Technical Flaws in Pro Two Handers: John Isner

[johnyandell]

Norman,
Interesting point. I think Connors grip was a little stronger:

https://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/modern_legends/jimmyconnor/jc_backhand/jc_bh_armaction/jc_bh_armaction.html?JCBHArmActionRear.mov

[ten1050]

Hello John,

Interesting article on Isner's backhand. Didn't Jimmy Conners have a weak backhand grip with his bottom hand? Also, I believe Conners kept his arms straight to strike the ball. Perhaps Isner's problem is that he stands too upright when he strikes his two hander. He might try to imitate the way Conners would lean his torso toward the ball and come up thus using his torso's momentum and back muscles to propel his arms and racket into the ball. Conners was a skinny guy, but he used the heaviest parts of the body, (the torso and legs), to power his two hander. In many ways, Conners was like a great middle weight fighter.

Sincerely,

Norman Ashbrooke

[bottle]

John, l totally agree with your analysis of Isner. Since that grip change requires a major motor memory change in the middle of a career, any thoughts of specifically how, when, and the amount of bottom hand grip change? Since he already has the motor memory to shift his bottom hand to a slice position, that is a great start. The grip change will obviously take a little longer. Has anyone captured extremely zoomed-in, slow motion action of pros in the act of grip changing? I have witnessed the most talented players select 2 to 3 grips at the very last second on both forehands and backhands, but have not seen clear video capture. I once got bogged down in the dark ages with my non-racket hand manipulation of the racket throat when wood/composite rackets first became open throat and some were very wide.

What's so hard about grip changes? You just have to know what the grip is that you want and then figure out the simplest way to get there.

That said, I don't think that most grip change instruction is user-friendly. "The vee goes here and that pad goes there and this pad goes here, etc., etc."

Better to hit with a multitude of natural grips and notice carefully the result. Then whittle down the choices to...THREE (3). Not that I am opinionated.

Strong eastern, composite, and service grip with thumb and forefinger out of the way. I think that thumb can be used as pointer on a dial. You learn the different thumb positions for your different grips. That short-circuits all the nonsense about "Take a magic marker and draw an x here and another one there, etc., etc."

More natural gripping of the racket and then learn by trial and error since no two hands are alike.

I've done a lot of experimentation with different strokes and have learned much about how difficult change is here, how easy there-- the challenge just is not always the same.

But as far as the physical act of finding and then remembering a desired grip-- I just can't believe it that tough.

I guess that our consciousness about how little shades of difference (in grip) make huge difference in production tends to make us neurotic about the actual grip changes themselves.

[arturohernandez]

Hmmm... He has a nice slice. HIs two hander is not so good. So let's fix his two hander. There is another solution but it would have had to happen much earlier in his life.

I often see very odd grips on junior players where I can tell that the shot will be limited in the long run.

I think John could change if he suddenly hit a clean shot. That feeling alone might make it so that he would switch.

Amazing to think that top players have flaws.

[johnyandell]

Yeah those grip shifts are tough to film!

[doctorhl]

John, l totally agree with your analysis of Isner. Since that grip change requires a major motor memory change in the middle of a career, any thoughts of specifically how, when, and the amount of bottom hand grip change? Since he already has the motor memory to shift his bottom hand to a slice position, that is a great start. The grip change will obviously take a little longer. Has anyone captured extremely zoomed-in, slow motion action of pros in the act of grip changing? I have witnessed the most talented players select 2 to 3 grips at the very last second on both forehands and backhands, but have not seen clear video capture. I once got bogged down in the dark ages with my non-racket hand manipulation of the racket throat when wood/composite rackets first became open throat and some were very wide.

[johnyandell]

Ha! I am going to send the article to Justin, but I am not packing my bags.

[klacr]

I always knew Isner's two hander was bad. Could never tell in real time. Thank goodness for video slowed down enough to pick up this crucial detail. For Isner's sake, let's hope he can see this and make an adjustment. Gimelstob should make him watch the footage and read the article on a loop.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[johnyandell]

Would love your thoughts on my latest article, "Technical Flaws in Pro Two Handers: John Isner"