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TennisOne Lessons 
What We Can Learn From the Pros: Ivan Ljubicic BackhandDavid W. Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne There are many ways that players can learn skilled strokes, for example, auditory instruction (being told what to do), cognitive interpretation of the written word (books), kinesthetic feel (being led through a series of movements that become ingrained through repetition), and simple trial and error (trying things out in the hope finding an effective solution). But perhaps the best way for most people learn things is through visual observations of skilled techniques followed by an attempt at emulating those patterns perceived desirable. In my opinion, the least effective of these methods is trial and error. Players will seldom spontaneously adopt or transition to more effective stroke techniques through simple trial and error. The reason is that skilled techniques in tennis are seldom initially comfortable or familiar. Unless a player has a preconceived idea of what should be done, it is unlikely he or she will ever move towards patterns that are uncomfortable. This explains why so few players who simply go out and hit or play tennis develop into highly effective players. Those that do are usually able to identify patterns they need to develop (including grips, swing patterns, and footwork patterns, as well as strategies and shot selections that skilled players use).
The most difficult obstacle for players who have developed inferior or less effective techniques is to change to patterns they need to adopt to move on to higher skilled levels. The reason for this, as I’ve mentioned in other articles, is that once a player begins to compete (regardless of the level of competition or even the intensity of play), that player will almost always revert back to those patterns that are most familiar as well as most comfortable, especially when under the pressure of match play. Use of Video Perhaps the most effective tool in the last twenty-five years is the use of high-speed video to both study the stroke elements of top players as well as observe one's own swing characteristics. It stands to reason that if most players learn the game of tennis best through visual learning, then the tool of video–of seeing very clearly the nuances of a desirable swing–is absolutely priceless! And that is what this series of articles is going to do: study specific professionals and breakdown their swing patterns so that we can see them more clearly. This acuity will be instrumental in the learning process..
Ivan Ljubicic's One-handed Backhand As far as one-handed backhands go, there are a few players who come to epitomize not only a solid backhand stroke but a real weapon off that wing. For me, Federer, Haas, and Henin come to mind. But in looking at high-speed video of players, you would be hard pressed to find a cleaner one-handed backhand than Ivan Ljubicic’s. Difficulty for Beginners The one-handed backhand is actually a mechanically simple stroke to execute. However, because players often integrate faulty elements within the backhand, they fail to develop a one-handed backhand into much more than a wistful shot they often would rather avoid than hit! The frequency in which pro players (in the modern game) run-around their backhands to crack forehands can't help but contribute to this hesitancy to hit backhands. However, if players were to study and then emulate Ljubicic’s backhand, they might see–then comprehend–the key elements to hitting their own backhands with effective and consistent results.
Set up Without going into great detail as to the importance of footwork (read my last newsletter, Why Players Miss for more on this), the first obvious element to any good shot is to get into ideal position. Ljubicic always seems to be great position, with his core body stance very balanced and very vertical. You don’t see him leaning over to hit the backhand. As a result of this balance, his body’s position–from contact to follow-through–remains extremely quiet. You can actually draw a line up from his front right foot straight up his body to his head through the entire contact phase and this line would not change at all. Closed Stance As with most one-handed backhand players, the closed stance is the stance of choice. Mechanically speaking, the closed stance allows for full release of the backhand through the contact zone without the player having to lay the racquet back or slow the racquet down to maintain control. Ironically, it is this element that often prevents the recreational or club player from developing a solid one-handed backhand; players often open up the hips before contact pulling the body off the shot. This move forces the player to lay the racquet back and then essentially “push” the racquet towards the target. Grip
Ljubicic uses a pretty conventional eastern backhand grip. You can see him rotate from his semi-western forehand grip (which seems to be his ‘at rest’ grip of choice) to his eastern backhand as soon as he recognizes the need to hit a backhand. Ivan does have a singular peculiarity. Notice how he opens up his little finger on the grip early in his backswing, followed by his ring finger lifting off the grip about half way through his backswing preparation. This is not something anyone needs to emulate; it does, however, demonstrate how even the best players create individual peculiarities that make each stroke unique to themselves. He cradles the racquet beautifully on the backswing creating what we call the “unit turn,” as opposed to simply “taking the racquet back.” When players cradle the racquet as we see Ivan do on his backhands, it creates a natural unit turn, which sets the body up properly to execute a great one-handed backhand. Shoulder Dip
Arm Spread Notice how Ivan spreads his arms through contact. This spreading action is a key component to the one-handed backhand. The spreading of the arms–or, what I call the "umpire’s SAFE move," where we are basically emulating a baseball ump’s arm action of demonstrating “Safe”–keeps the shoulder plane integrity within the hitting zone of the shot. While Ljubicic closes his shoulders almost completely on the back swing (with his back almost facing the net at the full turn), his shoulder rotation, the link of the kinetic chain that starts at his legs, up through his core, and then passing on this chain of movements to the shoulder plane, rotates nearly 180 degrees. But, this rotation must stop in order for the last links of the kinetic chain to accelerate: the arm and finally the racquet. So, for this shoulder rotation to stop, the player uses the opposite arm moving essentially in the opposite direction to help maintain this shoulder plane integrity. Back Leg Another key element within the stroke is the position of the back leg. As with the back arm pulling back as described earlier, the back leg must also stay back to prevent from the hips from opening up or rotating open too early. Like the integrity of the shoulder plane being kept quiet within the contact phase, the player will need to keep the hips equally quiet. This is done by keeping the back toe down in what I call the “toe drag” move. If you watch closely, nearly every player (one or two-handed backhands) keeps the back foot back. Sometimes a player will kick the leg back further within the contact phase while other times they simply hold the toe down or let the toe drag a bit during the swing. See if you can spot Ivan doing all three of these footwork patterns in the clips provided in this article. Staying Down or Lifting In various situations, you can see Ivan lifting out of his front leg bend to a fully extended front leg, or, sometimes, you can see him staying over his front leg, keeping the leg bent through the stroke. Both actions are acceptable as long as the player remembers to keep the body alignment intact. The problem I’ve seen when teaching pros specifically suggest the player stand up (as if they were sitting in a chair on their back swing), is that the action of lifting is often symptomatic of players rotating out of their sideways position. If players remember to stay sideways, then the lifting action can be just fine. However, as many other pros remind their students to “stay down,” the reason for this instructional phrase is often a response to seeing players rotate out of the swing too early.
Conclusion When you look carefully at virtually any skilled stroke, it can oftentimes seems far simpler than a player might otherwise surmise if looking at the swing only at full speed. In fact, I often tell groups when I lecture or discuss tennis at conferences, that most recreational or club players fail to progress or develop skilled strokes because they do too much during the swing! The phrase, "Keep it Simple," is not too far off. But, until we analyze and establish clarity in recognizing the simple elements, and understand how best to execute our own strokes within this context of simplicity, we will usually continue to embellish or integrate undesirable swing elements that contribute to our failure to advance. So, don’t be afraid to video tape yourself and compare it with the way the pros attack the ball to see if indeed you are doing things that may be preventing you from developing a more skilled stroke.
See Dave Smith's new DVD "Building a World-Class Volley" DVD – Public – TennisOne members Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Dave Smith's article by emailing us here at TennisOne .
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David has taught over 3000 players including many top national and world ranked players. He can be reached at acrpres1@email.msn.com.
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