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“Unorthodox” or deadly weapon?
It may be the single most dangerous shot in woman’s tennis. I’m taking about the Venus Williams backhand.
What makes it so special? I had the privilege of working with Venus and Serena for over 4 years (between the ages of 10 and
15) when their games were just developing.
A lot of people thought Venus was “unorthodox” and her backhand had technical flaws. What did I see? The
potential to develop a deadly, world-class shot.
Let’s talk about some of things that make Venus’s two-hander so special:
Her preparation, fast and simple
Her disguise and ability to recover with the open stance
Her ability to hit cold winners, especially down the line
Preparation
I feel Venus and Serena have the best preparation on the woman’s tour. As soon as Venus sees the ball coming
to her backhand, you can see the racquet going back immediately. Well before the ball bounces she already has a great
shoulder turn, and her racquet is moving back.
Look how much of the preparation already takes place in the first move. If you notice the first movement is the upper body. It starts to coil. At the same time the…
