1171 said:
The new tennis magazine issue showed open stance Lubicic backhand for high ball.
It looks like the old Moo Man Thomas Muster's one-hand backhand.
Comments on Muster's backhand please. Good model to copy? I remember seeing him pelting his backhand strong ten years ago. His open stance backhand was secondary to his leg injury? I remember seeing video of him sitting on the home made bench, with his injured leg on the bench, sitting both forehand and backhand. Did his one-hand open stance backhand come from that bench practice after the injury?
All in all, is this open stance one-hand backhand a good one to copy?
I would recommend learning the open stance onehanded backhand. It takes a pulling of the butt cap and discipline to lengthen the stroke through the ball without pulling off path prematurely.
However, I would recommend learning it once you have learned the "normal" onehanded backhands first. You can start practicing the open stance onehanded backhand return.
I think tennis is the most unique sport for beginner to intermediate players. Some how we think if a pro can do it, so can/should I. But we never really say this after watching an Olympic Downhill Skier blast the hill or a Surfer taking off at 12' Pipeline or 30' Waimea Bay! We say "wow, I could never do that I would fall and hurt myself, that is too risky!"
However, we will try and learn shots without realizing that the shot being learned presents a lot of risk to our game and our practice. Take for example the ball hit between the legs shot. Nevermind, you almost never win the point. But because we saw a pro do it - we think we should to. Afterall, it doesnt hurt us right?
Pros are out on the court for hours and days on end. They are strong, elite athletes and can do things we can't and sometimes shouldn't do. You got to be careful with that because you are going to spend precious practice time (which we have little of) practicing something that really should be learned later in the process. It is about economics. You have to measure your opportunity cost.
I would suggest this:
1. Groundstrokes: Practice the closed and neutral (or forward) stances. Get those down. Practice moving your feet quick and recognizing the ball as early as possible. Work on your anticipation skills within these stances. They make a solid foundation for the onehanded backhand. Master your ability to start and stall your rotational forces as you move into the contact zone.
2. Service Returns: With someone hitting you serves from the service line, practice your semi-open and forward stances. Get good at reading the serve and getting set quickly - move those feet. Run spriints, tennis drills, and jump rope for foot speed. Mix in the open stance onehander as an introduction stance.
Only begin to incorporate the open stance in your groundstrokes when you have reached an advanced level of proficiency in the other stance areas. You may find you don't need the open stance onehander on groundies.