New Teaching Method: Slice Backhand Ball Flights

In this series we have been looking at the technical characteristics of the slice backhand, and also the differences in the swing shapes between the so-called classic slice and the more extreme modern slice. (Click Here.)

A natural question is what are the flight characteristics of each version? What are the differences in the amount of spin and how do these differences affect the bounce height at the other end of the court?

Using a pocket radar gun (Click Here for more on that) and a high speed camera, I designed an experiment to see. My three great friends, Scott Murphy, Karsten Popp, and Giancarlo Andreani agreed to help me by letting me measure their slice backhands.

All have been 5.0 NTRP players or higher and Karsten in fact once had a world ranking. And they all have different versions of the slice. Karsten, completely classical, Giancarlo fully modern, and Scott somewhere in between. Perfect for doing the comparisons!

We set up a ball machine to throw a rally speed ball with an outgoing ball speed of about 50mph that bounced to about mid torso level. I then asked all 3 to hit a matching rally ball back with underspin.