one handed topspin backhand

leftys_rock · one handed topspin backhand

I posted this on CP took, sorry if u saw it already. My one hander keeps going in the service box and I cant get pop into the shot. And each time I try a bigger stroke to increase the momentum of the racquet before I hit the shot, the ball goes WAY too high and out. Can somebody help me fix this problem? I only hit the ball at a place where I want it to about 40% of the time, so in tournaments, I use slice for all my shots because that is my only choice.

leftys_rock

oops sorry, spelled too with a "k" at the end....

admin

leftys_rock

Oh I didnt see that...thanx for telling me...

Agassi2000

Leftys_rock, how in the world did you get 70 posts Shocked

? That's like 3rd in the whole forum!

leftys_rock

i always have a window with the forum open on my computer...and i constantly refresh the page...i think i have too much to talk about....but the numbers will go down in about 2 days because schools starting again and im not allowed to go on forums on school days....im gonna try to get in anyway by finishing all my hw early...

J-man

leftys_rock

yeah most likely cuz ur on like every day and uve been here longer than me...

J-man

leftys_rock

yeah its raining really hard over her in CA cuz we've been having a lotta storms lately....so i cant go outside and play tennis....

J-man

leftys_rock

oh well...cuz i got by backhand question answered....maybe this thread should be the one where we can go off topic....yeah its winter but we usually dont get THIS much rain in the bay area.....it normally has very nice weather here....i wish i could find a clay court here....cuz the only way that i can get to a clay court is if i buy a plane ticket and fly to another part of the state....and grass is even more out of the question cuz it takes so much money to maintain...

J-man

leftys_rock

here in the bay area, there are A LOT of hard courts and no clay or grass courts....i guess that its cuz nobodys really expected to play on grass or clay here...we havent had any phenomenal players come from here except lindsay davenport but newport beach doesnt really count as the bay area....

J-man

leftys_rock

awsome ur a semifinalist now!! here everybody plays basketball and football....and for girls volleyball....i dont like volleyball at all and i dont see it on tv except for beach volleyball so i dont get why they like it....cuz indoor volleyball is hardly ever shown on tv except during the olympics which are every 4 years...and a lot of people try out for tennis team, but some people really suck at tennis and they try to make the team which is really stupid...

J-man

i hat,e volleyball Laughing

leftys_rock

ya i noe...like when they serve the ball only goes at like 34 mph....while in tennis, serves are like 120 mph....it would be so boring if in tennis, people served at around 30 mph....

J-man

they have volleyball at my school.

leftys_rock

me too but tennis is a lot more popular at my school because all the volleyball players have their own teams outside of school.....but in school tennis, guys can play against girls so its kind of unfair, but my friend was the top seed for our school and she consistently beat all the guys on the other team...

J-man

pretty much no one at my school is into tennis

leftys_rock

oh well....it might catch on...but getting into our tennis team is really hard cuz so many people try out and there are a lot of good ppl...

lobsided

The good thing in Switzerland there are Hard, Clay & Grass courts to play, but it does get quite cold as well. That's when I play indoors.

lobsided

I am only in the 7th grade so we don't have a tennis team, so most of my play in tournaments come from Switzerland or European sanctioned junior tournaments. When I get to Primary School I might play for the team or I may just stick with what I am already doing.

x.doublea

captainwiggly

I am from Australia and as you might has known it is summer down here. So this is great weather to play tennis. Somedays it gets pretty hot though, but we just rub on the zinc oxide ala Patrick Rafter and play on mates.

leftys_rock

well winter here in california isnt bad....its not that cold...u can play outdoors without a problem.....

captainwiggly

I usually play indoor during the winter season which would be the summer season for most of you mates. How confusing this world can be. Very Happy

canadian-southpaw

Canada has mostly hard courts, but a few clay. Winters can be pretty rough here in Canada so that's when we go indoors and play. Right now it's pretty miserably weather here and cold.

x.doublea

leftys_rock

oh we just go to a club and start hitting some balls.....theres no booking unless its a ball machine or something like that...

x.doublea

Your club must have a lot of courts in order to do such a good system of 'come-and-play'.

leftys_rock

yeah, there are like 20.....its nice....but i wish the courts could be renovated....theyre a little old....theres some cracks in them....

x.doublea

Wow...20 courts. My club has 14 courts, except they are spread out in three locations: two of them have four courts and the other one has six courts.

leftys_rock

yeah its a big club....some are inside and some are outside......its nice because theres always an empty court....

x.doublea

At my club, we sometimes call four days before we want to play, and the answer we'll get is, "All the courts in all three locations are booked, but we have an empty court tonight at 11 o'clock."

leftys_rock

oh...wow....there are a lot of people playing then....i sometimes just hit against a wall just to get my strokes warmed up......

x.doublea

The thing about my club is that the prices aren't too high (approx. $ 14.00 CAN for one hour), so it's quite popular. Private clubs are more expensive. I heard that in the States, the private club prices can get up to $100 US per hour.

leftys_rock

yeah....lessons are pretty expensive...at my club....court time is free, but ball machine is $12.50....

x.doublea

Well, ball machines are really good now. you can alter the speed, the degree of spin (topspin and slice and flat, and placement. Some can even vary the placement of the ball every shot.

leftys_rock

yeah....i just dont like running back over and switching and then running back.....i use it for my backhand the most....

x.doublea

Well, the one my coach uses has a remote control, so you can just slip it into your pocket.

leftys_rock

for the ones my coach uses, u can pause and start it, but u have to manually set it.....

x.doublea

Some person in Europe even created a ball machine which can play matches against you and simulate a human player. It "can beat Federer any day". There was an article on TENNIS about it once.

J-man

intresting. i doubt it could beat federer.

x.doublea

It probably can't beat Top 100 players when playing at it's top level (7.0) because the players hit the ball so hard...they can probably break the machine on an ace or a forehand.

J-man

yeah and no machine can beat a player

x.doublea

The machine simulates the player's shots. So, if you hit a strong shot at the corners, it might pop up a floater. If you hit a weak shot, it will hit a forcing shot. You can also adjust the levels from 1.0 to 7.0. Of course the machine doesn't move around; it stays at one shot, and uses to radars to reply an accurate shot.

J-man

wow sounds pretty cool. proably costs like $1000 or more

x.doublea

If I remember correctly, it costs over $1 000 to rent it for week's use (it has a tracker for how long it has been turned on).

leftys_rock

wow...yes that machine does sound cool.....

x.doublea

Except no one is going to buy it because one can buy like 50 $200 worth racquets for the same price.

leftys_rock

true.....i would rather get the racquets and play with another person.....

x.doublea

It's also more fun to rally with a person rather than a machine.

leftys_rock

yeah....cuz the person can think and move around.....

x.doublea

Yes. The machine just fires balls at different angles, spins, and speeds based on the quality and position of your shots.

leftys_rock

yeah....so a person is so much better than a machine.....

x.doublea

The machine can even talk....

leftys_rock

yeah.....and they can have a smart game....

x.doublea

They can even make a mistake. The machine is programmed to miss around one of twenty shots.

leftys_rock

yeah....a machine is boring, it always hits in and if u imagine that you are playing against it, then it always wins.......

x.doublea

However, it makes approximately one mistake in 20 shots (as I said in my previous post). That's good, because it makes the machine seem more human.

leftys_rock

true....that does seem more human.....except a human would probably make way more mistakes than that....

x.doublea

That's true. An average human makes like one mistake every five hits.

leftys_rock

yeah....i use the machine for just the mechanics of the shot, and i hit with somebody to get in match play situations.....

x.doublea

Yes, playing humans is always beneficial....

leftys_rock

but the machine is sometime nice too, just to get warmed up if u havent played in a while....

x.doublea

It helps you find your strokes.

leftys_rock

yeah, like i just practice the mechanics of my backhand with the machine.....

x.doublea

That's a good idea. Maybe I should do that sometimes....

leftys_rock

you just practice for like thirty min, and then if you get bored, then you can try hitting a few inside out forehands.....like on friday, my left hand got really tired because i practiced for like an hour already, so for fun, i tossed in some two handed backhands.....i havent hit those in years......

x.doublea

I switched to a one-handed backhand a year ago, and I can't hit a two-hander anymore. It hurts my left wrist to hit it because I'm already used to the one-hander's far-in-front contact point.

leftys_rock

when i tried hitting a few two handers to give my left arm a break, it felt a little awkward because i felt restricted and stuff....but i wasnt able to hit as hard as if i used a one hander.......

x.doublea

You can also have way more racquet-head speed with a one-hander.

leftys_rock

yeah....i just like the feel of the one hander as you rip it through the ball....it feels so much better than the two hander in my opinion....cuz i can swing freely....

x.doublea

It just feels natural and right to me.

leftys_rock

yeah, thats the same way for me too....its just what comes to me....cuz before i learned it, i HATED my backhand......now its one of my favorite shots because of the variability in it...

x.doublea

A two-handed backhand always felt limiting for me. Anyways, a one-hander is better for all court games.

leftys_rock

yeah, it works on all surfaces.....its nice to watch and to use.....

x.doublea

You just get a larger variety of spins of a one-hander. The only problem with a one-hander is that it's hard to hit shots up high, but it works both ways. It's harder to hit low balls with a two-hander than a one-hander.

leftys_rock

yeah....but thats ok if you cant hit high shots off of the one hander....theres always the slice....i still find it much more comfortable than the two hander....

x.doublea

Hitting the slice from a high position can cause it to be pretty defensive, though.

leftys_rock

true, i sometimes move back and try to hit a really high topspin backhand, but i have to move really fast back to the baseline.....

x.doublea

I'm actually pretty good at hitting topspin backhands at high positions. The most important thing for me is to turn my shoulders sufficiently and to really follow-through.

leftys_rock

if i time it properly, then i can jump and do it.....but im also pretty good at slice from high position.........i go for shorter angles with it........

x.doublea

I don't like jumping on backhands because I feel I lose my weight transfer. However, I also slice high backhands a lot too.

leftys_rock

yes, high slices are hard, but i can do them......high forehands i dont really have a problem with.....i love smacking high forehands and taking them early.....

x.doublea

Me to. Or, sometimes on high forehands, I hold the shot a little so my opponent has to guess, and once it's in my comfort zone (waist to shoulder height) I hit a penetrating shot to set-up the volley.

leftys_rock

yeah, i always hit a pretty hard shot on the high forehand........usually a short angle so i can charge the net....

x.doublea

I usually hit approach shots down the line to close the angle, but I hit crosscourt sometimes to give my opponents a different look.

leftys_rock

i like down the lines for forehands and crosscourt for backhands....but i can hit down the lines for backhands and crosscourt for forehands....its just for crosscourt forehand, i cant really control what part of the corner the ball lands in....

x.doublea

Another good option is to hit it deep in the middle to limit your opponent's angle options.

leftys_rock

true....thats what i do most of the time.....and then i slip in the drop shot.....it usually surprises them and they dont try going for it....

x.doublea

I don't use the drop shot as much now....during the summer, I really overused it, although it worked because my opponents aren't that fast.

fererrodf

x.doublea

It is still occasionally used by professionals, though. For example, in the 2003 US Open Finals, Roddick basically beat Ferrero by hitting close to the middle of the court, knowing that Ferrero hits better on the run than in a stationary position (the genius Gilbert thought of this plan).

leftys_rock

yes, it is a good option....its basically what some pushers do....as long as they hit it deep and in, they just wait for their opponent's error.....

x.doublea

It's also harder to create angles from the centre of the court than at the sides.

leftys_rock

yeah.....but i can sometimes generate a few angles from the baseline.....but yes its harder.....not as much margin for error....

x.doublea

You really have to hit the ball at a sharper angle (more 'upwards) in order to get the same angle from the middle of the court as from the side of the court.