Forehand vs. backhand: getting analytical
Arghh, Blogger lost my draft of this post! I still want to write this up. Ok, here it goes.
Hit with a ball machine this moring, forehands and backhands. Forehands were good, and I have a feel for why they work when they work. Backhands, not. So let's get analytical and understand in detail what matters in a backhand.
In the forehand, here are the things I think matter. On set up, I take the racquet back in the plane of the ball. To do that, I need to be sideways to the net, and putting my left arm across, perpendicular to the path of the ball helps me do that. Is any of that useful in the backhand? If I take the racquet back in the plane of the ball, I then just let the gravity and maybe the left hand switch the momentum. I don't know that there's an equivalent to putting the left arm across my body, other than really honestly turning sideways to the net. The crucial difference is that on the forehand, the body rotates into the ball, and on the backhand I know that's a sure way to screw it up: the body must stay sideways, and the left arm counteracts the rotation. So what's the takeaway? I guess turning sideways, first. Second, on the forehand the left arm first supports the racquet and helps me take it back. On the backhand, maybe the equivalent is that the left arm agressively goes behind while supporting the racquet. What about the left elbow? Is it high or low? Need to watch some clips. Should probalby be reasonably high (just like on the forehand take back some players lead with the elbow).
Next, body position. I do know that I tend to lean into the backhand with a straight body. If I just do the same zig-zag thing as on the forehand, I can be more balanced, with knees bent, back straight and bent at the waist, and shoulders balanced over knees. This makes sense. Weight distribution? Forehand, it's all right foot. Don't think it translates this directly. Although many images I see have the player's right foot about to step onto the heel, which means that the weight must be on the left foot. Pushing off the left foot doesn't do any good because you don't want body rotation. So maybe it's just landing into the right leg and bending its knee.
As I start to hit, I definitely want the racquet head to drop down low, same as on the forehand, and whip around, presereving the momentum. I don't know if it's the mirror image of the forehand switch from 2 pm to 7:30 pm, but I do know that just before impact the racquet is pointing somewhere to the corner of the back fence and right side fence.
As the racquet moves into the ball, it is almost parallel to the ground, much like in the forehand. The arm should be straight, with the wrist laid back and in the power position, fundamentally the same as for the forehand, the butt of the racquet pointing to the ball. More tomorrow.
Hit with a ball machine this moring, forehands and backhands. Forehands were good, and I have a feel for why they work when they work. Backhands, not. So let's get analytical and understand in detail what matters in a backhand.
In the forehand, here are the things I think matter. On set up, I take the racquet back in the plane of the ball. To do that, I need to be sideways to the net, and putting my left arm across, perpendicular to the path of the ball helps me do that. Is any of that useful in the backhand? If I take the racquet back in the plane of the ball, I then just let the gravity and maybe the left hand switch the momentum. I don't know that there's an equivalent to putting the left arm across my body, other than really honestly turning sideways to the net. The crucial difference is that on the forehand, the body rotates into the ball, and on the backhand I know that's a sure way to screw it up: the body must stay sideways, and the left arm counteracts the rotation. So what's the takeaway? I guess turning sideways, first. Second, on the forehand the left arm first supports the racquet and helps me take it back. On the backhand, maybe the equivalent is that the left arm agressively goes behind while supporting the racquet. What about the left elbow? Is it high or low? Need to watch some clips. Should probalby be reasonably high (just like on the forehand take back some players lead with the elbow).
Next, body position. I do know that I tend to lean into the backhand with a straight body. If I just do the same zig-zag thing as on the forehand, I can be more balanced, with knees bent, back straight and bent at the waist, and shoulders balanced over knees. This makes sense. Weight distribution? Forehand, it's all right foot. Don't think it translates this directly. Although many images I see have the player's right foot about to step onto the heel, which means that the weight must be on the left foot. Pushing off the left foot doesn't do any good because you don't want body rotation. So maybe it's just landing into the right leg and bending its knee.
As I start to hit, I definitely want the racquet head to drop down low, same as on the forehand, and whip around, presereving the momentum. I don't know if it's the mirror image of the forehand switch from 2 pm to 7:30 pm, but I do know that just before impact the racquet is pointing somewhere to the corner of the back fence and right side fence.
As the racquet moves into the ball, it is almost parallel to the ground, much like in the forehand. The arm should be straight, with the wrist laid back and in the power position, fundamentally the same as for the forehand, the butt of the racquet pointing to the ball. More tomorrow.
posted by Dmitry Dimov at 8:07 PM
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