thomasferrett
Hall of Fame
This had been puzzling me for ages because Gasquet's and Almagro's backhands look really similar to me, yet the ball really fizzes off of Almagro's racket with pace, and it loops up high with Gasquet (though it's not a soft shot, it kicks up like a mule).
Well, I was watching frame by frame youtube footage and found that before contact when the racket is dropped lowest, Gasquet has the head of his racket significantly lower than butt-cap, causing torque in the forearm/wrist. As the stroke progresses, the torque releases and the racket head snaps upwards to the same level as the butt cap (and beyond that, later) to contact the ball at the same time as the arm itself is moving upwards to contact, so you have these two actions both brushing the ball upwards for extreme topspin on the backhand.
By contrast, when the racket is dropped lowest for Almagro, the racket head is more or less perpendicular with the butt cap. There is not the same torque on the wrist/forearm, and their isn't the same degree of upwards snap of the racket head. So even though Almagro finishes very high over his head, he has driven through the ball more than brushed it upwards because there wasn't the extreme racket head drop of Gasquet's backhand prior to contact.
Wawrinka has more racket head drop than Almagro, and less than Gasquet, but he involves his core more than either of those two. This has the effect of flattening his stroke out because it frees his arm to move in a more horizontal manner. If you hit the ball with your chest closed, your arm naturally needs to move upwards because your arm cannot wrap horizontally round your back unless you want to pop your shoulders out (or you're Dimitrov). However, if you are also rotating your core into the shot as Wawrinka does, then you can finish your swing relatively low as your rotating core allows your shoulder room to swing across your body whereas your scapula would block that movement if your core didn't move and stayed in a closed position. I've noticed that Wawrinka finishes his stroke relatively low for a one-hander, and I'm sure this is why.
So, ranking the topspin of all three of these guys, Gasquet is on top, then Almagro and Wawrinka are roughly tied. Almagro finishes his swing higher, but does not initially drop his racket head as low as Wawrinka. Wawrinka finishes his swing lower, but initially drops his racket head lower than Almagro, so these two cancel each other out and I'd say they hit roughly similar topspin. Probably Wawrinka hits a little more.
Mechanically, Gasquet and Almagro are pretty similar, it is just the difference in racket head drop that makes Gasquet's swing more 'circular' and spinny, and Almagro's more 'direct' and flat. Wawrinka backhand is a completely different style with the increased core rotation being a pretty fundamental difference.
Your feedback (do you agree with the analysis?) and input is appreciated guys
Well, I was watching frame by frame youtube footage and found that before contact when the racket is dropped lowest, Gasquet has the head of his racket significantly lower than butt-cap, causing torque in the forearm/wrist. As the stroke progresses, the torque releases and the racket head snaps upwards to the same level as the butt cap (and beyond that, later) to contact the ball at the same time as the arm itself is moving upwards to contact, so you have these two actions both brushing the ball upwards for extreme topspin on the backhand.
By contrast, when the racket is dropped lowest for Almagro, the racket head is more or less perpendicular with the butt cap. There is not the same torque on the wrist/forearm, and their isn't the same degree of upwards snap of the racket head. So even though Almagro finishes very high over his head, he has driven through the ball more than brushed it upwards because there wasn't the extreme racket head drop of Gasquet's backhand prior to contact.
Wawrinka has more racket head drop than Almagro, and less than Gasquet, but he involves his core more than either of those two. This has the effect of flattening his stroke out because it frees his arm to move in a more horizontal manner. If you hit the ball with your chest closed, your arm naturally needs to move upwards because your arm cannot wrap horizontally round your back unless you want to pop your shoulders out (or you're Dimitrov). However, if you are also rotating your core into the shot as Wawrinka does, then you can finish your swing relatively low as your rotating core allows your shoulder room to swing across your body whereas your scapula would block that movement if your core didn't move and stayed in a closed position. I've noticed that Wawrinka finishes his stroke relatively low for a one-hander, and I'm sure this is why.
So, ranking the topspin of all three of these guys, Gasquet is on top, then Almagro and Wawrinka are roughly tied. Almagro finishes his swing higher, but does not initially drop his racket head as low as Wawrinka. Wawrinka finishes his swing lower, but initially drops his racket head lower than Almagro, so these two cancel each other out and I'd say they hit roughly similar topspin. Probably Wawrinka hits a little more.
Mechanically, Gasquet and Almagro are pretty similar, it is just the difference in racket head drop that makes Gasquet's swing more 'circular' and spinny, and Almagro's more 'direct' and flat. Wawrinka backhand is a completely different style with the increased core rotation being a pretty fundamental difference.
Your feedback (do you agree with the analysis?) and input is appreciated guys
