I just want to hit nasty backhand slices

A ideal backhand slice is

  • Unsportsmanlike

    Votes: 2 6.1%

  • Anti-social

    Votes: 7 21.2%

  • Baleful

    Votes: 3 9.1%

  • Psychopathic

    Votes: 5 15.2%

  • Malicious

    Votes: 16 48.5%

  • A bannable offense

    Votes: 4 12.1%

  • Poll choice...

    Votes: 1 3.0%
  • Total voters
    33
dyslexical-scope

dyslexical-scope

Rookie
You know the kind I'm talking about.
The backhand slice where the moment it comes off your strings you can see it's just gliding off straight as a train on an invisible track.
You can't help but grimace as it whistles off to your hitting partner knowing it won't bounce true,.
The court may as well be made of ice because that's how slippery the bounce of that slice will look.
A part of you felt guilt and remorse upon striking these slices once.
Somehow you've found a way to suppress those feelings.
Even just describing the ideal slice has me nauseous.

That's what I'm looking for.
Nasty, dirty, filthy, growling slices that end friendships and cause anyone watching the match to rush off to the nearest flower bed to vomit up their banh mi and boba.

This level of slice can't be achieved with just any racquet, it's sad I know but it's all true.
I'm looking for the special racquets that summon the real greasy spiteful slices that everyone hates and even a mother couldn't love.
 
ryushen21

ryushen21

Legend
Knifey slices are the best and so good to follow in and finish points at the net.

Truth is, you can work that shot with just about any racquet. Just gotta find the one that works best for you.
 
A

AmericanTwist

Professional
Dunlop 200G 95 Hotmelt, Muscle Weave, Aerogel 200 produce the nastiest slice that I have hit. These control frames offer great control and were wielded by Tommy Haas and other pros.

Among newer frames Dunlop CX 200 Tour 18x20 and Wilson Ultra Pro also offer up nasty slices.
 
Youngheart

Youngheart

Semi-Pro
Slices are great for recreational players. Maybe the pros don't use them so much because they're worried that if it floats too much,
the other guy will pound a winner. Try a set with a friend where ever backhand is a slice, and good control will automatically come.
It's more difficult to change every backhand between topspin and slice, so for one or two sets, just hit every backhand with a slice.

Actually, I remember a small club tournament where I did exactly that against someone that I didn't know. He tried to blast me
off the court with his hard shots, and I just kept sending floating slices to his back corner. This dude got desperately angry,
and screamed "Stop doing that right now, or I'm going to quit playing this stupid match!!" I didn't stop,... and,...he lost. :rolleyes:

The racquet then was a Wilson 5.0 Hyper Pro Staff Stretch 110. A great control racquet, and maybe my first TW purchase!!
------ So Be It ⚜ ------ (Honestly, I can also hit OHBH topspin shots, but slices are sooo easy!)
 
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Nadal15thslam

Nadal15thslam

Hall of Fame
dyslexical-scope said:
You know the kind I'm talking about.
The backhand slice where the moment it comes off your strings you can see it's just gliding off straight as a train on an invisible track.
You can't help but grimace as it whistles off to your hitting partner knowing it won't bounce true,.
The court may as well be made of ice because that's how slippery the bounce of that slice will look.
A part of you felt guilt and remorse upon striking these slices once.
Somehow you've found a way to suppress those feelings.
Even just describing the ideal slice has me nauseous.

That's what I'm looking for.
Nasty, dirty, filthy, growling slices that end friendships and cause anyone watching the match to rush off to the nearest flower bed to vomit up their banh mi and boba.

This level of slice can't be achieved with just any racquet, it's sad I know but it's all true.
I'm looking for the special racquets that summon the real greasy spiteful slices that everyone hates and even a mother couldn't love.
Click to expand...
Any wilson pro staff 90. Best slices ever.
 
Fintft

Fintft

G.O.A.T.
I myself aim to hit at least 1 drive 1HBH winner per set, to make sure that I am not nervous in matches.
Slice is mainly defensive for me. I can pressure a lefty FH, CC with my drive 1HBH. Can you?

Lastly I don't choose a racquet based on the BH, b/c most of us dominate with the FH.
What I'm looking for is control and power at the same time( only found that in prostocks).
 
F

fuzz nation

G.O.A.T.
dyslexical-scope said:
You know the kind I'm talking about.
The backhand slice where the moment it comes off your strings you can see it's just gliding off straight as a train on an invisible track.
You can't help but grimace as it whistles off to your hitting partner knowing it won't bounce true,.
The court may as well be made of ice because that's how slippery the bounce of that slice will look.
A part of you felt guilt and remorse upon striking these slices once.
Somehow you've found a way to suppress those feelings.
Even just describing the ideal slice has me nauseous.

That's what I'm looking for.
Nasty, dirty, filthy, growling slices that end friendships and cause anyone watching the match to rush off to the nearest flower bed to vomit up their banh mi and boba.

This level of slice can't be achieved with just any racquet, it's sad I know but it's all true.
I'm looking for the special racquets that summon the real greasy spiteful slices that everyone hates and even a mother couldn't love.
Click to expand...
I respect the assertion that hitting good slice backhands can be done with any racquet... but that just hasn't been my experience.

I love slicing. I was doing it all the time on grass courts using wood racquets as a kid before learning anything else around the baseline. I've even got a bit of a beef with the coaching world in terms of allowing this shot to become something of an afterthought or novelty. I believe it should still be taught as an essential skill for every player's tool box. But that's a whole other topic, so I'll get back to the racquets.

If you've never tried slicing with a ProStaff 6.1 Classic, I can say with high confidence that this was a great tool for the job. There are many others, but at least for me, all of these stronger candidates through my slicing years had 12+ oz. heft to give them more stability through the ball. Heft matters. A slice backhand is much more about redirecting the ball compared with a topspin drive that reverses the spin on the ball while also adding some zip to it. The slice doesn't demand racquet head speed to work well compared with a topspin stroke. It does demands a significant degree of racquet stability to produce a consistent shot.

Narrow beams can be confidence inspiring. The Volkl C10 (20mm) can give me diabolical slice, but some of my more narrow frames including the Prince Phantom 97P and my old Prince NXG mids (18mm, 13 oz.) are also great slicers. I've also "knifed it" well using 98" Yonex frames from yesteryear with the RD Ti-80 and the RDS-002 Tour.

I've also been enjoying trials with the Dunlop CX 200 Tour 18x20, but this one is just a little on the light side for me. I know that I'm talking more about personal preference than empirical evidence, but I don't produce the same command with my slice (either bh or fh) using this racquet (approx 11.8 oz. strung) in contrast with something like my Phantom (12.2 oz.) or the different Volkls (12.5 oz.) I've loved for years.
 
socallefty

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
fuzz nation said:
but that just hasn't been my experience.
Click to expand...
Just like me, you are someone who grew up with wood and still likes heavy thin beam racquets.

But younger players grow up with lighter, thick beam racquets, many of them play at advanced levels and typically have great slices to go along with their advanced drive shots. I watch college tennis, Open tournaments, pro challenger and ATP tournaments - there is no shortage of good slices at any of those levels. But with poly they use it less than players in the era of gut because topspin with poly is a much bigger weapon than it used to be in the gut days.

Play any 4.5+ player and they will likely have a quality slice to go along with their other advanced shots - the older ones will have heavy thin beam racquets and the younger ones will have lighter, thick beam racquets. Play any player below 4.0 and they will likely not have a quality slice to go along with their other non-textbook self-learned shots - the older ones will have heavy, thin beam racquets and the younger ones will have lighter, thick beam racquets. At 4.0, you might have a mix of some with good slices and others who don’t - it probably correlates more to who has been taught a slice properly either by a mentor or coach and not the racquet they play with.
 
E

emhtennis

Hall of Fame
I like slicing as much as anyone, and the Angell 95 18x20 I have is in a different league of slice nastiness. And I own a lot of different 18x20s.
 
D

dmtree

Rookie
I really enjoy slicing with the PSVS, even more than the Prestiges. I think a bit of added stiffness in the frame and a more open 16x20 string pattern don't hurt.
 
I

Injured Again

Hall of Fame
socallefty said:
Just like me, you are someone who grew up with wood and still likes heavy thin beam racquets.

But younger players grow up with lighter, thick beam racquets, many of them play at advanced levels and typically have great slices to go along with their advanced drive shots. I watch college tennis, Open tournaments, pro challenger and ATP tournaments - there is no shortage of good slices at any of those levels. But with poly they use it less than players in the era of gut because topspin with poly is a much bigger weapon than it used to be in the gut days.

Play any 4.5+ player and they will likely have a quality slice to go along with their other advanced shots - the older ones will have heavy thin beam racquets and the younger ones will have lighter, thick beam racquets. Play any player below 4.0 and they will likely not have a quality slice to go along with their other non-textbook self-learned shots - the older ones will have heavy, thin beam racquets and the younger ones will have lighter, thick beam racquets. At 4.0, you might have a mix of some with good slices and others who don’t - it probably correlates more to who has been taught a slice properly either by a mentor or coach and not the racquet they play with.
Click to expand...

63 years old (today) here but I use a thick beamed, super stiff (73 RA) OS racquet and my slice is as basically as good as any I've seen out of competitors in the 60's age group.

I can slice with any racquet and at least for my technique, it comes down to the strings. If I put poly strings in a wood racquet (which I have done), I can hit penetrating slices with it once I get used to the launch angle. If you take my regular racquet and stick a multi-filament in it, I can't hit the same quality slices even after getting used to the different launch angle.
 
Anton

Anton

Legend
dyslexical-scope said:
You know the kind I'm talking about.
The backhand slice where the moment it comes off your strings you can see it's just gliding off straight as a train on an invisible track.
You can't help but grimace as it whistles off to your hitting partner knowing it won't bounce true,.
The court may as well be made of ice because that's how slippery the bounce of that slice will look.
A part of you felt guilt and remorse upon striking these slices once.
Somehow you've found a way to suppress those feelings.
Even just describing the ideal slice has me nauseous.

That's what I'm looking for.
Nasty, dirty, filthy, growling slices that end friendships and cause anyone watching the match to rush off to the nearest flower bed to vomit up their banh mi and boba.

This level of slice can't be achieved with just any racquet, it's sad I know but it's all true.
I'm looking for the special racquets that summon the real greasy spiteful slices that everyone hates and even a mother couldn't love.
Click to expand...

Gravity Pro 2023 was laser-like for me - instant upgrade to any blocking/slicing.
 
Hulger

Hulger

Semi-Pro
There are a couple of great slicing racquets - some better for pushing, like Six One 95 18x20, Prestige Tour and Gravity Pro, and others for knifing, like RF97 and even PA98.
But then there’s this serve-and-volley slice dicer’s dream: the Prestige Youtek IG MP with thin poly and some lead on the hoop. Surgical. Hell, you almost want to slice your forehand all the way with it.
 
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Winners or Errors

Winners or Errors

Legend
Any racquet is fine for slice. The problem is that most people think of slices as a defensive shot these days. If you're in a position to hit an aggressive shot, driving through the ball with slice instead of topspin can be useful. I'd watch some Federer and Rosewall videos, because both of them hit excellent offensive slices. Of course, there are also guys like Feliciano Lopez and Steve Johnson, who literally made careers with large forehands and serviceable slice backhands.

I, too, think this belongs somewhere other than the racquet section.
 
jmacdaununder2

jmacdaununder2

Legend
Grigor’s slices - in fact his whole game outside of the serve - really are certainly a joy to watch.
If only watching him didn’t also feel like eating a cheaper - but more than passable - home brand version of a family favourite, or watching a really good cover band play your all time favourite band’s hits.
 
Last edited:
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