Backhand confusion

[andy]

Perhaps some of you have thoughts on the following. I have difficulty deciding when to hit a slice vs a topspin backhand. For the very wide, low or high shots, it seems that a slice is most often the best choice. But what about the mid-height balls more toward the center of the court? In watching the various pros in the stroke archives, it is apparent that very early in their preparation they have decided which style backhand to hit. My questions are: what is the decision based on and/or when is the decision made? Thanks, Andy

[johnyandell]

I think the answer is that the decision is virtually instantaneous with recognizing the shot.




Above is a topspin drive and below is a slice. You can see the differences in the racket position within a few frames in the unit turn. They are hit with slightly different grips and you can see this difference if you look closely. Again this starts to happen immediately with the reaction to the ball.

As to the basis for deciding. The players I think feel the ball that they are about to deal with and decide immediately. The key is to be reading the ball and the shot. This comes from the practice of really concentrating when the ball is going back to the opponent and then picking it up off the racket.