Two Handed Off Both Sides-The Next Revolution in Tennis

[BillyIdol]

I remember seeing Monica Seles in the late 80's and early 90's hitting some of the most vicious, flat, angular shots that I ever saw in my whole life. When I saw her hit with 2 hands off of both sides, I said to myself, "This is it! I have seen the future of tennis, and this is it! The first revolution was the 2 handed backhand, and the second revolution will be the 2 handed forehand and hitting with 2 hands off of both sides!" BUT for the most part it didn't happen. I wonder why? I had always been looking for a book that would show me how to hit with both hands off both sides, and I found it ("Tennis Mastery: Advance beyond the 3.5 level and never look back by David Smith). I learned a 2 hand backhand in 3 weeks from this book. Then I started to experiment with the 2 hand forehand (due to a wrist injury-Hey, it beats sitting at home and watching TV!). Then I started to hit with 2 hands off of both sides, and I started to visualize and hit a few of these incredible angles that Seles hit! It was incredible! I am only going to get better with it!

I know that Jan Michael Gambill, Monica Seles, Pancho Segura, Gene Mayer, Fabrice Santore, and Marion Bartoli hit with two hands off both sides! So, does anyone have experience with hitting with 2 hands off both sides? Does hitting with 2 hands off both sides have a future in recreational, adult tournament, and pro tennis? Any thoughts?

John

 

[TwistServe]

When you're too weak to swing the racquet with one hand, you should use two.

 

[tennisnj]

I've been doing it for 15 years, earned me a first singles spot on my HS tennis team, walked-on @ a D1 tennis team, played on 5.0 USTA teams & got me certified as a tennis instructor. All b/c when I was first getting lessons from my father, my body wouldn't move & swing properly one-handed. For some reason I just wasn't strong or coordinated enough. Will I teach it? Absolutely not, however. I feel if a player really wants to improve & compete @ the highest level (I feel I'm more of an exception, not a norm), they need to be playing 1 handed on @ least one side. A new revolution? Nah I don't think so. Over the years, however, because of my ambidexterity, I've learned to hit one handed consistently from both sides, but when it all comes down to it, I'm @ my most confident swinging like Seles or Gambill.

Oh & Let's not forget Raemon Sluiter from the Netherlands, another 2 handed on both sides!

 

[Mahboob Khan]

I can imagine that 2-handed FH and BH can be used in the following situations:

1. When you start too young say 4 years old!

2. If you have an injury;

3. If you are too weak to hit with 1 hand.

4. If you are obsessed with someone who used to play with 2 hands off both sides.

Hitting ground strokes with two hands on the handle severely restricts your reach and movement. Experiment the following:

-- Have someone tie or handcuff your hands, and sprint. Record the sprint time.

-- Remove the handcuff and sprint with free hands. Record the sprint time.

Compare the two timings and note the difference, if any. Which will be fastest?

 

[johnmcc516]

I personally think One handed FH and One handed BH are the best weapons.

 

[TommyGun]

First, Segura hit two handed only on the FOREHAND! But he was a prominent two hander...

Two hands off both sides has been around since the dawn of tennis. Back in the '20s there was an Aussie who had two hands off both sides (darn my brain ain't working today), you had Frew McMillan, Gene Mayer, then Seles, Gambill and Santoro. If it works for you its great...if not, great!

What i see as the future is someone who can hit both one handed and two handed shots as well off both wings. That has never happened yet...

 

[splink779]

The future of tennis is having two forehands and no backhand. I can't wait to see a pro pull this off in the future.

 

[TommyGun]

There are already at least two players on tour (one guy one gal I seem to remember) who use this approach, although neither of them are really that good. Wish I could remember the names...

 

[Tennis_baller]

The number one 12 year old in my state hits two hands on both sides. Of course hes only 12, and its only state. He's good though.

 

[tennisnj]

TommyGun, the player you're referring to, I believe it is Lena Krasnoroutskaya from Russia. I think she chokes up on the grip for her righty forehand, and hits her backhand lefty @ the bottom of the handle. But don't quote me on any of this information, it's just someone I vaguely remember seeing @ the Open one year.

 

[erik-the-red]

I think the reason why Connors and Seles played with two-hands off both sides is because they started playing at such a young age with thirteen ounce wooden racquets.

They got proficient with their double-handed strokes and never felt the need to change.

 

[dct5]

long ago and just plain long ago

I'm around Connors age, and I too started at 4 or 5. They didn't have kid sized rackets. My dad chopped the end off a wooden racket. I was still a skinny shrimp when I started swinging a full size racket, and it took both hands to do it! I kept a double back handed through early teens, before I went single handed.

Now I envy that crazy topspin of young'ns, and my flat forehand is etched in soapstone: too hard to change without messing up my forehand altogether.
To add the newfangled topspin to my game, I'm thinking of doing it as a double - handed forehand, at least to start. The fun never stops!

 

[kevhen]

This winter I played against a 2-hander forehand woman who was a former top D1 college player and as expected she had a lot of control and consistency with her forehand. You give up some reach and power with it, but you gain control and consistency. Don't think many pro men would win on a fast surface with a 2 hand forehand but at the rec level and on slower courts, it's a viable alternative. Hitting a two hand forehand feels uncomfortable for me so I haven't given it much practice or thought.

 

[Exile]

how bout we just turn our back to the net and use mirrors to play....
or maybe tie our arms down with lead weights and shackles.

Come on, two hands on both sides?
Do you know how restricted you will be during a long(hectic) point?

It's like smoking in a fireworks stand, you just don't do that sort of thing without causing trouble.

 

[FuriousYellow]

The future of tennis is having two forehands and no backhand. I can't wait to see a pro pull this off in the future.

There's are a few old guys I see playing in the park that have both left and right hand forehands. They use these modified racquets that have two handles. They said it's just easier on their bodies than having to do all that twisting.

 

[Mrvile]

I use a 1h forehand and a 2h backhand, sometimes 1h backhand if I need the reach for the save. I doubt that a 2h forehand would do any good, it would severely limit my reach and I don't think I would get any more power (due to the awkwardness) than a single handed forehand.

 

[theace21]

I use to play with a guy that hit 2 handed on both sides. He won dozen of national senior events. Guy was nails on both sides, and so very tough to read his shots. It used to be funny and watch these hot shot juniors go crazy when this guy totally controlled the match...Bottem line - you can have success with hard work, and great fitness...

 

[bdaniels]

Isn't a two handed forehand the same thing as a left handed two handed back hand?

 

[splink779]

Yes. Which means you technically have two backhands. Which makes having two forehands not seem so crazy. Now imagine this - two one handed backhands

 

[SaritaUTHorns]

There are already at least two players on tour (one guy one gal I seem to remember) who use this approach, although neither of them are really that good. Wish I could remember the names...

Is Shuai Peng one of the ones you're talking about? She hits two-handed FH and BH.

 

[Scorch]

it is koulikovskya that hits with 2 one handed forehands - has not served her that well (although I guess she makes a living!)

I have a regular 2 handed back hand and for my forehand I place my left hand (I am right handed) OVER my right hand - my left hand does not touch the grip! I do not know how I started doing it but is works very well for me, which is the whole point really!

There is a web site on this phenomenon and on it there is a list of past and present double double handers:

WTA Tour Players
María Antonia Sánchez Lorenzo
Adriana Serra-Zanetti
Marion Bartoli
Sonya Jeyaseelan
Nana Miyagi
Seda Noorlander
Akiko Morigami
Lea Ghirardi
Arantxa Parra Santonja
Peng Shuai
Rika Hiraki
Akiko Kijimuta
Francesca Lubiani
Megan Miller
Su-Wei Hsieh
Shiho Hisamatsu
Maiko Inoue
Kumiko Iijima
Aiko Nakamura
Sachie Umehara
Ka-Po Tong
Aude Vermoezen
Jewel Peterson
Cory Ann Avants
Alexandria Liles
Irena Pavlovic (NEW)
Ayumi Morita (NEW)
Lindsey Nelson (NEW)
Zi Yan (NEW)
Olivia Lukaszewicz (NEW)
Vitalia Diatchenko (NEW)
Nicole Thyssen (NEW)
Lucie Hradecká (NEW)
Lourdes Pascual (NEW)
Korina Perkovic (NEW)
Thamara Jonkman (NEW)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATP Tour Players
Jan-Michael Gambill
Fabrice Santoro
Raemon Sluiter
Byron Black
Geoff Grant
Julian Knowle
Jeff Coetzee
Gene Mayer
Frew McMillan
Pancho Segura
Jim Pugh
John Bromwich
Bob Howe
Loic Courteau


for those people who are totally 'against' it as a technique I would say the fact there are so many pro players that have and continue to use 2 hands off both wings for it to be a 'bad' way to play the game.

 

[Bungalo Bill]

Dont know if it will be the next revolution but the minority of players that use twohands on both sides have risen to high levels.

It is not necessarily whether you hit a forehand with one hane or two hands that make one successful, it is your ability to be consistent that moves you up the ladder.

I play with a friend who hits very well off both sides twohanded and is an open player. Very good player. But he does tell me he wishes he learned to hit the forehand with onehand. So whatever that is worth.

 

[raftermania]

haha, I predict the #1 male player in the world 10 years from now will use two one-handed backhands.

 

[Noelle]

Yes... but which hand will he use on volleys and serves? Will he have a double-handed serve?

 

[raftermania]

Hey Noelle, I was just talking to Nostradamus. He said that in the future a revolutionary player will come along who hits the serve very much like the backhand flicking smash we see today.

As for volleys, he will run around all forehand volleys to hit backhands.

If you're curious about the #1 woman 10 years from now I can ask Nostradamus the next time I run into him at Hooters.

 

[SaritaUTHorns]

Hey Noelle, I was just talking to Nostradamus. He said that in the future a revolutionary player will come along who hits the serve very much like the backhand flicking smash we see today.

As for volleys, he will run around all forehand volleys to hit backhands.

If you're curious about the #1 woman 10 years from now I can ask Nostradamus the next time I run into him at Hooters.

HAHA! Yes, please ask him. I'm very curious! Let me know!

 

[TommyGun]

JOHN BROMWICH! Whew, thought I was losing my mind. He is the Aussie from the 1920s I forgot who uses both hands on each wing.

 

[tennissavy]

When I started to play tennis I used 2 hands on both sides basically because my one handed forehand needed more control. That did work but I never won a match against anyone. Next, I learned how to hit a consistent, but not very offensive forehand with one hand and kept the 2 handed backhand. I started to win matches basically because I was in better position to hit without the reach limitation of 2 hands off both wings. Now I can fire penetrating forehands with control and I have an even better record and I can now hit one handed backhands if I am stretched too wide, so the variety is there now. I would recommend not using two hands off both sides. Seles was the last successful player with this style and she might just be the very last. Bartoli, Sanchez-Lorenzo, Gambill probably will not win anything with the limited reach and the pace they have to face will continue to expoit this disadvantage of 2 hands off both sides. It would probably take a player vastly faster than Federer, Coria, Nadal, and Clijsters to make it worthwhile and that is hard to imagine.

 

[raftermania]

HAHA! Yes, please ask him. I'm very curious! Let me know!

Ah, the Roddick chick. I'll show him that pic of yours, it should give old Nostro' some incentive to help us out with some good tennis fortune telling.

 

[Kevo]

I played left handed for a few months in a 3.0 league just to make it interesting. I found that I could hit a pretty convincing forehand and backhand with my off hand, but it was very difficult to retrain my footwork. After all that time, my left handed forehand still didn't have half the pace of my right handed backhand. I think if you were truly an ambidextrous person, like some people who can write with either hand, then you might be able to pull off forehands on both sides. But for us normal folk, there are too many other factors that prevent us from being as effective as we can be just using our dominant hand.

 

[Camilio Pascual]

for those people who are totally 'against' it as a technique I would say the fact there are so many pro players that have and continue to use 2 hands off both wings for it to be a 'bad' way to play the game.

Those 50 players is an incredibly small list when you consider the thousands of pro tennis players who are around.
I checked the first 16 women on your list to see where they are currently in the top 1300. 7 are not listed.
The rankings of the others are as follows:
87, 212, 33, 246, 74, 75, 519, 377, and 194.

No sale.

 

[Scorch]

What I was trying to get at is that for recreational play it is clearly possible and legit to use the technique successfully - yes a small % of pros use the technique (one or two with massive success I might add) and it is NOT the next revolution in tennis by any means (if I indicated I thought that then it was certainly not intentional). It is just a quirke in tennis - thats one of the things that make me like tennis - the vast differences in style and tactics.

People who generalise and think it is a poor way to play tennis are wrong and imo there is evidence enough to support my opinion fully.

 

[Camilio Pascual]

Scorch - Okay, I see what you're saying, don't count it out as an amateur because even some pros have done it. I agree with you, then. I had the (wrong) impression you were touting it as the next thing in pro tennis.
I agree with what you said in your last post, too. Because many styles work well in the amateur ranks and you like "the vast differences in styles in tactics." Same here, it's what I like best about amateur tennis, certainly not all the flubbed shots we all produce. Take care.

 

[gregraven]

There's one other reason why a player might use two-handed strokes off both sides, and that is to reduce or eliminate tennis elbow. Because of the physics involves, using two hands on the racquet is MUCH better for those with tennis elbow. It would beat giving up tennis!

 

[Scorch]

While I would never expect a coach to promote this technique it does bring up what I think is an interesting subject - how players develop their own style.

I ended up using 2 hands off both sides due to the fact that for the first 4 years of playing tennis I never had any coaching - there was nobody to tell me not to (in fact due to my then sparse knowledge of tennis I thought that loads of players used 2 hands on both sides). After I used the technique for a while I started to learn more about tennis and the pro players and obviously took great interest in Monica Seles once I discovered she played the same (ish) way.

Now Monica had (has??) some of the best groundies in history but it must have taken a huge leap of faith from her father coaching her to let her continue to use the technique instead of changing to a 1 hander. I read that when at Bolletieri's academy (before her father joined her) one of the first things they did was make her change. Bad mistake. Her results were awful and she lost to players she could beat before. Dad moved out to Florida and obviously by then knew how good she was (and could be) by sticking to 2 hands so demanded she switch back to what is really her natural style.

So there is the question: for all the (many) top players who have their individual nuances (or as some might saw technique floors) how were they allowed time to develop them without coaches reading the riot act (tennis text book) and making them 'pure'?

For any coaches out there; when do you leave a kid, or for that matter adult, with their faulty technique? I am guessing you will say 'when it works for them' but how long to you give it to see if it really will work???

 

[tennisToad]

I use two hands from both sides. Basically from to much baseball. I hit a lefty backhand from my dominate right side and a two handed lefty forehand. It works really well for me and from the lessons I've taken I've messed up more than one pro. Not only can you put the ball anywhere you can really dip it or flatten it out all while disguising where you are hitting. Of course my reach is really short and I need to have very quick feet. and returning kick serves two feet behind the service lines has it's drawbacks also. But I'll tell ya in doubles it'll get ya at least a break or two while the other side trys to figure out which is your weaker backhand side...lol Nothing better than getting in the head of all those winning ugly fanatics..

/can't say how many times after a match someone asks me why i serve righthanded and hit left handed...lol I just reply Baseball baby!!

 

[danniflava]

Isn't a two handed forehand the same thing as a left handed two handed back hand?

No. A right-handed two-handed forehand is when the right hand is at the bottom, and the left hand is at the top of the handle. A left-handed two-handed backhand is when the left hand is on the botton and the right hand is on the top of the handle.

 

[Noelle]

A right-handed two-handed forehand is when the right hand is at the bottom, and the left hand is at the top of the handle. A left-handed two-handed backhand is when the left hand is on the botton and the right hand is on the top of the handle.

"I have two hands, the left and the right"

Your post had me crosseyed for a few seconds.

 

[flatpick]

I'm really enjoying this discussion regarding the use of a 2-handed forehand. I started out using a 2-handed forehand (and backhand) then switched to one-handed forehand for greater power. I'm thinking about going back to the 2-handed forehand to accomodate the tennis elbow (TE) that I have developed. What specifications would a racquet have that would be best suited for a two-handed forehand?

I'm pretty sure that my TE is caused by my serving technique - eastern backhand grip, full-extenion of my elbow, and lots of snap in the wrist at full extension. Any suggestions as to how I might change my serve to make it more elbow friendly?

 

[FREDDY]

the number one chick at our school uses the two handed BH and Fh. pretty crazy stuff.

 

[paulfreda]

Billy Idol's original point (sorry I caught this thread so late) was that the the Seles 2 handers could generate wicked angles that simply demolished her opponents in a way not seen before. It was a weapon NEW to tennis.
I have thought about this quite a bit myself. Monica hit a very wristy shot and the FH was nearly a mirror image of the BH; she kept her hands and elbows very close to her body so she was able to easily hit the side of the ball with the topspin needed to keep an angled ball in the court.
I have been waiting for someone to try to duplicate this and possibly earn her/his self a place in the top ten or better with it. But it has not happened.
Recently I saw Marion Bartoli play here in Thailand. I think she has just the right foundation to accomplish this duplication of Monica's technique. But she hits very flat with her dual 2 handers. What is more, she hits her volleys with topspin on both sides. If she would just draw her elbows in and hit with a loop rather than driving thru the ball, she could do it. She is a very tenacious player and I'd love to see the results she would get if she tried it.
I wonder if anyone has suggested it to her yet ??
Anyone know how to get a letter to a WTA or ITF female player ??

Cheers ....

 

[lacoster]

All WTA players in the top 100 that play two handed on both sides cite Monica Seles as their idols: Marion Bartoli, Maria Sanchez-Lorenzo, Akiko Morigami. Most everyone else looked up to Queen two handed backhand, Chris Evert on tour. Now, if Martina Navratilova had inspired more junior girls over the years, then maybe we would be seeing more aggressive serve-volleying on the womens' tour.
________
Bmw 321 history

 

[Scorch]

Martina's style takes much longer to perfect - most juniors are told to play in a way that yields more immediate results, i.e. powerful baseline game

 

[academy4twohandedplayers]

I believe that hitting two handed from bothsides (no grip change) is the future of Tennis,, the serves and return of serves will become more powerful . For a return of serve the fastest motion to return is the turn of the shoulders,

I have a Tennis Academy Sarasota, FL and we specialize in the instruction and coaching of two handed of both sides, we are the first and only academy to do this

 

[paulfreda]

I believe that hitting two handed from bothsides (no grip change) is the future of Tennis,, the serves and return of serves will become more powerful . For a return of serve the fastest motion to return is the turn of the shoulders,

I have a Tennis Academy Sarasota, FL and we specialize in the instruction and coaching of two handed of both sides, we are the first and only academy to do this

Well then teach them to hit angles like Monica could and you just might produce a player that can make Sharapova's expected reign a short one. (apologies to Justine, Lyndsey and Serena)

 

[Indiantwist]

The future i think is with TWO forhands...ppl who can play LEFT and RIGHT handed.
Imagine two SAMPRAS forehands...or two Juan Carlos Ferrero's Forehands..

Players will no longer have Backhands. SO the only real option for opponents is hit high on the Body.

 

[tennisnj]

Hey Academy where were you 15 years ago when I was learning that . You're right about service returns, I'm fully confident in my return of serve that I always follow Brad Gilbert's notion to let your opponent serve first & attempt to break.

Indian Twist, it wasn't long after I learned how to hit 2 handed on both sides that my father taught me how to serve both lefty & righty & then hit w/2 forehands. All in all though I am a much better play 2 handed from both sides.

 

[alan-n]

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The all court game with the ability to finish points at the baseline, net, and everything in between is the 800lb gorilla today. I can't see a player developing the volleying and touch shots to the level that one-handers predominantly excel at for obvious reasons....... as the one-handed slices and drives aren't THAT far off from volleying.

 

[troytennisbum]

I believe that hitting two handed from bothsides (no grip change) is the future of Tennis,, the serves and return of serves will become more powerful . For a return of serve the fastest motion to return is the turn of the shoulders,

I have a Tennis Academy Sarasota, FL and we specialize in the instruction and coaching of two handed of both sides, we are the first and only academy to do this

I disagree.

The most powerfull groundstroke in tennis is the one-handed killer
forehand. This is clearly evident in professional and college tennis
around the world.

I do not think that a 2-handed forehand will ever replace it.

 

[acintya]

what a nice thread, and so old!

let me add something: monica seles DID change grips but she used a regular two handed backhand and forehand with the dominant hand @ bottom! but she has changed the grips when switching between bh and fh.

the future of tennis is either two one handed forehands(maybe with the two handle racquet) or double handed forehand + double handed backhand

monica seles is for me still the most talented player of all men and women. i think she would do much more if wouldt there be that knife attack :evil::evil::evil:

and she would be more popular, more player would try to "copy" her, the double handed forehand would be even more popular.

lets face it in a short, direct way:

the two handed forehand is powerful just like the two handed backhand, or even more. its just downtrodden and needs some attention. there are only few coaches who know, and even less who teach that stroke. the one hander is COOL in a way, and thats why players choose this. When two handed forehand will be more popular there will be a great revolution in tennis.