not always very pronounced but there is difference between normal shots where the contact is made in the comfortable strikezone and these kind of shots. the lower body is rotated quicker, they land on the backfoot which means weight has transferred back. when this weight transfer occurred is immaterial because there is no question it contributed in producing the flat swingpath not possible without it. when the lower body remains in closed stance the whole time the flat swing cannot accelerate enough through the ball due to range of motion. topspin or pace generation using mostly supination is still possible but it won't be due to a flat swingpath.

I agree this is a very marginal shot of 1hbh but I won't say it has the same weight transfer. for normal 1hbh the back foot doesn't even have to come around till well after the swing is done. for this shot the back foot come around very quick and the weight land on it helping the rotation.

another example that required more rotation than usual by Almagro. not a high ball example but it shows how he achieves extra rotation by quickly turning the backfoot around and by leaning on it.

 

[Cheetah]

here's another shot by Wawrinka. it's not always very pronounced but there is difference between normal shots where the contact is made in the comfortable strikezone and these kind of shots. the lower body is rotated quicker, they land on the backfoot which means weight has transferred back. when this weight transfer occurred is immaterial because there is no question it contributed in producing the flat swingpath not possible without it. when the lower body remains in closed stance the whole time the flat swing cannot accelerate enough through the ball due to range of motion. topspin or pace generation using mostly supination is still possible but it won't be due to a flat swingpath.

I agree this is a very marginal shot of 1hbh but I won't say it has the same weight transfer. for normal 1hbh the back foot doesn't even have to come around till well after the swing is done. for this shot the back foot come around very quick and the weight land on it helping the rotation.

another example that required more rotation than usual by Almagro. not a high ball example but it shows how he achieves extra rotation by quickly turning the backfoot around and by leaning on it.

that wawrinka shot is the same as the almagro shot. they only land on the back foot because they are running wide to the left and they use their leg to catch their balance after the shot.

Show me a high 1hbh when they are not running or stretched wide and they hit a flat ball and land on their rear leg.

 

[newpball]

as an example I found an Almagro's shot where his weight is quickly transferred toward the back foot toward the end of the swing:

Almagro

This is an example of a flat high ball return?

 

[grolson1993]

You don't. As simple as it is. Except if you're 6'6" tall or something. If your opponent sends loopy balls to your BH, it because he knows you can't attack it. If it was that possible, Nadal would've changed his strategy for a long time.

You wouldn't on a forehand either because that's difficult, but the slight difference being that you can do a "simili-smash" on that side (hit down with E/C grip instead of doing a full swing). Send it back with top-spin or slice it. Or attack it on the rise (Federer) or wait for the ball to fall in your comfort zone (Gasquet).

This. Being 6' 7" helps me flatten out my OHBH tho That being said, i tend to slice it or chip it up high, cause you're pretty much screwed if u try and swing through it that high.

 

[charliefedererer]

Practice like this 12 year old to crush high backhands:

High One Handed Backhand Training http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i3M9tY-oKE

Let it fly - same technique but bigger back swing and harder forward swing - still need topspin to keep the ball in. [No hitting from back foot - agree with Cheetah.]

 

[tennis_hack]

newpball - I agree, that Almagro backhand is not a high backhand.

I classify high as being over head height.

These are the backhands I take delight in hitting aggressive topspin in because invariably someone will hit a massive inside out forehand moonball to your backhand, then step in closer expecting you to either slice it or net the ball, but then you send a heavy loop right back to their feet that kicks up at them, force them back and draw the error from them.

 

[newpball]

newpball - I agree, that Almagro backhand is not a high backhand.

And the Wawrinka example is even lower.

 

[Cheetah]

I classify high as being over head height.

You don't classify a shoulder high or neck high ball a high ball?

 

[tennis_hack]

You don't classify a shoulder high or neck high ball a high ball?

Well, I dunno, maybe, but shoulder height to neck height is my ideal contact zone so I wouldn't classify it as 'high'.

Over the years I've made sure to not only run around my forehand on every high ball so I hit it as a backhand, but to not let the ball drop or take it on the rise - only take the ball at the peak of the bounce. As a result I hit probably a crazy amount of high backhands in each set I play, so I've practiced that particular shot more than any other.

 

[goober]

Have you tried slicing high balls to your backhand?

 

[boramiNYC]

you can hit like the girl in the charlie's vid. most of the time even I would hit that way. having said that there is a pretty big limit how hard you can hit that way. if you can get further rotation from the leg and torso you can hit bigger and also can handle faster incoming balls.

I wanna add a couple things. it's better to close the stance even more than the usual and the contact point is not as far out in front nor to the side than usual. and the racquet head will be significantly higher than the hand.

to the OP, you sound like you have your method hitting high balls. so how do you do it? can you make a video doing it? I'm genuinely curious since it's hard to imagine the shot with your SW grip. and I'd consider shoulder to head height is high. anything higher would be not a serviceable range at least for me.

 

[tennis_hack]

that wawrinka shot is the same as the almagro shot. they only land on the back foot because they are running wide to the left and they use their leg to catch their balance after the shot.

Show me a high 1hbh when they are not running or stretched wide and they hit a flat ball and land on their rear leg.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=eWgk6mjTSlg&t=220

The above video, Wawrinka hits a backhand at 03:45 where he hits an open stance topspin backhand and pushes off his back foot at contact (ie. his left foot for righties). Unlike the Almagro example above, he actually pushed off his back foot at contact, instead of pushing off the front foot at contact and then landing on the back foot.

Wawrinka and other 1hbh'ers should use this technique regularly against Nadal.

 

[Cheetah]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=eWgk6mjTSlg&t=220

The above video, Wawrinka hits a backhand at 03:45 where he hits an open stance topspin backhand and pushes off his back foot at contact (ie. his left foot for righties). Unlike the Almagro example above, he actually pushed off his back foot at contact, instead of pushing off the front foot at contact and then landing on the back foot.

Wawrinka and other 1hbh'ers should use this technique regularly against Nadal.

Nope. That's not even close to an open stance bh.
it's a standard technique 1hbh. closed stance, his rear leg is pointing to right side fence, no transfer of weight to rear leg.

He's pulled wide just as almagro was. It's a high(er) ball so he hits on the toes of his right foot to get a few inches of extra height on the contact point. Thus he leaves the ground and lands on his rear leg to catch his balance and push off for recovery.

Nothing special going on here. The ball is long gone in this frame.

 

[Velvet Ga el]

Nope. That's not even close to an open stance bh.
it's a standard technique 1hbh. closed stance, his rear leg is pointing to right side fence, no transfer of weight to rear leg.

I get where the disagreement is coming from, and although I agree with you that at the moment of contact it's a neutral or closed stance, the footwork pattern into it is an open stance footwork pattern, which I think is why it's deceiving to OP.

Really, it's almost the exact mirror of Federer's scissor kick forehand (http://youtu.be/D4oJcU3lezg). Wawrinka sets his left foot up behind the ball and doesn't have time to "step" into the shot like usual. He leaves the ground, switching his feet by moving the right foot across into an aerial neutral/closed stance. He makes contact off the ground, and then recovers by landing on his left foot after hitting the switch pattern.

If you were to take a series of image captures, as the ball gets to Stan, you'd absolutely think it was an open stance forehand. Right foot is well short of a neutral/closed stance. But when you freeze it at contact (or shortly after as you did), you see because of the switch pattern that he's actually made it to a neutral/closed relationship to the ball.

Pretty impressive footwork, and in real speed, it can be deceiving.

 

[tennis_hack]

You can't deny that an open stance, back foot push-off 1hbh is hit all the time in ROS.

Here is Kuerten hitting a passing shot off of a Sampras kick serve;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=sho_sXYRGNs&t=93

He clearly pushes off the left foot which actually makes him airborne by the time he makes contact.

By the way, Cheetah, that was absolutely Wawrinka hitting an open stance backhand off the back foot. I have downloaded it, and am playing it frame by frame. If you've paused it there, what you can't see is that Wawrinka's front foot is airborne by a couple of inches. But if you play it back frame by frame - you'll his entire body drifts to the right of the screen after contact, including his front foot - because he is in mid-air at contact. How can he be pivoting off the front foot if the front foot is airborne? Before contact, he had pushed off the back foot to make himself airborne, and in the air he uncoils his torso.

 

[Cheetah]

I get where the disagreement is coming from, and although I agree with you that at the moment of contact it's a neutral or closed stance, the footwork pattern into it is an open stance footwork pattern, which I think is why it's deceiving to OP.

Really, it's almost the exact mirror of Federer's scissor kick forehand (http://youtu.be/D4oJcU3lezg). Wawrinka sets his left foot up behind the ball and doesn't have time to "step" into the shot like usual. He leaves the ground, switching his feet by moving the right foot across into an aerial neutral/closed stance. He makes contact off the ground, and then recovers by landing on his left foot after hitting the switch pattern.

If you were to take a series of image captures, as the ball gets to Stan, you'd absolutely think it was an open stance forehand. Right foot is well short of a neutral/closed stance. But when you freeze it at contact (or shortly after as you did), you see because of the switch pattern that he's actually made it to a neutral/closed relationship to the ball.

Pretty impressive footwork, and in real speed, it can be deceiving.

We shouldn't even be talking about backhands when on the run really. The original discussion was just about hitting high balls flat now it's evolved into showing examples of on the run-pulled off the court backhands and backhand returns off a sampras serve and using them as examples to prove the norm.

If someone asked me how to hit a topspin fh cc drive I wouldn't show them a video of Nadal hitting a full out on the run reverse fh banana shot dtl off a del potro missile.

 

[Velvet Ga el]

We shouldn't even be talking about backhands when on the run really. The original discussion was just about hitting high balls flat now it's evolved into showing examples of on the run-pulled off the court backhands and backhand returns off a sampras serve and using them as examples to prove the norm.

If someone asked me how to hit a topspin fh cc drive I wouldn't show them a video of Nadal hitting a full out on the run reverse fh banana shot dtl off a del potro missile.

I don't disagree. Just trying to bridge the gap between you and the OP. Of course, given OP's history with 1HBH threads, that may be a lost cause.

 

[tennis_hack]

Cheetah said: "show me any example where this happens", and I deliver.

 

[boramiNYC]

this shot by Almagro in the first point in this clip is the best example I found of the high flat bh I was trying to describe.

http://youtu.be/PcGYhfeMEx4?t=2s

 

[tennis_hack]

that wawrinka shot is the same as the almagro shot. they only land on the back foot because they are running wide to the left and they use their leg to catch their balance after the shot.

Show me a high 1hbh when they are not running or stretched wide and they hit a flat ball and land on their rear leg.

Cheetah:;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=TbvPiz6cXyk&t=177

Yet another example of Kuerten hitting an open stance topspin 1hbh whilst pushing off his back (left) foot.

 

[sportsfan1]

On the 1hbh the elbow has to be straight when starting the froward swing and this happens when you get the racquet back and low. Since on the high balls the racquet doesn't drop low, how do you ensure the arm and elbow are straight and not bent?

 

[boramiNYC]

On the 1hbh the elbow has to be straight when starting the froward swing and this happens when you get the racquet back and low. Since on the high balls the racquet doesn't drop low, how do you ensure the arm and elbow are straight and not bent?

lean back the torso and pull the shoulder blade back to achieve straight arm at the shoulder level at contact.

 

[Cheetah]

Cheetah:;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=TbvPiz6cXyk&t=177

Yet another example of Kuerten hitting an open stance topspin 1hbh whilst pushing off his back (left) foot.

Show me a high 1hbh when they are not running or stretched wide and they hit a flat ball and land on their rear leg.

I don't think that's a high ball.
Kuerten is stretched wide and lands outside the lines. Therefore his main concern is recovery so he hits more open and wants to land on his rear leg to push off back towards the middle of the court. His technique here has nothing to do with hitting a routine high flat ball.
Not sure that's a flat ball he's returning.

It's been weeks now. If the pro's hit off the back foot etc etc you should easily be able to find numerous contemporary hd videos of this. Where are they?

 

[Cheetah]

On the 1hbh the elbow has to be straight when starting the froward swing and this happens when you get the racquet back and low. Since on the high balls the racquet doesn't drop low, how do you ensure the arm and elbow are straight and not bent?

I don't think you want to lean back. If you are hitting a high 1hbh that's already a weak position so you need to Not be leaning back.

You still straighten the arm. I don't know what other ppl do but in this situation I hold the racquet a little tighter in my left hand (i'm a righty) and use the tension there to pull my right elbow straight like Haas does here on this high bh which he hits off his front foot.

from this vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONWFjn7RNUk

 

[boramiNYC]

what I meant was relative to the normal shots that are between waist and shoulder. in fact, at contact the torso will be upright but it feel like leaning back since your shoulder blade is pulling upward and backward. well at least that's how I do it and describe and communicate the feeling.