Why I've chosen the slice backhand

aceX

aceX

Hall of Fame
Okay, so I've decided while playing today that I'm going to make my bread-and-butter, go-to backhand my slice backhand.

I started off with a two-hander, and then decided to go one-hand for a while to develop 'feeling' with my right (it worked actually). The slice always felt great and felt very 'natural' contrasted against my one-hand top-spin backhand which took a lot of work to get right.

Anyway so I've chosen the slice backhand, here's why:
  • It doesn't break down.
  • It's great for reaching.
  • I can get it deep.
  • Even though the deep ones float, it lands with little pace so if they want to try and hit a winner off it they'll have nadal-like pace generation skills.
  • Floaters tend to side-spin off the ground, throwing off efforts to tee-off on them.
  • I can consistently get them deep to the backhand, which often need to be sliced by my opponent.
  • Even if my slice lands short, it has a low bounce which makes it hard to capitalise on its shortness.
  • I've kind of come to realise the futility of low-% tennis at recreational and low club level. I don't need to hit a winner on my backhand. I feel like I can go far just by defending my backhand.
  • The float that the slice has gives me time to re-position after defending.

Please post any comments you have about this idea. How could my slice backhand be attacked? How could I defend against such attacks?
 
Players approaching the net will eat your slices for lunch.

Other than that, it is a high-percentage play for recreational/low-club levels. Not many people have the guts to admit that they would play better without what they call "topspin backhands".

In my case, I do not care about playing better, I enjoy doing the right things at the right time, being multi-dimensional and versatile. So I need all the shots there are, including backhand overhead smash and the tweener. So I cannot throw away my 1HBH, even if I cannot generate formidable spin and pace off that wing.
 
I was thinking about approach shots too.

If I was forced to hit a passing shot or a lob on my backhand, even if I was set up, I would probably feel most comfortable still doing a slice.

I guess that would be the main threat, approach shots. I gotta make sure I keep an eye on my opponent approaching on a deep backhand.

I think my best reply would be a down-the-line backhand slice; which to be honest I think I can control reasonably well. Otherwise I can just do a real floater of a lob.

I know what you mean about doing 'the right things at the right time', maybe I'm a little bitter about losing to a moonballer in doubles the other week.

When warming up, I thought "my groundstrokes are superior to his", because lets face it, he couldn't hit a forehand or backhand with any pace at all. We lost the first set 6-1 or 6-2 =/. It felt bad to lose to someone with such ugly strokes and I told myself that I would rather play 'properly' than win lamely, but I don't know if I believe that TBH.
 
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I guess when I get right down to it, I'm playing tennis to
1. Have fun
2. Be social
3. Get exercise
etc

I may revise my plan later on and include a top-spin BH, but I'm gonna stick with this plan for the moment and see how it goes. I think I'm going to have less *screams in frustration* moments sticking with this plan for now, which will make my tennis less annoying and more fun which fits with my goal.

But I think: Right now I'm at a low level, I'm losing most of my points from errors. It makes sense to focus on playing high-% tennis first and then working my way up to more pace.
 
I couldn't hit a topspin backhand to save my life until I saw these 2 videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/xstf#p/u/12/jW2_dyj6QiM

http://www.youtube.com/user/xstf#p/u/23/tWTPw1l3qIU

I tried to hold the handle firmly, step into the shot, guide the racket with my non-hitting arm, keep the 90 angle, follow-through to the skies and counterbalance with my non-hitting arm. I tried to groove the stroke against a wall and it ended up slower but more reliable compared to my wristy open-stance forehand. When I get to hit a backhand winner down-the-line, it is extremely rewarding. It is pure sex. )

With my backhand improved, my hitting buddy stopped using his topspin 1HBHs completely (since it was leaking too many errors) and switched to the "slice only" mode. I must say, he became a virtual wall after that. I lost a set or two because I kept losing patience trying to hit winners off his sliced sitters, and my middle-court putaway game sucks in general.

However, I do feel that beating that game 0 and 0 is a matter of reaching the strong 4.0 level. After that, his slice will become a liability. The majority of recreational players are not strong 4.0s, so I do not think he cares.
 
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Thinking about someone hitting to my backhand and approaching the net actually sounds exciting. Thinking about that... it's like we might start playing "real" tennis!

Part of the problem for me is that I'm 6 foot 7 and my strike zone for a 1 or 2 handed backhand is quite high up. Also, I play most of my tennis on artificial grass and often jump into doubles where they're using fairly flat balls. All of this is a long way of saying that I have to hit most of my backhands below my knee.

I realised today that I can actually get good pace of all things off my slice by pushing the ball more and dropping the raquet head a bit less.

I actually think that if my biggest worry about going all-slice is that people might approach on it, I think I'll actually still be ahead. My backhand is a liability as it is. The number of errors I can save by taking this approach is likely to be above the number of winners my opponent would get at the net. At the very worst I can make my opponent play the volley and see how he manages to put it away.
 
You can attack with the slice backhand. My coach loves to use this to move people around and set up his forehand. It's not something you can hit winners on, but more of a support shot for a big forehand/net game. That's just him though, i haven't seen many other players able to use the slice as effectively as he does in real life. He has a 1hbh to cover his slices weakness's though.

You can surely make it through recreation tennis with a decent slice, but if you want to get better than that you'll want to start hitting bh's too.

Weakness's of slice are people who come up to net, and when hammered by deep balls consecutively. Also good opponents will find it easy to get on the offense if you float slices, although can have a hard time hitting winners.
 
at lower level tennis anything thaqt brings consistency into the picture is a big plus. as you get better you cant "just get it back" because non forcing balls will ultimately give the upper level players opportunities to control the point. ie they will know you can not hurt them from the backhand side so you will never see a forehand . or you will see a forehand to open up the backhand side then have to defend from there.
in doubles if all your bh returns are slices the net man will start to poach like crazy due to the slower pace of the shot
 
aceX said:
I guess when I get right down to it, I'm playing tennis to
1. Have fun
2. Be social
3. Get exercise
etc

I may revise my plan later on and include a top-spin BH, but I'm gonna stick with this plan for the moment and see how it goes. I think I'm going to have less *screams in frustration* moments sticking with this plan for now, which will make my tennis less annoying and more fun which fits with my goal.

But I think: Right now I'm at a low level, I'm losing most of my points from errors. It makes sense to focus on playing high-% tennis first and then working my way up to more pace.
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First, I can see you are in need of a serious attitude adjustment. Fun? Social? Exercise? Are you nuts? Unless burying my racquet in your forehead is what you consider fun and social. I don't play tennis for exercise, I excercise to play tennis. Tennis is war! It's one on one, you and him, your physical, mental, emotional, tactical toughness against his. The winner is better than the loser. It's personal. I dont' care who's on the other side is, once you step on the court, my singular goal is YOUR PERSONAL DESTRUCTION! OK!

Now that we've properly redirected your focus, a 1hb slice is probably the most reliable and versatile shot you can have. The only situation I've found where a slice bh isn't an optimal choice is passing shots. It can be done successfully, especially if you can flatten it out and drive it, or treat it like a drop shot and dink it at your opponent's feet. But, IMHO, a hard, dipping topspin is going to be more effective passing shot in the long run.
 
I think having a good 1HBH slice is nice. I have to say, I do not enjoy playing doubles with people who *only* can hit slice off of their BH.

Let's face it. A lot of people who slice do not have a good, biting slice. Their slice floats. And when their slice floats, the person who gets to eat a tennis ball at net is me.

Second, a lot of people who slice are good at taking it crosscourt, but not so good at taking it DTL.

Third, a lot of people who slice will slice short. They get murdered when someone S&Vs, because it is easy to approach off of that ball if you are already on your way in. Then my slicing partner is pinned at the baseline with two opponents at net and is trying to slice her BH? Yikes. Heaven help us when my partner tries to hit a 1HBH slice lob. Good luck with that.

Even in singles, I like playing someone who only slices their BH. I get a lot of short balls. Because I know that shot will likely be short and/or slow, I can start moving in early. And if it is short, I can just dink it back over the net for a drop shot winner -- no need to try to punish it.

I guess all I'm saying is that having no variety on the BH side is not an asset. Better, I think, is having good topspin for offensive lobs and dipping passing shots while also having a 1HBH slice for whenever that shot is most appropriate. I hate playing people who have both weapons at their disposal.
 
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aceX said:
Okay, so I've decided while playing today that I'm going to make my bread-and-butter, go-to backhand my slice backhand.

I started off with a two-hander, and then decided to go one-hand for a while to develop 'feeling' with my right (it worked actually). The slice always felt great and felt very 'natural' contrasted against my one-hand top-spin backhand which took a lot of work to get right.

Anyway so I've chosen the slice backhand, here's why:
  • It doesn't break down.
  • It's great for reaching.
  • I can get it deep.
  • Even though the deep ones float, it lands with little pace so if they want to try and hit a winner off it they'll have nadal-like pace generation skills.
  • Floaters tend to side-spin off the ground, throwing off efforts to tee-off on them.
  • I can consistently get them deep to the backhand, which often need to be sliced by my opponent.
  • Even if my slice lands short, it has a low bounce which makes it hard to capitalise on its shortness.
  • I've kind of come to realise the futility of low-% tennis at recreational and low club level. I don't need to hit a winner on my backhand. I feel like I can go far just by defending my backhand.
  • The float that the slice has gives me time to re-position after defending.

Please post any comments you have about this idea. How could my slice backhand be attacked? How could I defend against such attacks?
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Your slice backhand, if it's good, won't be easily attacked. It can be predicted and players can come in after their shot if you don't possess the ability to hit a drive backhand. Slicing most of your backhands WILL frustrate people though. A lot of Open-level players really play best when they get balls with solid pace. When you give them off-speed balls, you take most of them out of their comfort zone. It's hard to hit clean winners with a slice backhand, but this gives you quite a bit of versatility if this is your rally backhand. Your main weapons would be:

1. The cross-court slice. This will be a pain for lots of upper-level players because the higher level the tournament or competition is, the more 2HBHs you see. 2HBH players can't do anything with a slice but slice it back, really.

2. The well-placed chip. If you see your opponent favoring a corner of the court, hit a short slice that lands about the service line to the opposite side. This probably nets me about 5-6 clean winners a match alone, and gets many more misses/weak replies.

3. The drop shot. If you slice every rally backhand, then this just becomes easier to do. Your opponent will be less suspicious of you setting up in the slice position, use this opportunity to hit a drop shot. Because you're slicing every ball, hitting a clean winner with this will be a lot harder just because your opponent will play closer to the court on your backhand side, but this presents another opportunity, the slice lob backhand. This shot is very easy to execute, even more so in tough positions, is very effective, and opponents often let it go, but as long as you don't hit it hard, will land in near the baseline.

4. The approach shot. Sometimes that slice skids so much that your opponent has no choice but to give you a floater down the middle just to stay in the point. This happens way more than you think.

5. Bring people to the net on your terms. If you see them behind the baseline, hit a chip on the service line. Now they either come to the net and are likely in a defensive position or are going back and you can either drop shot or hit a hard deep shot and make them hit a ball at their feet off-balance.

If you want to be a counterpuncher or an all-court player, this is a good way to go, but it's far from the baseline basher's ideal backhand. It can be passable if you just wanna play big serve/big forehand tennis, but you'd be better off with a flat and topspin backhand here. The only real ways a good slice can be attacked is if it's predicted. If you hit nothing but deep slices on EVERY backhand, people will jump on that. They will hit a ball to your backhand and come in on it. This is why slice lobs are important because you setup just like a normal backhand but push it a little more and don't really hit it. If you do this and have a QUALITY slice, then you shouldn't get too many offensive shots back. If you float them and they land more than a foot off the ground, all bets are off :D
 
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^ You forgot to mention the deep DTL BH slice that sets up the next shot for a forehand, which is the OP's strength. I would consider this the most important of the BH slice shots, if this is the only BH shot in one's repertoire. It could be a pretty offensive shot, especially if it's tailing away from the opponent.
 
Limpinhitter said:
First, I can see you are in need of a serious attitude adjustment. Fun? Social? Exercise? Are you nuts? Unless burying my racquet in your forehead is what you consider fun and social. I don't play tennis for exercise, I excercise to play tennis. Tennis is war! It's one on one, you and him, your physical, mental, emotional, tactical toughness against his. The winner is better than the loser. It's personal. I dont' care who's on the other side is, once you step on the court, my singular goal is YOUR PERSONAL DESTRUCTION! OK!

Now that we've properly redirected your focus, a 1hb slice is probably the most reliable and versatile shot you can have. The only situation I've found where a slice bh isn't an optimal choice is passing shots. It can be done successfully, especially if you can flatten it out and drive it, or treat it like a drop shot and dink it at your opponent's feet. But, IMHO, a hard, dipping topspin is going to be more effective passing shot in the long run.
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Haha you stick to that attitude and I'll stick to mine. I'll be the one pushing for hours and you'll be the one screaming and carrying on like Johnny Mac. Haha seriously though I'm never going to be pro, so I like to focus on enjoying it, life's too short to get too serious about it.

I can actually drive it reasonably well and get good pace off it. I'll work on lobs and passing shots especially to cover this weakness.
 
Falloutjr said:
Your slice backhand, if it's good, won't be easily attacked. It can be predicted and players can come in after their shot if you don't possess the ability to hit a drive backhand. Slicing most of your backhands WILL frustrate people though. A lot of Open-level players really play best when they get balls with solid pace. When you give them off-speed balls, you take most of them out of their comfort zone. It's hard to hit clean winners with a slice backhand, but this gives you quite a bit of versatility if this is your rally backhand. Your main weapons would be:

1. The cross-court slice. This will be a pain for lots of upper-level players because the higher level the tournament or competition is, the more 2HBHs you see. 2HBH players can't do anything with a slice but slice it back, really.

2. The well-placed chip. If you see your opponent favoring a corner of the court, hit a short slice that lands about the service line to the opposite side. This probably nets me about 5-6 clean winners a match alone, and gets many more misses/weak replies.

3. The drop shot. If you slice every rally backhand, then this just becomes easier to do. Your opponent will be less suspicious of you setting up in the slice position, use this opportunity to hit a drop shot. Because you're slicing every ball, hitting a clean winner with this will be a lot harder just because your opponent will play closer to the court on your backhand side, but this presents another opportunity, the slice lob backhand. This shot is very easy to execute, even more so in tough positions, is very effective, and opponents often let it go, but as long as you don't hit it hard, will land in near the baseline.

4. The approach shot. Sometimes that slice skids so much that your opponent has no choice but to give you a floater down the middle just to stay in the point. This happens way more than you think.

5. Bring people to the net on your terms. If you see them behind the baseline, hit a chip on the service line. Now they either come to the net and are likely in a defensive position or are going back and you can either drop shot or hit a hard deep shot and make them hit a ball at their feet off-balance.

If you want to be a counterpuncher or an all-court player, this is a good way to go, but it's far from the baseline basher's ideal backhand. It can be passable if you just wanna play big serve/big forehand tennis, but you'd be better off with a flat and topspin backhand here. The only real ways a good slice can be attacked is if it's predicted. If you hit nothing but deep slices on EVERY backhand, people will jump on that. They will hit a ball to your backhand and come in on it. This is why slice lobs are important because you setup just like a normal backhand but push it a little more and don't really hit it. If you do this and have a QUALITY slice, then you shouldn't get too many offensive shots back. If you float them and they land more than a foot off the ground, all bets are off :D
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These are all fantastic reasons why a BH slice is going to be my "Plan-A" for now. I'm gonna print off this post and remind myself to work on these exact things.
 
i like the slice too. Especially with these Spin oriented Polys. Only problem is after a while i start to cut too much underneath the ball and the Slice starts to Float too much. How do you guys avoid this problem ?????????
 
aceX said:
These are all fantastic reasons why a BH slice is going to be my "Plan-A" for now. I'm gonna print off this post and remind myself to work on these exact things.
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Yeah, I always tell people hitting the slice lob backhand is my favorite shot. It's so fun to hit and every time I do it puts a big grin on my face :twisted: slice lobs are effective because the ball falls differently from topspin balls, is extremely easy to hit, especially on defense, and and it's almost impossible to hit short.

But yeah, your slice has to be good to not be a weakness, but for someone like me who doesn't try to beat you with power, but with variety and pinpoint your weaknesses and hammer them, it's bliss. I played in two open-level matches today, the first guy I played got completely dismantled by the spins I gave him. The second guy didn't have problems with it, but he was far from attacking it. I mean, it worked for Steffi Graf, right? :)
 
Fedace said:
i like the slice too. Especially with these Spin oriented Polys. Only problem is after a while i start to cut too much underneath the ball and the Slice starts to Float too much. How do you guys avoid this problem ?????????
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I open my racquet face just a little bit more and slice down more. This gives me solid net clearance (at least a couple feet) and it helps me to not drive through the ball too much. I don't use a driving slice, I use sort of a chop that really puts a lot of spin on the ball without much pace (if you're hitting a slice from the baseline, pace is probably the last thing on your mind, though). Opening your racquet face doesn't sound like it works, but if you put enough spin on it, it doesn't come off the ground at all.
 
Fedace said:
i like the slice too. Especially with these Spin oriented Polys. Only problem is after a while i start to cut too much underneath the ball and the Slice starts to Float too much. How do you guys avoid this problem ?????????
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Less racquet drop and more push?

I find it relatively easy to hit a slice at almost any height I want. I feel the slice is one I'm 'naturally' good at unlike most of my tennis!
 
In my book, opponents attack the net when I hit a short ball, regardless of the spin I put on it. A backhand slice can easily keep someone pinned in their end if you have a half-decent shot. That's why it's recommended as a solid defensive option - you send it deep to the far end of the court and it's characteristic slower flight gives you more time to get back into position.

While everyone might want to talk about the miraculous topspin passing shots (or even those "dippers") that we should all be hitting against opponents at the net, here's my grain of salt on that one. If you can do that pretty much at will, you're playing in the wrong sandbox.

Any net rusher with half a clue as to how to transition forward well will do it behind an approach shot that's either deep, directed to an opponent's weaker side, or placed into enough of an angle to put that opponent on the run. In each case, it's much harder and less likely that the player in the back court will be able to hit a big bad passing shot. We also need to be able to neutralize a net rusher. No shot does that better from more areas of the court than a low slice.

aceX: I'll bet that somewhere down the road you'll actually be able to learn a topspin one-hander, since the slice backhand seems to come naturally for you now. My affinity for slicing tipped off a teacher I had a while back when I was still in the weeds with my two-hander. He gave me a few cues to help me find the timing and contact point for a one-handed topspin stroke without much fuss. If you can slice, you've already got a lot of the technical pieces to energize the stroke. Learning the earlier timing and gaining the instinct for the "out front" contact point took the most work for me.

I think that the bh slice is a smart choice... a lady named Steffi may agree.
 
Falloutjr said:
I open my racquet face just a little bit more and slice down more. This gives me solid net clearance (at least a couple feet) and it helps me to not drive through the ball too much. I don't use a driving slice, I use sort of a chop that really puts a lot of spin on the ball without much pace (if you're hitting a slice from the baseline, pace is probably the last thing on your mind, though). Opening your racquet face doesn't sound like it works, but if you put enough spin on it, it doesn't come off the ground at all.
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That is exactly my problem. i open my racket face too much sometimes and shot will flote too much with no pace. That is a BAD slice at high levels. good slice is penetrating line drive like shot with good slice spin..
 
Fedace said:
That is exactly my problem. i open my racket face too much sometimes and shot will flote too much with no pace. That is a BAD slice at high levels. good slice is penetrating line drive like shot with good slice spin..
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Well it does penetrate, but I don't hit it long. It lands about 2-3 feet inside the baseline. I get the same effect as a driving slice but with greater net clearance.
 
Fedace said:
That is exactly my problem. i open my racket face too much sometimes and shot will flote too much with no pace. That is a BAD slice at high levels. good slice is penetrating line drive like shot with good slice spin..
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Well what grip are you using? If it's floating with a conti rotate to an eastern backhand.

Try different: grips, amounts of racquet drop, amount of racquet push, amount of follow-through
 
Fedace I completely agree. Those penetrating type of shots are dangerous in most games I play. Makes you bend lower just to get it.
 
Seriously though, that video focuses on slicing a ball which is in your strike zone. If I had a ball sitting up like that I would strike with a 1HBH. The reason I'm sticking to a slice is because I play in conditions where I'm making contact at my knee or below.
 
If you don't hit through the ball at all, your slice is going to float. If I get a ball that high I can hit through the ball while dropping the racquet head maybe a foot. The slice clears the net by a foot or so with good pace.
 
Limpinhitter said:
I don't play tennis for exercise, I excercise to play tennis. Tennis is war! It's one on one, you and him, your physical, mental, emotional, tactical toughness against his. The winner is better than the loser. It's personal. I dont' care who's on the other side is, once you step on the court, my singular goal is YOUR PERSONAL DESTRUCTION! OK!
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I played my first competitive match today and the words above is what I had going through my mind as I entered the court. And it worked very well. I showed no mercy and I won. So, thanks for the tip! :grin:
 
Limpinhitter said:
First, I can see you are in need of a serious attitude adjustment. Fun? Social? Exercise? Are you nuts? Unless burying my racquet in your forehead is what you consider fun and social. I don't play tennis for exercise, I excercise to play tennis. Tennis is war! It's one on one, you and him, your physical, mental, emotional, tactical toughness against his. The winner is better than the loser. It's personal. I dont' care who's on the other side is, once you step on the court, my singular goal is YOUR PERSONAL DESTRUCTION! OK!

Now that we've properly redirected your focus, a 1hb slice is probably the most reliable and versatile shot you can have. The only situation I've found where a slice bh isn't an optimal choice is passing shots. It can be done successfully, especially if you can flatten it out and drive it, or treat it like a drop shot and dink it at your opponent's feet. But, IMHO, a hard, dipping topspin is going to be more effective passing shot in the long run.
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Imagine if this guy ever makes it out of the 3.5 league...
 
a slice backhand is nice to have as part of the repertoire but i'm not sure it should replace the topspin backhand.

can you even hit a slice backhand winner?

shortly after i learned an effective slice backhand, i wanted to use it all the time. i used it a lot. too much. recently during drills my teacher started yelling "TWO HANDS!! DON'T BE LAZY!" i got the point.
 
sn1974 said:
a slice backhand is nice to have as part of the repertoire but i'm not sure it should replace the topspin backhand.

can you even hit a slice backhand winner?

shortly after i learned an effective slice backhand, i wanted to use it all the time. i used it a lot. too much. recently during drills my teacher started yelling "TWO HANDS!! DON'T BE LAZY!" i got the point.
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Drakulie said,,someone told him that you can hit a slice winner at 100 mph.:shock:
 
sn1974 said:
a slice backhand is nice to have as part of the repertoire but i'm not sure it should replace the topspin backhand.

can you even hit a slice backhand winner?
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Yes. Back in the glory days of serve & volleyers with one-handed backhands, it happened all the time (usually down the line).
 
I agree with most everything in the original post, and know that many experts consider Ken Rosewall's slice backhand one of the best tennis strokes ever, and I find a slice backhand easier to hit, BUT--

I feel like it's "cooler" to hit a semi-topsin backhand, and that's generally my first option, when I slice it I feel kind of like I've had to "give in." Sometimes I wonder if I used the slice more and learned to hit it better I could solve some of the floaty-easy-to-volley problem and generally feel better about it. Maybe someday when I grow up.
 
Fedace said:
i like the slice too. Especially with these Spin oriented Polys. Only problem is after a while i start to cut too much underneath the ball and the Slice starts to Float too much. How do you guys avoid this problem ?????????
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Make sure your wrist is locked like a volley. I had the same problem..still do sometimes, but it has gotten a lot better.

The slice backhand is awesome. It keeps you in points and keeps the ball low. It also helps you deal with oppoents who send it to your backhand. If I get a slice sent to my backhand that is well done and low bouncing, I slice it back until I get one I can wrap my 2 hander around.

And to add, another thing that is good about it is if you hit with heavy topspin from your forehand. Being able to throw a completely opposite moving ball at your opponent keeps them off rthymn.
 
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Power Player said:
Make sure your wrist is locked like a volley. I had the same problem..still do sometimes, but it has gotten a lot better.

The slice backhand is awesome. It keeps you in points and keeps the ball low. It also helps you deal with oppoents who send it to your backhand. If I get a slice sent to my backhand that is well done and low bouncing, I slice it back until I get one I can wrap my 2 hander around.

And to add, another thing that is good about it is if you hit with heavy topspin from your forehand. Being able to throw a completely opposite moving ball at your opponent keeps them off rthymn.
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Not bad. wrist is locked, transfer your weight into the shot, contact slightly in front of the knee. not bad
 
The level I'm at, winners aren't the main focus, it's minimising my own and forcing the opponent's errors.

I've been able to force some errors using my slice lately a couple of ways:

slicing deep to the forehand with side-spin to throw off opponents balance

slicing deep to backhand where opponent needs to almost half-volley it, drawing errors off the backhand that way

slicing low-clearance shots that skid off the court awkwardly
 
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I like the slice backhand for keeping the ball low and the action you can get from it. I'm starting to use slice on the forehand for the same reason. It is easier to keep the ball out of the strike zone.
 
Blake0 said:
You can attack with the slice backhand. My coach loves to use this to move people around and set up his forehand. It's not something you can hit winners on, but more of a support shot for a big forehand/net game. That's just him though, i haven't seen many other players able to use the slice as effectively as he does in real life. He has a 1hbh to cover his slices weakness's though.

You can surely make it through recreation tennis with a decent slice, but if you want to get better than that you'll want to start hitting bh's too.

Weakness's of slice are people who come up to net, and when hammered by deep balls consecutively. Also good opponents will find it easy to get on the offense if you float slices, although can have a hard time hitting winners.
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True dat, check out Gonzo, hes the perfect example of this! Slice, slice, slice, huge forehand winner!
 
mozzer said:
True dat, check out Gonzo, hes the perfect example of this! Slice, slice, slice, huge forehand winner!
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Yes now I'm worrying less about my backhand and just using it to move my opponent and try a force a shot ball to crack a forehand on.
 
jswinf said:
many experts consider Ken Rosewall's slice backhand one of the best tennis strokes ever

I certainly agree with that. Years ago I attended a match between Rosewall and John Newcombe, one of the best serve and volley players at that time. I was amazed how many times Rosewall hit passing shot winners with that slice backhand of his. But, Rosewall's backhand wasn't your typical slice backhand. It was not a slow defensive stroke, it was a hard-struck offensive weapon. BTW, Rosewall won the match.
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I'm dedicating my win in the first round of my local club champs to my slice backhand.

When returning serve, I had slices landing on the baseline.

During points, I had slices going deep to the opponents BH, drawing errors. Also I had pacey slices skidding effectively off the turf.

I was approached 3 times on my backhand. One I sliced down the line but missed it wide by a few inches. The other two I sliced crosscourt, one he volleyed okay and I missed the reply. The other one I sliced crosscourt he failed on the volley. Even though I was winning my opponent commented that I needed a lob in my game. I simply agreed with his wisdom and proceeded to slice my way to a win.

The thing I'm liking most about the slice is that I can slice the return of serve. I could never get set up in time to 1HBH a return and my 2HBH always seemed to get jammed.

If this were an infomercial, I'd be saying "Thank you, Slice for saving my game!"
 
aceX said:
I'm dedicating my win in the first round of my local club champs to my slice backhand.

When returning serve, I had slices landing on the baseline.

During points, I had slices going deep to the opponents BH, drawing errors. Also I had pacey slices skidding effectively off the turf.

I was approached 3 times on my backhand. One I sliced down the line but missed it wide by a few inches. The other two I sliced crosscourt, one he volleyed okay and I missed the reply. The other one I sliced crosscourt he failed on the volley. Even though I was winning my opponent commented that I needed a lob in my game. I simply agreed with his wisdom and proceeded to slice my way to a win.

The thing I'm liking most about the slice is that I can slice the return of serve. I could never get set up in time to 1HBH a return and my 2HBH always seemed to get jammed.

If this were an infomercial, I'd be saying "Thank you, Slice for saving my game!"
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What did I tell you about the backhand slice lob? :mrgreen: Just open up your racquet face and pop the ball up deep. Simplest lob in the world to execute.
 
Fedace said:
That is exactly my problem. i open my racket face too much sometimes and shot will flote too much with no pace. That is a BAD slice at high levels. good slice is penetrating line drive like shot with good slice spin..
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Check out the comparison of Rosewall's vs. Federer's backhands. "The photos that follow contrast a relatively flat underspin drive with a heavily underspin backhand slice. The racquet paths are dramatically different, the intention of the shots are different, and the position of the head from Rosewall to Federer is different."

http://www.tenniscruz.com/content/view/27/27/
 
SoBad said:
Don't be lazy, you need both, slice is good to have but you need topspin backhand to compete.
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there are players at every level of the game who are competing and winning with either nothing but slice backhands or primarily slice backhands.
 
Falloutjr said:
What did I tell you about the backhand slice lob? :mrgreen: Just open up your racquet face and pop the ball up deep. Simplest lob in the world to execute.
Click to expand...

Yes you're absolutely right. I haven't had a chance to get comfortable with the lob and so in the heat of battle I went with what I knew. I think if he came to the net again, though, I would have pulled one out.
 
Had a good session at the wall. The slices are really popping. Having decided to slice, I've found myself seeing the advantage of pushing.

For one thing, I could be the fittest guy at my club although definitely not the most skilled in terms of tennis. I tend to be real low-key on court, head down a lot of the time just doing my thing. This 'unflappable' demeaner is good for a pusher. The next thing is that by pushing I'm saying to the other guy, 'either you're gonna have to out-push me or you're gonna have to hit through me'. In the previous match I played this is pretty much what happened. Although my opponent got on a hot streak for a few games where his low-% shots were landing in and I was making more UEs; in the end I won because I had fewer errors - I think at low club level tennis this is what decides matches.
 
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