Slow Motion Video

[mightyrick]

Why do you think closed stance is so bad? Do you have a video of you hitting?

J

I don't think it's bad. I think it's great for continental grips which contact the ball beside the body with an open racquet face. Like I said, I know a few high level players who use it for that grip.

For a modern grip, you don't use it to rally.

It isn't about what I think. It's like asking why I don't like peanut butter and mustard sandwiches.

Both are great in the correct context. But never together.

 

[tlm]

Double post.

 

[tlm]

Why do you think closed stance is so bad? Do you have a video of you hitting?

J

What do you think of using a closed stance with a semi western or western grip?

 

[tlm]

It's always good to check yourself by video. I assumed I hit the vast majority of my FHs open off back foot. I just went and checked my FH DTL video on your other thread, and wow ... totally random. Random for dtl ... and random for cc. If Might doesn't like your closed stance FHs ... he really isn't going to like mine. You are barely past neutral ... I'm way over there. It would be interesting to see my patterns when playing a singles match rather than hitting against the ball machine. I have bagged singles for this year do to the hamstring since only a month out from winter doubles only ... but maybe I can video a hit at least.

Yes the video doesn't lie, it is very informative and humbling to see what you are really doing out there instead of what you have pictured in your head.

 

[ByeByePoly]

I don't think it's bad. I think it's great for continental grips which contact the ball beside the body with an open racquet face. Like I said, I know a few high level players who use it for that grip.

For a modern grip, you don't use it to rally.

It isn't about what I think. It's like asking why I don't like peanut butter and mustard sandwiches.

Both are great in the correct context. But never together.

Yep ... could explain why fully closed FHs work for me .... Eastern. I roll to sw if I'm going for more spin sometimes ... I bet I have learned to do that off of open stance.

 

[J011yroger]

What do you think of using a closed stance with a semi western or western grip?

I think it should be done as often as possible on balls in the middle third of the court or inside the court where you want to be aggressive and attack either by approaching the net or hitting a big shot to seize control of the point.

J

 

[tlm]

I think it should be done as often as possible on balls in the middle third of the court or inside the court where you want to be aggressive and attack either by approaching the net or hitting a big shot to seize control of the point.

J

Ok that sounds like I may actually be doing something right then lol. From what I can tell I think that I use closed stance more when I have time on short balls that I want to attack.

 

[rogerroger917]

Hey TLM. It just seems overall the strokes do not look smooth. The advanced players hit harder and look smoother. So something is a bit off I think.

 

[tlm]

Hey TLM. It just seems overall the strokes do not look smooth. The advanced players hit harder and look smoother. So something is a bit off I think.

Yep me and smooth don't have much in common and yes your right the good players hit harder with less effort.

 

[rogerroger917]

I think it should be done as often as possible on balls in the middle third of the court or inside the court where you want to be aggressive and attack either by approaching the net or hitting a big shot to seize control of the point.

J

Agree. There is a few specific footwork patterns my kid used to drill for this from his coaches. I can probably show someone but not type it on here.

 

[rogerroger917]

Yep me and smooth don't have much in common and yes your right the good players hit harder with less effort.

But you still hit it very hard so... I'm still convinced your ball is hard to play against for the majority of people in here. You would destroy ttps.

Jolly would wreck you but open level adults will just smack your high bouncing shots down your throat corner to corner. My son would hit a jumping backhand bullet winner. Lol.

 

[tlm]

But you still hit it very hard so... I'm still convinced your ball is hard to play against for the majority of people in here. You would destroy ttps.

Jolly would wreck you but open level adults will just smack your high bouncing shots down your throat corner to corner. My son would hit a jumping backhand bullet winner. Lol.

My shots are more effective than what they look, but guys like Jo11y would kick my butt. Jo11y is pretty humble about his ability but that boy can play some tennis, he is definitely a good player.

 

[rogerroger917]

My shots are more effective than what they look, but guys like Jo11y would kick my butt. Jo11y is pretty humble about his ability but that boy can play some tennis, he is definitely a good player.

Video makes the ball speed look slow. You fh is pretty fast. And it bounces really high. You must annoy the crap out of people.

 

[tlm]

Video makes the ball speed look slow. You fh is pretty fast. And it bounces really high. You must annoy the crap out of people.

Ya my shots kick up faster and higher than they look on video and I will hit those high looping shots repeatedly. I'm in no hurry to end the point I kind of enjoy grinding guys down. Most opponents get frustrated trying to hit a lot of shots above their shoulders which gives a lot of UE's and short replys.

Plus I use a lot of short slices and drop shots after pushing my opponents back. It's not real pretty but I use what I have, I've found that this game plan combined with good defense and consistency works pretty well.

 

[J011yroger]

Ok that sounds like I may actually be doing something right then lol. From what I can tell I think that I use closed stance more when I have time on short balls that I want to attack.

Yea, but everyone else seems to be spouting that I'm wrong so I don't really see the need to voice a dissenting opinion.

Ya my shots kick up faster and higher than they look on video and I will hit those high looping shots repeatedly. I'm in no hurry to end the point I kind of enjoy grinding guys down. Most opponents get frustrated trying to hit a lot of shots above their shoulders which gives a lot of UE's and short replys.

Plus I use a lot of short slices and drop shots after pushing my opponents back. It's not real pretty but I use what I have, I've found that this game plan combined with good defense and consistency works pretty well.

You (and all of us) should play the way we want, whatever style makes you happy. Want to S&V or grind or blast? Go for it. It's recreational tennis.

J

 

[tlm]

Yea, but everyone else seems to be spouting that I'm wrong so I don't really see the need to voice a dissenting opinion.



You (and all of us) should play the way we want, whatever style makes you happy. Want to S&V or grind or blast? Go for it. It's recreational tennis.

J

Good point.

 

[ByeByePoly]

Video makes the ball speed look slow. You fh is pretty fast. And it bounces really high. You must annoy the crap out of people.

"You must annoy the crap out of people."

I bet his tennis game also annoys people.

 

[ByeByePoly]

Yea, but everyone else seems to be spouting that I'm wrong so I don't really see the need to voice a dissenting opinion.



You (and all of us) should play the way we want, whatever style makes you happy. Want to S&V or grind or blast? Go for it. It's recreational tennis.

J

If I got to play the way I wanted I wouldn't have my strokes and I would be taller.

You wouldn't have 14,000+ posts here if everyone agreed with you. Pirates like fights ... and to steal sh*t.

 

[J011yroger]

If I got to play the way I wanted I wouldn't have my strokes and I would be taller.

You wouldn't have 14,000+ posts here if everyone agreed with you. Pirates like fights ... and to steal sh*t.

Sometimes I'm in the mood for a fight, other times I'd rather drink rum and go wenching.

J

 

[ByeByePoly]

Sometimes I'm in the mood for a fight, other times I'd rather drink rum and go wenching.

J

No doubt better ROI with the wenching.

I just caught the end of the Anderson Chung match. Chung has one smooth open 2hbh off the back leg. I continue to laugh at the gap between what I think I do ... and what I see when I video. I thought I never hit my 2hbh off the back leg ... and I actually do it a lot. My feet are doing their own thing down there.

 

[mightyrick]

Yea, but everyone else seems to be spouting that I'm wrong so I don't really see the need to voice a dissenting opinion.

You (and all of us) should play the way we want, whatever style makes you happy. Want to S&V or grind or blast? Go for it. It's recreational tennis.

J

It isn't that you are "wrong". As I've gotten older, I really don't like the terms words "right" or "wrong". They are too often equated with "good" and "bad"... or "good" and "evil". I find those words basically derail any potential for meaningful discussion of any kind and induce divisiveness. I honestly think terms like "more optimal", "more efficient" are much better.

For example, I was helping my daughter with her statistics homework the other night. She was calculating standard deviation with a data set that had maybe 15-20 data points. It took her literally 10 minutes to do it and she had to back up during the calculation and do some corrections until she got the final answer. She asked me if the result was correct (and it was). So I told her "Yes, but you really worked hard for that result and the method you use is error prone. If you want, I can show you a more efficient way to do that which is less error prone and takes far less time." My daughter said, "That's okay, thanks. I know it's not the best, but I prefer it this way." So I shrugged and said, "Okay, no worries". I just let it go.

Was she "wrong"? No. It is just what she prefers. In life, some people enjoy doing things their own way and they get personal satisfaction from that. For others, they get personal satisfaction from optimality or efficiency. You are not wrong. TLM is not wrong. You play the game and do things in your own way which give you personal satisfaction. That is great.

The thing to watch out for is not to get caught up in trying to convince others that your preference is most-optimal or most-efficient --- if it isn't. That is where things can go off the rails. Case in point... at my house, I have a large grass yard, but I will never use a riding lawnmower to mow my lawn even though it is more efficient. I will always use a push-mower. I use a push-mower because I like to exert myself more. I like the exercise. I like to do more work. But I will never tell someone that my approach is most-efficient or most-optimal. It is only what I prefer.

 

[J011yroger]

It isn't that you are "wrong". As I've gotten older, I really don't like the terms words "right" or "wrong". They are too often equated with "good" and "bad"... or "good" and "evil". I find those words basically derail any potential for meaningful discussion of any kind and induce divisiveness. I honestly think terms like "more optimal", "more efficient" are much better.

For example, I was helping my daughter with her statistics homework the other night. She was calculating standard deviation with a data set that had maybe 15-20 data points. It took her literally 10 minutes to do it and she had to back up during the calculation and do some corrections until she got the final answer. She asked me if the result was correct (and it was). So I told her "Yes, but you really worked hard for that result and the method you use is error prone. If you want, I can show you a more efficient way to do that which is less error prone and takes far less time." My daughter said, "That's okay, thanks. I know it's not the best, but I prefer it this way." So I shrugged and said, "Okay, no worries". I just let it go.

Was she "wrong"? No. It is just what she prefers. In life, some people enjoy doing things their own way and they get personal satisfaction from that. For others, they get personal satisfaction from optimality or efficiency. You are not wrong. TLM is not wrong. You play the game and do things in your own way which give you personal satisfaction. That is great.

The thing to watch out for is not to get caught up in trying to convince others that your preference is most-optimal or most-efficient --- if it isn't. That is where things can go off the rails. Case in point... at my house, I have a large grass yard, but I will never use a riding lawnmower to mow my lawn even though it is more efficient. I will always use a push-mower. I use a push-mower because I like to exert myself more. I like the exercise. I like to do more work. But I will never tell someone that my approach is most-efficient or most-optimal. It is only what I prefer.

Would you consider my closed stance forehand modern or traditional?

Slomo

Regmo

How would you compare mine to my buddy Fernando?

J

 

[mightyrick]

Would you consider my closed stance forehand modern or traditional?

How would you compare mine to my buddy Fernando?

J

I think your results are good.

Since you posted that Verdasco video... in an effort to inform myself about his tendencies, I decided to create a larger sampling of his rally forehand data. I went ahead and completely watched three random videos of Verdasco practice hitting (the last one is the best and full speed). I classified each forehand as either "O" (for Open/Semi-Open), "C" (for Closed), and "N" (for Neutral). I excluded any forehands which were "running"... meaning that he was not set/planted when hitting the ball... he was "on the run". Here are those video references and those results:

: ONCOOOOOOOO

:ONNOOO

: OOOOCOCOOOONOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONONOOONOOO

The final results:

Total Forehands Hit : 64
Total Open/Semi-Open : 54 (84%)
Total Neutral : 7 (11%)
Total Closed : 3 (5%)

I just want to make sure people are drawing proper conclusions regarding Verdasco's preference based on a larger sampling of data of his forehands.

 

[tlm]

Would you consider my closed stance forehand modern or traditional?

Slomo

Regmo

How would you compare mine to my buddy Fernando?

J

Nice forehands Jolly. I noticed in some of your other videos that you get a lot of topspin on your forehand but you also put a lot of forward drive into your shots with the spin. It looks like just the right % of spin with plenty of drive so the shots go through the court quickly.

 

[J011yroger]

Nice forehands Jolly. I noticed in some of your other videos that you get a lot of topspin on your forehand but you also put a lot of forward drive into your shots with the spin. It looks like just the right % of spin with plenty of drive so the shots go through the court quickly.

Thanks, I'm trying but like everything it's a work in progress.

J

 

[Deleted member 120290]

@tlm This is my personal opinion of your FH and BH.

Your swing is more like Nadal's than Federer's. It appears your style preference and mentality are more of a heavy topspin baseliner than an all-court or S&V.
So unless you are willing to completely start over (which I wouldn't recommend as it probably would not fit your personality), I would not pay much attention to how someone like Federer hits his FH.
My personal view is that you could be more of a Ferrer or Cuevas type of player who plays topspin, offense-oriented baseline game.

FH: I see 2 things that may benefit your FH.
1. Your left arm just hangs by your side for most of your FH. During takeback, left arm should be across your body and parallel to the baseline and remain there until starting the forward swing.
This will ensure that your torso is turned correctly and you don't spin out early as you do on some of the forehands which results in loss of balance and control.
2. There is very little loading on your right leg. Notice in the video how Ferrer loads his weight on the right foot during takeback and then launches off it during the forward swing.
This will give you easier, more explosive power and spin. Right now since you do not load your right foot much, you are using mostly upper body power which causes you to spin out.

BH: One thing I would recommend is starting with the racket face perpendicular to the court. Currently you are starting with racket face closed, parallel to the court which robs you of lot of power.

 

[ByeByePoly]

@tlm This is my personal opinion of your FH and BH.

Your swing is more like Nadal's than Federer's. It appears your style preference and mentality are more of a heavy topspin baseliner than an all-court or S&V.
So unless you are willing to completely start over (which I wouldn't recommend as it probably would not fit your personality), I would not pay much attention to how someone like Federer hits his FH.
My personal view is that you could be more of a Ferrer or Cuevas type of player who plays topspin, offense-oriented baseline game.

FH: I see 2 things that may benefit your FH.
1. Your left arm just hangs by your side for most of your FH. During takeback, left arm should be across your body and parallel to the baseline and remain there until starting the forward swing.
This will ensure that your torso is turned correctly and you don't spin out early as you do on some of the forehands which results in loss of balance and control.
2. There is very little loading on your right leg. Notice in the video how Ferrer loads his weight on the right foot during takeback and then launches off it during the forward swing.
This will give you easier, more explosive power and spin. Right now since you do not load your right foot much, you are using mostly upper body power which causes you to spin out.

BH: One thing I would recommend is starting with the racket face perpendicular to the court. Currently you are starting with racket face closed, parallel to the court which robs you of lot of power.

Loading right leg? Isn't TLM hitting front leg FHs? If so, do we really load/drive that much with our back leg on these types of FHs ... or just step from it to transfer weight to front leg?

I didn't see you pop up in the following thread ... it was a related discussion.

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/open-or-closed-stance.601710/

I can use the Ferrer video for my question. The first two FHs are off the back leg (right) with big right leg drive. But the 3rd is hit off his front (left) leg. In that 3rd FH, is there much right leg drive in the step to the left leg? I never feel like my right leg is powering that much on those FHs. It sure is on back leg/foot FHs.

 

[Deleted member 120290]

Loading right leg? Isn't TLM hitting front leg FHs? If so, do we really load/drive that much with our back leg on these types of FHs ... or just step from it to transfer weight to front leg?

I didn't see you pop up in the following thread ... it was a related discussion.

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/open-or-closed-stance.601710/

I can use the Ferrer video for my question. The first two FHs are off the back leg (right) with big right leg drive. But the 3rd is hit off his front (left) leg. In that 3rd FH, is there much right leg drive in the step to the left leg? I never feel like my right leg is powering that much on those FHs. It sure is on back leg/foot FHs.

The first 2 shots are typical rally FH's. The 3rd FH is a short, attackable ball. If a player has the chance to move into the shot, then he should.
But since the majority of the groundstrokes will be rally shots (unless you are playing a much weaker player or have a Karlovic serve), most FH's should have right (back) leg loading for power and spin.

 

[ByeByePoly]

The first 2 shots are typical rally FH's. The 3rd FH is a short, attackable ball. If a player has the chance to move into the shot, then he should.
But since the majority of the groundstrokes will be rally shots (unless you are playing a much weaker player or have a Karlovic serve), most FH's should have right (back) leg loading for power and spin.

That's what I thought you meant ... hit more back leg FHs. You did not mean he should use more leg drive on the FHs he was hitting here.

I agree with all of that... as long as the player hits a decent back leg FH. I also agree with Sinjin (from other thread) that the FH off front foot with step is more forgiving on timing, and masks weak coil better. The player at least has some weight transfer into shot even if coil wasn't that good.

Note: TLM had set ball machine up here with short balls to work on attacking shots.

 

[tlm]

@tlm This is my personal opinion of your FH and BH.

Your swing is more like Nadal's than Federer's. It appears your style preference and mentality are more of a heavy topspin baseliner than an all-court or S&V.
So unless you are willing to completely start over (which I wouldn't recommend as it probably would not fit your personality), I would not pay much attention to how someone like Federer hits his FH.
My personal view is that you could be more of a Ferrer or Cuevas type of player who plays topspin, offense-oriented baseline game.

FH: I see 2 things that may benefit your FH.
1. Your left arm just hangs by your side for most of your FH. During takeback, left arm should be across your body and parallel to the baseline and remain there until starting the forward swing.
This will ensure that your torso is turned correctly and you don't spin out early as you do on some of the forehands which results in loss of balance and control.
2. There is very little loading on your right leg. Notice in the video how Ferrer loads his weight on the right foot during takeback and then launches off it during the forward swing.
This will give you easier, more explosive power and spin. Right now since you do not load your right foot much, you are using mostly upper body power which causes you to spin out.

BH: One thing I would recommend is starting with the racket face perpendicular to the court. Currently you are starting with racket face closed, parallel to the court which robs you of lot of power.

Ya I like playing a baseline grinding game. I do leave the left arm dangling and not involved enough. I think if I improve my footwork my consistency and balance willl follow.
The coach I work with told me the same thing about my backhand he said that I am keeping the racket to closed. I'm trying to get that backhand consistent so I over brush it with a closed racket face. Now that it is becoming more reliable I will have to open the racket more and get more drive.

 

[5263]

I've heard that advice also ... but I see the pros often hitting their biggest 2hbhs from closed stances. I can't figure out a reason why it would limit the FH and not the 2hbh.

Fh can get more whip than a 2 hander Bh can.

 

[iChen]

Note: TLM had set ball machine up here with short balls to work on attacking shots.

Roast me sir. Roast me. Sorry it's 1 shot cause I gave myself 15 minutes after getting off work. Still have the flu and I worked on 1 BH shot I recorded there, and everything else was crosscourt FH which was giving me major UE yesterday night's match.

Feel free to do the slow pic thing like you did with TLM. I've only been playing for 4 months so roast me hard.

And don't hate on my "Save the Whales" tote. Didn't have energy to bring tennis ball rack.

edit: I meant to do more than 1 shot, but I noticed tonight still not closing my racquet enough on FH.....
literally my last shot of the night and then went home

 

[ByeByePoly]

Roast me sir. Roast me. Sorry it's 1 shot cause I gave myself 15 minutes after getting off work. Still have the flu and I worked on 1 BH shot I recorded there, and everything else was crosscourt FH which was giving me major UE yesterday night's match.

Feel free to do the slow pic thing like you did with TLM. I've only been playing for 4 months so roast me hard.

And don't hate on my "Save the Whales" tote. Didn't have energy to bring tennis ball rack.

edit: I meant to do more than 1 shot, but I noticed tonight still not closing my racquet enough on FH.....
literally my last shot of the night and then went home

Hey ... iChen video ... you came through. That actually looks good. I will check it out more tomorrow and comment.

 

[tlm]

Fh can get more whip than a 2 hander Bh can.

I wish there was a way to get similar whip on the backhand, then I would have plenty of spin and be able to control my backhand shots much better.
I hit with a guy that has a great 2 hander and he keeps racket pretty closed and whips over the ball getting great spin on his backhand. Watching him from the side I don't think his backhand looks technically correct, but he snaps the racket so fast that it ends up a great shot. It looks like he snaps his wrists quickly to achieve all the racket speed.

 

[iChen]

I wish there was a way to get similar whip on the backhand, then I would have plenty of spin and be able to control my backhand shots much better.
I hit with a guy that has a great 2 hander and he keeps racket pretty closed and whips over the ball getting great spin on his backhand. Watching him from the side I don't think his backhand looks technically correct, but he snaps the racket so fast that it ends up a great shot. It looks like he snaps his wrists quickly to achieve all the racket speed.

You can snap the wrists a little and some pros you will see snap forward a little right after the slot or at least it seems so. They don’t snap right before contact but at sort of start of swing.

However I don’t like this unless you have minimal time.

 

[iChen]

Hey ... iChen video ... you came through. That actually looks good. I will check it out more tomorrow and comment.

Uncle, no need to be nice. I know I’m a beginner even compared to TTPS. @tlm and @J011yroger probably think I’m super horrible

We should do like pics of how we go throug the BH swing

 

[J011yroger]

Uncle, no need to be nice. I know I’m a beginner even compared to TTPS. @tlm and @J011yroger probably think I’m super horrible

We should do like pics of how we go throug the BH swing

Looks fine to me. You are a beginner, we all had to start somewhere. Just keep working and having fun.

J

 

[tlm]

Looks fine to me. You are a beginner, we all had to start somewhere. Just keep working and having fun.

J

I agree looks like a good swing.

 

[Deleted member 120290]

I wish there was a way to get similar whip on the backhand, then I would have plenty of spin and be able to control my backhand shots much better.
I hit with a guy that has a great 2 hander and he keeps racket pretty closed and whips over the ball getting great spin on his backhand. Watching him from the side I don't think his backhand looks technically correct, but he snaps the racket so fast that it ends up a great shot. It looks like he snaps his wrists quickly to achieve all the racket speed.

If you rotate your hips quickly just before the forward swing on 2hbh, you can get that whipping motion. Hands and wrists need to be relaxed enough for the racket to whip.

 

[ChaelAZ]

Here is a clip of me hitting with an opponent. It looks like most forehands are hit in an open stance, but it looks like on some when I try and hit harder I tend to close some.

This reminds me of the guy I hit with during the week, all the high bouncing balls. My shoulder is always sore from driving balls down from head height.

 

[tlm]

This reminds me of the guy I hit with during the week, all the high bouncing balls. My shoulder is always sore from driving balls down from head height.

Ya I find most guys don't like to hit those high shots. I have played some taller guys that can drive them down pretty well. But most start to make errors once they get tired, I like to pound high looping topspin shots like that repeatedly and many opponents will tire out and start making a lot of errors after a couple of sets.

 

[tlm]

If you rotate your hips quickly just before the forward swing on 2hbh, you can get that whipping motion. Hands and wrists need to be relaxed enough for the racket to whip.

I will give that a try, that must be what my buddy does because his racket speed is excellent. I would love to be able to swing that freely and have all that spin on the ball.

 

[iChen]

I will give that a try, that must be what my buddy does because his racket speed is excellent. I would love to be able to swing that freely and have all that spin on the ball.

You can take my opinion or not but can I just say that, flicking the wrist will not create efficient consistent power whatsoever for the BH. You’re not going to create more power consistently whipping wrist into shot.

Unless I’m just misunderstanding what you mean with whip then sorry

Even Djokovic says he keeps wrist usage as low as possible.

 

[Deleted member 120290]

You can take my opinion or not but can I just say that, flicking the wrist will not create efficient consistent power whatsoever for the BH. You’re not going to create more power consistently whipping wrist into shot.

Unless I’m just misunderstanding what you mean with whip then sorry

Even Djokovic says he keeps wrist usage as low as possible.

It's whipping the racket, not flicking the wrist.
Here is an illustration of whipping the racket by firing the hips quickly before the forward swing to get better racket head speed.

 

[iChen]

It's whipping the racket, not flicking the wrist.
Here is an illustration of whipping the racket by firing the hips quickly before the forward swing to get better racket head speed.

Ah okay sorry

Must be super hard to time

 

[Shroud]

I would rather read stereo instructions for pleasure than slog through this epileptic seizure of a post.

I geek out on stereo instructions so send some links!!!!

 

[ByeByePoly]

Roast me sir. Roast me. Sorry it's 1 shot cause I gave myself 15 minutes after getting off work. Still have the flu and I worked on 1 BH shot I recorded there, and everything else was crosscourt FH which was giving me major UE yesterday night's match.

Feel free to do the slow pic thing like you did with TLM. I've only been playing for 4 months so roast me hard.

And don't hate on my "Save the Whales" tote. Didn't have energy to bring tennis ball rack.

edit: I meant to do more than 1 shot, but I noticed tonight still not closing my racquet enough on FH.....
literally my last shot of the night and then went home

Sorry I took so long to get to the pics . I got to hit some this morning.

It's only one drop feed, but seriously, the stroke looks good to me. 4 months in ... and you are drop feeding yourself a full stroke 2hbh ... good work.

Frames:

- Hips past feet, shoulders past hips = great backswing
- racquet prep position high ... you and Zverev ... pick your preference. If you want to go full Zverev ... point the head totally north
- note: weight over back leg, and coil over back leg

- dropped to slot as you stepped/transferred weight to front leg ... just like the pros
- note: your shoulders (hips) haven't started turning forward set ... this is correct ... uncoiling will happen over front (right) leg
- I think here you should let your racquet head drop below your hands here on your topspin strokes ... like Agassi below:

- You have racquet lag (racquet head behind, butt cap forward) ... good.
- uncoiling started now over right leg ... weight has left back leg

- hard to tell from angle, but looks like contact off the front foot ... or in front. Looks good to me.
- you are hitting bent (left arm)/bent (right arm) at contact. Lots of pros made tons of $ with this ... but at least try and hit a few and hit with a straight left arm at contact and see if it messes you up. You are early into your learning curve, so set your arms (muscle memory) now the way you want it to be going forward. I think you get more easy power with the left arm straight at contact rather than bent. I found out looking at my left arm at contact it's not totally straight like I thought... has some flex in it. I want to change that to straight.
- according to Yandell ... after reviewing pro 2hbhs ... many player vary arm positions from shot to shot.

- not much needs to be said here I don't think. Most excellent.

 

[iChen]

Wow didn’t think I’d actually pass the assessment that unscathed.

 

[ByeByePoly]

It's whipping the racket, not flicking the wrist.
Here is an illustration of whipping the racket by firing the hips quickly before the forward swing to get better racket head speed.

So I checked Mr Safin on the first 2hbh, and the next full 2hbh in (closed stance). I run the video frame by frame ... noting when the shoulder turn starts forward, and when the hips start rotating forward. It's at the exact same time, nearest I can tell. This is what happens every time I look at video for the "hips first, and then shoulders". This is relevant to me because I also want to add some pace to my 2hbh. I hear "hips first" and "pull from your core first".

Here is a different way to ask this:

Use iChen's pic #1 above. To me, he has a pretty full hip + shoulder backswing. From there, is there really a way not to use the hips correctly in order to swing to contact? I don't understand how one could get the shoulders turning into the shot from that full backswing without using the hips and core. To me, it feels like I fire the hip/core turn at the same time as the shoulder turn, but the shoulders have a longer run since it was turned past the hips.

 

[ByeByePoly]

Wow didn’t think I’d actually pass the assessment that unscathed.

Bad news: I'm not an instructor and my advice/observation is suspect
Good news: I'm not mean (usually)