Apr 12, 2023·edited Apr 12, 2023Liked by Hugh Clarke
Great article. I was always told to use my right hand (left hand for righties)/my non-dominant arm more for my backhands, but always felt uncomfortable. I would try to force a racquet drop by rolling with my right hand, which led to some wrist and elbow pain. The best analogy with how it felt was like trying to throw a punch without any hip rotation.
When rebuilding my backhand, I read this one article I will link at the end by John Yandell which classifies backhands in a similar manner to how you do. I started to experiment with my backhand and ended up with what you classify as a straight left (right for right-handers) arm backhand. Something that really helped me out was throwing a medicine ball since the motion is almost the same as a backhand. The way my backhand now feels is like a figure eight where at the end of the backswing my arms get 'slotted' into position, then my hands automatically throw themselves into the ball. It kind of looks my Rune's backhand but with a straight arm.
I have gotten better strokes by relating them to other motions. Another example is my forehand was a wristy push to the ball until I related it to skipping a stone. Now I load, and the motion just happens (Fun fact I never figured out to lead with my elbow on my forehand until about a year ago). Have you had any epiphanies like this?
All the time, and that is a great way to learn (termed analogous learning). Those implicit ways that you think of strokes tend to break down less compared to more explicit instruction. I wrote a short piece on that here:
so, to clarify (this whole technique world is still so new to me aha), as I haven't seen the words take-back, outside-in or racket drop mentioned here, which here, if I summed it up well, the keys you gave to a great backhand in your previous pieces, is the whole dominant arm / hip and shoulder action-position thing different to the three worlds I mentioned; is it simply a thing of trade off (something that gives you perks and disadvantages but won't hurt you unless you miss the pair - like felix and berrettini) or is it actually something that can be used to rank backhands? do u think there is overall a "better" combination or do sinner's, rune's and djokovic's (for example) co-exist in that matter and really ranking a backhand comes to racket drop/takeback?
Good question. For me, I still think an inside/in-line take-back is better for the modern game (like Djokovic/Zverev). An outside takeback like Agassi and Alcaraz might save time, but I don't think it's as easy to time/get topspin compared to an inside takeback. That being said, I think it is a tradeoff and depends how early you want to take the ball/how short you want your swings to be. You can still have a full Djokovic-like takeback but abbreviate at times when rushed/wanting to be aggressive. That to me is the ideal/most flexible.
Very cool write up. A lot of players complain about the 2hbh as feeling too rigid. However i think thats just a mistake in the way the 2hbh is taught; most coaches force players into the left hand dominant technique. Right hand techniques like agassi’s and borg’s are a lost art that hopefully will come back into discussion with videos like sell’s and your post
Yep I think there are still plenty of players who exhibit this more right hand feel: Korda, Fritz, Alcaraz, Demon, but yeah, I've been as guilty as anyone of assuming the left hand is the driver. Always learning
Great analysis I would love your take on Fognini's backhand. I always thought he had a peculiar way of hitting the ball and generate power, but my tennis knowledge is not deep enough to be able to really understand how and why..
Fognini is definitely more in the "arms first, hips follow" mold. One thing to keep in mind when watching a player hit is understanding how different racquet setups can promote different swings.
E.g., Fognini is a relatively short and stocky player (so short levers) and he also uses pretty short swings. So how does he generate a lot of power? Well in part he gets great power by using a head-heavy racquet (balance point around 334mm). If you see a player with much longer strokes (think Dan Evans forehand), often times this is due to using a head-light racquet. So comparing a long swing to a short swing isn't much use if you don't have racquet information.
Very very very interesting this one! The entire winter I was experimenting with the two styles of either "using no wrist" as Novak puts it and more pushing and using the hips vs the more "wrists" style with more lag and faster racket head speed but less hip action. As a small lefty who plays almost exclusively on clay I found that I had significantly more control and ability to counterpunch flat and deep with the first approach but had waaaay too little ability to create pace and spin to hurt my opponent off a neutral ball. Though I'd probably like to hit it more this way because it gave me confidence against hard hitters, I had to go back to my more natural style of playing with both arms extended and more emphasis on my right hand. Might be a result of training right handed forehands as a kid to develop the faster swing or a side effect of being quite a bit ambidextrous. I'll have to emphasize getting control through spin more than through less noise during the swing I guess. Can't fight 20 years of practice and natural tendencies I guess.
Thanks again for the enjoyable analysis. A big picture question for you - your view on how is it that top level pros like Berrettini, FAA etc, can’t get this right (or at least better) technically? Compare these guys to someone like Rublev or Ruud, the forehand will always be their best shot, but the backhand isn’t a liability in the same way. There’s a great history going back to Tilden of top players with weak backhands (or a weakness in general) diving into the metaphorical cave and not emerging until the stroke was transformed. Does it just boil down to the players being stubborn? Are the risks of making a change higher today than in the past?
Well I think it's often a mark of greatness when players are able to adapt/change. It takes a lot of willpower/effort/time to make meaningful changes to motor patterns that are so engrained. Perhaps they have made subtle changes that aren't noticeable by looking but they are hitting with a different feel. I am sure they know and work at it from biomechanical standpoints, but they also don't have 6 months to go off and work on it, and perhaps that is the real difficulty; they often have a tournament where they front up and just try and win matches however which way, which might further ingrain poor habits. If it was easy to make these changes we wouldn't see any weak strokes out there, so while I often write about the need to make these changes, the difficulty isn't in identifying/prescribing fixes, it is figuring out HOW to achieve the correct change.
Great article. I was always told to use my right hand (left hand for righties)/my non-dominant arm more for my backhands, but always felt uncomfortable. I would try to force a racquet drop by rolling with my right hand, which led to some wrist and elbow pain. The best analogy with how it felt was like trying to throw a punch without any hip rotation.
When rebuilding my backhand, I read this one article I will link at the end by John Yandell which classifies backhands in a similar manner to how you do. I started to experiment with my backhand and ended up with what you classify as a straight left (right for right-handers) arm backhand. Something that really helped me out was throwing a medicine ball since the motion is almost the same as a backhand. The way my backhand now feels is like a figure eight where at the end of the backswing my arms get 'slotted' into position, then my hands automatically throw themselves into the ball. It kind of looks my Rune's backhand but with a straight arm.
I have gotten better strokes by relating them to other motions. Another example is my forehand was a wristy push to the ball until I related it to skipping a stone. Now I load, and the motion just happens (Fun fact I never figured out to lead with my elbow on my forehand until about a year ago). Have you had any epiphanies like this?
Article link - https://www.tennisplayer.net/public/avancedtennis/two_handed_backhand/2hd_bh_simplest_complex/Copy%20of%202hd_bh_simplest_complex.html
All the time, and that is a great way to learn (termed analogous learning). Those implicit ways that you think of strokes tend to break down less compared to more explicit instruction. I wrote a short piece on that here:
https://hughclarke.substack.com/p/implicit-motor-learning
tennisplayer.net is a great resource
so, to clarify (this whole technique world is still so new to me aha), as I haven't seen the words take-back, outside-in or racket drop mentioned here, which here, if I summed it up well, the keys you gave to a great backhand in your previous pieces, is the whole dominant arm / hip and shoulder action-position thing different to the three worlds I mentioned; is it simply a thing of trade off (something that gives you perks and disadvantages but won't hurt you unless you miss the pair - like felix and berrettini) or is it actually something that can be used to rank backhands? do u think there is overall a "better" combination or do sinner's, rune's and djokovic's (for example) co-exist in that matter and really ranking a backhand comes to racket drop/takeback?
Thanks for that piece, as always.
Good question. For me, I still think an inside/in-line take-back is better for the modern game (like Djokovic/Zverev). An outside takeback like Agassi and Alcaraz might save time, but I don't think it's as easy to time/get topspin compared to an inside takeback. That being said, I think it is a tradeoff and depends how early you want to take the ball/how short you want your swings to be. You can still have a full Djokovic-like takeback but abbreviate at times when rushed/wanting to be aggressive. That to me is the ideal/most flexible.
Which is what rune and sinner seem to do, right ?
Yep those two guys get inside the line really well. Sinner is a little more delayed with his takeback
Very cool write up. A lot of players complain about the 2hbh as feeling too rigid. However i think thats just a mistake in the way the 2hbh is taught; most coaches force players into the left hand dominant technique. Right hand techniques like agassi’s and borg’s are a lost art that hopefully will come back into discussion with videos like sell’s and your post
Yep I think there are still plenty of players who exhibit this more right hand feel: Korda, Fritz, Alcaraz, Demon, but yeah, I've been as guilty as anyone of assuming the left hand is the driver. Always learning
Great analysis I would love your take on Fognini's backhand. I always thought he had a peculiar way of hitting the ball and generate power, but my tennis knowledge is not deep enough to be able to really understand how and why..
Fognini is definitely more in the "arms first, hips follow" mold. One thing to keep in mind when watching a player hit is understanding how different racquet setups can promote different swings.
E.g., Fognini is a relatively short and stocky player (so short levers) and he also uses pretty short swings. So how does he generate a lot of power? Well in part he gets great power by using a head-heavy racquet (balance point around 334mm). If you see a player with much longer strokes (think Dan Evans forehand), often times this is due to using a head-light racquet. So comparing a long swing to a short swing isn't much use if you don't have racquet information.
Very very very interesting this one! The entire winter I was experimenting with the two styles of either "using no wrist" as Novak puts it and more pushing and using the hips vs the more "wrists" style with more lag and faster racket head speed but less hip action. As a small lefty who plays almost exclusively on clay I found that I had significantly more control and ability to counterpunch flat and deep with the first approach but had waaaay too little ability to create pace and spin to hurt my opponent off a neutral ball. Though I'd probably like to hit it more this way because it gave me confidence against hard hitters, I had to go back to my more natural style of playing with both arms extended and more emphasis on my right hand. Might be a result of training right handed forehands as a kid to develop the faster swing or a side effect of being quite a bit ambidextrous. I'll have to emphasize getting control through spin more than through less noise during the swing I guess. Can't fight 20 years of practice and natural tendencies I guess.
Like to hear it! I guess you can use both depending on the situation, which I think Djokovic and Alcaraz do (to an extent).
Thanks again for the enjoyable analysis. A big picture question for you - your view on how is it that top level pros like Berrettini, FAA etc, can’t get this right (or at least better) technically? Compare these guys to someone like Rublev or Ruud, the forehand will always be their best shot, but the backhand isn’t a liability in the same way. There’s a great history going back to Tilden of top players with weak backhands (or a weakness in general) diving into the metaphorical cave and not emerging until the stroke was transformed. Does it just boil down to the players being stubborn? Are the risks of making a change higher today than in the past?
Thanks again, really enjoy your articles.
Well I think it's often a mark of greatness when players are able to adapt/change. It takes a lot of willpower/effort/time to make meaningful changes to motor patterns that are so engrained. Perhaps they have made subtle changes that aren't noticeable by looking but they are hitting with a different feel. I am sure they know and work at it from biomechanical standpoints, but they also don't have 6 months to go off and work on it, and perhaps that is the real difficulty; they often have a tournament where they front up and just try and win matches however which way, which might further ingrain poor habits. If it was easy to make these changes we wouldn't see any weak strokes out there, so while I often write about the need to make these changes, the difficulty isn't in identifying/prescribing fixes, it is figuring out HOW to achieve the correct change.
You need an alter ego that blogs this same content from a lefty viewpoint.. my head is spinning.
hahah -- If I could code I'm sure there would be a way to prompt it to switch them. When we hit this summer I'll be able to see your backhand