Learning to play with opposite hand???

[doctor dennis]

Hello,

I`m currently a righty and have played this way since i have started playing tennis. I would self evaluate myself at 4.0.
What i have been thinking is to learn to play with my left hand as i am actually left handed. Has anyone else changed their dominant hand and how long do you think it could take to get adjusted to playing with opposite hand. Forehands i suspect would not take too long i guess. Probably between 3- 6 months as i am currently playing about 3-4 hours a week. About 2.5 hours of that is coaching. Its the serve i am most worried about, i dont know how long this will take. Does anyone think this is a bad idea or has anyone else already done this. I`m particularly interested in feedback from people who changed but all responses will be appreciated.
Kind regards

 

[my_forehand]

I sometimes play lefty, and it kinda came naturally the first time I played, having been taught what to do, how to hit properly. I mean I don't hit it hard but I sustain a rally.

If you're not really strong on your left side, serving is gonna be hard, along with hitting a forehand 'cause you have to lock your wrist etc. My backhand is my strongest shot, since it's 2-handed on the left side.

But, it should even be easier for, with you being a lefty: have you tried it?

Good luck with changing though :mrgreen:

 

[ivan987]

I'm a lefty but my right hand had always been the stronger one so I started playing tennis with my right hand. Later I got a few suggestions to switch to my left hand so I tried that for a short period of time. Result of that was cronic tendonitis in my left wrist so I had to switch to a one handed backhand when I switched back to my right hand. But, as a positive side of that switch, as I progressed with my left hand forehand, my right hand backand movement and setup have greatly improved. I would suggest not to do that switch, if you had played for a longer period time your brain got used to your right arm as a dominant one.

 

[TennisProdigy]

My friend is left handed and plays with his right hand too. He said he thought about switching but decided not to since he's already use to using his right.

I'm left handed and when I first started playing my right arm was stronger than my left. I decided to be left handed though since my left arm is more coordinated. The result: 2h bh is a bit stronger than my forehand and can hit it well even on a full stretch. However, after playing so much my left arm is stronger than my right.

 

[ivan987]

My friend is left handed and plays with his right hand too. He said he thought about switching but decided not to since he's already use to using his right.

I'm left handed and when I first started playing my right arm was stronger than my left. I decided to be left handed though since my left arm is more coordinated. The result: 2h bh is a bit stronger than my forehand and can hit it well even on a full stretch. However, after playing so much my left arm is stronger than my right.

Yes, that was a great choice, control (coordination) is always a better choice than strenght, I was too young to know better

 

[doctor dennis]

I sometimes play lefty, and it kinda came naturally the first time I played, having been taught what to do, how to hit properly. I mean I don't hit it hard but I sustain a rally.

If you're not really strong on your left side, serving is gonna be hard, along with hitting a forehand 'cause you have to lock your wrist etc. My backhand is my strongest shot, since it's 2-handed on the left side.

But, it should even be easier for, with you being a lefty: have you tried it?

Good luck with changing though :mrgreen:

I`m much stronger on my left side and fairly co ordinated. I`m going to practice some serves and forehands tonight to try and see what kind of level i am on my left side.
I think the end result i am trying to achieve is that with time i`ll have a faster spinnier serve and forehand but also have a strong backhand from playing right handed.
One of my friends suggested to stick as i am but improve on my backhand but i feel i`ll never hit with as much pace as i can using my right hand to serve and hit forehands.
It will be a fun experiment anyway.
Thanks for the replies.

 

[Frank Silbermann]

The biggest problem, for someone who has played tennis for a long time, is that your unused forehand probably has significantly less muscular development. That's not the kind of thing you can change overnight.