Note that he finishes with his racquet horizontal and pointing towards the fence behind him with his knuckles facing the side fence. This has improved my own BH tremendously.
i just learned a backhand push for ping pong and that concept actualy helped me generate more power for my backhand... that and the good footwork beforehand
The best thing about a one-hander is that you have so much more mobility of the arms, less time needs to be spent adjusting over to the backhand, and more power can be pack into shot. People might say a two hander is more accurate but i disagree. One-hander accuracy is about how strong your forearm is and smoothness of you shot. Federer's shot is super smooth. You can tell that because when he hits a backhand, its like watching a lefty swing a baseball with one hand or a cricket bat.
His backhanders off the back foot look so natural. I've always believed that a one-handed backhand off the back foot moving forward was among the toughest shots in the game. But his just look natural. probably owes to whatever core strength training he does.
U make a great point there bud. I think Roger has the most beautiful backhand, forehand, serve, slice, volley, lob, shoe tying motion in the world of tennis. Everything this guy does is just so graceful and beautiful its fucking flawless. I saw a match recently where he tripped and fell and he even made that look graceful. Gasquet has a nice backhand, a very very nice one at that, but its not as effortless as Roger's. I think the key word for roger besides graceful is effortless.
Made of tennis. One the one hand you can count up titles (which he wins currently) and on the other you can evaluate the grace with which he won them all. This is the greatest backhand ever, one of several shots of Federer's about which this could be said.
Federer played soccer and cricket...I believe thats the main reason for his success in tennis. Soccer = Footwork + endurance Cricket = Timing the tennis ball + the one hander backhand
@raphael1245 I've always hit with the palm off the racquet a bit... I found choking up in a hammer grip more restrictive. Also you get more leverage. I used to get blisters too, but eventually built up permanent callouses which then protect the hand. You have to do that gradually, though... when your skin starts to show signs of turning into a water or blood blister, stop the hitting session for a day or two... gradually a callous will build up (if you play a few times a week).
I think, that none of the pros uses wrist as an active joint. The active joint, is the shoulder, where the large muscles are. The angle/pitch of the racquet face is also set at the shoulder, I think. The wrist is kept soft, and allowed to twist and whip passively. Same goes for backhand, I think. Position of the shoulder naturally determines the body posture. I THINK.
What I want to know is what transition--if any--does Roger make from the "bicycle grip" on the topspin backhand to the grip for the forehand....Baffles me.
Yeah so I just kept it simple for myself and changed it to hit the ball with the racquet face parallel to the net and brush up on the ball by finishing high and keeping a firm wrist while using a closed stance. It works fine that way I'm just confused on keeping the net clearance the same everytime, that's why I thought I needed to close the racquet face more. Right now my net clearance is about 2 feet above net with moderate pace. I want the ball to travel deeper and have less clearance though.
Key Factor: When you already know the fundamental. 1. Keep moving FORWARD. Hit the ball on the raise. 2. Move your feet to align yourself with the ball. 3. Follow through. 4. Repetition really helps because....the Cerebellum in our the brain store our muscle movement. 5 .You gotta practice and let your Cerebellum store those muscle movement information.
@SenseiSkilik I agree that the one hand backhand looks more beautiful and it would be great if more players would use it. The reason most players have two handed backhands is because the one hander is known to cause back injuries. Granted, Roger hasn't had any major back injuries but he's Federer.
You would think the two-handed backhand would cause more back injuries since you have to rotate your lower back to hit the shot. Agassi and a bunch of two-handers have had back problems that forced them out of the game.
@jfkpublicservant Actually he's 6'1" I believe... he has great calves and quads... earlier in his career... his ponytail days haha... you can see his legs, including calves, were relatively skinny... in a recent documentary on BBC World they said he started to work on his legs soon after turning pro and that really helped his career
I noticed that too, and along with other pros like Nadal's forehand. They don't open (parallel to the net) the racket face until near contact but their shoulders keep rotating with wrist/racket back unopened (perpendicular to the net). Is that the convention or can you have the racket back in prep by getting held with your off hand and continue swing motion towards ball contact with racket face open?
@SenseiSkilik I guess two handed is like a push-pull thing, u get more power and stability. Single gets less of both. But Federer defys laws of physics in tennis.
Fed's Backhand is unique. Looks fluent but if you break it down is entirely nontraditional. Pay attention to the way the elbow straigtens just before contact and how he faces the ball to use the back muscles rather than the shoulder muscles to follow through.
can anyone please tell me what grip federer is using on his backhand and the difference between an eastern and modified eastern as well as the pros and cons of both....thanks
I don't get it I'm watching this video and a bunch of others by FYB on Fed's backhand and I can't tell if I should keep my wrist firm or loose when hitting a one handed backhand.Right now I'm hitting it with a firm wrist but in Fed's case he lets his wrist gets loose and keeps his racquet face closed. I want to keep the racquet face closed as well through contact but that feels awkward. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about?
Simplified: What I'm asking is does it matter if your shoulder/arm leads your racket during your shoulder/torso rotation? Or should your arm/shoulder/racket be all moving at the same pace like a sprinkler (arm across chest with racket extended parallel to the net & arms/shoulder/racket move in unison towards contact?)
hmmm i think they do use it... thats why they all have big forearm muscles. and the pronation on the service deffinetly comes from the active movement of the wrist. otherwise it would'nt be a solid shot. the ball would bounce in whatever direction cuz the wrist is all lose and relaxed... but i think its much clearer in the forehand. the backhand depends much more on the weight you put behind it because the arm is turning toward the outside, so there is less strength. i think =)
For me, the two handed is more consistent. But the one handed is so awesome at driving a winner. I use both because I'm stupid. If I have bad positioning or the ball is really high, I go two handed. Otherwise, the one hander feels so right :)
Pretty much :) I'm a two handed backahnd, but did learn one hand in the past. I use it only when the ball is slow enough for me to hit it correctly haha :P
Great looking stroke. The only problem is, if you're an average player, or beginner, to hit like that, you need tremendous strength in your shoulder muscle to pull it off.
@DarkStriker297 Well that was my guess, im a tennis noob so what i sed there could be completely wrong. My experience is when i first played, i did find single hand to have more angle but my aim was way off and my power was weak because the aim was that bad. I was afraid to hit the shots hard. When i changed to 2 handed, i could hit as hard as i wanted because i had alot more accuracy.
@hamiltonlegend24 well it has been a weakness against nadal. If you look at some other match up you will see it is still very dominate even though it is still considered a "weakness"
you probably started off with a two handed backhand... since i started off with a 1h backhand it is actualy simple... just generating power from it is usualy the tuff part
When he sets up and contacts the ball it's perfect, but on the follow through he "rolls" his wrist. Don't copy that. It just so happens that Federer has the talent, and tremendous strength in his wrist. He can pull it off. What you wanna do is keep your wrist "firm" on the follow through. The way Federer is rolling his wrist on the follow through is very difficult to execute.
@hattrickster33 Nobody thinks that Gasquet sucks, rather we know he has the potential to become an amazing player, but he's too distracted and lacks the commitment of the top players. Gasquet has one of the best backhands in the game, but he never improved on the other parts of his game and now he's not even in the top 20.
@GnRockzU roger has chronic back problems, thats why his explosiveness declined, he is trying to stay healthy by reducing it. Since he can win games using many kinds of play. yeah n does he take the ball on the rise vs everyone using this backhand? I certainly didn't see it against nadal.
@bluenigma Fed's BH is definitely better than Pete's but not his FH and serve, esp. not his serve. It's nowhere near Pete's. But Fed's all-around game is much more versatile and Fed as a player is far more consistent. Pete left a bunch of tennis on the court and would stink it up at times in ways Fed never has. But when Pete's BH was clicking he was damn near unbeatable, except on clay of course. lol
What I do not think is that they keep telling themselves to turn their body, bend their knees, touch the shoulder to the chin, watch the ball..... during their play. They do all that, but trying to learn tennis that way is going in reverse. I THINK.
@danw34 dont know... almagro, kohlschreiber and hanescu are good but not world class pontetial. gasquet is a perennial talent. wawrinka is good but not realy consistent. womans tennis.... hm henin had a great one-handed backhand, mauresmo too. but today 98% play two handed in wta tour.
@SenseiSkilik You'd think some juniors and their coaches would recognize the overall superiority of the 1HBH, as proven by Fed, Sampras, Kuerten et al. But they all want the quick and easy fix that 2HBHs give with a babolat. It's a shame. After Fed retires tennis will be unimaginably BORING.
Note that he finishes with his racquet horizontal and pointing towards the fence behind him with his knuckles facing the side fence. This has improved my own BH tremendously.
i just learned a backhand push for ping pong and that concept actualy helped me generate more power for my backhand... that and the good footwork beforehand
The best thing about a one-hander is that you have so much more mobility of the arms, less time needs to be spent adjusting over to the backhand, and more power can be pack into shot. People might say a two hander is more accurate but i disagree. One-hander accuracy is about how strong your forearm is and smoothness of you shot. Federer's shot is super smooth. You can tell that because when he hits a backhand, its like watching a lefty swing a baseball with one hand or a cricket bat.
His backhanders off the back foot look so natural. I've always believed that a one-handed backhand off the back foot moving forward was among the toughest shots in the game. But his just look natural. probably owes to whatever core strength training he does.
U make a great point there bud. I think Roger has the most beautiful backhand, forehand, serve, slice, volley, lob, shoe tying motion in the world of tennis. Everything this guy does is just so graceful and beautiful its fucking flawless. I saw a match recently where he tripped and fell and he even made that look graceful. Gasquet has a nice backhand, a very very nice one at that, but its not as effortless as Roger's. I think the key word for roger besides graceful is effortless.
Made of tennis. One the one hand you can count up titles (which he wins currently) and on the other you can evaluate the grace with which he won them all. This is the greatest backhand ever, one of several shots of Federer's about which this could be said.
federer is sheer poetry in motion
Federer played soccer and cricket...I believe thats the main reason for his success in tennis.
Soccer = Footwork + endurance
Cricket = Timing the tennis ball + the one hander backhand
My fav one has to be at 1:16 the way he sets up bye stepping into the shot. Lovely and relaxed swing.
@raphael1245 I've always hit with the palm off the racquet a bit... I found choking up in a hammer grip more restrictive. Also you get more leverage. I used to get blisters too, but eventually built up permanent callouses which then protect the hand. You have to do that gradually, though... when your skin starts to show signs of turning into a water or blood blister, stop the hitting session for a day or two... gradually a callous will build up (if you play a few times a week).
I think, that none of the pros uses wrist as an active joint. The active joint, is the shoulder, where the large muscles are. The angle/pitch of the racquet face is also set at the shoulder, I think. The wrist is kept soft, and allowed to twist and whip passively. Same goes for backhand, I think.
Position of the shoulder naturally determines the body posture. I THINK.
What I want to know is what transition--if any--does Roger make from the "bicycle grip" on the topspin backhand to the grip for the forehand....Baffles me.
Yeah so I just kept it simple for myself and changed it to hit the ball with the racquet face parallel to the net and brush up on the ball by finishing high and keeping a firm wrist while using a closed stance. It works fine that way I'm just confused on keeping the net clearance the same everytime, that's why I thought I needed to close the racquet face more. Right now my net clearance is about 2 feet above net with moderate pace. I want the ball to travel deeper and have less clearance though.
Key Factor: When you already know the fundamental.
1. Keep moving FORWARD. Hit the ball on the raise.
2. Move your feet to align yourself with the ball.
3. Follow through.
4. Repetition really helps because....the Cerebellum in our the brain store our muscle movement.
5 .You gotta practice and let your Cerebellum store those muscle movement information.
@SenseiSkilik I agree that the one hand backhand looks more beautiful and it would be great if more players would use it. The reason most players have two handed backhands is because the one hander is known to cause back injuries. Granted, Roger hasn't had any major back injuries but he's Federer.
You would think the two-handed backhand would cause more back injuries since you have to rotate your lower back to hit the shot. Agassi and a bunch of two-handers have had back problems that forced them out of the game.
Magnificient shot!
So smooth and with little effort it seems.
FYB can u post a vid with Federer hitting a high backhand shot?
@jfkpublicservant Actually he's 6'1" I believe... he has great calves and quads... earlier in his career... his ponytail days haha... you can see his legs, including calves, were relatively skinny... in a recent documentary on BBC World they said he started to work on his legs soon after turning pro and that really helped his career
I noticed that too, and along with other pros like Nadal's forehand. They don't open (parallel to the net) the racket face until near contact but their shoulders keep rotating with wrist/racket back unopened (perpendicular to the net). Is that the convention or can you have the racket back in prep by getting held with your off hand and continue swing motion towards ball contact with racket face open?
@JForcE777 Yea a lot of players would love to have a forehand, let alone a backhand, as good as Gasquet's
such a relaxed form of playing tennis, Fed always looks so relaxed in his shot making
@SenseiSkilik I guess two handed is like a push-pull thing, u get more power and stability. Single gets less of both. But Federer defys laws of physics in tennis.
Fed's Backhand is unique. Looks fluent but if you break it down is entirely nontraditional. Pay attention to the way the elbow straigtens just before contact and how he faces the ball to use the back muscles rather than the shoulder muscles to follow through.
can anyone please tell me what grip federer is using on his backhand and the difference between an eastern and modified eastern as well as the pros and cons of both....thanks
I don't get it I'm watching this video and a bunch of others by FYB on Fed's backhand and I can't tell if I should keep my wrist firm or loose when hitting a one handed backhand.Right now I'm hitting it with a firm wrist but in Fed's case he lets his wrist gets loose and keeps his racquet face closed. I want to keep the racquet face closed as well through contact but that feels awkward. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about?
Simplified: What I'm asking is does it matter if your shoulder/arm leads your racket during your shoulder/torso rotation? Or should your arm/shoulder/racket be all moving at the same pace like a sprinkler (arm across chest with racket extended parallel to the net & arms/shoulder/racket move in unison towards contact?)
hmmm
i think they do use it...
thats why they all have big forearm muscles. and the pronation on the service deffinetly comes from the active movement of the wrist. otherwise it would'nt be a solid shot. the ball would bounce in whatever direction cuz the wrist is all lose and relaxed...
but i think its much clearer in the forehand. the backhand depends much more on the weight you put behind it because the arm is turning toward the outside, so there is less strength.
i think =)
Fed´s one-handed backhand ist the most beautifull shot in tennis... it´s a pity tha all the others play a two-handed backhand now :(
graceful
For me, the two handed is more consistent. But the one handed is so awesome at driving a winner. I use both because I'm stupid. If I have bad positioning or the ball is really high, I go two handed. Otherwise, the one hander feels so right :)
Pretty much :)
I'm a two handed backahnd, but did learn one hand in the past. I use it only when the ball is slow enough for me to hit it correctly haha :P
i wonder what is feels like to be the best player in the world in a sport
Great looking stroke. The only problem is, if you're an average player, or beginner, to hit like that, you need tremendous strength in your shoulder muscle to pull it off.
@DarkStriker297 Well that was my guess, im a tennis noob so what i sed there could be completely wrong.
My experience is when i first played, i did find single hand to have more angle but my aim was way off and my power was weak because the aim was that bad. I was afraid to hit the shots hard. When i changed to 2 handed, i could hit as hard as i wanted because i had alot more accuracy.
4 ppl faced the wrath of roger's one-handed backhand in slo-motion while he was wearing a monster with a butterfly t-shirt
damnit, i need to c how he changes grip from his set position (forehand grip) to his backhand
@hamiltonlegend24 well it has been a weakness against nadal.
If you look at some other match up you will see it is still very dominate even though it is still considered a "weakness"
@Longlebao yea I know people think Gasquet sucks just because his forehand isn't as good as Federer's but his backhand is way better.
one handed backhands should b more popular, i use it and i think its more affective than the two handed
手本だ。
i think he does that cause its practice...but u shouldnt restrict your wrist, it might get injured.
The best
you probably started off with a two handed backhand... since i started off with a 1h backhand it is actualy simple... just generating power from it is usualy the tuff part
It does seem like he caught a few of the topspin shots late.
It kills me how much power he can generate considering how scrawny he actually is... all about the perfect form.
note the hammer grip!
When he sets up and contacts the ball it's perfect, but on the follow through he "rolls" his wrist. Don't copy that. It just so happens that Federer has the talent, and tremendous strength in his wrist. He can pull it off. What you wanna do is keep your wrist "firm" on the follow through. The way Federer is rolling his wrist on the follow through is very difficult to execute.
henin's backhand was ugly ugly ugly... but one of the most effective/best shots to have graced game.
@SenseiSkilik
I play one handed too :)
2 handed backhands are technically not backhands. Ur actually using ur weaker arms forward swing with ur dominant arm for stability.
He's not hitting full out here, he's just playing around. I want to see him hitting REAL backhands, where you can tell he is actually "trying".
If i had a backhand like him, i would never hit a forehand EVER!
he really does use hes wrist a lot
me too
@arilsonla erm no hes not anymore
ask Phil Taylor
What? Henin's backhand was textbook.
Word on that!
@hattrickster33 Nobody thinks that Gasquet sucks, rather we know he has the potential to become an amazing player, but he's too distracted and lacks the commitment of the top players. Gasquet has one of the best backhands in the game, but he never improved on the other parts of his game and now he's not even in the top 20.
@GnRockzU roger has chronic back problems, thats why his explosiveness declined, he is trying to stay healthy by reducing it. Since he can win games using many kinds of play. yeah n does he take the ball on the rise vs everyone using this backhand? I certainly didn't see it against nadal.
@bluenigma Fed's BH is definitely better than Pete's but not his FH and serve, esp. not his serve. It's nowhere near Pete's. But Fed's all-around game is much more versatile and Fed as a player is far more consistent. Pete left a bunch of tennis on the court and would stink it up at times in ways Fed never has. But when Pete's BH was clicking he was damn near unbeatable, except on clay of course. lol
real men wear butterfly tees.
He looks like Tennis!
monster with a butterfly t-shirt
What I do not think is that they keep telling themselves to turn their body, bend their knees, touch the shoulder to the chin, watch the ball..... during their play. They do all that, but trying to learn tennis that way is going in reverse. I THINK.
jeesh! srry i was just kidding fed is the best player ever!
One handed back hand is hard.... :(
I hate how he makes it look so easy.
if i had a better camra i would record myself playing :(
yeah they should all be moving in unison
@danw34 yeah, think he retired.
dont know about one hander causin back problms doctor/ but when you say"but hes federer" youre credibilty goes out thw window.
@danw34 dont know... almagro, kohlschreiber and hanescu are good but not world class pontetial. gasquet is a perennial talent. wawrinka is good but not realy consistent.
womans tennis.... hm henin had a great one-handed backhand, mauresmo too. but today 98% play two handed in wta tour.
he needs to switch to a 95 sq in head
@SenseiSkilik You'd think some juniors and their coaches would recognize the overall superiority of the 1HBH, as proven by Fed, Sampras, Kuerten et al. But they all want the quick and easy fix that 2HBHs give with a babolat. It's a shame. After Fed retires tennis will be unimaginably BORING.
Hong Kong Tennis Training and Arrangements , 25 40 8333
his balance is off. he needs a chiropractic adjustment
well he lost to bagdatis so......