Using wrist in 2HBH for sharper angle crosscourt shots?

[Texas T. Pug]

I've noticed something recently returning wide serves in the Ad court: if I push the wrist of my tophand forward and lock it before contact with a abbreviated 2HBH swing, I can hit some pretty sharp crosscourt returns, some even land within the service box on the other side, with a little sidespin going out. And my wrist feels just fine.

I've searched in the stickys and the forum, but haven't seen it discussed in depth in any thread. So my questions are:

1. Is this a normal thing for a 2HBH, pushing your top wrist forward, to hit sharper angle crosscourt shot? And at the same time disguise your intentions, because it'll be hard for your opponent to read it.

2. What about forcing your top wrist back (haven't tried it), so that you get more angle on an inside-out 2HBH swing?

FYI, my tophand (left) is Eastern forehand grip with the bottom being Continental. My normal 2HBH is hit with the tophand wrist laid back and bottom straight. And I can hit the 2 hander with pace and control.

 

[joe1987]

Yup, just flick the racket a little bit using your wrist.

 

[Texas T. Pug]

Joe,

I'm not talking about flipping both wrists like when you flick a wristy 2HBH shot. What I did was more like holding the top wrist in a forward position, locked actually, through the forward swing and contact.

One thing I forgot to mention that was different from my normal 2 hander when I did this: I found out that I had to release my bottom hand early in the follow through. Otherwise, the bottom wrist will get jammed if I swing fast. Whereas on a normal 2 hander swing, with my top wrist laid back, I finish the follow through with both of my hands on the grip over my right shoulder.

 

[joe1987]

oh ok I get it. I only do that when blocking back shots to give some added stability but on the rest I just hit the normal backhand.

 

[babar]

It seems like you have just changed the contact point of your shot to meet the ball earlier and create an angled return. I hit the same shot but with an exagerated low-to-high wrist flick which creates spin and angle. I can get the shot to land at least half-way up the service box usually. The key for me is to control the swing and not just try to crack the shot. I have to slow my swing speed down to be able to hit it right. As long as it does not hurt your wrist, try to incorporate a little bit of wrist into the shot and see if you can get even more angle. Good luck.