Liams-backhand
maurice101 asked 2 years ago
Liam has a great backhand. It is interesting to see differences in the pros strokes. Liam uses the left hip back to generate power. Compare this to Ma Long who drops the right hip back and squats and rises a lot more. From a technical point of view I feel ma long is more effective in how he uses his body to generate power as his shoulder moves forward more. I would be interested in your views.
Tom Academy Coach answered 2 years ago
Hey Maurice, I understand what you mean about the use of the body in someone like Ma Long. All the pro players have slightly different techniques and there are slight variations in the shots and the way they hit the ball. Ma Long usues his body more but Liam definitely uses his wrist to generate spin and change if direction. It’s hard to say that one is better or worse. Of course Ma Long is probably the greatest player of all time but Liams backhand is definitely one of the most effective in the world and a real deadly shot. We hope you are enjoying the masterclass Maurice! 🙂
maurice101Just imagine Liams backhand if he incorporated his body more. 10% to 20% more power and a higher level of spin.
gabriel_leeJust out of curiosity, what would be a player you consider ‘incorporates more body’ into his backhand? (Like Hugo, Dima, Fan Zhendong or even Harimoto maybe?)
Ma Long and Harimoto I feel use their body mechanics more effectively than the others. Just try the squat and straighten the legs on your backhand on the practice table. You should find that power goes up 20% with less effort. The backswing needs to go back as the body is going forward and up. Liam drops the left hip back for backhand against backspin. This results in the bat going across the ball more. He is a great player and can do this shot to great effect but I feel is technically more difficult. Dropping the left hip back and squatting is more reliable in my opinion. The shoulder movement is more in the line of the ball direction compared to Lian’s method where it goes to the right. Every pro is slightly different, try and see what works for you.
