TENNIS TIP OF THE WEEK

TWO HANDED BACKHAND LOOP

    I recently attended my regional USPTA Fall conference and was delighted to attend a seminar with John Yandell of www.tennisplayer.net. John’s video analysis of touring pros strokes provided me with more insight into what actual happens during certain shots. 

    So today I want to visit the two handed backhand. After watching numerous slow motion videos of tennis pros, I have come to the conclusion that pros loop their two handed backhands with the racquet head and not the hands. 

    What I saw were players who took their racquets back with two hands and the hands stayed very level. They did not raise or lower their hands during the swing. However, the racquet head did rise up on the back swing and it did drop during the forward swing to create topspin. Some players loop the racquet head up higher then others and dropped the head lower than other to produce even more topspin but the hands were consistently level.

    What this means to the average player is the loop back swing on both forehands and backhands is vital to the timing and power of the shot. How much loop and topspin are up to individual preferences but clearly the loop is now the modern backhand. If you are not taking your racquet head up on the backhand backswing and then dropping it below the ball on the forward swing then you’re missing a big piece of the puzzle.

Doug Hofer, USPTA                www.hofertennis.com               ​November 7, 2007