Weaponize Your One Handed Backhand

[privas]

Uni-bomber grip

Geoff, Nice article. Would you say that the Unigrip is basically:
8/8 for the backhand and
4/4 for the forehand? Thanks, Pedro

[GeoffWilliams]

The hand doesn't move at all, and the same bed is used, with wrist locked back, and impact at vertical for both strokes. You can see the ball squash down to nothing in the sideways clip, just as the pros do. I am still improving my fh, but my bh is solid. Never mastered the atp III shot yet.

[privas]

8/8 is 4/4?

Geoff. I think that simply be flipping the racquet over 180 degrees, without moving the hand off the grip, 8/8 becomes 4/4. I just wanted to make sure I was starting in the correct position.

This is a great article. I always wondered why I got more power when the non-dominant hand was lower, toward the grip, on the take back. It's almost a Borg back-hand, and I believe his dominant hand was close to an 8/8. I like your point about the hips rotating before the torso. I will work on this tip. I usually hit two-handed backhands because I am never satisfied with the power my one-hander generates. This article has some great points. I think a more extreme grip might also help those of us who like to open the shoulders to the net more and can't keep them lined up parallel to the side-line, like Roger.

Regards, Pedro

[GeoffWilliams]

It is like a borg take back, but I open my fngers on the handle like Henin does, to loosen the relaxation part of your upper body/hand/arm, and non dom arm at handle helps that function better. To that basically you are holding the handle with little else but two thumbs and forefingers. Makes for a very powerful shot when you can relax your fingers.

[privas]

Thanks, but one more point!

Goeff, I also wanted to congratulate you on this article for one more reason. I think this is the best article, to date, that marries the technical and mental. With this new standard, I hope to see more from others. Thanks John for working with Goeff on this bold blue-collar project. I hope this is the future of didactic tennis, taking into account the fragility and heroism of the human mind. Regards, Pedro

[GeoffWilliams]

Well, it was not intended to be preachy or pretentious, but only to help people think and believe they could learn to kill their back hands.
didactic
[dahy-dak-tik]   Example Sentences Origin

di·dac·tic
   [dahy-dak-tik]

adjective
1.
intended for instruction; instructive: didactic poetry.

2.
inclined to teach or lecture others too much: a boring, didactic speaker.

3.
teaching or intending to teach a moral lesson.

4.
didactics, ( used with a singular verb ) the art or science of teaching.


Also, di·dac·ti·cal.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Origin:
1635–45; < Greek didaktikós apt at teaching, instructive, equivalent to didakt ( ós ) that may be taught + -ikos -ic

Related forms
di·dac·ti·cal·ly, adverb

di·dac·ti·cism, noun

non·di·dac·tic, adjective

non·di·dac·ti·cal·ly, adverb

un·di·dac·tic, adjective


Synonyms
2. pedantic, preachy, donnish, pedagogic.

[TimX]

Hi Geoff

Excellent article on the 1HBH! You actually hit it a lot like me.

I agree with whoever said it is a difficult shot to teach as it relies on quite a bit of strength and natural ball striking ability in a way the 2HBH does not

What's going on with your FH, though? Meh, who cares, it obviously works just fine..

[GeoffWilliams]

Working on it. Gordon's piece is helping me improve it. Too cramped and stiff still.

[makhan67]

With due respect I am not impressed from your article:

I am glad it works for you but I have the following observations:

-- The Uni-grip will work only if the player uses full western grip for the forehand side. If you turn it around it becomes full Eastern Backhand grip or a bit wrist behind BH grip.

-- Two hands on the handle? Normally this is true only for the 2-handed BH players. For single handed BH player such as Federer the left hand is on the throat of the racket and the right hand is on the handle in an Eastern BH grip.

-- Positioning of the feet. You start ok (square stance) but as you come into contact your back foot (left foot) kicks sideways to 4:30 time position. This is quite an unusual technique.

-- I felt that your upper body (chest) opens up more as you hit. Great 1-handed BH players would finish side-ways (so that the non-hitting shoulder (left) does not replace the hitting shoulder (right).

I am glad it works for you but I am not going to teach this technique to my junior players.

Mahboob Khan
Director, MKTA, Islamabad Club
Cardio Tennis and Play and Stay Programs
Islamabad, Pakistan
Mobile: 0092 300 8568403

[don_budge]

Old dogs, old concepts. Strong grip and balance.

-- The Uni-grip will work only if the player uses full western grip for the forehand side. If you turn it around it becomes full Eastern Backhand grip or a bit wrist behind BH grip.

-- Two hands on the handle? Normally this is true only for the 2-handed BH players. For single handed BH player such as Federer the left hand is on the throat of the racket and the right hand is on the handle in an Eastern BH grip.

-- Positioning of the feet. You start ok (square stance) but as you come into contact your back foot (left foot) kicks sideways to 4:30 time position. This is quite an unusual technique.

-- I felt that your upper body (chest) opens up more as you hit. Great 1-handed BH players would finish side-ways (so that the non-hitting shoulder (left) does not replace the hitting shoulder (right).

I am glad it works for you but I am not going to teach this technique to my junior players.

Those are some interesting comments to a very interesting article about an old concept.

Let me just say this...while this may not be something that I would teach verbatim there are some really nice aspects of the geoffwilliam backhand that I have tried to actively integrate into my very own backhand. The one thing that I took from this article is from the title..."Weaponize Your One Handed Backhand". That being the premise from which the article was written...I am all in. One must learn to hit aggressively off of the backhand side and one handed backhands tend to be a bit too passive or defensive in their normal scope...so I ask myself the question "how?"...how does one weaponize?

The answer lies neatly packaged in geoffwilliams rather unique presentation of an old concept. The unigrip groundstrokes. I believe that you can find this material going all the way back to Bill Tilden's "Match Play and the Spin of the Ball". For me the weaponry that I needed to incorporate was a stronger grip for which to play high balls more aggressively with. The Don Budge thumb up the handle is not strong enough to be aggressive on the high balls whereas the more exaggerated unigrip fills that bill quite nicely. That being said the grip is too strong in my opinion...at least for me when I am searching for balance and compatibility with my forehand side.

Your point about the footwork has another interesting aspect than what you have observed I believe. While it may appear that you find fault with his footwork please consider a couple of things. The back foot does in fact elevate off of the ground but the rather interesting thing about it is...geoffwilliams is perfectly poised with his weight on his front foot and he seems to be able to repeat this rather startling balanced position. Both of the balls that he is performing this move on appear to be quite high but he still appears to be rotating nicely into the ball which is no mean feat on a high ball to the one hand backhand. I like to picture myself poised on the toe in the back foot ala a Richard Gonzales but this appears to be a modern residual aspect to gain leverage on a higher ball while "weaponizing".

Another point that you make is about how the one handed backhand players are finishing in a sideways position...this is also an interesting point. I tend to agree with you and that is the way that I teach it but the one thing that the technique that geoffwilliams is advocating here is that the stronger grip allows the player to obtain a bit more freedom to rotate into the ball, particularly on high balls because of the strength of the grip. The chest does open up more that the conventional because of this ability to rotate into a high ball. On lower balls I am with you all of the way...such rotation is unnecessary. But if you are trying to pound it with a one handed backhand, the freedom to swing in this manner without losing balance may be something that you wish to consider if you have a student that you want to be more aggressive on high balls.

I agree with you that this is not something that I would teach my students verbatim but there were a couple of points about weaponry lurking beneath the surface that struck home with me. That being said I am chomping at the bit for a chance at dismantling this unigrip theory with a match against geoffwilliams. I think that it will be a dog fight but knowing geoffwilliams he is going to come directly to the net and shake my hand...either way. And with that being said I have strengthened my grip when hitting high balls with my one hand backhand and continue to practice on this at every given opportunity to make it a natural part of my swing. It's not easy to teach an old dog new tricks...you know.

[GeoffWilliams]

Placing all weight on the front foot after contact is something everyone should do. It ensures that your weight goes into the shot. Not hard to learn if you agree with the premise. The further back you load your shoulder/racquet, the harder you can hit as well.

Another thing I do is extend my grip hand fingers, before each shot, so you are guaranteed of a loose, fast feeling in your energy/swing/stroke. Henin also used to do this, but I've never seen anyone comment or copy it.

You can teach a dog new tricks if you have some treats he likes. The whole purpose of the piece was to allow people to learn how to kill a back hand one hander. It covers foot work, weight transfer, coiling, fear, grips, etc. In a way I've not seen covered by anyone else.

[richarddumoulin]

it looks like the URL does not work anymore https://www.tennisplayer.net/members...nded_backhand/

can you have a look please ?

[johnyandell]

OK we will repair! Good catch.

[arturohernandez]

I am still trying to see the link. Can you please repair John?

[johnyandell]

Ok!