Francis Remedios Thanks Francis! Contact point depends on grip and height of ball, but for a medium high contact with a solid eastern grip, the playing arm will be nearly 45 degrees forward from vertical. The best way to develop the contact is to drop feed using the backhand.
Thanks John. Superb debunking of the myths on the sbh. Flicking of the wrist does lead to injury. I find for me the power is very elusive. Stan the Man is the only player who generates phenomenal power like no other. Thiem is consistent but the power is no where like Stan’s. I wonder whether the key to the power lies in the amount of contact you make with the ball. We shy away from more contact on the ball and tend to brush the ball more to keep the ball in. I suspect there is a specific technic to make more contact on the ball and yet keeping the ball in and not fly high and wide. I hope John you will be able to unravel the secret of Stan the Man’s legendary sbh! Btw your serve series has benefitted me so much. It was worth the money! Thank you so much!
Hi Laurence, Thanks for your comments and feedback. Regarding power...it it all technique and timing. If you have not done so, please check out my one handed backhand playlist here on the channel. Let me know if you have questions or need more guidance in getting the power you want. Thanks!
Hi, John. I notice that you keep the racquet tip pointed more parallel to the ground than vertical in your takeback. Wawrenka, Thiem, Shapovalov, Gasquet, etc., all keep the racquet tip vertical in the takeback. When I do this I find it promotes more torso rotation that arm movement in the backswing and helps my forward swing path avoid a horizontally circular motion. Any thoughts on this as a general practice?
George Oberlander Great question George! I think what you’re seeing is a difference based on the modern, high performance backhand take back vs mine which is a bit more old school...it’s how I learned it. Interestingly, I was on the court with James Blake last Saturday afternoon and his take back is very much like mine… Most likely a byproduct of the era! Thanks!
Please teach us the proper technique for a running forehand. Which foot should one hit off of? How far are we to ‘run through’ after making contact? Ideally, is it a ‘run through’ or lunge? Is the swing motion a buggy whip or across your non-playing arm? Where on the court are we supposed to recover? Is the primary goal to hit a down-the-line winner? Is Del Potro the model - who else? Thanks in advance...
Hi John. I noticed that you place your thumb up the handle the way Don Budge did. I saw Elliot Teltscher play and he did this too. I actually taught at Budge's tennis camp one summer and he explained that by doing so he was able to hit the ball with more power and had more stability. I learned to hit this way and I have always found it was easier to do so and have a solid OHBH, however, I have read that today's coaches discourage this. With the thumb up the handle, one does have greater stability but it also makes it more difficult to flip the racquet over at the end known as the "French flair." What are your thoughts?
Hi Peter, Great question and observation. I learned the thumb position from a coach in San Diego back in the late 70's. My thumb tends to be more on a slight angle. It has always worked for me, giving me more stability and feel of where I want my hand to be placed for the topspin backhand. Regarding the "French Flair": Flipping the racquet over at the end has no impact on the ball, as the ball is already gone. I am not sure if the thumb position effects the flair or not, but the flair is the result of momentum and relaxation. I personally tend to hold the finish, rather than release...partly my style and the fact I don't get the same racquet speed as the ATP players are producing. Thanks, John
Why nobody mentions the suppination of the forearm during the stroke? There is a lot of angular momentum added to the speed of the raquet because if this.
Probably not mentioned because most coaches (including me) know that is not the source of power. Send me a video of you playing your one-hander with supination. performanceplustennis.com/contact-us/ Thanks, John
This tip is basic as holding the racket. The real tip would be if you explain exact place where to hit the ball and what vertical and horizontal angle should have the racket while hitting the ball - if you set this up there is no speed limit. Your tip would allow platers to play up to 30mph ... over this they will simply produce more faults as they wont understand the key issue !
Are you ready to take your serve to the next level? Check out our serve course here performanceplustennis.com/serve-foundation-program-intro/
I really enjoy your instruction. Very clear and precise.Where do you teach at and how much do you charge
Great video! What do you as reference point to estimate the contact point for the one handed backhand?
Francis Remedios Thanks Francis! Contact point depends on grip and height of ball, but for a medium high contact with a solid eastern grip, the playing arm will be nearly 45 degrees forward from vertical. The best way to develop the contact is to drop feed using the backhand.
Great video and illustrations from Pro players!
Thank you! Kindly, John
Thanks. This is excellent!
Michael Fitz Thanks Michael!
Thanks John. Superb debunking of the myths on the sbh. Flicking of the wrist does lead to injury. I find for me the power is very elusive. Stan the Man is the only player who generates phenomenal power like no other. Thiem is consistent but the power is no where like Stan’s. I wonder whether the key to the power lies in the amount of contact you make with the ball. We shy away from more contact on the ball and tend to brush the ball more to keep the ball in. I suspect there is a specific technic to make more contact on the ball and yet keeping the ball in and not fly high and wide.
I hope John you will be able to unravel the secret of Stan the Man’s legendary sbh!
Btw your serve series has benefitted me so much. It was worth the money! Thank you so much!
Hi Laurence, Thanks for your comments and feedback. Regarding power...it it all technique and timing. If you have not done so, please check out my one handed backhand playlist here on the channel. Let me know if you have questions or need more guidance in getting the power you want. Thanks!
Hi, John. I notice that you keep the racquet tip pointed more parallel to the ground than vertical in your takeback. Wawrenka, Thiem, Shapovalov, Gasquet, etc., all keep the racquet tip vertical in the takeback. When I do this I find it promotes more torso rotation that arm movement in the backswing and helps my forward swing path avoid a horizontally circular motion. Any thoughts on this as a general practice?
George Oberlander Great question George! I think what you’re seeing is a difference based on the modern, high performance backhand take back vs mine which is a bit more old school...it’s how I learned it. Interestingly, I was on the court with James Blake last Saturday afternoon and his take back is very much like mine… Most likely a byproduct of the era! Thanks!
Please teach us the proper technique for a running forehand. Which foot should one hit off of? How far are we to ‘run through’ after making contact? Ideally, is it a ‘run through’ or lunge? Is the swing motion a buggy whip or across your non-playing arm? Where on the court are we supposed to recover? Is the primary goal to hit a down-the-line winner? Is Del Potro the model - who else?
Thanks in advance...
David Kim Hi David, thanks for your request. Ironically this is a topic that I planned to address in the near future...stay tuned!
Thanks nice
Hi John. I noticed that you place your thumb up the handle the way Don Budge did. I saw Elliot Teltscher play and he did this too. I actually taught at Budge's tennis camp one summer and he explained that by doing so he was able to hit the ball with more power and had more stability. I learned to hit this way and I have always found it was easier to do so and have a solid OHBH, however, I have read that today's coaches discourage this. With the thumb up the handle, one does have greater stability but it also makes it more difficult to flip the racquet over at the end known as the "French flair." What are your thoughts?
Hi Peter, Great question and observation. I learned the thumb position from a coach in San Diego back in the late 70's. My thumb tends to be more on a slight angle. It has always worked for me, giving me more stability and feel of where I want my hand to be placed for the topspin backhand. Regarding the "French Flair": Flipping the racquet over at the end has no impact on the ball, as the ball is already gone. I am not sure if the thumb position effects the flair or not, but the flair is the result of momentum and relaxation. I personally tend to hold the finish, rather than release...partly my style and the fact I don't get the same racquet speed as the ATP players are producing. Thanks, John
Why nobody mentions the suppination of the forearm during the stroke? There is a lot of angular momentum added to the speed of the raquet because if this.
Probably not mentioned because most coaches (including me) know that is not the source of power. Send me a video of you playing your one-hander with supination. performanceplustennis.com/contact-us/ Thanks, John
This tip is basic as holding the racket. The real tip would be if you explain exact place where to hit the ball and what vertical and horizontal angle should have the racket while hitting the ball - if you set this up there is no speed limit. Your tip would allow platers to play up to 30mph ... over this they will simply produce more faults as they wont understand the key issue !
Thanks for your input. Please understand these videos are not "all-encompassing". I will address this in the very near future. Thanks, John