One handed backhand article

[maahou]

At least, great article on Forward one-handed backhand i waited for.

I particularly appreciated the "How the change from classic to extreme effects contact." video

There is one thing i wonder, what is the angle between racket and forearm at the beginning of the forward movement, and at contact point?

I would say 80° then 60-70° at contact point, is it true or wrong ?

Thank you ,
Maahou from France.

[johnyandell]

I think it's close to the same angle--iand I wouldn't try to replicate it by degrees--it's a similar issue with the wrist release on the forehand--you try to keep your arm in the hitting arm position yet somewhat relaxed and any extreme movement just happens.

[gzhpcu]

Great article John! Just one question: I noticed the role of the head keeping stable and watching the contact point well after the ball has been hit, but did not see you actually pointing this out. I see many club players that don't do this, causing them to overrotate when hitting the backhand, losing control.

[johnyandell]

Good point and I do plan to talk about it in a future article.

[brant]

Straight-arm

I, too, thoroughly enjoyed this series of articles. I love the one-handed backhand, and though mine is inconsistent, it is amazingly powerful and somehow more "natural" feeling than the forehand, IMHO.

As John and others have pointed out numerous times, one has to be careful when closely analyzing strokes, esp w/ high-speed video to separate purposeful body movement with effects or artifacts of these movements, e.g. the wrist-release.

I think there's some of this in the straight-arm on the backhand. Though it is stated unequivocally that the arm is straight all the way through the stroke, the pictures look a bit different to me. Or perhaps I should say there are degrees of straight? I see a slight curve in most of the arms as the players rotate the shoulders and start the racquet around from the bottom of the backswing. Robredo, in contrast, seems to lock his elbow.

My point isn't to argue against the straight-arm, but think it's important to distinguish whether it's an action or a result. Locking the elbow early and performing the "sweep" across an "imaginary table" is how we used to be taught backhands and is the inverse of Connor's lunging sweep across the table he did with his forehand.

I don't really know what I'm talking about, but it seems intuitive to me that the "goal" is for the arm to be straight at impact; that the arm becomes straight as the shoulders rotate before the racquet moves forward. In other words, it's not caused by sticking the racquet out and straightening your arm. By using the shoulder rotation to straighten the racquet, there's a bit of a "curve" left in the arm during the rotation until the racquet catches up and becomes level at impact. This motion creates a whipping action that is similar to that on the forehand side and results in greater racquet head speed.

Therefore, I would argue that rather than concentrate on straightening the arm at the bottom of the backswing, one should concentrate on rotating the shoulders out of the backswing with the goal of being straight at impact.

Thoughts?

[johnyandell]

Well, disagree. The curve you see has to do with anatomy--most players arms aren't perfectly straight when extended all the way at the elbow.

Video will always tell the tale. If it's a problem then the focus should be on this issue. What I see almost universally among lower level players is that they are very late getting arm straight--without that all the other technical elements don't mean anything.

[tenstiger]

John,

I continue to be amazed at the depth of information on your site. Your 4 part series on the one-handed backhand is the standard by which all other articles about this subject should be judged. You gave us information that is the equivalent of a doctoral thesis and delivered it with a very clear, and logical presentation.

I look forward to each month’s issue.

Craig Ward
Mens Tennis Coach
Ouachita Baptist University

https://www.obu.edu/menstennis

[maahou]

Hi,

looking Tommy Haas : http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/...ctionRear1.mov

I wonder if right hand's movement (forward) between the end of preparation and the contact , is more directly toward the net , than a rotationnal movement ? We can see frame per frame that his right hand stays close to his body .

Thank you

[johnyandell]

The hand disappears but what you are seeing is an inside out arc, as in all groundstrokes. It can probably vary and might be less in this one, but it's hard to see.

I wouldn't worry about that. Make the position at the bottom of the backswing and at the finish. The arc should take care of itself.

[gzhpcu]

We discussed supination/pronation - stretch/shorten cycle in the case of the forehand. Though not quite as pronounced, doesn't an equivalent pronation/supination stretch/shorten cycle occur also on some backhands in order to get more racket head acceleration?

[johnyandell]

I'm going to look at the rotational aspects of hand and arm in the stroke in a future article.

The answer I think is yes. But it's something that has to be incorporated into the foundation I have been trying to outline.

[badvolley]

John, I look forward to this analysis. Federer will often hit what "appears" to be a whipping crosscourt backhand that aggressively comes over the net at a sharp angle and bounces high.

He seems to be getting more of a fanning motion on the ball, but I'm not really quite sure what I'm seeing. In any case, it is a devastating passing shot, and Federer looks quite confident in using it, though I guess that's essentially true for almost every ball he hits.

[johnyandell]

It's up, check it out. You'll see what that action is. But if you look at a lot of examples in the Stroke Archive, you'll see that he hits the ball a lot of ways, including many with a more classic finish.

[tasha]

Rotation on one-handed backhand

John,

Great analysis, and good video work in isolating this subtle motion on the one-hander to increase topspin and angles. Interestingly, Oscar Wegner has advocated teaching the one-hander in this way for years. I use to think he was misguided in that regard, but I must now reconsider. cautionary note: you can strain the devil out of your shoulder trying to imitate this stroke unless you take it easy and gradually try to build up your strength.

[johnyandell]

I don't think it should be "taught" in the basic sense. All the other elements have to be in place first--and you have to realize it's a variation and when and where to use it.

The danger is in thinking that this is somehow the secret to the backhand--most players would have the legitimate cause to hit it once in 10 or 20 balls. BUT in certain situations it's what allows you to do things you otherwise can't.