Moving your opponent is the best way to neutralize a two hander. For years, hitting the backhand with two hands instead of one has been the preferred style at both the pro and recreational levels. In a perfect world I would teach a player to use a two-handed backhand for service returns and topspin drives, [...]

There’s plenty of good reasons to hit on the rise. What are they? Well, you can hit with more power because your opponent’s pace is still on the ball. Also, you give your opponent less time to recover and therefore less time to prepare for the next shot. And the more you move inside the [...]

Beginners are invariably told to “prepare early!” It’s good advice while you’re developing your technique. However, performance players who are looking for a little extra racket speed must pay some attention to biomechanics. The back-swing stage of the action involves stretching the muscles to store elastic energy for the forward swing. If there is too [...]

In teaching players a simple volley technique I revert to a trick. I ask them to hit the volley as though $10,000 is at stake. If they make the shot, they get the money; if they miss, then they owe me the money. It is amazing how careful and precise they become about handling this [...]

I always hated it when coaches would tell me to watch the ball after I’d miss a shot. Of course I was trying to watch the ball! Perhaps a more important message is to keep your head still throughout the shot. By keeping your head still, your eyes will instinctively follow the path of the [...]

First of all, every player needs to know how to hit a one-handed backhand- even a player who has a great two handed backhand.  One of the real keys to the successful execution of a one-handed backhand is the role that the non-dominant hand plays during the stroke. As you begin the forward swing with [...]