Backhand Smash/High Volley

[stotty]

I am curious to know how other coaches on the forum teach the backhand smash. Being predominately a doubles player most of my life, it's a shot I've had to play a lot...as most players lob over to the backhand side if they can.

I generally consider a high backhand volley becomes a smash when the ball is at a height where it's necessary to leave the ground to hit it. The problem with leaving the ground is suddenly there is no post/nothing solid to hit off, which makes the shot very challenging. I always try and stiffen my right side to create a post. I time this stiffening of my right flank to be simultaneous with the moment I strike the ball, which I do with almost sheer wrist snap. I turn an awful lot too...my shoulders blades are facing the opposing court almost. The ball has often travelled over my head and slightly behind me slightly when I make contact.

I teach my students similar to the above.

I am not sure I am teaching the backhand smash in a technically correct way, although I enjoy reasonable success when I play the shot myself. How do others on the forum coach the shot?

A key question also is at what height does a high backhand volley turn into a backhand smash? I know when it does for me but what about others out there?

I hit the shot with sheer wrist snap, not much arm movement through the ball to speak of. I keep the hitting arm and entire hitting side of my body stiff at the moment of executing the shot...any power I get comes down to the wrist and and sheer timing.

Does all this resonate with anyone else?

[GeoffWilliams]

I can hit it at 90+mph. Check out the article here that John put up.

[stotty]

Not sure...

I can hit it at 90+mph. Check out the article here that John put up.

In your article you're hitting a high backhand volley, not a backhand smash. At least that's how I see it. A backhand smash, to me, is where a player has to leave the ground (or very close to leaving the ground) to hit it.

A backhand smash is this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2vF9xnL-EU

Roger sits his racket on the shoulder; you drop the racket. Yours is a slap; Roger's is wrist snap...huge difference.

You keep your feet on the ground during your backhand smash, so you have "a post" to hit off. But if you had to leave the ground to hit a backhand smash then you would have "no post" to hit off, so you'd have to create one. Personally, I do this by stiffening my right flank (my hitting side). I believe Roger is doing the same thing in the clip. I believe he is doing this simultaneously with the execution of the shot...the stiffening of the right flank and wrist snap have to be synchronised perfectly to achieve a good result.

The version in your article is fine and might work well for good club players... but I believe pro's would most likely opt for Roger's version.

Like I said the key question is when does a backhand volley become a smash? For me it when "the post is gone"...when you've left the ground...or almost.

There's very little coaching literature on the backhand smash, and I'm scratching around in the dark on this one. Does anyone know more than me? Come on don_budge, tennis_ chiro, 10splayer, John Yandell...you must know more than me and be able to add comment...or do you...like me...draw a blank...lack knowledge..on this infrequently played shot?

Best exponent of the backhand smash I have ever seen was Nastase...such a strong wrist.

I feel coaches should look to "naturals" like Nasty and Federer to get better educated on the shot...

[tennis_chiro]

Best backhand overhead?!

In your article you're hitting a high backhand volley, not a backhand smash. At least that's how I see it. A backhand smash, to me, is where a player has to leave the ground (or very close to leaving the ground) to hit it.

A backhand smash is this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2vF9xnL-EU

Roger sits his racket on the shoulder; you drop the racket. Yours is a slap; Roger's is wrist snap...huge difference.

You keep your feet on the ground during your backhand smash, so you have "a post" to hit off. But if you had to leave the ground to hit a backhand smash then you would have "no post" to hit off, so you'd have to create one. Personally, I do this by stiffening my right flank (my hitting side). I believe Roger is doing the same thing in the clip. I believe he is doing this simultaneously with the execution of the shot...the stiffening of the right flank and wrist snap have to be synchronised perfectly to achieve a good result.

The version in your article is fine and might work well for good club players... but I believe pro's would most likely opt for Roger's version.

Like I said the key question is when does a backhand volley become a smash? For me it when "the post is gone"...when you've left the ground...or almost.

There's very little coaching literature on the backhand smash, and I'm scratching around in the dark on this one. Does anyone know more than me? Come on don_budge, tennis_ chiro, 10splayer, John Yandell...you must know more than me and be able to add comment...or do you...like me...draw a blank...lack knowledge..on this infrequently played shot?

Best exponent of the backhand smash I have ever seen was Nastase...such a strong wrist.

I feel coaches should look to "naturals" like Nasty and Federer to get better educated on the shot...

I always believed and still believe the best backhand overhead is a forehand overhead. And what Roger hits in that clip,... well, I would have had to just say nice lob. But if there was enough time to set up like Geoff does for most of those backhand overheads in his article, well I would have hit a forehand overhead. Most of the time, I'm frustrated by people hitting swinging forehand volleys on balls that should never be allowed to drop out of overhead range. I'm afraid I could never generate enough wrist snap to hit a ball the way Roger does. If I were still playing in my 20's, I would be inspired by that shot to go out and try to learn to hit it; however, I doubt it would have done me much good. That's just a phenomenal shot. He's not just stiffening up his right flank, he's jumping backwards. Most players I remember didn't work that hard on that shot, but they could all move much better than today's pros to their left to execute a regular overhead even the ball was well to their left and even well to the left of their feet when they struck the ball. You have to remember the rackets were much heavier too. I think Vilas liked to practice it and certainly Nasty could do anything.

I think it would take a lot of work and the commitment of that time would come way after I had tried to get someone to work on their basic volley and overhead, or maybe their underspin offensive lob a little bit more; and then, before the backhand overhead, we would work on the execution of the regular overhead when the ball could be hit with a backhand overhead. But I can see where it could be a lot of fun for a very talented and athletic student; otherwise, no way! Kind of has the same importance for me as the "tweener", which I discourage, although I will teach the kids how to run down a lob over their heads and hit a backhand with their back to the net, or, omg!, maybe even a forehand!

don

[don_budge]

"There is no such shot as a backhand overhead."...Bill Tilden

In your article you're hitting a high backhand volley, not a backhand smash. At least that's how I see it.

A backhand smash is this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2vF9xnL-EU

Best exponent of the backhand smash I have ever seen was Nastase...such a strong wrist.

In Bill Tilden's "How to Play Better Tennis", he discusses the overhead and he develops his description in five points. His point number two is..."Turn sideways and even if the ball is a little to the left of your head hit it as a forehand. There is no such thing as a backhand overhead." No surprise...I agree with him. What you see Federer doing in this shot is a flick of the wrist and nobody did it with a more sublime flair than "Nasty" although all of the great players manage this shot quite nicely.

I was thinking about this one a bit before responding...I see that tennis_chiro is at it on the west coast there. We have you covered Stotty...one Don Brosseau to the west and one don_budge to the east. I remember that he said somewhere in the forum that the best way to hit a backhand overhead is to step around it and hit the forehand smash...much as Tilden is suggesting. You can't argue with those two. Let's just see if tennis_chiro changes his tune at all.

This shot that Federer pulls off here is no stunt shot. It's a percentage play. This is the way I play this shot...generally cross court. Here Tsonga manages to get a cross court lob over on the backhand side of Federer which is quite an accomplishment in itself and Roger turns his back on the ball, keeps his eyes on the ball as usual and deftly flicks his wrist at it hitting the left side of the ball at such an angle to win this point with deft placement rather than with brute speed.

I love this shot myself. Consider that I am left handed and normally I am approaching down the line with some variation of slice or heavy slice. Most of the lobs that my opponent throws up to my backhand I am going to make every effort to step around or hit with scissors kick and turn my wrist out to win to the forehand side of my opponent. On the rare occasion that I cannot, I do precisely what Roger does and turn my back to my opponent and hit on the right side of the ball, since usually it is the forehand side of my opponent that will be exposed and flick the ball sharply cross court. I like to use as much angle on this shot as possible to see my opponent run all the way from the backhand side of the court to the forecourt of his forehand. The more distance he covers the less balance he will hopefully have when he arrives...if he gets to it before the second bounce.

I love this shot in doubles as now I have the doubles alley to work with for more extreme angle. It seems that in modern tennis the element of subtly, placement and surprise have been downplayed by the over exaggeration of power. But this shot technically is not a smash but a flick of the wrist. Even this shot of Federer is hit at less than full extension.

I remember saying the same thing to geoffwilliams in one of my early posts and he nearly ran me off the forum...claiming that I dissed his signature shot. Looking back it was pretty comical.

[tennis_chiro]

Anyone remember the kneeling overhead?

Kids look at me like I've got another screw loose when I try to tell them that we used to actually go down on one knee to hit an overhead when a soft ball got popped up from below the net and you couldn't get to it before it bounced, but had plenty of time to set up and hit it. We didn't have swinging volleys or the huge forehands you could hit a short ball with and short soft balls overhit with groundstokes from close to the net were often missed when people tried to overhit them. A lot of the time, the smart shot was to actually get down on one knee, sometimes even literally, for a ball that was going to bounce to about head or even just chest level (then you did have to get down on one knee) and hit an overhead. And we all loved to hit overheads. I'd say I made more than a couple of players think twice about staying in the point at the net when they popped one of those up.

don

[don_budge]

The Spin of the Ball...stay in the point!

Just one more thing Stotty...with regards to spinning the ball. From the angle that Roger is hitting this ball it offers the opportunity to put a fair amount of slice sidespin on the ball...think the opposite of a slice serve. In doing so the ball is going to tail away from the opponent giving an additional opportunity to misjudge it or a split second of indecision where it will make all the difference of winning the point. If hit very softly and very short in the forecourt with spin...the bounce is somewhat killed and you may surprise your opponent.

Roger hits a really nice winner here but if the shot would of been a couple of degrees more difficult he may of elected for the slice to give him that split second to recover.

The down the line from the standpoint of this point may of been more risky as Tsonga would be looking at a nice fat forehand to pound past the helpless Federer, but in my case being left handed it is a possibility to go deep into the opponents backhand to live to play a continuation of the point. All in all...I think of this shot as more of a high backhand volley and placement is more of the deal breaker than winning outright with power. When teaching this shot, teach with regards to the percentages and emphasize the placement and deception, not for the gambling winner.

[don_budge]

A modicum of Spin...to kill the bounce

Just one more thing Stotty...with regards to spinning the ball. From the angle that Roger is hitting this ball it offers the opportunity to put a fair amount of slice sidespin on the ball...think the opposite of a slice serve. In doing so the ball is going to tail away from the opponent giving an additional opportunity to misjudge it or a split second of indecision where it will make all the difference of winning the point. If hit very softly and very short in the forecourt with spin...the bounce is somewhat killed and you may surprise your opponent.

Ooooh...I hit one of these softy versions going backwards towards the baseline. Back turned completely at my opponent's court with a soft angled racquet and a modicum of side spin to kill the bounce, tucked neatly into the forecourt near the net on the forehand side...just out of reach of one of my speediest juniors. I turned to my partner...we were playing points without using the serve and she told me that the ball was going a meter out deep when I hit it. I said that's alright...that one was for my tennis_buddy at tennisplayer.net.

[stotty]

Great posts

Great posts from everyone.

Federer knew exactly what he was doing in that clip. He hit a planned winner. Nasty also hit many backhand smash winners during his career; he relished the shot. Both players have excellent wrist control and wrist snap. Nasty often hit his hard and flat down the line, and he really could hit them hard.

While some players naturally stiffen their right flank when they go up for a backhand smash, others have to be taught. This is a common fault with students who struggle with the shot. The ability to snap the wrist seems to be an individual thing. Some seem to do it better than others. It’s a hard thing to improve if someone doesn’t have the knack.

I would agree that it is a shot best avoided and, if time allows, it’s better to move around and play a forehand smash instead. But it’s wishful thinking that players will never be faced with some backhand smashes now and again. You only have to look at many of the old clips of Newcombe/Laver/Roche on YouTube to see them hitting backhand overheads quite often. It’s far rarer these days as few players come to the net.

I make a point of teaching backhand overheads to talented players. In the UK it falls under the label of “speciality shots”….in there with shots like the half volley drop volley, lob volley, etc. I often spend around 5 to 10 minutes of a lesson teaching speciality shots. Such shots shouldn’t be left out of lessons when coaching talented players...they’re essential….well….maybe not essential….but coaches should at least give students a clue of how to play such shots. I teach them piecemeal fashion over a long period of time...it works...I’ve done it...eventually kids have a good idea of how to hit a backhand overhead, a half volley...even a lob volley. The main thing with speciality shots is to make them fun, make them a treat.

But as don_budge suggests, players shouldn’t play the hero on the shot if they don’t naturally excel at it...place it safe and deep...stay in the rally….that’s great advice for most students.

I loved tennis_chiro’s aside about going down on one knee to hit overheads. Over the pond we call this a “crouch overhead.” I seldom played the shot myself but my doubles partner played it often….he’d do it on bounce overheads too...very effective…. a good option for him as his high forehand volley was a little shaky.

[blake_b]

Another clip of Federer.

Another good video of Federer hitting this shot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...9nnxRZKUY&NR=1

Blake

[stotty]

Nice find

Another good video of Federer hitting this shot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...9nnxRZKUY&NR=1

Blake

Nice find, Blake. A quite brilliant example of the shot. Even Nastase would have been proud of that one...

[don_budge]

Killing them softly...

Another good video of Federer hitting this shot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...9nnxRZKUY&NR=1

Blake

Down the line:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=W49nnxRZKUY&NR=1

Cross court:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2vF9xnL-EU

Yes blake_b...another good view of Federer's high backhand volley. Extremely high backhand volley.

Extremely good views as it is. The title of this youtube dandy is Roger Federer-Poetry in Motion. How many times have I said this? Poetry in motion. Like a high flying ballerina poised on nothing but air...poof. Then landing like a cat...a big mean and menacing cat. Softly likely...like walking on the moon. Poof...moondust. He launches off of his right and lands deftly on the left. No rehearsals for this sweet shot. He is all in the moment and one with the universe. Just the way that he likes it...a boy and his tennis racquet.

The score is Federer up two sets to love, three games to one and love to thirty to break the serve of Tomic yet another time. It's over for Tomic and he has all but tossed the towel into the ring. Surrender...just the way Roger likes it. "Lay down!", he commands. Tomic rolls over like a good boy. He never even moves to his right in an attempt to run down this effort.

It was a decent lob and perhaps he was looking for the cross court softy or some other cross court variation. But he is caught looking here...Federer's contact is rather shaky...the ball rebounds outside of the "W" on his racquet therefore significantly missing the sweet spot and the ball lands halfway between the service line and the net. Not the most solid of swings...and it appears that the ball is going to bounce around the baseline. Tomic is gaping...toothless at this point in the match. He has capitulated. Rather sad, considering this is his hometown crowd at the Australian Open. Why not grind it out? Hmmmm....

He launches off of his right foot and lands softly on his left. Killing them softly. As soft as possible. Trying not to make them cry...for their mommies. Poetry in motion. That's how he rolls.