A New Teaching System: One Handed Backhand: Forward Swing

[johnyandell]

Would love to hear your thoughts my article, "A New Teaching System: One Handed Backhand: Forward Swing"

[seano]

John -

Once again, an excellent video. I found it particularly interesting how late Federer and Dimitrov straighten their hitting arm before contact and Sampras with his leading elbow and the breakdown of his backhand. Another excellent topic is the role of the opposite arm, rear leg kick back and arm extension to prevent over rotation of hips and shoulders. Plenty of teaching nuggets to ponder, thanks.

Sean

[stroke]

John -

Once again, an excellent video. I found it particularly interesting how late Federer and Dimitrov straighten their hitting arm before contact and Sampras with his leading elbow and the breakdown of his backhand. Another excellent topic is the role of the opposite arm, rear leg kick back and arm extension to prevent over rotation of hips and shoulders. Plenty of teaching nuggets to ponder, thanks.

Sean

I have always thought the reason Fed and Grigor straighten their arm so late in the swing is their weaker grip(close to continental). Their heel pad is on top the racquet, where the players like Stan, Gasquet, Kohl, Robredo, Thiem, Guga, have their heel pad more behind the grip. To me, with their grip, Fed and Grigor with have kinda a frisbee throwing type motion where the elbow would straighten out late. These players with the stronger grip tend to straighten there arm out very early, Stan and Robredo seem to be the prototype.

[ten1050]

Hello John,
Great article on the forward swing on the one handed backhand. The kick back of the rear leg is incredibly helpful. And the swing of the arm and racket as one unit is very important. Watching these great players hit their backhands, I always get the impression that they sometimes fall backward as they swing. I see this clearly watching Henin and Gasquet hit their backhands. I remember years ago watching Eliot Teltcher hit his backhand, and he always seemed to be falling backwards. Eliot had a tremendous backhand and was a top ten ATP player back in the 80's. Do you believe that this concept might help a player improve his backhand?

Norman Ashbrooke

[johnyandell]

Seano,
Thanks!!!

Stroke,
Yeah interesting---we are going to put up extension Henman footage next. Let's see where he falls on the arm position!

[stotty]

Nice article and lovely walk-thru as usual. For me the interesting take away is the role of the left arm and rear leg and how those two elements, when executed correctly, stabilise the stroke.

Nice insight into Sampras' backhand flaw. I always wonder, when flaws like that are pointed out (which likely went unrecognised at the time), how good the shot might have been had it been corrected as a junior.

Norman, I remember Elliot's backhand well. He used to kind of duck his head down when hitting a topspin backhand, especially on wide balls. It was very noticeable and you could spot him playing a mile off. Whatever happened to him? I sometimes wonder what players like him are doing these days since I doubt he made enough to retire off back then. Kim Warwick was another player I remember from that time who I think was American?

[ten1050]

Hello Stotty,
Of course you can google almost anyone. Eliot has been coaching tennis in Southern California for decades. He has helped Taylor Dent and other world class players. I remember him as a junior practicing almost daily at the Lakewood Tennis Center in Lakewood Ca. He had an incredible backhand return of serve that would cut down the best college players at that time. He wasn't a big kid, but he had an incredible will to win.

Norman Ashbrooke

[klacr]

Nice article and lovely walk-thru as usual. For me the interesting take away is the role of the left arm and rear leg and how those two elements, when executed correctly, stabilise the stroke.

Nice insight into Sampras' backhand flaw. I always wonder, when flaws like that are pointed out (which likely went unrecognised at the time), how good the shot might have been had it been corrected as a junior.

Stotty, the Sampras backhand was an ugly and technically terrible shot. With that said, he won 14 grand slams. if you are counting at home, that's 14 more than me.
Everyone knew it was a bad shot. But when you have a serve like he did, a forehand like he did, athleticism like he did and after winning the US Open at 19 sometimes ignorance is bliss. I've heard it before and will use the term "Emporer's New Clothes". Spending time working on something so awful may have zapped his confidence on other areas of his game.

He switched from his two handed backhand (his best shot) to a one-hander at 13/14 years old.
Who knows what would have happened if he kept it.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Palo Alto
SETS Consulting

[seano]

Kyle -

Looks like several changes for you. First it was starting your SETS Consulting, now living in Palo Alto instead of Delray Beach. Good luck with everything, I love the entrepreneurial spirit.

Sean

[johnyandell]

Seano,
Elliot's backhand. Not exactly high speed but...

https://www.tennisplayer.net/members/famouscoach/robert_lansdorp/lansdorp_one_hand_backhand_images/lansdorp_one_hand_backhand.html

[stotty]

Seano,
Elliot's backhand. Not exactly high speed but...
https://www.tennisplayer.net/members..._backhand.html

Amazing backhand. Tennisplayer has been going so long the archives have become a treasure trove. It's really great to have a clip like that even though it plays at old silent movie speed.

[glacierguy]

Seano,
Elliot's backhand. Not exactly high speed but...
https://www.tennisplayer.net/members..._backhand.html

That is the backhand I want. You can see the weight coming off the rear leg, and left arm extending and staying low. Beautiful.

[stotty]

Hello Stotty,
Of course you can google almost anyone. Eliot has been coaching tennis in Southern California for decades. He has helped Taylor Dent and other world class players. I remember him as a junior practicing almost daily at the Lakewood Tennis Center in Lakewood Ca. He had an incredible backhand return of serve that would cut down the best college players at that time. He wasn't a big kid, but he had an incredible will to win.

Norman Ashbrooke

Thanks, Norman. You're right about Google. I managed to find a brief clip of Eliot playing McEnroe (go to 0:40). You get to see handful of his backhands in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jp9LhhFF1E

As glacier guy says, it's all you want in a backhand...rock solid...wish I had a backhand like that.

[klacr]

Kyle -

Looks like several changes for you. First it was starting your SETS Consulting, now living in Palo Alto instead of Delray Beach. Good luck with everything, I love the entrepreneurial spirit.

Sean

Thanks seano
Not living in Palo Alto. Just doing some graduate school there. I still live in Delray Beach. My signature at the end of each post just highlights the location of where I am when I make that post. Flew back on red eye this morning.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Delray Beach
SETS Consulting

[don_budge]

Hello John,
Great article on the forward swing on the one handed backhand. The kick back of the rear leg is incredibly helpful. And the swing of the arm and racket as one unit is very important. Watching these great players hit their backhands, I always get the impression that they sometimes fall backward as they swing. I see this clearly watching Henin and Gasquet hit their backhands. I remember years ago watching Eliot Teltcher hit his backhand, and he always seemed to be falling backwards. Eliot had a tremendous backhand and was a top ten ATP player back in the 80's. Do you believe that this concept might help a player improve his backhand?

Norman Ashbrooke

It's an interesting comment and theory about the back foot...and the back arm for that matter. I don't think that it is moving backwards necessarily all of the time. Then again it does moves backwards more often than at other times. It looks to me that the back foot and the back arm are functions of balance at impact and sometimes there has been some overcompensation in the weight transfer to the front that the foot moves backwards to prevent the player from moving forwards with their bodies...or as johnyandell calls it "over rotating".

The one hand backhand is the most natural of swings in all of sports. That is verbatim from Don Budge...many years ago. But if you think about the fundamentals and how it also applies to a baseball player swinging a baseball bat or a golfer swing a golf club the most important "commonality" is to stay behind the ball. The front leg will many times on a drive straighten up as the motion of the racquet is also driving up. As for the appearance of players moving backwards when hitting their backhands...this is more optical illusion than anything. I don't believe that they are actually recoiling but it also is a function of balance in the attempt to stay behind the ball.

Speaking of the Devil...here's Donald! The great Don Budge. Look at the action of the back foot and the back arm for that matter...clearly it is a function of balance as he is sprinting to his left and he must slow down his momentum of his body by applying the ballast to the back leg.

https://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/golden_legends/donbudge/donbudge_sa.html?DBBHSide.mov