Have a Question for Me?

[ahile02]

new article by michael friedman

In the Jan 2010 Five fundamentals: swing of the forehand by michael, he says the loading takes place on the right foot (which is what i've read from other articles on here as well as countless other pros), but then goes and says the weight is loaded on the left foot. Any explanation? Kinda confused now....

[johnyandell]

It right! We'll correct!

[uspta4201423750]

agassi book

Hey John,
I'm enjoying the agassi book as a tennis parent/coach. A lot of coaches pretend to know how much your kid should practice, a book like this says what Agassi actually did at young ages. Is there some way I can find out how many other current, top pros trained at young ages? Thanks, HARRY Kingsley

[mcrok]

zvonareva

Hi John,
What do you think of the Zvonareva serve? It seems to me that apart from the fact tha she has some mental issues (the match against Penetta at the Us open) , while serving the movement of the body after contact is more to the side than foreward. I'd like your opinion. I think it's because i feel sorry for her after her match against Azarenka. I remember the piece on Jankovic. Maybe a similar thing could be done for her. They all change serves Dementieva, Henin etc. so why not her. What do you think of some unasked advice?

[johnyandell]

Good idea. We will eventually put her up in the stroke archive and maybe we can go forward from there. But somehow I doubt her coach is an avid reader of Tennisplayer.

[johnyandell]

Harry,
Read the Sampras book it has a lot of similar information.
John Yandell

[ahile02]

Few quick q's about the forehand,

1. From watching videos in the high speed archive, it appears that the shoulders should start to open somewhat before the racquet reaches the bottom of the backswing. Is this correct?

2. After doing some research in the forum, I know you feel the term "kinetic chain" is improperly applied somewhat. I hate to use it, but for lack of a better term, in the kinetic chain are the shoulders opened consciously or if a player "loads and explodes" correctly, the should rotation happens on its own?

I found Jeff Count's articles concerning the double-bend extremely informative. Would you also agree the forehand "swing" is not really a "swing, but a pushing(pulling?) and lifting motion?

[johnyandell]

I think it's a bad idea to try to rotate the shoulders. If the set up at the full turn is correct and you swing through to the extension point that will happen in the right sequence. Seen a lot of people get off the tract trying to intervene in that.

Jeff's description is a great way of looking at it.

[denniskirchoff]

take back on two handed backhand

I have a student whose racquet head on take back in my opinion is too closed. Not much specific emphasis on that, either written or video. I also think it would be helpful if there were a bit more emphasis on point of contact.

Overall, please hear that i think your site is the best out there and very helpful to me as an instructor.

[johnyandell]

Dennis,

Suggest you look at the new forehand series in advanced tennis. It talks specifically about the value or not of closing the racket face in the backswing and there is an entire segment on the contact point. And thanks for the good words.

John Yandell

[jimj1961]

John,

As a new subscriber, I just love the site. Especially helpful for me has been the "double bend" forehand, I just started working on this, and my forehand has improved already. I wonder if the premise isn't a bit similar to the golf swing, where you want to hold the club angle as long as possible. Also, is there any part of the double bend technique that applies to the serve?

Forgive me if that's a dumb question, just coming back to the game after 25 years, and am a 3.0 player.

Thanks again for a great website!

[johnyandell]

I try to stay away from analogies with other sports I don't understand...but as for the serve, try the articles in Advanced Tennis on Federer's serve or the Sampras article on Racket Path in Tour Strokes.

[jimj1961]

Thanks John,

I created a thread for this question but realized I should have posted here.


I'm a 3.0-3.5 player who has been playing a year, after 20+ years off. I've just started working on the double bend forehand during drills, with ball machines, and in friendly matches.

Also, I'm working on the mental aspect of the game as it relates to a Jeff Greenwald article here. The takeaway there for me is to not get wrap up in matches, games, points or each ball, but to take a 30,000 foot view of my game, and where I want to end up. It's hard for me, but I know that approach is the correct one.

My question is...How much should you be working on at a given time? What is realistic, and what is not. I know that it's different for everyone, but I would appreciate a general idea for someone of my level.

[johnyandell]

I think it's hard to take apart more than one stroke at a time. The mental game--that can be pretty much a constant. You have to trust your instincts. If you feel overloaded even if you know what you are trying to work on is correct, then it's too much.

[jimj1961]

Thanks John,

Right now I'm focusing on the non-hitting arm as in your article about Danielle, and the double bend with the hitting arm and wrist. Hopefully, I'll have some video at some point.