AboutJim Leupold Expertise I feel very confident answering any questions regarding technical aspects of the game -
from stroke production to strategy. My strengths, because of my extensive training, is
keeping the game very simple, energy-efficient and effective, eliminating injuries and
mistakes at the same time.
Experience I've been the director of tennis and teaching tennis fulltime for 21 years, 19 at one of the top tennis resorts in the US and the world, the Desert Springs JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, CA. I've traveled to 20 countries around the world, playing and teaching tennis and performing comedic and entertaining tennis shows. I work with Peter Burwash International (PBI), a company which trains professionals for 400 hours before the first lesson can be taught. That's compounded by continuing education, including a mandatory 60-hour annual meeting and 360 educational newsletters from PBI professionals received every year.
Organizations Peter Burwas International (PBI), the world's foremost tennis management company with 90 professionals in 20 countries worldwide
Education/Credentials I received a B.A. in Journalism in 1985.
Awards and Honors * Tennis Magazine's Ten Greatest Tennis Resorts - twice
* Tennis Magazine's 50 Greatest Tennis Resorts - every year since 1990
* TennisResortsonline.com - Always in the Top 75 Resorts in the world - always in top 25 and as high as #3.
* PBI Rookie of the Year runnerup
* PBI Most Improved Professional of the Year
* PBI Professional of the Year
* Desert Springs JW Marriott Resort & Spa's Customer Service Manager of the Year
Expert: Jim Leupold Date: 6/30/2008 Subject: suggestion regarding forehand backswing
Question Dear Jim,
my 7 year old daughter is an avid tennis lover and is already playing in the local circuits and is supposed debut this year at the national level. She is 4 feet 4 inches tall and just rightly built at 28 kgs.the problem is that to generate power she is taking her backswing too far back forming a '7 'kind of figure with her hand and the racquet and dropping the racquet head between shots.her coaches say she has got good topspin in her ground strokes. please help her to get the right kind of backswing, if there is any practical solution to stop her from doing that. she is a very intelligent child with her own mind and very difficult to convince. eagerly waiting your answer.
Best,
Dr. aditi
Answer Dear Dr. Aditi,
Thanks so much for your question. I just typed for 10 minutes, and my computer froze, so I'm going to have to try again!
The first thing to know about backswings is that there is no one backswing, on the forehand of the backhand that is "the" backswing. The two words "racquet back" have done a lot more harm than good to the game of tennis. The backswing is for power. Power is the last thing we should add to any shot.
We have to learn to take the right amount of preparation for the situation. I look at it this way. If my opponent hits me a “10” on a power scale of ten, I’m going to squeeze my bottom 3 fingers quite tightly and take a “0” swing. I’ll just block it back and hope for the best. If I’m hit a “7”, I’ll take a “3” swing. If someone hits me a “2” and I have the skill to do so, I can loosen up quite a bit and take a bigger, faster “8” swing.
The big problem with millions of tennis players is that they’re trying to take a “10” swing every single time. Then they wonder why they’re in trouble so often, unable to handle fast shots and constantly hitting the ball late.
You or your pro can do a simple drill with your daughter to help her get the understanding for this. Hit her a “9”, a “6” and a “3” in power. She has to then take a “1”, a “4” and a “7” backswing to counteract those shots. After a while, she will begin to get the feel for adjusting her backswing to different shots. She most likely will also have to learn how to anticipate the type of shot being hit towards her, but that’s another question.
Having said all of that, if she has time for a full swing (which she will anywhere between 50 and 75 % of the time, here’s what she wants to do.
She should get used to right away setting her racquet face with her opposite hand. If you watch Nadal, Federer, Roddick, Henin (although just retired), Mauresma, and on and on, especially among the men, you will discover that most of the real racquet artists are using their off-hand (index fingers on the strings and the rest of the fingertips cradling the throat of the racquet) to set the racquet face for their forehands. This way they actually have a feel for the business end of the racquet and know exactly what angle they’re setting for whatever shot they want to hit.
She can also use this hand to help get her shoulders turned. In fact, this hand should stay on the racquet face until she does get her shoulders turned.
For the forehand, you’ll also see something else. Take a look at a tennis magazine and notice forehands during the backswing. You’ll almost always see that the racquet face is turned down toward the ground during the backswing, some more than others. This is simply the most comfortable and relaxed position for the hand on the forehand backswing. She may well do this already. This helps immensely with the confidence in the forehand as well. There’s something about setting the face closed that tells the brain that you can really hit away without the ball sailing out. Technically, it sets the hand and racquet in a way that the face should still be perpendicular to the ground at impact.
The main thing is that the hand position should be natural and comfortable. Any contorted twist or turn of the hand during the backswing only means that it must be undone during the swing.
Keep in mind. This is for your edification. There’s no way you want to try and explain all of this to your very young daughter. Just take a look. Is she learning to take the right size swing for the situation? Does it look natural?
Also keep in mind, there’s no doubt that topspin is king these days, but underspin is the FIRST spin we should learn on both sides, and it’s also the shot that hardly anyone can hit on their forehand side (and it’s necessary for defense), and it’s a shot that most players today absolutely HATE.
All for now. Best of luck.
Jim Leupld
PBI Director of Tennis
Desert Springs, A JW Marriott Resort & Spa
