Category: Tennis

#4b – Topspin forehand (2/2)

Welcome to my new “Teach yourself tennis” series, using the best YouTube videos

I’ll be your video curator / instructor ! selecting the best free coaches out there…

Following my Forehand part-1 post, here is part-2 where we go into a lot more details on how to hit a “modern” forehand…

This first video explains quite well the difference between the “old” and the “new” forehand:

Now let’s get cracking! This first video talks about you through the 5 key steps of a topspin forehand:

  • Step 0 – The grip – except he talks at first about the semi-western grip and really you should use the eastern forehand grip (which he recommends at the end) – refer to post#1 on the ”grip”
  • Step 1 – The ready position with a high racquet head, holding the throat
  • Step 2 – Turn the left shoulder in a unit turn
  • Step 3 – The power back position, away from body 
  • Step 4 – The turn initiation, with racket lag and racket but pointing forward
  • Step 5 – Nice forward contact point with follow through with no slowing down

This next video goes into even more details on how to hit the “Federer forehand”. The coach is a bit serious but it is interesting the way he teaches his student and all the small elements he focuses on:

  1. Racket back with elbow up and out
  2. Elbow extension and tap the dog
  3. The racket flip and follow through

To make the swing shorter and the racket speed higher and therefore deliver more consistently a shot that has more power and more top spin.

https://youtu.be/5MHugAF2DiQ

This next video explains how to generate more top spin when needed. Pay special attention to the first few seconds where you see people practicing with a tape band high above the net to make sure the top spin shots go high above it…

  • Correct swing path
  • Brushing from under the ball
  • Racket speed through the ball
  • Using your legs

Finally, this video is a coaching lesson to improve this woman’s forehand (that was already quite good I thought!). They show what to improve and give drills on how to practice the correct movements:

Hope you found this 2-part forehand video selection useful and join me for further shot specific videos soon.

#4a – Topspin Forehand (1/2)

Welcome to my new “Teach yourself tennis” series, using the best YouTube videos

I’ll be your video curator / instructor ! selecting the best free coaches out there…

If, like me, you learned your tennis a while back, you probably have nice “old school” strokes and all these top-spin shots seem a bit ”alien”. However topspin shots provide more margin for error and make the shots harder to return for your opponent.

This first post on the Forehand (part 1 of 2) focuses on the basic understanding of what is required to make the transition from a “classic” to a “modern” forehand  and is also what you would explain to a beginner tennis player learning to hit a modern forehand!

This initial video talks about the 4 basic key points of a topspin forehand:

  1. The grip – except he talks at first about the semi-western grip and really you should use the eastern forehand grip (which he recommends at the end) – refer to my post#1 on the ”grip” for more details on suitable grips
  2. The ready position and racquet back
  3. The “pat the big dog” position 
  4. The follow through, finishing high over your shoulder

This next video decomposes the forehand movement more precisely. And since the celebrity coach is of my “vintage”, I felt comfortable listening to her 🙂

  1. Footwork
  2. Early shoulder turn
  3. Contact point
  4. Grip

She then gives more details and answers a few good questions

This next video emphasises 3 key points required to make a topspin forehand:

  • Have the proper swing path – not just “low to high” but lower than the ball contact point to higher than it
  • Don’t use muscle power but use the correct “kinetic chain” (proper movement)
  • Work on getting the required ball flight/shape over the net

Finally, this video is a coaching lesson to transform a rather “ugly” traditional looking forehand into something much better… You might associate with the guy’s problems:

  • Bad grip
  • not turning your body
  • not going from low to high

and may benefit from the drills demonstrated:

I hope you found this video selection useful and join me for part 2 of the Forehand soon.

#3 – First /vs/ second serve

Welcome to my new “Teach yourself tennis” series, using the best YouTube videos

I’ll be your video curator / instructor ! selecting the best free coaches out there…

Serving is often a big problem for many tennis players. A weak serve sets your opponent up  for an easy winner; forcing yourself to hit it harder  often makes you double fault (which is even worse, a winner on a plate). We therefore often see the second serve being a slowed down version of the first serve which makes it so weak and predictable that it gets put away.

The key point is to understand that a second serve should be very different from a first serve:

  • The first serve should be trying to win you the point with an ace. It is powerful, hit flat for maximum speed and precisely placed.
  • The second serve should be different: the aim is to reliably put the ball it in play while making it hard for your opponent to return a winner. There are usually two common options: a sliced second serve or a kick second serve.

Back when I was a teenager, I use to make the same mistake. The coach then forced me to only ever hit second serves (for the first and second) until I was confident that I would get my second serve in if I went for a big first serve. To this day, I serve many more sliced and kick serve on my first serve than flat serves, and I find that, when well executed, they are nearly as effective at my level of play.

This video explains the difference between all three serve types and demonstrates them in not too much detail. I will cover each serve in a lot more depth in later posts. I just want to keep it to the end of this series so that the people I play tennis with don’t copy my favorite weapon too soon 🙂

Hope you found this serve “teaser” video interesting…Join me for further shot and serve specific videos soon.

#2 – Topspin one-handed backhand

Welcome to my new “Teach yourself tennis” series, using the best YouTube videos

I’ll be your video curator / instructor ! selecting the best free coaches out there…

I am like this guy in the first video. I use to slice my back hand and that worked fine in singles because of placement but in doubles, the other guy at the net had too much time to see the shot and move in to volley it back. I therefore wanted to hit my backhand harder while keeping it in court. I started working on the magic topspin backhand !

The first video gives you the 4 basic key points of a topspin backhand:

  1. The grip
  2. The back swing
  3. The contact
  4. The finish

This next video decomposes the backhand movement more precisely into 5 key steps:

  1. Initiate the turn
  2. Elbow and hand position
  3. Dropped racket position
  4. Contact position
  5. Stretching the chest

This older gentleman is great (you might even relate more with him…). He explains the movement in great details and gives you his best tips for an effortless one-handed topspin backhand:

  • Good grip
  • Rubber band effect
  • Release the forearm and the wrist
  • Loose shoulders

The next video explains the most common faults:

  • Bad grip
  • not turning your body
  • not going from low to high

This last video has good slow motion shots of a non-professional player

And finally, for advanced coaching, how to get more power on your backhand….

Hope you found this video selection useful and join me for further shot specific videos soon.

#1 – Get a grip !

Welcome to my new “Teach yourself tennis” series, using the best YouTube videos

I’ll be your video curator / instructor ! selecting the best free coaches out there…

I am trying to improve my tennis, and the first thing you hear is that tennis has changed and that you need to change the way you hit the ball. No more flat forehands and sliced backhands… you need topspin and for this you often need a new different grip.

So here are a couple of good videos explaining the different grips to use:

Summary:

Continental Grip – Index knuckle on bevel 2

  • Used for volley and serve. Can be used for flat/sliced or for double handed backhand instead of Eastern backhand grip (see below). Was also used for forehand in the “olden” days…

Eastern Forehand Grip – Index knuckle on bevel 3 (large flat)

  • Used for topspin forehand (easier for topspin) – preferred choice!

Semi Western Forehand Grip – knuckle on bevel 4 (small one)

  • Used by some players to generate even more top-spin on forehand

Eastern Backhand Grip – Index knuckle on bevel 1 (top one)

  • Used for topspin backhand – preferred choice!

This second video reinforces in a different way the first video and also talks about the two-handed backhand hand placement:

But the best video is this next one which, towards the end, explains how to go from one grip to the other while you are playing.

If you are like me, and always wondered how you switch between forehand and backhand grips and how you find the time to do it in between shots. This video reveals the secret !

And finally, only if you are not sure about which forehand grip to use and wonder what the difference brings. And provided you can stand this guy’s cheesy attitude (!), go through this last optional video….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T71daxDN4ig

Hope you found this video selection useful and join me for further shot specific videos soon.