FH/BH : take a look?

[kurtvanhook]

Hi John,

Could you perhaps take a look at these clips of my forehand and backhand and let me know what you impressions are....and maybe one or two suggestions or hints for improvement?

thanks.....

clip are also posted at www.plainhealers.com/strokes.html

Kurt

[johnyandell]

Kurt,

I couldn't read those files for some reason. Would you try emailing me one?
jyandell@tennisplayer.net

Thanks,
John

[kurtvanhook]

fh/bh

thanks John, I just sent them out in an email attachment.


I gave it a try and can download them myself by doing a right mouse click -> "save target as"

clip are also posted at www.plainhealers.com/strokes.html





Kurt

[kurtvanhook]

kurt's bh

Hi John,

Here's what I've found after carefully considering your comments on my admittedly "weird" BH racket takeback (and after hitting and videotaping many many balls over the last few days) :

1) Grip : Part of the reason that my racket was angled was that my grip was off....not quite eastern backhand but more rotated more towards a continental - subtle rotation but definitely a problem. This made it hard to make the racket vertical on the backswing. When I get the grip right, shot is definitely better.

2) From studying the Gaudio/Federer/Phillipoussis/henin/Kuerten BH clips, I see that the racket initially goes back perpendicular to ground with the unit turn, but racket face always is "pulled up" by the left (non-dominant) hand so that the face is level to, or even above, the head, at the completion of the backswing. This element, which I think is key (well, at least to me it is!), is not mentioned in the Phillipoussis BH article, nor in the one-handed backhand portion of your book "visual tennis". .This element facilitates a loop, of course, and more racket speed. Timing is a bit more of a challenge than with my previous, flawed, straight takeback, but when I get this sequence correct, I get effortless power.

3) The biggest bonus I'm getting out of the looped, elevated-to-my-head backswing, is that now I can power through balls that are a little bit higher up in my sweet spot wheel-house strike zone. Before, the always-low takeback would force me to take all of these balls 1)on the rise, or, 2) with a high slice. Now I find I can rip through them with an efficient low-to-high swing angle....as shown clearly in some of the kuerten slow mo BH clips.

This has been a huge epiphany for me, John, and sincerely thank you for this insight! When I think I've got it right, I'll send you more clips if you don't mind.

I'm off to the US Open Qualifying....do you want to to file a report from the field?

kurt

[marty]

On the One-handed back hand don't take the racquet back turn your shoulders and the racquet will go back automatically. I like to have the head of the racquet about chest level.