• New Tour of TennisOne Site

Elbow up on Preparation

Many say the toughest shot in tennis to perform is the backhand overhead. Well today we are going to show you how easy this shot is to execute when using The ACE System. We will break down the technique into three easy to learn steps consisting of simple biomechanical positions achieved during the preparation, hitting zone, and ending phases of the technique that one can immediately take and apply to their own game or coaching. So let's get started.

The Preparation

The preparation is quite simple for the backhand overhead. We will give you two reference points to mimic. The first reference point to observe is that the right arm elbow should be pointing up towards to the ball in the final preparation position as seen in the above picture. The second reference point to mimic is that the racquet head should be pointing towards the ground at the same time the elbow is pointing upward towards the ball.

Extend at Contact

So as soon as one sees the ball going up high over the backhand side, point that right elbow up towards the ball and point your racquet head down towards the ground. This will put the body and racquet in the proper position to attack the ball for optimal power.

The Contact Point

The next reference point to look at is the contact point. The reference point to mimic is to simply extend up to the ball from your preparation position with the right arm, making sure that the right arm is fully extended or straight at the time of contact.

Many people all too often have a bent arm at contact which leads to power loss. So you want to reach up as high as you can to make contact, that is contact should be at the highest point possible when striking the backhand overhead.

Supinate on the Ending

The Ending

We will leave you with one reference point to mimic for the ending of the backhand overhead. That point is simply to supinate the right forearm and wrist through contact to the ending as you see in the picture on the right. This supination movement of the forearm and wrist will allow for more power on your ball especially when caught in weak positions such as when one has to move backwards to hit the backhand overhead.

So there you have it. I have given you three simple steps to mimic and apply to your own game or coaching. All you have to do is go out and apply these biomechanical reference points to your own backhand overhead and you will quickly be off to turning what is a weakness for most players into a strength for yourself. Let us know how it goes.

Backhand overhead drill

Until next time.