Backhand dominant Player
Gabriel Kozakevych asked 2 days ago
Hi so i am a Backhand dominant Player that is using from the middle Mostly His Backhand even on balls that goes slightly to the forhand. My question is how can i improve my placement and changing speeds during my Backhand topspin Attack. Because mostly i Just randomly Hit different Spots where i feel my opponent feels unpleasent there for example to the middle or Corners. But maybe there are generally sequences that i should use for placement and changing Speed and also you know maybe some exersices for Backhand dominant Players to improve there placement and changing of Speed in a Game when topspin Attacking ?
Tom Academy Coach answered 2 days ago
Hey Gabriel, I think the most important thing to practice to help you improve this is playing drills where you spend time only focusing on this. so a really good one is you playing backhand topspin from your backhand half and covering the middle and you goal is to play into the opponents elbow and then find the angles. I wouldn’t say there are any drills in particular to focus on this it’s more thinking about this during all your exercises and trying to make it a subconscious thing that you target good positions on the table.
For example you can do a simple backhand open up drill where the opponent pushes to your backhand and you have to open up, but your first attack has to go into the elbow/body of the opponent and then you play the rally, this makes it match realistic and gets you thinking about it more often. In terms of where to play the elbow is really effective against all players, but of course different players will have different weaknesses so it depends on the opponent. So during games you need to look out for where they are weak, like wide in the forehand or for example they struggle to block on the backhand and then target these areas.
So I would say for you i’s more about consistently focusing on the placement rather than any drills in particular. I hope this makes sense, any questions let me know. Tom 🙂
Gabriel KozakevychOk thanks but you mean also in Matches i should always start to Play first into there elbow with my Backhand and afterwards target different areas ?
A lot of the time yes, it’s a great way to avoid getting a counter attack and also the most common place people find it difficult to return from. Of course you want to sometimes mix it up but if you can play a good backhand attack into the elbow it’s never a bad thing
Ok thanks and i have another question where i am a bit unsure. Generally when i am doing a topspin attack, should i always contact the ball AS early AS possible ? Or i should find my own rythm when to contact the ball. Because mostly i am staying Close to mid and i am still taking the ball early but maybe i think i should always immediately play my topspin in as early as possible ? Because also i am generally a very high Player around 1.95 m height and my Coach in my Club sad i should have some distance from the table because of this i think should i really focus on taking the ball at its earliest Point when attacking or its fine when waiting till the ball rise and hitting it on the highest Point ?
Hey Gabirel, Not always as early as possible because it’s hard to transfer a lot of power right after the ball has bounced. Often it depends on the situation and the type of ball you get, for example the speed and spin etc of the ball. Of course it’s important not to take the ball late but sometime to generate more spin and power you need to get the ball at the top of the bounce, this is also where you have more margin for error over the bet as well.
Ok and generally i should be able by playing a topspin against Block in a Game really to mix different contact Points in sometimes. Or its really better to just Stick with 1 contact Point. So i am Just talking about a medium fast Block where i could wait a bit by taking it on the highest Point what i am usually doing but still IS better there on this kind of Block If Sometimes add in early contact If i can or Just Stick to my own contact timing that i Like ?
I think if players are very good at blocking back your topspin shots then most of the time you will eventually need to change up the timing and take one a bit earlier, of course it’s important not to rush in and do this but pick the right ball maybe where the block is a bit slower or shorter in the table and you can really transfer your weight forward, take it earlier and try to finish the point.
Ok thanks so i will than Stick to my contact Point that i prefer on a medium fast Block and If the ball is slower in the Block than i will only use a early contact timing while going with my Body into the shot.
