Your Strokes:
Danielle Dotzenrod Backhand

Analyzed by John Yandell

As our new Tennis Channel spokesperson, Danielle Dotzenrod is making her game a test case for the benefits of the Tennisplayer experience, and that includes this series of articles in Your Strokes! Two months ago we looked at Danielle's forehand for the first time (Click Here), and I will have a further update on that stroke soon.

Now in this second article, let's take a look at her two-handed backhand. It was Danielle's favorite shot and she could really rip it at times, but when we looked at the stroke on video, it was amazing to see what was really happening and how much room she had for technical improvement.

What we saw accounted for her inconsistency and occasional wildness on that side. After looking at the video, I also felt she could produce as much or even more power with a lot less effort.

In the video, we identified 3 issues. The first was her backswing. The second was the configuration and position of her hitting arms. The third issue was her extension point in the forward swing. As is often the case, all three issues were interrelated and the problems in one area were contributing to the problems in the others.

So let's go over the specifics on those three issues. Then we'll outline the approach we used to move her backhand toward a sound technical foundation.

Backswing

One of the biggest confusions I see among players and coaches on the two-hander has to do with the backswing. It is widely believed that the backswing should be some form of upward looping motion, initiated by an immediate upward movement of the hands, the same way as it happens on the forehand.

This was in fact what Danielle was doing - to the extreme. She immediately took her hands sharply upwards. The top of this motion was extremely high, with her hands actually reaching slightly above her shoulders.

This isn't what happens on the backswing in a good two-hander. No pro player man or woman takes their hands anywhere near that high on the backswing. If you actually look at the path of the hands, they tend to go straight back, or at most upward on a slight incline. Usually they reach no higher than the mid torso at the highest.

This is clear if you study pro video clips. But if that is true, why is there so much confusion about the backswing among so many expert observers? It's an optical illusion caused by the difference in the height of the hands compared to the height of the racket tip.

Observers look at the path of the racket and confuse this with the path of the hands. Some two-handers, for example Serena.Williams, take the racket back with the racket tip angled slightly upward. Ohers, for example Maria Sharapova, point the racket tip almost directly upward at the start of the motion.

This is what creates the confusion. Watch the comparison in the animation. If you watch the hands of both players, they go almost straight back and are no higher than the mid torso at the completion of the backswing. In fact Serena's hands might be slightly higher than Sharapova's. But the tip of Sharapova's racket is much higher, actually above head level ecause of how she points the racket at the start of the backswing.

Now does that higher racket tip position have advantage? It definitely means that the racket will drop more from the top to the bottom of the backswing. (For more detail on this, Click Here.) And if you want to call that a "loop" that's fine with me.

Whether this might be an advantage is a fair question for debate. But this issue was irrelevant for Danielle because her problem was in the hand position itself.

In addition to the height of the hands, there was another problem with Danielle's backswing. This was how far she took her hands out away from her body to her left. This created wasted motion and also wasted precious time. But it also contributed to problems in the forward swing.

Although Danielle brought her hands back in considerably as she moved down to the bottom of the backswing, they still ended up further from her torso that the top players. This meant that the forward swing was not starting far enough from the inside.

Position of Hitting Arms

The second major problem was the configuration and position of the hitting arms. Because of her backswing, Danielle was starting her forward swing too far away from her body and reaching for the ball, swinging to her side at contact, rather than forward. Because the swing was not sufficiently forward, this meant that the contact point was late.

In addition there were inconsistencies in her hitting arm configuration from ball to ball. Her arms were both virtually straight on many balls. But on other balls, one arm was flexed and the other straight. On still others both arms were slightly bent.

I've written extensively about these the variations in the hitting arms you see in top players. It is probably impossible to prove that one or the other is truly superior. But whichever hitting arm shape a player uses, that shape should remain a constant in his or her game with, if any thing, only occasional situational variations. (Click Here.)

A relatively small number of elite male players, Andre Agassi for example, hit with the "straight/straight" configuration - meaning both arms are straight contact. Danielle did this on some balls, but I've never seen it in an accomplished woman's two-hander. The same goes for the "bent/straight" configuration.

Virtually all the top women (as well as some of the men) used the third major variation, with both of the arms bent. This put the back arm in a configuration very similar to a left handed forehand.

Now I try not to impose prejudgments on the variety of possible elements different players may combine in the way they hit the ball - even if they seem unusual or atypical. But one thing was certain, Danielle had too much variation from ball to ball. And regardless of the hitting arm variation, her contact was still too far to the side and not enough in front.

Extension

The third problem was the extension point on her forward swing - or extension points. Again it was a question of too many variations. During our initial work, Danielle was hitting against medium paced balls in the center of the court, but the shape of her forward swing was all over the place from one ball to the next.

In general the hands, arms, and racket tended to go too far across her body too soon, as well as finishing too low. Occasionally Danielle also hit a two-handed wiper finish that rivaled the most extreme versions of that shot hit by Nicolay Davydenko and a few other players.

I've seen this effect before when two handers take the racket back high and out to the side like Danielle. For whatever reason, even if they pull the hands in somewhat at the bottom of the backswing, the forward swing still tends to move sharply outward to the player's left and then veer sharply back the other way across the body.

Solutions

So part of the challenge--and this is creative element in coaching--is deciding how and it what order to address multiple issues in the same stroke. It's true that the most important moment is the contact point, but my own experience shows me that it's better to address the overall shape of the swing first, then see how that affects the contact.

To do this I define certain basic positions for the player, depending on what the video shows. In Danielle's case, there were two positions. The first was the position of the hands, arms, and racket at the start of the forward swing.

The second was the extension point in the followthrough. This is the point at which the racket has traveled furthest outward and/or upward toward the target. I've found that the contact point usually improves automatically if the player masters these positions, because they control the overall shape of the forward swing.

The good news was that Danielle's body turn was great and her shoulders were in excellent position for the forward swing. What she needed to do was find the right position for her hands and the racket, more inside and closer to her body.

To do this we created some checkpoints. These were to let her arms relax with the left elbow falling inward toward her waist. This positioned her hands slightly behind and close to the top of her rear leg.

The question then became how to get to this new position from the start of the swing. This can be a serious problem if the player, like Danielle, is used to that high outside backswing.

I've found time and time again that the solution is teaching the player to model the simplest possible straight backswing. Basically you want the player to connect the dots in the simplest possible way.

The hands start at about waist level in the ready position. As the body turns, the player then visualizes moving them on a straight line back to the new position created for the start of the forward swing. I had Danielle model this new motion and then do the same with her eyes closed.

Notice, I said visualize moving on a straight line. The interesting thing is that by doing this, players sometime do go straight back, but often they create a small, compact looping motion, naturally. This is in fact what happened for Danielle. The new backswing delivered the hands arms and racket to the corrected position for the start of the forward swing in a smooth continuous motion.

Extension

The second key position we used was the extension point. Virtually all good two-handers - regardless of hitting arm style - pass through this position as part of the followthrough.

The checkpoints are simple. Wrists are at about eye level. The hands and the edge of the racket are about even with the right side of the torso. The tip of the racket is basically straight up and down so that the plane of the racket is perpendicular to the court.

The left forearm arm is at about a 45 degree angle to the court, while the upper arm is basically parallel. This position produces deep, high paced drives with natural topspin.

It's true that when players swing fast, the racket reaches this position, but then changes direction, and moves backwards wrapping over the right shoulder. But this is actually the deceleration phase of the stroke.

Players who mechanically wrap the finish tend to limit the extension of the swing toward the target, reducing pace and depth. The key to generating power and natural spin is to aim for the extension position and let the wrap happen naturally.

Danielle instantly got a feel for this extension position. As we built up the repetitions, she began to crush backhands, but the motion looked so much more relaxed and effortless. Occasionally I would have her stop and compare her actual position to the checkpoints. Over time we saw that she was conforming beautifully to the model.

Contact

So how did all this effect the critical moment of contact and the hitting arms? In Danielle's case, exactly as I hoped. The contact point can be viewed as one point on the continuum of the forward swing. If the start of the swing is correct and if the extension is correct, there is a good probability that the contact will be right as well.

This is what happened. Her contact moved more forward and less to the side. The most interesting thing was that Danielle's hitting arms dropped naturally into the bent/bent configuration. It just looked very fluid and strong.

The Whole Thing

Initially as Danielle worked on the forward swing, I put a lot of emphasis on extension, having her stop the swing and compare it to the check points. But as she began to make the position regularly, I encouraged her to just let the arms relax at the end. Now the deceleration or wrap phase started to happen naturally.

If we looked at the whole stroke over the course of just a few hours of work, it was approaching text book quality. A great turn, followed by a small compact loop. The hitting arms in perfect position. Then a powerful, effortless forward swing with natural topspin, pace and depth.

The next step of course for Danielle is to learn to replicate the same level of technical excellence on more and more difficult balls, especially moving further out, back, and up in the court. But she is on her way. Not bad for a couple of days work in LA.

So enjoy watching Danielle in our upcoming Tennis Channel commercials. And realize that, for once, you are seeing a spokesperson who has had an authentic, experience with what she is recommending! More on the rest of her game later. Stay tuned!