Gayathri Evani:
Two Handed Backhand

Analyzed by John Yandell

This month I want to explore some of the issues on the two-handed backhand regarding set up and stance, and how that can affect other factors in the shot, by looking at the two-hander of Gayathri Evani, a ranked Texas junior player who lives in Austin.

Gayathri and her dad Subbayya came to see me recently, as part of a family trip to California. As long time Tennisplayer subscribers, they were interested to see Gayahtri on film and see what I thought about the key positions in her strokes.

What we saw on her two-hander was very interesting, and has application for anyone who aspires to hit this shot as well as possible. These issues have to do with the set up and the use of the legs, particularly the back leg, but also how that can affect the swing pattern.

Because most two handers are hit with neutral or closed stances, the exact positioning of the back leg in the preparation is a point that often gets overlooked. But emphasizing it correctly can make a big difference.

Looking at her swing on video, it was obvious that Gayathri had a well-established stroke with no obvious technical flaws, and that she could hit it effectively and consistently. Her grips looked great and she had a balanced hitting arm structure, hitting with a bent/bent configuration. (Click Here for more on the hitting arms.)

I noted though that she hit a lot of balls with high arcing topspin, even when she was in the center of the court and not forced on time. You can see this in the shape of the forward swing and how quickly she moves into the wrap, taking the racket up and over her shoulder. So one issue was this: what about working on hitting through more and with more pace?

But before addressing that I was curious about her set up stance, because I think these factors are related. Stance, extension, power. This is why I always ask two-handed players if they can hit open stance.

Surprisingly, even many experienced tournament players can't, and this was the case with Gayathri. When she tried to hit open stance, the motion was awkward and off balance. After trying for a couple of balls, she simply reverted to stepping in with the front foot.

Why the emphasis on open stance when most two-handers are hit either neutral or closed? First it's important to be able to hit with all stances to be a complete player and to deal with the variety of balls every player has to hit from a wide variety of court positions. Sometimes you just need to hit open. Second, some players like Venus Williams and Elena Dementieva find they prefer it.

But I think there is a more basic reason for getting comfortable with hitting open. This is to learn to really feel the set up with the back leg, and the role that plays in creating good posture and good balance as well as generating pace.

However, this use of the back leg is subtle when players step into/and or across. How did they really set up just before the step? It's hard to see.

But the use of the back leg is very apparent when they hit open. My belief is that if you can set up and coil well when you hit the ball open stance, this will translate into better use of the rear leg in the other stances. If you can't do this, your balance and movement will suffer, and you also will lose strength and leverage on the ball.

Think about it in comparison to the forehand. There is a huge emphasis on establishing your position behind the ball and coiling the outside leg with as much knee bend as possible and appropriate. This is of course because so many forehands, particularly at the higher level, are hit open.

But this same positioning is also critical for getting the most out of forehands where the player steps forward. And, as Kerry Mitchell and others have pointed out, players who don't learn to establish position with the rear foot tend to chase the ball with the front and never get the feel for arriving at the ball on balance and maximizing the legs in the shot. (Click Here.)

I think the same point is true for the two-handed backhand. If a player can get behind the ball on the outside foot, get balanced, coil, and hit open stance, then that same sense of alignment and power from the legs will naturally translate into the neutral and closed stance balls.

So this is what we worked on first with Gayathri. Just developing the feeling of hitting open stance. In this phase I think it's ok or even preferably to hit fully as opposed to semi-open. This really forces the player to use that outside foot to position to the ball.

It took a few dozen balls, but she was able to develop this open stance feel. Then the great thing was that, we could actually see this translate into her stroke when she took a forward step. The coil was more pronounced. The stroke was a little more explosive.

You can actually see this in the video. Watch her bounce as she gets comfortable with loading her weight on that outside leg. There is a moment you can see where Gayathri settles her weight over the left foot better and coils more before stepping up into the ball. This isn't something I suggested, it was something she did naturally as she felt the benefit for herself. It just sort of happened automatically.

And just as that bounced naturally appeared, it eventually went away. The result was Gayathri fused the use of the outside leg into the rhythm of the stroke. Not only did she have more coil, her balance and posture just look stronger. This was very nice work from a young player who didn't have major apparent problems, and something that I hope will really pay dividends in the long run. Not only in her ability to be more versatile with stances, but her ability to get as much as possible out of every swing.

Interestingly, I think we can see this last benefit when I asked Gayathri to work on her extension through the shot. My sense was that previous to this work on the stance, she had had less confidence really hitting through the ball - hence the naturally tendency to loop.

What we found was that the change in the leverage from the legs naturally added energy to her forward swing. That meant was that she was able to hit through the ball to the classic extension position with less effort, and I think create more racket head speed, and therefore more ball speed.

I've written extensively about this extension position on the two-hander before (Click Here.) But to recap, this is the point at which the racket travels the furthest upward and outward before starting backward in the wrap, or final deceleration phase of the movement.

The wrists are at about eye level. The racket hands move across the body to about the edge of the right shoulder. The racket shaft in more or less straight up and down, and there is good spacing between the hands and the right shoulder. But it takes strength and confidence to really nail this position - that's why a little more energy from the legs goes a long way.

What I am hoping is that this work helps add one more dimension to Gaythri's backhand as she continues to grow and evolve as a player. It's something every two-hander should try for themselves. Can you hit open stance? If not why? Learn to develop the open stance alignment and see if it doesn't help your backhand with the other stances as well.