I'm trying to make my backhand as good as my forehand.

[Deleted member 56360]

Howdy y'all. Thanks for stopping by.

My forehand is pretty good, I can control depth, spin, and it is very consistent.

However, my backhands vary in pace, spin, depth, and consistency. It's usually pretty flat. I'm using an eastern backhand grip. For some reason, I just can't find the spin.

How can I take my backhand and make it so that it's no longer a weakness? So that I don't have to run around it as much. In such a way that I'm just as confident hitting my backhand as I am with my forehand.

 

[BullDogTennis]

theres nothing you can do but practice....especially from what your telling us....we dont know what your problem is just because you say you can't control it...

 

[KrossKourt]

i have the same problem as you, although its the other way around.

 

[TommyGNR]

I have been trying to do the same thing except the other way around for the last two years. You know there is a long term strategy that says "Perfect you strong side into a weapon - then run around your weakside". Sometimes I wonder if I would be better off doing that.

 

[5263]

Howdy y'all. Thanks for stopping by.

My forehand is pretty good, I can control depth, spin, and it is very consistent.

However, my backhands vary in pace, spin, depth, and consistency. It's usually pretty flat. I'm using an eastern backhand grip. For some reason, I just can't find the spin.

How can I take my backhand and make it so that it's no longer a weakness? So that I don't have to run around it as much. In such a way that I'm just as confident hitting my backhand as I am with my forehand.

Are you really lifting with your legs to get a more vertical finish across the ball?

 

[wyutani]

practice....practice....

 

[mike53]

How can I take my backhand and make it so that it's no longer a weakness? So that I don't have to run around it as much. In such a way that I'm just as confident hitting my backhand as I am with my forehand.

Work on a backhand slice until you can return anything. That will turn your current weakness into a neutral. When you are confident that you can slice back anything on your bh side, that will be the foundation for you to continue work on your topspin shot.

 

[moroni]

exactly I too think that bk slice is more important than topspin at first as it is the easiest to develop and it could be used on all shots .first develop solid slice then topspin

 

[LeeD]

Work on a conti gripped slice backhand first. When it's consistent but maybe not penetrating, switch the grip over to EBH and swing with topspin in mind. Hit more backhands than forehands so it gets better.
Always stay stable, good posture, closed feet (1HBH), shoulder turned, eyes on ball....

 

[GuyClinch]

If your backhand is decent time might be better spent on making your forehand a weapon..

 

[Tennisman912]

Take a few lessons and make sure your technique is correct. Then practice, practice, practice. Nothing hurts the recreational player more than practicing faulty techniques and ingraining those and then eventually learning they have a few faults in their technique. They then won't put in time to make the necessary changes by taking a step or two backward to make a leap forward. Make life easier for yourself and learn it correctly the first time.

Good luck

TM

 

[Ken Honecker]

He takes individual and group lessons and is talking about spending $1600 a week on lessons so maybe he should just ask his coach what to do.

 

[charliefedererer]

Ask your coach how to start your forward swing with the head of the racquet low so it takes a more upward path as it is striking the ball.
Spin is from swinging from low to high.
I guess you don't have a clue.

I knew you couldn't have been serious about getting to be 6.0 this year. Or becoming a pro.
Now I know you won't get to to 4.0
I hope you are better in school than you are in tennis.

Is it possible to go frm 3.5 to 5.5-6.0 in one year? http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=291805
One year and a 14 year old is a 3.5. Can be become pro? http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=291507

 

[EikelBeiter]

Howdy y'all. Thanks for stopping by.

My forehand is pretty good, I can control depth, spin, and it is very consistent.

However, my backhands vary in pace, spin, depth, and consistency. It's usually pretty flat. I'm using an eastern backhand grip. For some reason, I just can't find the spin.

How can I take my backhand and make it so that it's no longer a weakness? So that I don't have to run around it as much. In such a way that I'm just as confident hitting my backhand as I am with my forehand.

I've been trying to do the same for 10 years, if you figure it out please let me know!

 

[Moz]

I've been trying to do the same for 10 years, if you figure it out please let me know!

You just need to slow your forehand down!

 

[Golden Retriever]

Your forehand would already be better when your backhand becomes as good as your forehand. It is like a dog chasing its own tail, with all due respect of course.

 

[Power Player]

I hit with a 2 hander, but the first thing I did was to really get my slice down like people here are saying. I have developed my 2 hander to where I can now hit winners with it, but they are not nearly as easy as with the forehand. But since I see a ton of progress all I can say is play as much as possible and start with getting your slice consistent.

 

[borg number one]

Practice is the key. My two-handed backhand got as good as my forehand and perhaps a little better than my forehand as a Junior only after about 2 months when I was 16-17, during which time, AT EVERY PRACTICE, I tried hitting about twice as many backhands as forehands. Then, I finally "got the groove" on that side and I've loved hitting backhands ever since, as I learned to couple power with consistency, and eventually learned the one handed slice.

 

[ubermeyer]

my backhand is better than my forehand unlike most people

Anyway, I need to know if you're hitting 1 or 2 hands.

If you're hitting 1 handers, I can't help you but maybe this guy can:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpLApIuLGV4

If it's 2 handed, I think that you don't really need to hit much spin. With a 2 hander, you can hit a flat, hard shot, and it can be quite accurate, so is there really a need to hit more spin most of the time? If you do need to on a particular shot, exaggerate brushing up and it should have more topspin. Then, learn a good slice, as in a penetrating slice, and also try hitting some slice drop shots which come pretty easy with practice

 

[EikelBeiter]

You just need to slow your forehand down!

Why didn't I think of that! You sir, are a genius!

 

[crash1929]

hran thats everyone's problem. i think the ball machine is the best thing for this. I just line it up and hit bh's down the line for a couple of hours.

 

[xFullCourtTenniSx]

hran thats everyone's problem. i think the ball machine is the best thing for this. I just line it up and hit bh's down the line for a couple of hours.

That's not even remotely true. It's a MAJORITY of people's problem, but some people have much better backhands than forehands.

And the way to really make your backhand as good as your forehand, is to turn your forehand into sh*t.

 

[fuzz nation]

How are your backhands going to improve if you're avoiding them? That sort of practice (which is different from match play, right?) will only continue to reinforce your perception that your backhand is no good.

Start running around your forehand to hit more backhands. Yes, I'm serious.

I've seen a couple of people do this with excellent results - much of this approach is about simply overcoming any mental misgivings that you're carrying around about hitting a backhand. I'm not watching you hit, so I can't give you any specific technical help, but you need to decide that you want to hit that stroke. Don't focus so much on the results. Just get more comfortable with wanting to hit backhands in the same way that you want to hit more forehands now. You'll actually do a bit better by simply going after them instead of trying to minimize them. Then your technique will improve, too, but you also want to eventually get a little guidance on the courts.

 

[Deleted member 56360]

Ask your coach how to start your forward swing with the head of the racquet low so it takes a more upward path as it is striking the ball.
Spin is from swinging from low to high.
I guess you don't have a clue.

I knew you couldn't have been serious about getting to be 6.0 this year. Or becoming a pro.
Now I know you won't get to to 4.0
I hope you are better in school than you are in tennis.

Is it possible to go frm 3.5 to 5.5-6.0 in one year? http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=291805
One year and a 14 year old is a 3.5. Can be become pro? http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=291507

I found that very offensive. Are you usually this rude to the other member on the board?

 

[Deleted member 56360]

By the way, my backhand's been corrected. My leg bend was the problem. Thanks everyone.

 

[charliefedererer]

I found that very offensive. Are you usually this rude to the other member on the board?

No, never.
I'm trying to do you a favor.
I just think you need to wake up.

 

[Deleted member 56360]

No, never.
I'm trying to do you a favor.
I just think you need to wake up.

Didn't look like a favor to me. Your comment was the worst I've ever received since joining this forum.

 

[robby c]

There's also strategy to try.
I got this from a local Senior champ. He got it from a Frenchman named Emile who took lessons from Henri Cochet as a youth. And it worked great for Steffi Graff, and Pete Sampras.
I slice most of my backhands low and wide to the side T.
I dare my opponent to approach down the line into my crosscourt forehand which is my best shot.
The low crosscourt slice keeps it under the contact point of most two hand backhanders. Generally they love corner to corner rallies, and don't move up into the court to attack with their backhand.
It's one way to turn a weakness into a strength.
Robby C

 

[robby c]

If they get to the wide backhand and go crosscourt to your backhand they have left you a down the line backhand to their forehand which forces them to run the width of the court to cover the shot.
Robby C

 

[Deleted member 56360]

Thanks Robby! I'm heading out in 25 minutes. I'm going to try that out right now against my hitting partner.

 

[ubermeyer]

That's not even remotely true. It's a MAJORITY of people's problem, but some people have much better backhands than forehands.

exactly

my backhand is much better than my forehand

 

[xFullCourtTenniSx]

I found that very offensive. Are you usually this rude to the other member on the board?

Lots of people (if not all) who are serious players here were probably thinking and feeling the same thing, but they were trying to be more subtle about it and you never realized. He was just more blunt and straightforward about it. Now, will you get stuck at the 3.5-4.0 level? I don't know. Probably not if you really love the game. But will you reach the 7.0 level? Don't count on it. Can you possibly play college tennis? Sure! Just get a good coach and put some hard work in for the next 4-5 years! I would've improved a lot more with a coach, but improving would've still taken immensely hard work and it wouldn't be extreme. (If I'm very talented and took lessons all 3 years of my playing, I MIGHT'VE gotten an extra 1 NTRP level if I'm insanely talented, 0.5 is probably more accurate. However, I wouldn't have the kicker that I have today, but I'd probably be more consistent with my groundstrokes and would have focused on the right things from the start.)

exactly

my backhand is much better than my forehand

Yeah. Your kind are a scary type!

 

[aimr75]

no other way around it other then putting in the time and practicing the stroke.. it also helps alot though seeing yourself hitting, if you havent already done so, video helps with technique issues.

Also, just doing shadow swings in front of a mirror, if you have one big enough.. you can swing slowly and just see what your body is doing

 

[The_Steak]

Didn't look like a favor to me. Your comment was the worst I've ever received since joining this forum.

Great. Have you woken up yet?

 

[xFullCourtTenniSx]

Great. Have you woken up yet?

See, Hrandyrko? EVERYONE feels the same way. It's just that most of are trying to be subtle about it to lessen the blow on your feelings. Each time you kept ignoring our words, we got a little less subtle. But you kept going.

It's getting to the point were people are breaking out of the subtlety and being flat out blunt and cruel about it, maybe even a little excessively so.

But it's understandable. You're young. Young people are so full of themselves, I even still am to a certain point. I've tried to humble myself more, but now and then it comes back out. But at the very least, I realized pretty quickly I couldn't go pro. I looked at the facts. Pros start well before they hit double digits on their age. And they're great athletes and incredibly talented. Plus they've had extensive coaching.

Those who are arrogant get put down quickly no matter what because they fail to realize how many people out there are better than them. Many of these people are merely big fish in very small ponds.

Those who are humble yet confident are never put down, and are occasionally praised. They can be the above average fish in a large ocean, or the biggest and most dangerous fish in the largest ocean in the world (like Federer and Nadal). Stay humble, always seek to improve, and you'll go farther than with arrogance and overrating yourself. (Lots of people do this, so don't feel like you're a terrible person.)

 

[Ventolin]

^^ how old are you?

 

[Deleted member 56360]

See, Hrandyrko? EVERYONE feels the same way. It's just that most of are trying to be subtle about it to lessen the blow on your feelings. Each time you kept ignoring our words, we got a little less subtle. But you kept going.

It's getting to the point were people are breaking out of the subtlety and being flat out blunt and cruel about it, maybe even a little excessively so.

But it's understandable. You're young. Young people are so full of themselves, I even still am to a certain point. I've tried to humble myself more, but now and then it comes back out. But at the very least, I realized pretty quickly I couldn't go pro. I looked at the facts. Pros start well before they hit double digits on their age. And they're great athletes and incredibly talented. Plus they've had extensive coaching.

Those who are arrogant get put down quickly no matter what because they fail to realize how many people out there are better than them. Many of these people are merely big fish in very small ponds.

Those who are humble yet confident are never put down, and are occasionally praised. They can be the above average fish in a large ocean, or the biggest and most dangerous fish in the largest ocean in the world (like Federer and Nadal). Stay humble, always seek to improve, and you'll go farther than with arrogance and overrating yourself. (Lots of people do this, so don't feel like you're a terrible person.)

xFullCourtTenniSx, I do not believe that I am an arrogant person. I don't have anything to be conceited about. After all, I've achieved absolutely nothing. There is nothing shared between me and tennis that deserves any kind of praise. However, I certainly have not failed to come to the realization that there are currently hundreds of thousands of individuals doing exactly what I am doing, but with ten times the intensity. I know it's not very likely for me to become a professional, but as I said in another thread:

"I'm not going to quit playing tennis. I'm going to throw all that I reasonably can at tennis. By reasonably I mean that I am not dropping out of school to pursue tennis or take risks that will affect my life after tennis.

I will be organizing three hours of private instruction with my tennis coach after school each day. I'm not sure if he has other students at these hours though, so I will have to communicate.

If I fail to achieve my goal, I will be certain that I have done the absolute best I that I could. I'll know for sure that how far I go in tennis will be a reflection of what I am physically and mentally capable of during that time. I will have no regrets."

Just because it's not likely, doesn't mean I'm not going to try. Hell it'll even be a fun run. If I don't try, my chances are absolutely zero and not .1%.

Okay.

If it's best for me not to open my arrogant mouth on the Tips/Instruction section of the message board again, let me know.

"He takes individual and group lessons and is talking about spending $1600 a week on lessons so maybe he should just ask his coach what to do."

^^^Maybe I should.:|

Thanks to everyone who shared their honest opinion with me. I know more now than I did before.

 

[xFullCourtTenniSx]

I know it's not very likely for me to become a professional

THANK YOU! Now if you turn that to "not very likely" to "impossible" I can almost guarantee you we'll stop giving you sh*t. (Mostly...)

And the mere idea you can think you can improve to a 6.0 in 1 year from a 3.5 ticks off a lot of people who've worked for decades just to be a 4.5 (or worse, a 3.5 or 4.0).

Still... HOLY SH*T! $1600 a week?! If your family has that much disposable income, why the flip didn't you guys do it earlier?! You would've had a chance... I think you should spend that money on golf or something.

At the very least if you work hard I think you can make college with all those lessons (might wanna get a fitness trainer too though). You're still like 14 right? Or 15? With that many lessons you might make college by the time you get there if you work hard and have the talent. If not, you got ripped off $1600 a week. No joke.

 

[Deleted member 56360]

THANK YOU! Now if you turn that to "not very likely" to "impossible" I can almost guarantee you we'll stop giving you sh*t. (Mostly...)

And the mere idea you can think you can improve to a 6.0 in 1 year from a 3.5 ticks off a lot of people who've worked for decades just to be a 4.5 (or worse, a 3.5 or 4.0).

Still... HOLY SH*T! $1600 a week?! If your family has that much disposable income, why the flip didn't you guys do it earlier?! You would've had a chance... I think you should spend that money on golf or something.

At the very least if you work hard I think you can make college with all those lessons (might wanna get a fitness trainer too though). You're still like 14 right? Or 15? With that many lessons you might make college by the time you get there if you work hard and have the talent. If not, you got ripped off $1600 a week. No joke.

My family is not the sporty type. I had to get into all of the sports I played on my own. I've played American football, soccer, wrestling, track, and baseball without my parents ever saying, "Hey Dylan, try this, try that. Here's a ball, call up your friends and I'll take y'all to the park".

I got into tennis last year when I was brought to the US Open by my favorite cousin from England. I loved it so much, I decided I'd give a close family friend who happened to be a tennis coach a call. We'd begin lessons within two days of me watching the US Open.

 

[albino smurf]

I got there this year. Iw as getting frustrated to ap point of considering switching to a 2hbh, but really worked it out and now I have got a bad ass weapon.

 

[Deleted member 56360]

I got there this year. Iw as getting frustrated to ap point of considering switching to a 2hbh, but really worked it out and now I have got a bad ass weapon.

Glad to hear things have worked out for you, Albino Smurf =]

 

[LeeD]

IF your current backhand is weaker overall than your forehand, I think you can make it more consistent, but not stronger than your forehand.
OTOH, if your backhand is stronger and more consistent than your forehand, you CAN improve the forehand so it gets stronger...ie more winners, more forceful shot, than you now superior backhand.

 

[mrtrinh]

IF your current backhand is weaker overall than your forehand, I think you can make it more consistent, but not stronger than your forehand.
OTOH, if your backhand is stronger and more consistent than your forehand, you CAN improve the forehand so it gets stronger...ie more winners, more forceful shot, than you now superior backhand.

this is what I need to work on, my backhand hits with a lot of pace and depth but my forehand needs work. I create a lot of topspin with my forehand but lack depth, I don't think I'm hitting through the ball effectively

 

[LeeD]

Hit through the ball, but ultimately you have to lift it a bit to clear the net by a few to several feet, depending on how hard and fast you actually hit the ball.
Hard to really improve BOTH sides, as the human body likes to improve one side while the other side stagnates. That's how we learn and improve, stretch and retreat, to stretch again.....

 

[albino smurf]

you need a ball machine or really good partner and just really focus on the bh side.. 2 to 1 ratio or even 3 to 1 when you hit. Make it the focus of your training for the next two months and you should show improvement. It is frustrating but if you make it a point of focus and stick to it you will get better.

 

[Deleted member 56360]

you need a ball machine or really good partner and just really focus on the bh side.. 2 to 1 ratio or even 3 to 1 when you hit. Make it the focus of your training for the next two months and you should show improvement. It is frustrating but if you make it a point of focus and stick to it you will get better.

Thanks again, Albino Smurf.