Keys to a one-handed topspin backhand?

drakulie said:
swing low to high.


Good luck.
Click to expand...

Get that racket head lower than the ball.
Keep your back straight.
Use your legs.
Left hand on the racket on take back.
Chin over your right shoulder.
Throw your left hand behind your body when you start swinging so you look like you know what you're doing.
Keep your head still on impact.
Last but not least... swing from low to high.
Good luck!
 
I'll make it more interesting. It's easy enough to say low to high is how to hit topspin.

So I'll ask it this way. What are the common mistakes people make when trying to hit a good amount of topspin, but fail to do so? Is it merely as simple as "they don't swing low to high fast enough?"
 
Think of it this way: its like pulling a sword out of its sheath.

When you swing the racquet up, make sure it extends out to the sky.

Proper racquet preparation is VITAL. Use your non-dominant arm to stabilize the racquet. What helps me is putting my fingers as far up the throat as possible (or, in other words, closely below the head).
 
Reverse casting motion

Charlzz said:
The title says it all! Awaiting the responses.
Click to expand...

Imagine someone's wrist while casting with a fishing rod.
The wrist is making a motion almost like you do hammering a nail.
Now do the opposite motion while swinging low to high on the BH side.
Try to get it to be almost a snapping motion.
And dont worry about pace until you have the top you want.

Also I think a closed stance is important to keep the swing on a plane
parallel with the net.

Practice idea; hold a coin between your thumb and forefinger with your arm straight
down by your side. Now try to toss the coin as high as you can with a weightlifter's
arm curl motion but without moving your upper arm. The wrist flip will be key to getting maximum height.

You'll need to put in the hours against a wall.
 
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In the preparation phase of the stroke body is coiled -- the hips are turned and the torso is rotated, often so that the back of the front shoulder is towards the net. There is a (little) bit of leg drive & upper body rotation back towards the net as the racket is dropped to start the forward swing. Once the forward swing gets under way, the hips/torso should no longer rotate -- the back shoulder should be kept back in order to minimize torso rotation on the forward swing and the follow-thru.

By limiting the rotation of the body during the forward swing (& the follow-thru), a fairly complete kinetic chain power transfer to the arm & racket is realized. (Note that some torso rotation may be seen late in the follow-thru as part of the recovery sequence in preparation for the next shot).
 
I've been looking at Fed's one-handed backhand. With so many two-handers on the tour, it's tough to find someone whose backhand to look at. I've been looking at forehands for quite a few months now, so at least I know what I'm looking at (for the most part) even if I can't always fully imitate it.

On the forehand, for example, for many pros, the racquet travels quite a distance forward during swing to contact, where the wrist is laid back to form a 90 degree angle. When the racquet is near the ball, the body rotates, the wrist is not nearly as laid back, and you hit and follow through, typically with a WW motion.

One exception to this modern style is old fashioned John McEnroe. I saw a recent video where he takes the racquet straight back and then with his arm straight, he rotates around. He doesn't lay his wrist back. If you were to track the racquet face, it would basically smooth change angles until he hit the ball.

After looking at some video, the one-handed backhand is quite a bit different. Obviously, one key is the racquet comes behind the back. However, there isn't the same long lead up to contact as on the forehand. Basically, it comes from behind your back. It's on your left side for a short period of time (very short), then racquet face quickly turns to meet the ball and then continues to turn (usually while the racquet head lifts up and begins to point up) until the face points to the right fence (for a righty).

I think my mental roadblocks lately have been keeping the racquet moving fast enough while hitting with topspin. I had a way of doing it, but it involved bending the forearm and using the forearm to lift up, which is a big no-no for the one-hander.

At least, visualizations like unsheathing a sword, attacking like a ninja, or (one I found in YouTube) throwing a frisbee, provide some mental imagery that can be used to form the basis of a decent backhand.

I know one key is to keep the hand rising up as you hit. A common error is to flip the wrist at impact with the hand stuck somewhere near contact. The wrist flick might be good for a defensive play where you want to place it but lack time, but you do want that motion to continue upward.

I think my mind is so focused on the lead up to hititing and how to get topspin, that I lose speed in the follow through. So these visualizations help me get past the swing to contact phase and thinking of it as a distinct phase.

Ultimately, a lot of people have trouble with their one-hander, and I don't mean like Tennisguy777 who, even if he doesn't have great technique, knows how to swing the entire motion and get the ball across the net. I mean people who have a hard time getting the ball to go the right trajectory because of overly wristy shots.

One key, and it's obvious enough, to Fed's backhand is that the racquet face is below the ball prior to impact, and then level at impact, and above it after impact.

I know there additional parts. The body rotation, the feet set, etc. The arm, however, plays a pretty important role and is the likely part to break down or have issues. If there is, for example, a way to think about core rotation that would make what the arm does less significant, that would be great.

This is where Bungalo Bill's comments to Tennisguy777 would be best served by a video or even a marked up picture. It's so much easier to type then do the video or picture otherwise, I imagine Bill would be posting up marked up pics and videos all the time.

Anyway, keep the ideas and comments coming!
 
For me the most important factor to hit a great one handed backhand is the racquet. Sometimes when I use a new overgrip I don’t swing the way I want it and the feeling is a little bit weird. the swing is not fluid and i dont get pace at all. Like yesterday i changed my Yonex supergrap OG for a Gamma supreme. i went to play and my backhand was completely unstable, when i hit hard, either it goes out or to the net. it was terrible. good thing i brought with me my old used OG, so i replaced it back right away and my swing is back to normal again.
 
I just came back from hitting against a wall, then a quick set of pickup doubles. I decided since my one-hander was messed up, to simplify by cutting the stroke in half. That is, I wouldn't worry about having a high takeback, or fully looping behind my back.

Instead, I would have the racquet near my waist, racquet head pointed down, held by my left hand, with the racquet handle sticking up like the handle of a sword (ah, the importance of good imagery). The left hand would provide a little resistance as I pulled the sword out and hit. This provided a reasonable amount of momentum, and I was able to hit decent backhands again.

Of course, this is just one session of hitting, and I wasn't able to see how much spin I was getting. I'm sure a few other things were wrong (I've observed how Federer hits his backhand with a fairly wide stance when he can manage it, for example), but at least the arm motion felt decent. Hopefully enough to start getting the rest of the backhand back in shape.
 
mikeler said:
Make sure you are using the correct grip.
Click to expand...

By correct, I assume you mean either a continental or an Eastern backhand grip?

I was watching the VideoJug presentation of the 1hbh. They said one way to find the Eastern backhand grip, other than the usual placing the knuckle on the top bevel (the bevel corresponding to the edge of the racquet) was to place the racquet throat on your left side (for a righty) wedged between the left arm and your left side, like you were wedging a book. The racquet handle should stick out forward. You should then grab the racquet handle so it feels "natural". That should be the Eastern backhand.

The sword in sheath idea is somewhat similar, except rather than the racquet positioned under your armpit, it is near your waist, so hopefully that orientation naturally leads itself to an Eastern backhand grip.
 
Something that helps me get some good topspin on my 1hbh is to really make sure your under the ball. Really bend your knees so your under the ball. This really seemed to help. Pretty simple to do as well and it works for me. Like drak said, try to minimize the use of your wrist with this shot....that really can cause problems for you.

But yeah, making sure your in good position and getting the racket under the ball should help Try it:)
 
Ballinbob said:
Something that helps me get some good topspin on my 1hbh is to really make sure your under the ball. Really bend your knees so your under the ball. This really seemed to help. Pretty simple to do as well and it works for me. Like drak said, try to minimize the use of your wrist with this shot....that really can cause problems for you.

But yeah, making sure your in good position and getting the racket under the ball should help Try it:)
Click to expand...

Simple is good.
 
Charlzz said:
I've been looking at Fed's one-handed backhand. With so many two-handers on the tour, it's tough to find someone whose backhand to look at. I've been looking at forehands for quite a few months now, so at least I know what I'm looking at (for the most part) even if I can't always fully imitate it...
Click to expand...

The players BHs that I like to look for the 1-hander are Federer, Gasquet, Henin & Sampras. Sometimes the pros will add a bit of extra flair/flourish to their shots. Initially, it is best to avoid the extra links when learning the BH -- especially the added supination and wrist action on the follow-thru. The flourish can get you a bit more racket head action at contact, but it will also complicate the timing/consistency of the stroke.

KISS = Keep it very simple at first. The flair can be employed later, after the stoke has been mastered.
 
i can tell you the things i see people doing wrong most often with one-handers-

- opening up through the stroke. keeping that shoulder closed is vital. if you're finishing up with your chest facing the net, it's not good.

- elbow flying out at contact. you see LOTS of people's elbows pulling away from the body, and bending, like they're going to throw a frisbee. that elbow needs to stay basically straight, and tucked in, or the stroke completely falls apart.

- too weak a grip. this is more of a subjective call, not exactly tennis dogma, but trying to drive a topspin backhand with a continental grip, or weaker, is probably not ideal for most players. get those knuckles on top of the racket, if not a little behind it. much more natural spin production, greater margin for error, less likely you're going to just smack a flat ball straight to the fence.
 
The keys to a onehanded backhand are simple. Many times it is the player that makes this stroke more difficult than it should be.

The onehanded backhand is not a difficult stroke learn. It is simply made more difficult because of the quirks we add and that it requires more precise timing to hit effectively on a consistent basis. We tend to want the "flash" in the stroke rather than the fundamental. We want the sizzle rather than the simplicity. Many of us have a hard time accepting that simplicity is the key underlying principle in most professional onehanded backhands.

So here is my list of fundamental keys to a onehanded backhand.

Physical Traits
1. Lose weight: If you are overweight, you need to lose weight. Weight transfer is critical to hitting cleanly and on time which are key factors to hitting with effortless power. If you are overweight, you will tend to be on your heels more, sink in your arches, and will be slow in the timing of your weight transfer into the ball. Remember timing is nearly everything in the onehanded backhand.

2. Feet: Your feet need to move in a precise manner. No clumpy footwork. No lazy footwork. No tripping on your feet. They need to move efficiently and effectively even with the slightest of movements. Jump rope, hexagon drills, agility drills, etc...are a must and you need to get to the point that you feel light on your feet.

3. Leg strength: I think it is safe to say that many club players think that the onehanded backhand is about shoulder rotation and the hitting arm. Sometimes you will hear about the non-dominant arm as well. However, leg strength and the use of the legs is paramount for a onehander. Squats, lunges, etc...are key building blocks to improve your onehanded backhand.

4. Flexibility: In the hips especially. Get out the flexibility exercises and loosen up the hips, legs, neck, and shoulders.

5. Core muscles: Coaches have forgotton a key aspect in helping players hit a better onehander. They have forgotten the core. A strong core goes a long way to adding that "pop" you want to have in the ball.

6. Other muscles: You need to have strong forearm, triceps, and posterior shoulder/back muscles. Reverse flys, flys, tricep extensions are a must for a onehander. Get with Rickson to have him list out how one can build strength here.

Footwork
1. Good efficient movement of your feet is without question. We have spoken about this many times on this site and its importance for tennis players in general. Do not subscribe to the "whatever works club" or the "just run to the ball club". You need to be able to hit a good topspin ball, to any place on the court, everytime, and with any ball that is headed toward you or away from you. Your mind and the way your feet move are critical to hitting on time.

The Swing
1. Feet: The swing starts from your feet. They need to be set with an emphasis to transfer your weight over your front leg/foot as you make contact.

2. Legs: Your legs are what brings your racquet hand below the ball. Do not fall into the trap thinking it is just the racquet head that is lowered. If you do, this is a prescription for a lazy backhand. You will most likely golf the ball and hit long more times than not.

3. Body Position: You should lower yourself so that when you are ready to bring the racquet forward, your body and racquet rise smoothly together as if both are hitting and rising through the ball to hit with topspin. The chair drill is an excellent way to build-up the sensation you need to feel for this.

4. Shoulders: Your shoulder turn is what brings your racquet back not just your arm. You need to turn so that your front shoulder goes under your chin.

5. Backswing: The smile pattern for the backswing is what takes the racquet back a bit farther and allows the racquet to rise in preparation for the racquet drop. The higher you raise the racquet the better skilled you will need to be for your timing. More is not better for a onehanded backhand due to the timing issues involved in the stroke. Simplicity and timing is what is better.

6. Arm Raise: The plane you should maintain with your hitting arm that is heading up through the ball needs to rise gradually and not too steeply. When you rise too steeply it increases your chance of hitting a short ball. Use the natural rise in your arm to help you learn what a good slope gradient should be. Braden used to say it is about a 30 degrees incline and miraculously your arm naturally raises the racquet in about a 30 degree incline. Whaaalaaa!

7. Head: Keep your head still at contact. Keep both eyes on the ball.

8. Front foot/leg: The onehanded backhand is a front foot hitting stroke.

9. Non-dominant arm: Extend the non-dominant arm toward the backfence so that you do not overrotate. The onehanded backhand is a linear stroke. Use the onehander as your bow and arrow stroke and the forehand as your cannon.

Movement
Dont move sideways too much: As mentioned above, keeping both eyes on the ball is important because it is your back eye that gives you your depth perception. If you turn too much sideways to move, you risk the chance of seeing the ball with only one eye (the front eye) and blocking the back eye with the bridge of your nose. Timing issues result. You also run the risk of sending your momentum towards the side fence instead of into the ball and make it harder to recover.

Other Items Worth Noting
1. Use less wrist when you are building your stroke: The wrist should be firm in the onehander when you are developing a good topspin with it. Because most club players lack the timing, strength, and practice time, reducing or eliminating wrist movement is huge. Only those players that have developed their backhands should use the wrist in the stroke to enhance their shot and even that should be kept to a minimum.

2. Long L: The long L is made by tracing the tip of your racquet, to your hand, and then to the shoulder. The bend in the L is at the hand. Maintaining the long L through the shot really helps to improve control and clean contact.

3. 45 degree angle: Most players have heard to hit the ball "in front of them". When a onehanded backhander uncoils back into the ball, the non-dominant arm goes back to counter the rotation. This braking mechanism allows the racquet arm to accelerate forward through the ball. It also helps to hold the body plane (shoulder to shoulder) at a 45 degree angle. This means when you make contact the ball will be in front of this body plane that is on an angle. Hitting in front of your body in this case is not referenced from being parallel to the baseline. It is in relation to the 45 degree angle that is imagined coming from the center of the net in a 45 degree angle to infinite.

4. Hit-Bounce-Hit: Use cadence to hit your onehanded backhand. Because timing is key as it relates to weight transfer, your rise up, hitting off your front foot, and your racquet making contact with the ball, it is important that you are focused on every ball you are about to hit and what happens before you hit it.

Conclusion
The onehanded backhand player needs to be a master at the use of his body in the shot. A good onehanded backhand player needs to have a good accelerating forward swing into the ball that is managable. If he wants to hit with more power, a good onehanded backhand looks to his legs, his core, or his weight transfer for ways to improve his ability to hit with manageable power. He does not look to just swinging his arm faster but looks to improve his power by calling up the use of other body parts. A good onehanded backhand topspin player is a master at the use of the entire kinetic chain for power, control, and balance.
 
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imo, the absolute best, easiest to understand and most concise lesson ever on the one hander is from Robert Lansdorp, (coach of Sampras),
stand sideways

put your hand to your pocket with the racket on edge, (low takeback to begin with)

Swing straight through the ball and finish with your racket on edge and at eye level, (perpendicular to the gground)
 
Bungalo Bill said:
The keys to a onehanded backhand are simple. Many times it is the player that makes this stroke more difficult than it should be.

The onehanded backhand is not a difficult stroke learn. It is simply made more difficult because of the quirks we add and that it requires more precise timing to hit effectively on a consistent basis. We tend to want the "flash" in the stroke rather than the fundamental. We want the sizzle rather than the simplicity. Many of us have a hard time accepting that simplicity is the key underlying principle in most professional onehanded backhands.

So here is my list of fundamental keys to a onehanded backhand.

Physical Traits
1. Lose weight: If you are overweight, you need to lose weight. Weight transfer is critical to hitting cleanly and on time which are key factors to hitting with effortless power. If you are overweight, you will tend to be on your heels more, sink in your arches, and will be slow in the timing of your weight transfer into the ball. Remember timing is nearly everything in the onehanded backhand.

2. Feet: Your feet need to move in a precise manner. No clumpy footwork. No lazy footwork. No tripping on your feet. They need to move efficiently and effectively even with the slightest of movements. Jump rope, hexagon drills, agility drills, etc...are a must and you need to get to the point that you feel light on your feet.

3. Leg strength: I think it is safe to say that many club players think that the onehanded backhand is about shoulder rotation and the hitting arm. Sometimes you will hear about the non-dominant arm as well. However, leg strength and the use of the legs is paramount for a onehander. Squats, lunges, etc...are key building blocks to improve your onehanded backhand.

4. Flexibility: In the hips especially. Get out the flexibility exercises and loosen up the hips, legs, neck, and shoulders.

5. Core muscles: Coaches have forgotton a key aspect in helping players hit a better onehander. They have forgotten the core. A strong core goes a long way to adding that "pop" you want to have in the ball.

6. Other muscles: You need to have strong forearm, triceps, and posterior shoulder/back muscles. Reverse flys, flys, tricep extensions are a must for a onehander. Get with Rickson to have him list out how one can build strength here.

Footwork
1. Good efficient movement of your feet is without question. We have spoken about this many times on this site and its importance for tennis players in general. Do not subscribe to the "whatever works club" or the "just run to the ball club". You need to be able to hit a good topspin ball, to any place on the court, everytime, and with any ball that is headed toward you or away from you. Your mind and the way your feet move are critical to hitting on time.

The Swing
1. Feet: The swing starts from your feet. They need to be set with an emphasis to transfer your weight over your front leg/foot as you make contact.

2. Legs: Your legs are what brings your racquet hand below the ball. Do not fall into the trap thinking it is just the racquet head that is lowered. If you do, this is a prescription for a lazy backhand. You will most likely golf the ball and hit long more times than not.

3. Body Position: You should lower yourself so that when you are ready to bring the racquet forward, your body and racquet rise smoothly together as if both are hitting and rising through the ball to hit with topspin. The chair drill is an excellent way to build-up the sensation you need to feel for this.

4. Shoulders: Your shoulder turn is what brings your racquet back not just your arm. You need to turn so that your front shoulder goes under your chin.

5. Backswing: The smile pattern for the backswing is what takes the racquet back a bit farther and allows the racquet to rise in preparation for the racquet drop. The higher you raise the racquet the better skilled you will need to be for your timing. More is not better for a onehanded backhand due to the timing issues involved in the stroke. Simplicity and timing is what is better.

6. Arm Raise: The plane you should maintain with your hitting arm that is heading up through the ball needs to rise gradually and not too steeply. When you rise too steeply it increases your chance of hitting a short ball. Use the natural rise in your arm to help you learn what a good slope gradient should be. Braden used to say it is about a 30 degrees incline and miraculously your arm naturally raises the racquet in about a 30 degree incline. Whaaalaaa!

7. Head: Keep your head still at contact. Keep both eyes on the ball.

8. Front foot/leg: The onehanded backhand is a front foot hitting stroke.

9. Non-dominant arm: Extend the non-dominant arm toward the backfence so that you do not overrotate. The onehanded backhand is a linear stroke. Use the onehander as your bow and arrow stroke and the forehand as your cannon.

Movement
Dont move sideways too much: As mentioned above, keeping both eyes on the ball is important because it is your back eye that gives you your depth perception. If you turn too much sideways to move, you risk the chance of seeing the ball with only one eye (the front eye) and blocking the back eye with the bridge of your nose. Timing issues result. You also run the risk of sending your momentum towards the side fence instead of into the ball and make it harder to recover.

Other Items Worth Noting
1. Use less wrist when you are building your stroke: The wrist should be firm in the onehander when you are developing a good topspin with it. Because most club players lack the timing, strength, and practice time, reducing or eliminating wrist movement is huge. Only those players that have developed their backhands should use the wrist in the stroke to enhance their shot and even that should be kept to a minimum.

2. Long L: The long L is made by tracing the tip of your racquet, to your hand, and then to the shoulder. The bend in the L is at the hand. Maintaining the long L through the shot really helps to improve control and clean contact.

3. 45 degree angle: Most players have heard to hit the ball "in front of them". When a onehanded backhander uncoils back into the ball, the non-dominant arm goes back to counter the rotation. This braking mechanism allows the racquet arm to accelerate forward through the ball. It also helps to hold the body plane (shoulder to shoulder) at a 45 degree angle. This means when you make contact the ball will be in front of this body plane that is on an angle. Hitting in front of your body in this case is not referenced from being parallel to the baseline. It is in relation to the 45 degree angle that is imagined coming from the center of the net in a 45 degree angle to infinite.

4. Hit-Bounce-Hit: Use cadence to hit your onehanded backhand. Because timing is key as it relates to weight transfer, your rise up, hitting off your front foot, and your racquet making contact with the ball, it is important that you are focused on every ball you are about to hit and what happens before you hit it.

Conclusion
The onehanded backhand player needs to be a master at the use of his body in the shot. A good onehanded backhand player needs to have a good accelerating forward swing into the ball that is managable. If he wants to hit with more power, a good onehanded backhand looks to his legs, his core, or his weight transfer for ways to improve his ability to hit with manageable power. He does not look to just swinging his arm faster but looks to improve his power by calling up the use of other body parts. A good onehanded backhand topspin player is a master at the use of the entire kinetic chain for power, control, and balance.
Click to expand...


Post this in the FAQ sticky?
 
BeHappy said:
imo, the absolute best, easiest to understand and most concise lesson ever on the one hander is from Robert Lansdorp, (coach of Sampras),
stand sideways

put your hand to your pocket with the racket on edge, (low takeback to begin with)

Swing straight through the ball and finish with your racket on edge and at eye level, (perpendicular to the gground)
Click to expand...

Hey, where have you been? You are right about Lansdorps take on the onehander. Very simple.
 
I prefer the Continental grip over the Eastern. It forces you to hit the ball earlier but for me it allows more topspin and better control especially on high balls to my backhand which I get a lot of because I'm short and play on clay.
 
mikeler said:
I prefer the Continental grip over the Eastern. It forces you to hit the ball earlier but for me it allows more topspin and better control especially on high balls to my backhand which I get a lot of because I'm short and play on clay.
Click to expand...

I'm puzzled. I would think the Eastern (backhand) grip would mean having to hit further in front (since your hand is more behind the racquet) than the continental grip. So that would mean, to me, swinging earlier with an Eastern grip.

On the forehand, I know the more Western your grip, the more the ideal contact point goes up and in front. I haven't thought about it much on the backhand, but I figured the same would apply.
 
mikeler said:
I prefer the Continental grip over the Eastern. It forces you to hit the ball earlier but for me it allows more topspin and better control especially on high balls to my backhand which I get a lot of because I'm short and play on clay.
Click to expand...

Don't know if it is true, but some sources indicate that one possible cause of tennis elbow is using the continental grip for hitting a lot of 1-handed BHs with a generous amount of topspin. I'd use the conti grip for a slice BH but not very often for a topspin 1-hander. Definitely would not use the conti grip for a high ball unless I intended to slice the shot.
 
Maybe I'm mixing up the Continental and Eastern grip. Check out this picture and that is how I hold my racket for a 1 handed topspin backhand.

federer-backhand1.jpg


If I use a western grip on my forehand, I can almost use the same side of my racket to hit a backhand on the next shot without changing my grip.
 
mikeler said:
Maybe I'm mixing up the Continental and Eastern grip. Check out this picture and that is how I hold my racket for a 1 handed topspin backhand..
Click to expand...

Right. The Eastern backhand has the knuckle on the top bevel which is also the same as a full Western forehand grip. The Continental grip is usually one bevel clockwise (if you look at the grip from the butt of the racquet). Continental is typically used as a grip for serve or volleys. I believe Roger uses an Eastern backhand grip which is why you see his knuckles on top of the racquet bevel.

As you go counterclockwise, it's Western forehand, semi-Western forehand, Eastern forehand, Continental, Eastern backhand. Since Western and Eastern backhand are four bevels apart, they are the same grip just flipping the face of the racquet from forehand/backhand.

I've heard Justine uses an extreme Eastern backhand, which is equivalent to the semi-Western grip, flipped over, which really seems awkward to me (and puts the racquet even further in front on the backhand). This is not analagous to the extreme Eastern forehand grip which is merely halfway between the Eastern forehand and the semi-Western.
 
hellonewbie said:
Timing. If you brush up on the ball at the right time, you will get topspin.
Click to expand...

While that may be true, it's not terribly useful advice. That's like saying getting power is timing. If you smack it hard it enough, it will have power. Let's say if I took a lesson and this was the advice I got, I'd want my money back :).

But that's OK, I've been getting ideas of what to do, and have tried it out on court. The problem I was having was getting enough swing momentum while at the same time getting topspin.

Here's a video that wasn't particularly helpful to me (it would help if the guy spelled topspin correctly so it could be searched for): Topspin backhand

This guy have somewhat better advice, but they end up giving "wrong" advice:
Neil Archer teaches one-hander

He is trying to teach a windshield wiper on the backhand which isn't what Roger does. His student, in fact, hits it closer to how Federer does (and most one-handers). The racquet face should point right for a righty, and the student's does which is not the advice he gives. I believe a WW backhand would lead to decreased power. The rest of it seems sensible, but the WW stroke was his point.

Here's another video with similar advice, a WW backhand.
Another topspin backhand instruction

Except when he demonstrates it, he doesn't quite do the last step. His way of hitting it is closer to how most folks hit it.

Anyway, I'd say both guys are not teaching it properly, i.e., as the pros hit it, nor even, as you can see, how they've demonstrated it in their own video. I see what they are trying to do, which is to do the same thing on the backhand that you do on the forehand, but the forehand has a longer swingpath leading to the contact point and for a lot of reasons, it makes more sense to do it on the forehand biomechanically speaking.
 
Charlzz said:
While that may be true, it's not terribly useful advice. That's like saying getting power is timing. If you smack it hard it enough, it will have power. Let's say if I took a lesson and this was the advice I got, I'd want my money back :).

But that's OK, I've been getting ideas of what to do, and have tried it out on court. The problem I was having was getting enough swing momentum while at the same time getting topspin.

Here's a video that wasn't particularly helpful to me (it would help if the guy spelled topspin correctly so it could be searched for): Topspin backhand

This guy have somewhat better advice, but they end up giving "wrong" advice:
Neil Archer teaches one-hander

He is trying to teach a windshield wiper on the backhand which isn't what Roger does. His student, in fact, hits it closer to how Federer does (and most one-handers). The racquet face should point right for a righty, and the student's does which is not the advice he gives. I believe a WW backhand would lead to decreased power. The rest of it seems sensible, but the WW stroke was his point.

Here's another video with similar advice, a WW backhand.
Another topspin backhand instruction

Except when he demonstrates it, he doesn't quite do the last step. His way of hitting it is closer to how most folks hit it.

Anyway, I'd say both guys are not teaching it properly, i.e., as the pros hit it, nor even, as you can see, how they've demonstrated it in their own video. I see what they are trying to do, which is to do the same thing on the backhand that you do on the forehand, but the forehand has a longer swingpath leading to the contact point and for a lot of reasons, it makes more sense to do it on the forehand biomechanically speaking.
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You're welcome. Though you may not appreciate my tip, one guy I gave this tip to had immediate improvement in his backhand. He started with a decent backhand, but was way too wristy and was mistiming his shot. After he took my very commonsense tip to heart, he had more controlled swing, and figured out the timing to hit some topspin backhand with much less effort than before. Maybe you can pay me and I can show you, no refunds though :-) Or find a coach in your area... Also, I don't know why you are dissing the video instructions, if you know how to teach a backhand properly, why are you asking for instruction here?
 
hellonewbie said:
You're welcome. Though you may not appreciate my tip, one guy I gave this tip to had immediate improvement in his backhand. He started with a decent backhand, but was way too wristy and was mistiming his shot. After he took my very commonsense tip to heart, he had more controlled swing, and figured out the timing to hit some topspin backhand with much less effort than before. Maybe you can pay me and I can show you, no refunds though :-) Or find a coach in your area... Also, I don't know why you are dissing the video instructions, if you know how to teach a backhand properly, why are you asking for instruction here?
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I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but here were my nits on your advice. You said your friend has a wristy shot and he was mistiming it. In your advice, you say, brush up, and it's about timing. You didn't mention how to brush up, that you shouldn't use too much wrist, etc. all which would have been much more useful, right?

For example, you can brush up using your forearm only, and that wouldn't be such a good idea. It will work, but it relies too much on the forearm. My criticism in your comment was lack of detail. With a lesson, you can point out a lot of things that you didn't point out in your post, including spotting errors, and such.

As far as dissing instructional videos, I think it's best to be "buyer beware", or in this case "viewer beware". You can easily follow videos on the Internet that teach you to do something that doesn't make much sense or misses out on details.

To be honest, I have been thinking about making a video on the backhand. I'm sure people would diss that too, but that's par for the course. Gotta be willing to take criticism.
 
SystemicAnomaly said:
Don't know if it is true, but some sources indicate that one possible cause of tennis elbow is using the continental grip for hitting a lot of 1-handed BHs with a generous amount of topspin. I'd use the conti grip for a slice BH but not very often for a topspin 1-hander. Definitely would not use the conti grip for a high ball unless I intended to slice the shot.
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It can be true if a person does not strengthen the forearm muscles. The continental grip places the wrist in a flat position as you know. When the ball hits the racquet, the wrist is not in a position to absorb the shock as it is when it is bent more. This transfers the shock of the impact to the elbow.

You can find out for yourself through this little example. Hold your hand out palm down. Make the back of your hand flat even with your forearm. There should be no bend in the wrist area. Now, press down on your knuckles while trying to keep this "flatness". You can immediately feel the tension up high in the forearm area.

With the Eastern, the bend in the wrist area actually links the bones in your wrist/hand much better to provide stability in the wrist area.
 
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Charlzz said:
I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but here were my nits on your advice. You said your friend has a wristy shot and he was mistiming it. In your advice, you say, brush up, and it's about timing. You didn't mention how to brush up, that you shouldn't use too much wrist, etc. all which would have been much more useful, right?

For example, you can brush up using your forearm only, and that wouldn't be such a good idea. It will work, but it relies too much on the forearm. My criticism in your comment was lack of detail. With a lesson, you can point out a lot of things that you didn't point out in your post, including spotting errors, and such.

As far as dissing instructional videos, I think it's best to be "buyer beware", or in this case "viewer beware". You can easily follow videos on the Internet that teach you to do something that doesn't make much sense or misses out on details.

To be honest, I have been thinking about making a video on the backhand. I'm sure people would diss that too, but that's par for the course. Gotta be willing to take criticism.
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If you do make that video, just dont use my information. I dont know what your relationship is to Will but I wouldnt want to be caught dead helping with your video by providing you the content.

As far as intruction, I dont get it. You ask for what other people think but then discount what they have provided. I think a lot of times you need everything spelled out for you to understand. When many people simply get it. You are looking for the flaw in the instruction rather than the flaws in your stroke.

You seem like one of those "people" that are looking for perfect instruction and want everything laid out plainly and if you cant immediately apply it, you want your money back.

By the way, timing is nearly everything in the onehanded backhand. You should be able to figure that one out since you know so much about what is right and wrong in a onehanded backhand.
 
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mikeler said:
Maybe I'm mixing up the Continental and Eastern grip. Check out this picture and that is how I hold my racket for a 1 handed topspin backhand.

federer-backhand1.jpg


If I use a western grip on my forehand, I can almost use the same side of my racket to hit a backhand on the next shot without changing my grip.
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Yup, that is definitely a variation of the Eastern BH grip rather than the continental.
 
Bungalo Bill said:
If you do make that video, just dont use my information. I dont know what your relationship is to Will but I wouldnt want to be caught dead helping with your video by providing you the content.

As far as intruction, I dont get it. You ask for what other people think but then discount what they have provided. I think a lot of times you need everything spelled out for you to understand. When many people simply get it. You are looking for the flaw in the instruction rather than the flaws in your stroke.
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While I appreciate your expertise on all matters tennis, I can hardly believe you believe this. A person asks for advice and gets a myriad of advice. I doubt you believe all that advice is good. Indeed, you probably roll your eyes at the advice given. At some point, the person listening to the advice needs to discern what makes sense for them and not.

I don't mean to drag hellonewbie into this. He's new to the forums and only wanted to help, and he should continue to do so. It's not fair, I admit, at this point, to start being critical of him, and if you want to defend him because he only tried to help, that's fine.

All I'm saying is the advice he provided was too little to provide anything useful for me to work with. He said "it's about timing, brush up". A lot of tennis is about timing, but it's not useful information in and of itself.

You spent many paragraphs explaining the nuances of the one-handed backhand. That was far more useful, because it had a great deal of detail. Why did you bother writing something so extensive if something as short as "it's all timing, brush up" would have illustrated your point in one line?

I apologize to hellonewbie. Please continue to contribute to the forums.
 
Another method for generating good topspin with a one hander is shown in Tom Avery's lesson on the BH.
Hold a SW BH grip {same a SW FH, just turned over}
Lower the strings and you pull abruptly up hard as you hit the ball.
This method works because the closed face of the SW allows a very abrupt low to high motion without flying the ball long.

The Avery tape is one of the best instruction videos I have ever seen. www.tomavery.com
I have no affiliation with Tom. Just a great amount of respect for his work.

Note that he is not focussed on huge topspin in the video, just an effective stroke
and how to correct common problems yourself with key thoughts.

Cheers
 
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Charlzz said:
While I appreciate your expertise on all matters tennis, I can hardly believe you believe this. A person asks for advice and gets a myriad of advice. I doubt you believe all that advice is good. Indeed, you probably roll your eyes at the advice given. At some point, the person listening to the advice needs to discern what makes sense for them and not.
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This thread is not about giving advice. It is about what the KEYS are to a good topspin onehander.

Hellonewbie provided the following key: Timing: If you brush up on the ball at the right time, you will get topspin

Timing is a key aspect to a good onehanded backhand.

I don't mean to drag hellonewbie into this. He's new to the forums and only wanted to help, and he should continue to do so. It's not fair, I admit, at this point, to start being critical of him, and if you want to defend him because he only tried to help, that's fine.
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Based on this thread, Hellonewbie was right. He didnt need to explain anything. Timing is one of the keys to an effective topspin onehander.

All I'm saying is the advice he provided was too little to provide anything useful for me to work with. He said "it's about timing, brush up". A lot of tennis is about timing, but it's not useful information in and of itself.
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Well I would be the first to find and point out poor advice. And yes, the videos you provided were a bit difficult to swallow as I felt the WW for a onehander is more of an advanced technique. A technique that should be learned after one has mastered the fundamentals.

There is plenty of information here about timing. People here arent always going to spell everything out.

You spent many paragraphs explaining the nuances of the one-handed backhand. That was far more useful, because it had a great deal of detail. Why did you bother writing something so extensive if something as short as "it's all timing, brush up" would have illustrated your point in one line?
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Because sometimes people will post short answers knowing there is other information already typed that can help fill in the blanks. He answered this threads question correctly. It was not about explaining things it was providing a key to the onehanded backhand. I am one that will go to considerable lengths to explain myself or provide as much information to players so they can learn. But not everyone is going to do that here. I enjoy helping people learn tennis. I enjoy writing as well.

Also, some people provide a key tip because it worked for them without knowing the background into something or be able to explain it in detail. It takes a lot of time for someone to learn how to explain things and to be able to have knowledge to teach.

I am not defending hellonewbie, I am simply looking at his response in relation to the original post in this thread. Timing is a key.
 
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Bungalo Bill said:
If you do make that video, just dont use my information. I dont know what your relationship is to Will but I wouldnt want to be caught dead helping with your video by providing you the content.

As far as intruction, I dont get it. You ask for what other people think but then discount what they have provided. I think a lot of times you need everything spelled out for you to understand. When many people simply get it. You are looking for the flaw in the instruction rather than the flaws in your stroke.

You seem like one of those "people" that are looking for perfect instruction and want everything laid out plainly and if you cant immediately apply it, you want your money back.

By the way, timing is nearly everything in the onehanded backhand. You should be able to figure that one out since you know so much about what is right and wrong in a onehanded backhand.
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fe25b81a6c99380a3a02e27e1712826a3b11332b
 
Hey BB, who would you say is a good model on the pro tour to copy for a 1hbh? You seem to talk about Blake alot, but his backhand isn't that great it seems though....

My 1hbh is so inconsistent right now...I just slice everything back. I don't know why people think its a simple stroke, its so hard to get down. Its rare to find someone at the club level who has a 1hbh as their best stroke/weapon. If I could hit a 2hbh I would switch but I can't hit it to save my life.....
 
Ballinbob, you have to customize your racquet in order to get good pace on your 1hbh. for example, a few days ago i changed a old used supergrap, for a new gamma supreme, which is a little thicker, and i cant believe how inestable my backhand was. i couldnt get any pace nor spin, so i had to just slice everything. after that match i changed the supreme for a fresh new supergrap and my backhand went back to normal.
 
Ballinbob said:
Hey BB, who would you say is a good model on the pro tour to copy for a 1hbh? You seem to talk about Blake alot, but his backhand isn't that great it seems though....

My 1hbh is so inconsistent right now...I just slice everything back. I don't know why people think its a simple stroke, its so hard to get down. Its rare to find someone at the club level who has a 1hbh as their best stroke/weapon. If I could hit a 2hbh I would switch but I can't hit it to save my life.....
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I strongly recommend you hit the backhand using the advice I gave, (lansdorp), video tape this adn post it here.

The thing about the one hander is it's incredibly simple in terms of what you actually physically do, but there are about 50 trillion things we do wrong when we attempt to do it, consequently, much of our posts concerning lessons on the one hander consist of warning you of all the pitfalls to avoid when you get out on the court, and you are left concentrating on not doing lots of things- basically overloaded with information you don't need. So get out on the court and hit your backhand as I told you, tape it, and we will tell you what specific thing you are doing wrong.
 
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