Weaponize Your One Handed Backhand

[johnyandell]

Let's get your thoughts on Geoff Williams' new article, "Weaponize Your One Handed Backhand!"

[GeoffWilliams]

I am very happy with this article on the one handed modern back hand. You can see the ball completely flatten out in the sideways clip that John shot. It goes from a normal ball, to a totally crushed ball about 1" wide. Another great editing job. All I can say is wow. John took hours of shooting to get these clips, and a lot of hours of wading through my many drafts. (Sorry about that frustration, John.) The clip that shows the hip rotation is great to illustrate how the hips open up first and "drag" the shot behind. The contact point is like a gladiator shield in front, forming a curved arc. The return is from John's high tech ball machine, which rises up about 10' in the air and can hit a vicious kick serve. (Never seen one of those before.) The ready position for returning a kick serve is higher up than the more relaxed rally position because the height of the incoming ball will be higher at contact point. You can always go from high to a low position, but just try to go from a low to a high position, on a bh kick serve return! So if you know the kick is coming, put your hands up higher than normal. The clips also show that I hit the ball down towards the lower part of the string bed, inbetween the 4th-6th cross down, for more leverage on the shot, and every contact point was identical in that area.

People don't see all the work John does on these pieces, which can take months to develop and edit. This piece will really help any junior or anyone who wants to learn the shot, and is a damn good reason to subscribe to the site.

Another thing, that the wrist stays locked, and if you have time, we invert the bh towards the net, and there is a figure 8 path like an infinity symbol, just as the modern fh is inverted and goes into a windshield wiper figure 8. A study was done on the difference between elite players and open players: the only difference was in how fast they rotated their hips: .093-.124 seconds on average: players in the top 360-400 viciously came out of their coils faster. Form was identical. All other measurements lined up except the hip uncoil speed was that much faster. Makes sense. Great players not only uncoil faster, they unit turn faster, set up faster, wait faster to uncoil faster.

[alexandrafranco]

1 in 2

Unigrip, one grip for both groundstrokes left me to say the least curious and I will be trying this one hand backhand tomorrow. Despite having a two-handed backhand, I've always admired the one handed and maybe this grip change will do it for me but for me the 1 in two article becomes more of a 2 in 1 article, as Geoff's input takes us further into the mental aspect of hitting, defending your contact point and cues on how to play fearless. Another great aspect I found were the images he conveys us, " My hips open up first, just like throwing a Frisbee, or a karate chop", the baseball player " Have you ever seen a baseball player with his batting hands separated in the middle of the bat? Only when he bunts.", and the backpedalling of the football player.I appreciated the analogy with the ATP forehand model(B.Gordon). Overall an article filled with precious information.
Just one question, I don't understand the "wrist is kept locked backwards throughout the stroke. Geoff would you please explain or give me an image of what this is.I guess you mean wrist flexion but doesn't the wrist release to align the racquet to the ball like in the second article of Gordon's forehand?

[GeoffWilliams]

The wrist does not release, just rotates along with the hitting structure, and a large follow through out to the right. Figure 8 occurs only when you have time to invert the frame forward, on a sitter, like many pros do on the fh side, invert towards the net and then go into the wind shield wiper, figure 8, or like Gasquet does but only when you have time to add extra coil by inversion. Everyone is stronger when the wrist is locked back, and Gordon mentions this as well, but does not focus on it as much as I do in this form: contact has to have the locked back wrist for max. force to be applied through the arm bar. He also talks about the arm bar as being more effective on the fh side to transmit the full force of your attacking shot. Less to go wrong when barred, and locked, as when not barred, and not locked, and that's just common sense.

The mental aspect is key to all strokes. Decision is key. Attack mind/defense mind is key. Speed mind. Relaxation mind. It's all a whole thing, not a bunch of chopped up things, when done well. Like a phone number: 5 1 0 or fiveten. Not just for folks with strong wrists, but anyone who wants to learn to kill the shot, has to learn to keep the wrist locked back for as long as possible.

Back pedaling is way faster than shuffle stepping, and the cross step out of the back pedal is just as fast if not faster. There is a reason corner backs never shuffle step, and only back pedal to a cross step out of it.

And not covered in the piece, when on the dead run, the stroke is so simple, that all you have to do is reach back with the frame hand behind you, and stick your shoulder to your chin, as you reach back, and it's possible to nail a winner cross court, even on a low ball tracking away from you at an bad angle, due to the early on the run reach back, you are already coiled and loaded when you arrive, but the folks who use their non dominant arm cannot do this as fast or as well when running flat out for that angled low shot, as you can with the simple reach back. There is less to go wrong with this technique, period, when under pressure. You don't drive your chin to the shoulder, it's the other way around. The right shoulder is driven back due to the frame arm reaching back, into the chin, hence: "Chin it."

Because the wrist is so predictable in its position, locked back, all you have to focus on is the contact point defense: let low balls come into your body more, and go out after the high balls earlier as shown in the serve return clip. The hips rotate out first, as shown in the side clip. Two handers hold the frame with both hands down low, and one handers should too, for lots of the same reasons: quicker reactions on return a large one. Quicker, and simpler coils is another one. Less to get in the way is another one. So, just because you have never seen it done, does not mean it is not a valid way to learn, nor to hit yourself, if only for fun! If you notice, I also open my frame hand completely just before I reach back, on each shot, holding the frame only with the thumbs of each hand, so that the hands are totally relaxed. Opening the fingers up like this, acts to make sure your whole shot is relaxed.

As far as: "This shot can only be taught to strong adults.", that is not true either, as Henin proved at 130lbs, and her form is very similar although she uses the non dominant arm take back, she keeps the wrist locked, arm bars out front, and does the figure 8 with full follow through and recovers very similarly with the pound down foot work. Your locked back wrist takes the pounding so you actually have to be less strong to kill this shot than you have to be to kill a fh shot.

Check out the Henin vs. Fed video on the back hand. Their follow throughs are identically placed, as is the pound down recovery step. You can also see Fed does not plant as well, heel to toe, as he often plants toe to heel, like a tip toe plant, rather than an "I'm going to kill this shot.", plant; and he lifts up his hitting foot too early as well, which is why he loses to Nadal so often.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqBEErW0vTA

Coil back early so you can defend the contact point out front early!

The whole point of the unit turn, the foot work, the coil, and arm bar, and hips opening up fast, is to wait for the ball to arrive at the right point. So it’s all really an exercise in “waiting” in a very fluid yet fast way. The faster you can arrive at this point, with big coil, the better shot you will be able to hit. That’s why the best players always seem to have so much time. They arrive very quickly and they wait for a longer time. When they are put under emergency situations, they are so used to uncoiling very fast that they handle it better.

[GeoffWilliams]

You can also see Henin open her fingers out just before take back on her back hand, just as I do. (6:33 in the video.) She had the best top spin kill shot one hander on the women's side ever. Her coil is dynamic, and her plant foot points towards the side fence, and her hitting foot is closed off, and her hips open out first, and she arm bars the shot, and she keeps her wrist locked the whole time, and she follows through just as I do as well. Very powerful back hand, with a wilson hyper hammer 5.3, and a 350g swing wt., high for a woman. Miss her.

She is living proof, that you don't have to be built powerfully to kill a back hand. It's just technique, like any other shot: large coil in a relaxed way, wait for the contact point to arrive, and release the coil dynamically. For all you 130 pounders out there, just look at the video to see the proof of it. Having a large swing wt., and the right string (gut), and the right frame also is a large part of how well she hit the ball. Make no mistake, equipment is up there a large part of why the pros are better than we are.

I am using the same lay up that Tsonga and Djokovic used in the 2008 Aussie final, strung with new l-tec string, a hybrid of Os premium poly infused with polyolfelin ribbon, and the 4s 17g squoval shaped string, with some stringing methods I have devised for that set up to match my hitting style, and have injected silicone into the handle after digging out the foam that Wilson puts in their frame handles, and have lead at 3 and 9, bringing up that frame to 365g with a neutral balance point at about 32.5cm.

[GeoffWilliams]

I've had quite a few emails from subscribers about the article.

Here are some pros and cons: Stated from emails

Cons: Shot the way it's hit is too difficult for women and children to learn due to the release, and both hands on the grip.

Pros: Like the analogy between other sports, such as corner backs, base ball hitters, and the obvious power developed out front. Some liked the uni grip, and some did not like it at all!

[lobndropshot]

I don't know what its like to fly. But it has to feel like blasting a one-hander for a winner.

[GeoffWilliams]

Ha, ha. That's what it feels like to fly inside the confines of the tennis court!

[don_budge]

geoffwilliams...blue collar tennis

If nothing else your article is highly entertaining...and I say that sincerely. Geoff is a guy who passionately loves the game of tennis and it shows in his writing and in his play.

Using one side of the racquet to hit both the backhand and the forehand is not something new or unique. You will see illustrations of this technique in Bill Tilden's "Match Play and the Spin of the Ball". Question Geoff...Do you notice any significant difference in the wear of your strings by using this technique? Do you find yourself consciously turning the face of the racquet to alternate use of both sides?

I am satisfied that in your article you declare that this technique is an "unorthodox" technique and in my book (the book is Tilden) if my opponent has something that appears to be unorthodox there will be the object of my efforts. I will try to break down the unorthodox stroke systematically. By using the "unigrip" it looks to me as if you are leaving yourself open to exploitation off both sides...to low balls that are spinning away from you.

Much of your article is dedicated to the jargon of power, blasting winners, hitting all out, fearless contact etc. Your videos seem to bear these comments out. You make some excellent points about the engagement of the body parts...in particular the hips. Your unigrip forehand and backhand would be functional at a higher level of tennis if and only the game was played entirely above the waist and chest level.

But the whole thesis of your article is "weaponize your one handed backhand" and you defend your contact point of the article very well theoretically. Your strengthened grip is certainly a great starting point. Just by doing this alone you encourage all of the other aspects of the swing that you suggest throughout your article.

I have grown to love and appreciate your take on the game of tennis. While your roots are in the old days of classic tennis...which you reflect upon with your father's lesson of the Ken Rosewall backhand...you have evolved into modern day tennis in a sort of a philosophically blue collar, brutally blunt manner. No prisoners. Even the tear in the underarm of your t-shirt is endearing.

I would love to play you one on one...for a beer. The blue collar way! Even though I don't drink as a rule. I warn you...you will get very few balls to tee off on if I can help it. Super article, great effort and really entertaining.

[GeoffWilliams]

Well, that's a thougtful comment as always. That's an old t shirt bought in Oahu, on Poipu beach, in a surf shop, and it has seen better days, along with me! Low balls don't give me much trouble if I reach back early on the run and defend the contact point, and let the low balls come into the body closer, and get the point right. We only have problems when that point is not adhered to. Movement is critical to defense against the low ball, and hackers all over the world beat blasters by feeding them nothing but.

Defending the point is more to allowing the ball to enter our zone of impact at arm bar. It's also keeping the ball in the right part of the string bed. Look at all the impacts on video. Do you see them vary at all? They are all within mm of each other: 4th-6th crosses down from the top of frame in the middle 1/3 of the string bed where the feel is the best pocket we can get. It's also the angle of the frame at impact, the angle of frame after impact, depending on topspin or slice, and the intention we use to strike at impact: lull, jam, or finish intention.

Once all those are accounted for, on each impact, the contact point is defended. It would take another article to truly lay out what that really means.

All energy, intention, footwork, unit turning, coiling, unleashing, timing, angles, tactics, string type/frame type/strategem is all related to defending the contact point by attacking it.

[kristuttle]

Promising Stroke

I've had a slice backhand my whole life and it works well up to a certain point. After a few years of working on a topspin backhand results have improved but not enough. This article really resonated with me and yesterday I hit a few of these in the warmup. The first couple went into the ground and then *bam* I hit a couple cross court burners. I couldn't continue to practice it at the time but today I'm going out to hit with a buddy who can feed me balls on the backhand side so I can see if I can groove it.

If it works I'll be a convert. I'm not going to get rid of the slice though but since it demands a different grip shouldn't get confused. In quite a few matches I've played the low backhand slice can be a huge weapon, especially with younger players who seem to hit and expect topspin everything. Great slices can create a fuming opponent, blasting balls all over the place.

[As an aside the "unigrip" approach works on both. The topspin forehand works for this topspin backhand (plus flat depending on your swing plane) and a slice backhand grip works on the forehand side for those daring enough to hit a slice off that side as well.]

Anyway this is a great piece of work. Also I do some websites myself so I have a feeling for how much time and effort is required to put something like this together. This is like a whole course in one post. Great work. Can't way to play more with it.

[GeoffWilliams]

I have often felt like the continental at net is my other uni grip, and a damn fine observation on your end. It's a great thing to see the first few go over, and the first time I tried the uni grip the first three balls went into the dirt as well! (Edited out of the article.) This will be a source of great enjoyment for you once you master it. It was my greatest hope that people would find improvement, over this piece, which did take a long time to develop, two filming sessions (Obama was in town and traffic was murder), and a lot of patience and endurance on John's end, and no sees that stuff at all. This piece just proves that this site can do what no other will. Thanks John, for giving me the chance to do the piece.

It's also a great comment on the slice being a weapon against young guys who hit hard, but my problem is, I dont' always get the slice to stay low and short. When it lays up, they kill it, and so do most pros, but on the low ranges of play, such as ntrp, it is a weapon worth using, as all hackers/pushers do on every point! I enjoyed reading your post and it reminded me, of when I tried to learn this shot.

[stroke]

Philipp Kohlschreiber, who uses the unigrip, is into Wimbledon qf's.

[carlpro]

Geoff,

I really enjoyed your article at tennisplayer.net on your backhand. It brings so many things to mind. First is a top national seniors player in the 70's and 80's by the name of Jack Dorsey. Jack played out of Ogelbay Park in Wheeling, WV. Jack used a unigrip with much success. His forehand was his strength and his backhand was solid but he didn't have the aggressive mind set that you have of that wing. Guys would come off the court shaking their heads saying how did I loose to that guy with the "wrong" grips.

The second thing that comes to mind is a great player, coach and all time character Hank Jungle. Hank was an officer in the Air Force stationed at Wright Patterson air base in Dayton, Ohio. Hank was one of the top players in the armed services if not champion several times. This was the sixties and early seventies when there was a draft and all the top players in the country where in the military. Hank was also the guy who coached and brought Tim and Tom Gullikson to the ATP tour. Hank was Tim's primary coach for years. Hank didn't teach the unigrip but he did teach the backhand in a similar way. His description of how to hit the backhand couldn't be used today because of its sexist nature. However, there were a lot of similarities.

Third is my story and brief experience with your backhand. I have been a tennis professional for over 40 years. I am recently returning to the court after extensive surgery on my hitting shoulder. It was a mess. Complete tears, 8 anchors etc. After months of rehab and ongoing therapy and strengthening I still didn't have the strength or power to really hit a topspin backhand. Actually, I hadn't hit topspin backhands for years because of the injuries and weakness in my shoulder. Forehand, serve and all other parts of my game are good after the surgery but my backhand was pretty much stuck where it was before surgery. Slice and more slice. Plus my slices were not going through the court and on high balls to the backhands the results were discouraging. I read your thorough, well put together article and watched the videos. The videos were convincing. Watching how you unleashed into the ball was impressive. The strength of the shot and the arm bar got me excited.

The dropping of the left hand down to the grip on top of my right hand is what created a whole new backhand experience for me. This has allowed me to easily and more efficiently to go further over on the grip and increase my shoulder turn significantly. My right arm is positioned much closer to my body really setting up a strong inside out swing path (arm bar)to contact. I couldn't do any of this with my left hand on the throat of the racquet. I really tried for a couple weeks to get my arm in this position with the left hand on the throat and was never comfortable or strong. The coolest thing is the strength In the shoulder I feel along with no pain when hitting the ball with your technique. I have been hitting topspin backhands like never before. Plus my slice backhand is really going through the court. After more practice I am looking forward to using my new backhands in match play.

Thanks Geoff and tennisplayer.net

[stroke]

Geoff,

I really liked your article. I also play with a unigrip when hitting topspin fh's and one handed bh's, but more often on my bh's, I end up hitting a continental grip slice bh because I do not get prepared in time to hit topspin. I am going to try keeping my non dominant hand close on the handle prep as you suggest, I am only a very average 4.0 player but I love tennis and reading instructional pieces on it.