Quick video of my ground strokes. Where could I improve?

Pitti

Rookie
Here’s some video I recorded of myself practising groundstrokes with my friend. What do you think about them? Where could I improve? Do you see any clear flaws in my technique?

Thank you!

 
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Dragy

Legend
What are your goals? Do you play competitively or mostly social matches? Are you in tournament right now/soon?
What issues do you have with your current strokes? What you want to improve? From such a filming we cannot gauge shape of the shots, consistency, etc. Best would be to see a match video against a challenging opponent at your level.
 
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Deleted member 54265

Guest
@Pitti just a quick comment on your forehand and some "easy" adjustment you can make.

1. Early prep, take your racquet back much earlier. You are too late. Camera angle is interesting as you can hear hear your partner striking the ball, and then you should start your take back.
2. You only use your arm (arming the ball), use your body and legs more and go into the shot.
3. Your left arm is passive, point towards the ball and use the left arm to enhance body rotation.

Cheers, Toby
 

Pitti

Rookie
@Dragy I know it’s not the best video, not angle. I just put my phone on the bench. My partner didn’t want to appear in any video, so I respected him and decided to use an angle that just covered my half of the court. I didn’t have any better idea. In any case, I’ll try to take a better video during a match in a near future. As for my goals: 1. Regaining technique. I quit tennis for 10 years and now I‘m playing again. I see that I don‘t play as well as I did years before, and I’m looking forward to improve my strokes from what I have now. 2. I play both socially and in an adult-amateur league. I want to be competitive there, but tennis is mainly my way of exercising. My main goal is not to win, but to enjoy the sport performing the best I can. Of course, if I can win, I’ll go for it! Thank you.

@Toby14 Great. This is the kind of advice I was looking for. And you’ve reminded me that the left hand was something my coaches told me lots of times years ago. My left hand was passive both on the serve and the forehand. I think my natural tendency is to “forget” about that arm, and now I’m again at it. As for early preparation, I’ll pay more attention to it. Thank you very much!

@Born_to_slice 1HBH is a pleasure whenever you get to hit a good one. Sadly, it can also be a pain! That one went good. Thank you!
 

heninfan99

Talk Tennis Guru
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Place your off racquet arm like in the above photo

and prepare much earlier
 

Dragy

Legend
1. Regaining technique. I quit tennis for 10 years and now I‘m playing again. I see that I don‘t play as well as I did years before, and I’m looking forward to improve my strokes from what I have now. 2. I play both socially and in an adult-amateur league. I want to be competitive there, but tennis is mainly my way of exercising. My main goal is not to win, but to enjoy the sport performing the best I can. Of course, if I can win, I’ll go for it! Thank you.
So it’s ok to destroy your consistency pursuing Federer-style strokes :laughing:
On FH side I second the “arming” observation: you underutilize your torso. Need to coil more rotating fully with your chest facing sideways, and uncoil to make your chest face the net before your arm takes off into the contact. Try to find that sequential firing of body parts: leg push to drive torso rotation while arm is more trailing, then arm release into contact.
On your BH side I’d suggest working on rotating racquet head into contact, currently you pull your arm up with racquet staying horizontal. You need to pursue this kind of follow-through:
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Pitti

Rookie
So it’s ok to destroy your consistency pursuing Federer-style strokes :laughing:

No way! That wouldn’t be performing good, although if I manage to get some Federer-like stroke I would perform “beautifully”. You know, a good photo justifies the means :laughing:

By watching the video again I see that it’s true that I “arm“ the ball both on my FH side. I’ll see if I can start using more of my torso and legs. On my BH I’m trying to do as you say, but I still can’t manage to find the correct way of doing it. Each time I try either the ball goes too high or too low (when I close a bit my grip). And that’s not Federer like :rolleyes:

Thank you! Also thanks to @heninfan99
 

sovertennis

Professional
@Pitti just a quick comment on your forehand and some "easy" adjustment you can make.

1. Early prep, take your racquet back much earlier. You are too late. Camera angle is interesting as you can hear hear your partner striking the ball, and then you should start your take back.
2. You only use your arm (arming the ball), use your body and legs more and go into the shot.
3. Your left arm is passive, point towards the ball and use the left arm to enhance body rotation.

Cheers, Toby

These are good tips, IMO, although I would not suggest that you "point at the ball" but instead move your left arm so that it's parallel to the baseline as you make your unit turn. Overall, I think your mechanics above your waist are generally strong, but you appear sluggish below. I suggest you focus on moving to the ball (you appear to move backward frequently on you fh) more quickly and forming a stronger and wider base with your lower body. On the bh, perhaps you could try to stay side-on to the ball until the stroke is complete. Finally, you may wish to find a stronger hitting partner (the rallies were very short) or use a ball machine in order to generate a more consistent and effective practice. Hope this helps.
 

golden chicken

Hall of Fame
As above, your forehand is a little arm-y and your off arm is dead.

One thing you could try is to use your left hand to push your racket back. This will cause your shoulder turn and prep your left arm to be more involved.

Additionally, you seem a touch late either on recognizing the incoming ball or moving to an ideal position to hit it. I would try to be more assertive.
 

Knox

Semi-Pro
Your timing is good, very fluid and natural. I don't agree with the user who said you need an earlier take back. I think following that advice will do you more harm than good.

The biggest thing I've noticed is that your follow through is very short and seems stiff. I'd encourage a more relaxed and thorough follow through that allows that racquet to whip more and 'wrap' around your shoulder.
 

navigator

Hall of Fame
@Pitti just a quick comment on your forehand and some "easy" adjustment you can make.

1. Early prep, take your racquet back much earlier. You are too late. Camera angle is interesting as you can hear hear your partner striking the ball, and then you should start your take back.

This is the single comment I would make as well. You're actually starting your prep for the stroke just fine, but... you're actually getting your racquet back noticeably too late on both sides. It's like you start the stroke, then there's a moment of hesitation, then by the time your racquet actually gets back it's late. Otherwise, looks fine to me. That's worth exactly what you paid for it.
 
footwork:?))..................actually any1's advice or watava really won't help u much on the core issues. 'just do it'.........milx repetition n ur striking technique will evolve by itself n don't rush it to avoid derailing in early stages, as long as not injured by te/ge etc, keep going as much as u can:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D...............................
 
On both sides you’re still coiling/getting setup when the ball bounces.

On your FH:
1) ideally I’d like to see you fully coiled and your left arm fully extended parallel to the baseline by the time the ball bounces.
2) more separation between hips and shoulders when coiling.
3) wider base and more bend in your knees
4) eventually more torso rotation and use of off arm when setting up and when going into and through contact. It will happen naturally if you do the first 3 points though so I wouldn’t worry about consciously trying to do this.

Backhand I’d need a different camera angle to give you more accurate advice.


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