The TH backhand of Kafelnikov

[panatta]

I've decided to change the swing of my two-handed backhand. I'm trying to imitate Kafelnikov's backhand and the results are quite good. My backhand now has much more pace and I can hit many winners. The problem is that it hasn't got spin.
When I hit with my two-handed backhand, the ball is speed, but absolutely flat: I can even see the Penn's logo. The ball hasn't got any rotation.
My old backhand was weaker, but very consistent. I gave a lot of spin to the ball and I did very few unforced errors.
Now this is the situation: much more winners, but also more errors than before.
I'm wondering if the two-handed backhand of Kafelnikov had spin or if he used to hit flatten backhands.
Maybe I have to give more spin to my balls. Maybe Eugeny hit with more topspin.
I have only a few close clips of his backhand and I cannot see if the balls he hit had topspin or not.
What do you think about it?
Was Kafelnikov's TH backhand a flatten stroke or did he hit with some spin?
What do you remember about that stroke?
Thank you

 

[NoBadMojo]

Dear Adriana Panatta..as a wnner of the French Open you should know the answer to your own question. ;O No pro hits a ball with no spin except very accidently...some do hit with a more flatter trajectory, and Kafel was of that ilk. Even balls hit with a flatter trajectory by an advanced player would have a significant amount of spin. if you can read the Penn logo on your backhand, you're doing something wrong. Suggest you are making more errors because you need spin for control. What I remember most about Kafelnikov's backhand is how rock solid his head is at all times on the stroke and how on balance he was..in fact, most of the russians seem cut from that mold on their backhand..Safin, Chesnokov, Cherkisof, etc

 

[panatta]

Dear Adriana Panatta..as a wnner of the French Open you should know the answer to your own question. ;O No pro hits a ball with no spin except very accidently...some do hit with a more flatter trajectory, and Kafel was of that ilk. Even balls hit with a flatter trajectory by an advanced player would have a significant amount of spin. if you can read the Penn logo on your backhand, you're doing something wrong. Suggest you are making more errors because you need spin for control. What I remember most about Kafelnikov's backhand is how rock solid his head is at all times on the stroke and how on balance he was..in fact, most of the russians seem cut from that mold on their backhand..Safin, Chesnokov, Cherkisof, etc

Yes, you're right. Safin, Chesnokov and Cherkasov's backhands were similar. But.. didn't Connors hit flat backhands, and sometimes even flatten forehands?

 

[NoBadMojo]

Connors was from another generation and his groundstrokes werent exactly textbook and were very unique. Nobody hits like that, and everyone in the modern game hits with spin. He certainly hit with lower net clearance (flatter trajectory) as do other modern players like Davenport, but doubtful he was hitting with no spin, but one never knows with the Connors unusual stroke production.

 

[Bungalo Bill]

I've decided to change the swing of my two-handed backhand. I'm trying to imitate Kafelnikov's backhand and the results are quite good. My backhand now has much more pace and I can hit many winners. The problem is that it hasn't got spin.
When I hit with my two-handed backhand, the ball is speed, but absolutely flat: I can even see the Penn's logo. The ball hasn't got any rotation.
My old backhand was weaker, but very consistent. I gave a lot of spin to the ball and I did very few unforced errors.
Now this is the situation: much more winners, but also more errors than before.
I'm wondering if the two-handed backhand of Kafelnikov had spin or if he used to hit flatten backhands.
Maybe I have to give more spin to my balls. Maybe Eugeny hit with more topspin.
I have only a few close clips of his backhand and I cannot see if the balls he hit had topspin or not.
What do you think about it?
Was Kafelnikov's TH backhand a flatten stroke or did he hit with some spin?
What do you remember about that stroke?
Thank you

He hits a much firmer twohander. His top hand grip on the racquet is firmer then others who hit the twohander. As a result there is less "whip" in the wrist area up the back and into the ball.

However, to hit tospin, the strings need to brush the ball from low to high. YK also has (for the most part) straighter arms which tends to produce a lower arcing ball. This is because the arms are going up a less steep slope.

He is very top hand dominant in his stroke (which probably accounts for the firmer tophand). So he will turn the racquet up the back of the ball with this tophand/forearm for topspin.

YK does put topspin on the ball which is very evident when you watch it in slow motion on film. His tophand drives up and through the shot with it pronating up and over. But his arms clearly bring the racquet through the ball and extend.

So although his shot is not loopy, he does put a good amount of topspin on the ball.

YK's twohander is very simple. I think his type of swing promotes clean contact and going through the ball more than other types of twohanders were the elbows tend to break more in their swing which also allows the racquet to go over their shoulders (like throwing a sack of potatoes over your shoulders).

YK's finish is definetly on the classic style. He has a Yandell/Braden style finish with the hands in front (more on the right side front), extending out in front of the body, and the racquet tip pointing up (like someone marching with a flag in front). He has a very straight forward (and powerful) twohander.

The major difference with Safin and YK is Safin tends to have a much shorter and lower backswing and tends to finish near the right shoulder. His bottom hand arm is more bent as he finishes which allows Safin to bring the racquet over toward his right shoulder. YK tends to have a higher backswing and finishes with both arms relatively straight. This is why he finishes out more towards the target.

Bottom-line, both have very strong backhands. Both are very tophand dominant. Each have their preferences in swing style.

 

[panatta]

Great post, Bungalo. You described with a few sentences what I've studied watching Kaf backhand frame by frame, except for the topspin: I have only very close clips of Yevgeny and I couldn't see clearly the ball (and notice if it had spin or not).
I appreciate very much all your posts, Bungalo, so I have no doubt now that Kafelnikov hits with some topspin.
You're right also when you say that is a very simple stroke: I've decided to try to imitate it only 2-3 weeks ago, and I can already say that now I'm stronger on that side. It took me only a few hours of practice to reach a similar swing.
I also appreciated very much your comments on tennisplayer.net. It's great to read all your comments, Bill..
Thank you

 

[Bungalo Bill]

Great post, Bungalo. You described with a few sentences what I've studied watching Kaf backhand frame by frame, except for the topspin: I have only very close clips of Yevgeny and I couldn't see clearly the ball (and notice if it had spin or not).
I appreciate very much all your posts, Bungalo, so I have no doubt now that Kafelnikov hits with some topspin.
You're right also when you say that is a very simple stroke: I've decided to try to imitate it only 2-3 weeks ago, and I can already say that now I'm stronger on that side. It took me only a few hours of practice to reach a similar swing.
I also appreciated very much your comments on tennisplayer.net. It's great to read all your comments, Bill..
Thank you

Thanks I appreciate your comments! I hope it helps you get the twohander you have always wanted.