hey guys Alex here from top tennis
training and in today's video I'm going
to talk to you about the backhand slice
now many of us struggle with our
backhand slice those players that
perhaps are not confident at hitting
their topspin backhand whether it's a
single handler or two hander they
struggle with the low balls to lift it
up with topspin or they struggle when on
the run and the ball is a little bit out
of their reach for those shots we need
the slice so let's talk about the slice
and exactly how we can make it better
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now the main problems I see players
facing when trying to attempt the slice
is the ball either goes too floaty and
long so the ball drifts out of the court
it either goes floaty and sits up for
the player to hit against it either goes
very short so you're not getting enough
depth on that slice or obviously you can
go in the net when you haven't quite got
the right angle on the racquet so in
order to fix all these problems let's
have a look at the next three points
point number one the path of the racket
swing now when we take the racket back
for the slice we must ensure that the
racket comes high and it comes above our
shoulder we don't want to have a low
take back the reason we don't want that
is when the one that take back is low
and we're going straight into contact
because the racket face for a slice has
to be open the ball ends up going up so
you're getting a bounce off the racket
that makes the ball come up so you don't
want to come underneath the ball and
scoop the ball up you want to cut
through the ball and to cut through the
ball
you need to come from above the ball go
down in a ball and then actually through
the shot this way so it's the bottom
side of the racket that makes contact
that leads the contact to the ball
Federer likes to cut across the ball
when hitting a slice this allows him to
accelerate through contact without
adding pace to the ball as the racket is
traveling in a perpendicular direction
it is important to keep the racket face
still at contact while cutting across
which gives the ball side spin and make
to bounce to the site making it even
tougher for an opponent to set up for it
comes from high above the shoulder
racket going back going into contact
leading with the bottom side of the
racket through contact point number 2
racket face at contact now if you have a
racket face at contact that is too flat
therefore pointing too much string to
the ball when you hit through the shot
the ball is going to go straight and is
going to go down into the net it's not
going to create any backspin it's not
going to create any of that slice that
you want in order to give control to the
ball and in order to control the bounce
make the bounce low make the ball skid
if you're playing on the far surface so
the racket face you in contact has to be
open it's an open racket face that we
can achieve by holding the racket in the
chopper grip it's the same grip you
should be using for the smash for the
volley and also for the serve it's
exactly the same grip we use for the
slice and that ensures a very easy and
open racket face now what happens with
the racket face at contact is because
the bottom side of the racket is leading
through the shot what's going to happen
is the strings when they bite onto the
ball will take effect making that ball
rotate through and forward and that's
the important thing here the ball is
rotating is flying forward but it's
rotating through and forward what you
don't want to do is make the ball rotate
up and forward and that will happen if
one the path is coming from too far
underneath or the racket face is too
open and with that open racket face you
will end up not getting as much length
so the ball is going to start dropping a
lot shorter it'll be more much like a
drop shot because you've over sliced the
ball so an over slice of the ball this
happens is happening when the racket
face is to open therefore you're slicing
on the ball way too much the ball is
rotating but actually it's not getting
enough distance now if you have too much
of a flat racket face you may create
distance but again you don't have enough
slice to make the ball to slow down that
ball in the air and give it that effect
off the court now depending on how high
or low the ball is we
depend on how much racket face you have
to give to the ball so how open you want
that racket face now if the ball is a
really low ball you may not want to
start quite as high and chop down on it
because the ball is going to go down
into the floor you're going to have to
start a little bit more level with the
ball on this occasion because of the
that the height of the ball the ball is
low so you end up having to lift that
ball a little bit but then the racket
face has to be open in order to create
that lift now if the ball is higher
you're gonna you can actually afford to
show a bit more racket face because
you're going to go down on the ball a
lot more and you can actually create a
more of a jab on the shot where you
actually end up giving some power so
it's almost like a power slice rather
than just a slice so the higher the ball
the more flat racket face we can show to
the ball and we can actually create more
of a jab shot we can we can create more
power on the mid height we have to have
a pretty open racquet face that goes
high too low so the path is high too low
with a nice open racket face going
through the shot and on the low one we
want a slightly more open racket face
and the cut the take-back
doesn't quite have to start as high
because it again it'll make you chop
down on that ball and you'll be very
difficult for you to lift that ball up
so a good way to think about how to hit
that ball it's almost imagine like a you
threw the shot so I start high I make
contact on the way down I'd go through
and then at the end I can even even
afford to lift that arm up a little bit
so it's like I'm getting underneath of
that ball making it slice all the way
through
summer like Federer freeze
sometimes ends up just cutting through
and completely down so it also depends
on the kind of shot that you're hitting
the lower the ball the more you'll cut
and actually lift up on the ball the
higher the ball the more the path will
just come down and it'll be more of a
chop more of a cut in order to bring
that ball down so if I'm bringing the
ball down I'm cutting down on that ball
if I'm making you go through I'm going
more through the shot and if I'm lifting
I can actually afford to lift the bottom
edge up a little bit to give it that
backspin while lifting the ball when I
am going through the shot with the with
this like midcourt mid mid height ball
and I want the ball to go deep I want it
to kind of flow deep in it I want it to
stay low I wanted to skid through the
court it's a great way to approach for
example this is the the thinking that
I'm gonna have behind it is going up
through and then forward so let's talk
about the Third Point and that's the
follow-through point number three the
follow-through and as some of you may
struggle to get the right direction on
the ball because your follow-through
might be the wrong one for the shot
now what we don't want to do when we're
making that follow-through after contact
so we've come up we've gone through
contact what you don't want to do is to
let the racket face lead and finish this
way almost like on a on a one-handed
back end so the one-handed back end that
would happen on a slice we don't allow
that racquet face to ever break the line
of my wrist of my hand so I always keep
the hand on the right side of my racquet
head so no matter where I finish with my
arm whether it's across and I'm cutting
down like Federer when he squeezes his
shoulder blades and goes down with his
elbows by chopping down on that ball and
creating extra slice
all when I'm going through contact and
forward or I'm even hitting an
inside-out backhand forgiving giving
that inside-out spin whatever the slice
that you're hitting you do not want to
let this go the moment you get that
flapping motion happening you will want
loose control on a direction but you'll
also lose the slice because you'll end
up hitting this way will end up actually
hitting a flat shot from underneath what
you want to do is almost think about
hitting with the backhand that the
bottom part of the hand almost this way
way the bottom part of the hand leads
through but it remains there you don't
want the fingers to come out this way so
I'm almost leading with it with that
bottom part bottom part of my palm so
it's this this this and this and no
matter where that racket finishes
whether it finishes high whether my arm
finishes high across through it's always
the same finish
finish and it's important to actually
know what kind of shot you're hitting
because it'll depend on the kind of
finish that you'll do if I'm hitting the
inside out slice it'll be more of a high
finish and across if I'm hitting it
through the court ball where I'm
approaching there'll be more from hi to
through and to more of a linear path and
if I'm if I'm hitting more of a jab shot
so this is a shot that gives you a
little bit more power so if I'm coming
from above and I'm giving more of a jab
which makes the ball fly off a little
bit faster because I'm giving a little
bit more of a flat racquet face I don't
end up needing to come through it as
much you'll be a the power will happen
before contact and I will stop there
this is perhaps a better shot when
you're closer into the court whereas on
the other on the other slice is where
I'm approaching or I'm doing a drop shot
I'll actually have to do less power
before but more through the ball so I'll
actually end up going past the ball so
as if I'm thinking about it on a on a
scale of zero to ten where zero is the
start of my swing in ten is the finish
of my swing I want to perhaps do a three
before contact so I'm going slow before
contact and then a seven through whereas
on the jab I might do a nine and a one
you know so I'm actually not coming
through the ball at all because I'm
creating the power before the shot and
I'm making that ball come off my strings
quicker
okay so the longer I keep the ball on
those strings
the more effect the ball will have the
more effect my strings will have on the
ball because the surface area of my
racket bed so that the strings will
carry the ball on for a little bit
longer allowing the ability to spin that
ball more so to create extra spin I want
to go through the shot a lot more if I'm
jabbing and I'm hitting more of a
flatter slice I don't need to hold the
ball in the strings for quite as long
and therefore I can afford to accelerate
before the shot and stop it at contact a
lot more so if do play around with those
shots play the the jab close to the net
where you're accelerating through and
stopping or play that slice that slice
the Federer does so well the one that's
kids through the one that you can use as
an approach shot where you actually
start quite slow before and then through
the court in order to make that ball
slice a lot bounce low and perhaps skid
if you're playing on a fast surface like
a grass court
thank you guys for watching if you've
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about the backhand slice as well as the
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