My Strokes. Please critique

[mars76]

Hi,

I have started playing Tennis for the past five years and this is the first time i decided to take video and thought of posting it here (after going through lot of videos in this forum).

I used sony bloggie and didn't realize when i shoot it positioning it vertically on my tripod and it screwed up the scaling..

Any way here are my videos..I used by Silent Partner at medium pace and decent spin.

1) Hitting from the base line while the ball machine is sweeping from one end to the other
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLpBwVYjB9E&feature=g-upl&context=G2308a11AUAAAAAAAAAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWu_GlJb7OU&feature=g-upl&context=G22c268fAUAAAAAAABAA

2) Single handed backhand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBPwcKbxgDw&feature=g-upl&context=G20983b9AUAAAAAAADAA

3) Forehand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnkuomRSMCg&feature=g-upl&context=G2735b44AUAAAAAAACAA

4) Alternate Forehand and backhand from the center of baseline.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBsCnM6lOaQ&feature=g-upl&context=G2e1eac1AUAAAAAAABAA

5) Two handed backhand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL6BLTd21hk&feature=g-upl&context=G2016765AUAAAAAAAAAA

After watching the videos i figured there is some thing wrong with the position of my left hand (when i am hitting either forehand or backhand the left hand seems to be very close to the body). I am not sure what kind of impact it might have.

Also i don't seems to be bending my knees. When i was playing i thought i was bending my keens.Apparently i am not as to my liking. ( i don't get lot of power behind my backhand and this might be a primary reason)..

Please suggest what ever you might have observed..

Thanks
Sateesh

 

[sportsfan1]

It's amazing to see how many people don't use their off hand/non-hitting hand *at all* in their strokes (just general comment, not specifically you), when its easy to watch any slow mo video of a pro, or one of the tutorial videos such as FYB, Lock & Roll, etc and see what to do with the off hand.
Props to you for posting, hopefully you should get some good feedback.

 

[pvaudio]

I give you credit for posting your video. Most people do not have the courage to do so, so I applaud that. Unfortunately, there are some issues with the basics of each of your strokes.

First, remove your 1HBH from your repertoire entirely. It commits every fundamental flaw and just manages to get in. That might sound over the top, but it's the truth. Your head is not still, you do not turn your shoulders, you do not take the raquet back properly, you do not step into the ball, and you don't follow through into the ball (it's a rotational slap) and you don't recover. Stick with your 2HBH and then learn a slice 1HBH later. I'm hoping this will alleviate some frustration caused by trying to perfect the 1HBH when there are too many issues with it. Stick with only the 2HBH and a slice later. Believe me, it's not worth the trouble trying to master a 1HBH.

For your forehand, you get away with your stroke. I say it like that because as the above poster pointed out, you do not use your body at all. Without giving an enormous load of suggestions, try this one simple one: with your left hand, point at the ball as it is coming towards you. This forces your body to set your shoulders and torso into the proper position. As it is right now, you're hitting essentially a feed or a light push instead of a forehand. Use that left hand to act like you're going to grab it, and then come through with the swing. I think that will get you moving in the right direction. I think that will also cure the balance issue since you are off balance on every stroke. How do I know that? Because I cannot see where the ball machine's feed is landing. That means it's somewhere in front of the service line. If the ball is even 3 feet behind the service line, you will be pushed backwards into hitting a desperation shot. Own your baseline by going after the ball instead of waiting for it to come to you.

I won't start on the backhand since the forehand is your stronger stroke already. Long story short: track the forehand ball with your left hand, and then move into the court to hit it. Don't wait for it to land in your strike zone because against an opponent, it never will. On the backhand, abandon the 1HBH completely and master the 2HBH. It's more technically sound and should not be as much of a liability.

Do you have a coach or access to lessons? I encourage you to see if either is available because while your strokes are unconventional and technically flawed, I have a very strong suspicion that only a few minor tweaks are needed to get your groundstrokes to be solid. I really do mean that too: regardless of what I said above, I have a feeling that just adopting some more standard techniques on both sides will automatically fix the majority if your stroke issues. Good luck.

 

[mars76]

Hi pvaudio,

Thanks a lot for your feedback. I always wanted to improve my game and i don't mind being criticized if there is a flaw in my game/technique and the feedback might help in improving my game.

I will try to incorporate the changes you mentioned on my forehand. I had a feeling that i am not using my body at all but didn't know what to do.

It's a surprising to know that i was doing so much wrong with my backhand.I didn't have lot of confidence in my two handed backhand yet to use in regular game. I started practicing it few weeks back..

I didn't have a coach and i never took any lessons ( i attended couple of drop in clinics and that's it).

Note: I updated the first two videos with my recent hitting.I had the proper camera settings this time.

Thanks..

 

[pvaudio]

I do not want to come off as harsh or mean, so please, if that was the impression you got, I apologize.

The 1HBH is a very technical stroke. If one aspect of it is off, the entire thing falls apart. With the 2H, you can have it be just decently okay and still be able to play with it. That's just my opinion from someone who played a 1HBH since he was a teenager and just 2 months back switched to 2 hands, and I've not looked back. Spend the time mastering your 2H instead.

 

[Cheetah]

I'd just like to say that as it stands now your strokes are pretty bad. BUT i think you only need a few fixes. You seem athletic and very coordinated and with some fixes I think you could be pretty good quite quickly.
If you could take a couple of lessons from a good instructor that would really be beneficial to you.

The issues you have are actually huge issues haha... but they are also issues you can fix relatively quickly.

You are not that far off from having nice smooth strokes.