Have a Question for Me?

[johnyandell]

Great, great question. And wish I had a detailed analysis.

The work we did on the serve spin components was much easier due to the fact the players stand basically in one place and the contact point is also virtually identical.

Once we get out there into the land of groundstroke exchanges...well let's just say the methodology is not in place to make accurate distinctions in the spin components--although we hope to develop it...

Having said that I am certain that Larry was more or less right--and he isn't the first person to say it. Lansdorp did a few years ago. The reverse finishes by Nadal are causing major sidespin so the ball jumps away from a right handers backhand.

Since in all the swings the racket is moving across the line of the shot, sidespin has to be a factor--just look at the way slice bounces, or drop shots.

The wiper action with the face turning over has got to generate sidespin on the groundies as well.

Wish I could say more with confidence.

[jimlosaltos]

Sidespin matter much?

John,

If you already covered this and I missed it, my apologies.

Suggestion: I haven't seen much discussion of sidespin and its effect on groundstrokes from the top pros. I know you go into detail are the top- and sidespin-components of Sampras' serve.

I was inspired to ask this by a quote from, of all people, Larry Ellison. He hit with Rafael Nadal for an hour-and-a-half (it is good to be a billionaire <g>) and what he primarily noted was how it was hard to tell which way Rafa's ball would bounce.

I wonder if that plays a major role in the mishits he gets off his high-bouncing forehands.

I've only heard sidespin discussed in TV analysis in terms of bending a down-the-line shot to get it in. And, in slice backhands, where pros effectively re-set rallies by hitting low sidespin-slice down the line to elicit a cross-court.

Thoughts?

Thank you.
.

[johnyandell]

Ralph,

Personally I don't think so--you will probably get the torso too far ahead. For me what I am looking at is the torso at the turn, the start of the forward swing, and the finish. If those points are right the dots should connect.

if you emphasize simply swinging faster with the hand and racket the body should make the adjustment assuming the above positions are in place.

[ralph]

Speed of Torso Rotation

John,

I have noticed that harder hitters seem to rotate their torsos quicker than players who are not hard hitters particularly off the two hand backhand side. As a coach, is this an aspect that I should be working on? Should I give cues like "turn through the ball faster"?

Ralph

[johnyandell]

Often times if you just feed a ball a little wider you'll see it'll happen without the player even knowing, as it's a natural way to start.

But yeah if the player is struggling put them on video and compare it to a pro or yourself doing the move. Then have the player rehearse it (and the outstep that follows) and visualize it without the ball.

[lobndropshot]

Adult beginner

John,

Do you use video to teach an adult beginner the spilt step? Or do you take another approach? I find that it is a difficult concept for the adult beginner to get.

Thanks,

Patrick

[jryle1]

John,


It appears to me that there is an over-emphasis placed on the backswing in my club in Ireland by a lot of the coaches, especially with younger kids, there's so much focus on the backswing.

Am I correct in saying that the main function of the backswing is to get the racquet into the correct hitting arm position by a certain time and it merely connects the unit turn with the forward swing.

Is it correct to say that each player will develop their own unique backswing style and that the only reason for correcting this would be if it's not fulfilling it's purpose of getting the racquet into the correct hitting arm position at the right time?


Jonathan.

[johnyandell]

Glad you are enjoying the info. I have sent you an email regarding our policies and your request.

John Yandell

[kishnabe]

I have paid for Jan, and Feb. May I have it changed to the whole year for 60 more dollars?

I keep on wanting to read everything in one month but there so much.....might as well get a whole year and read everything little bit at a time.

[johnyandell]

DB,

Probably the time of year. Overall visits are less in Dec Jan and Feb and start to increase in March.

JY

[don_budge]

# of Views...on the Forum

John...why are the number of views significantly lower per reply on the forum than a couple of months ago? If my calculations are correct the average number of views per reply are down to around 15 when they were up around at least 30 a while back.

[johnyandell]

Yep, the top edge of the racket rotates about 180 degrees usually at about the time the tip points at the opponent. Roddick is probably the most extreme or close to it.

[stotty]

Racket Rotation

John, I was reading your Backswings article. In the section called Racket Rotation, is this what mean when you say the racket face is turned upside down?

http://youtu.be/J8WnNsIBlvc

[jryle1]

It definitely depends on the height of the ball. Obviously if you're hitting a lower ball then it would be wiser to stay down and even have that back leg drop down into a kind of lunge position as you see Federer doing sometimes when he hits with the closed stance, however the kick back on a higher ball will help the player to stay balanced when they're contacting the ball so high in the air. That has always been my understanding anyway from looking at David Baileys work on footwork.

[stotty]

Don't ground...take off!

I don't think hitting off your stance...staying grounded...is a good thing to do once players are hitting over a certain pace...it would be counter productive to do so. There has to be some shifting and rising up...energy has to be released.

It might be different for slice, though...as the stroke motion is a downward one...maybe a solid grounding of the feet here.