One of the reasons Roddick backhand is weak.

[vndesu]

rod's bh

his coach, jimmy conors had told him to choke up on the grip more. since roddick has the 27.5 length chocking up higher would increase control. as some ppl believe.

also i think the reason why his bh isnt all that great is bc of the way he setsup. it sortof just looks like hes smacking it.

since roddick is known as a power player which uses his power to make the oppenet make the mistakes its a good stragey.
but agaisnt ppl like fed or nadal since his backhand or fh doesnt seem to angle as much he cant take them out.

ive tried using how roddick sets up and then i think whats the point of the 27.5 if he chockes up higher.
wouldnt he get more if he holds it down more?

 

[origmarm]

I agree with Soy on this, I think part of the problem is that the LH dominated stroke is great on spin but less good on drive through and that is what Roddick is lacking. Still its all relative, he would still kick my ass

 

[HappyChappy]

ANDY RODDICK HAS A TERRIBLE BACKHAND BECAUSE HE COPIED ALL OF JIM COURIER'S STROKES:

 

[origmarm]

ANDY RODDICK HAS A TERRIBLE BACKHAND BECAUSE HE COPIED ALL OF JIM COURIER'S STROKES:

I can't see the pic (restrictive office) but I completely disagree with that. Jim is one of the rare players that hits a two handed backhand with a full backhand grip on his right hand, the left hand has a very limited role, in stark contrast to Andy

 

[nikdom]

IMO in the current crop Nalbandian has the best 2HBH. If you saw any of his year end matches (Paris Masters and Madrid), you'll know what I'm talking about.

He can generate incredible angles with topspin or drive through the ball DTL with incredible power. Here's the last two games against Federer in Paris -
http://youtube.com/watch?v=oAhR204XZGk

I don't know if I can rank them, but I think Agassi, Safin and Nalbo are probably the best 2HBHs ever. Djokovic has a pretty good one too, but I wouldn't put it up there with those guys.

 

[hoahuyen]

I can't see the pic (restrictive office) but I completely disagree with that. Jim is one of the rare players that hits a two handed backhand with a full backhand grip on his right hand, the left hand has a very limited role, in stark contrast to Andy

You're right origmarm, when I look at the pics. The first thing comes to my head is "what! Jimmy has the form and grip of a 1HBH"

 

[soyizgood]

Courier managed to win 4 slams in spite of his backhand. And it looks very rh-dominant. It doesn't look as cool as Agassi's backhand, but Courier still made the finals of all 4 slams.

 

[joesixtoe]

as you can see from jim, conners, agassi, roddick, all the girl players. there is a bunch of diff ways to hit the 2hb. i used the left hand dominant for 3 yrs... heard agassi say about the right hand, and have used it since. my backhand is atleast 3 times better than before. its only been since the us open too. so still got lots of learning to do with it. like this one girl said to me, doesnt matter how you hit it, just as long as it works.

 

[vince916]

A reason Nadal's backhand is so strong is because he's using a lot of his right hand which happens to be his dominant hand. That's why he can create such a big angle that many people can't because of the use of his right hand.

Is that why Nadal can generate so much pace and hit with a open stance on his bh side?

 

[friedalo1]

He doesnt have the confidense to swing hard on his backhand, I think its a phychological problem, not a physical problem. He needs a phychologist not a tennis teacher.

 

[ryan808]

This is the subject of some debate. Several books and teaching methods advocate hitting a left handed forehand and using the right arm in the lesser guiding/assistance role. Some advocate using the right arm as the driving arm and the left arm to stabilise the stroke, so essentially a 1HBH with a more restricted/guided swing arc. Agassi subscribes to the second. I believe Connors subscribes to the first. Dave Smith (author Tennis Mastery and a regular on these boards) has some interesting comments on this regarding body motion and dynamics. From memory he favours the first approach.

This is some good info, origmarm. When learning the mechanics of the 2HBH, I was never taught to distinguish between LH/RH dominance. I tend to favor the first approach as well. I'm right-handed, and, for me, it's easier to generate swing speed and power using my left hand because it uses more of a "pushing" motion, opposed the the "pulling" motion of my right hand.

Ha ha, now I realize why my topspin 1HBH is a 2.5 shot, at best. I'm guessing it would be a lot easier for RH dominant two-handers to transition to a 1HBH.

 

[jstr]

He should watch Canas ...

 

[fgzhu88]

IMO when hitting a 2hander, the dominant hand is the one you prefer, and the one that feels right to you. There is no rule that says you must do one or the other.

 

[sacha_v]

yes there's no rule, but best backhands: Safin's, Agassi's are RH dominant