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August 8, 2006
Roger Federer’s Backhand
Perfect balance, precise footwork, and an uncanny ability to watch the ballmake Federer’s backhand a shot worth emulating.
By Stan Smith, TENNIS Magazine
Photos by Tommy Hindley, Professional Sport
It isn’t just that Roger Federer
can masterfully hit any shot in the book—and a few shots that
aren’t—but that he makes it look ridiculously easy. One of the keys to
Federer’s success, and the principle reason his strokes look so
effortless, is his extraordinary balance. Whether he’s hitting his huge
forehand or his impressive backhand, he keeps his head and upper body
remarkably quiet throughout the stroke.
1. Judging from
his knee bend, you can tell that Federer is preparing for a lowball,
perhaps an approach shot from his opponent. Even though he’s reacting
quickly, he looks completely under control. He’s already changed his
grip to one that’s slightly farther over from a classic Eastern. Also,
notice the position of his racquet as he’s moving. Many players think
you should prepare by immediately taking the racquet all the way back,
but that’s not an efficient way to run. And while Federer’s shoulders
have begun to turn, he won’t rotate them more until he plants his right
foot.
2. Cradling the
racquet in his left hand to control his backswing, Federer starts to
turn his shoulders in unison with his racquet take-back. I like how his
head is right in the center of his body. Pay attention to how he’s
pointing his shoulder at the oncoming ball. This ensures good
upper-body rotation, which is something many beginners and
intermediates don’t do well. A full shoulder turn, along with a sound
backhand grip, will help you drive the ball as well as avoid elbow
problems.
3. This is a
striking example of Federer’s excellent balance; he’s in the optimal
position for this low ball. Even though he’s dragging his toe, he’s
still got a lot of his weight on his left foot. Many players would have
moved most of their weight onto their front foot at this point, which
would cause their momentum to continue to the side after striking the
ball and result in a more difficult recovery. Federer’s racquet is all
the wayback at this point and his shoulder turn is full, about 45
degrees to the baseline. His head, though, has barely moved from
the previous photo.
4. Federer has
just struck the ball and his left knee is almost touching the ground.
His upper body remains still and balanced. This shot reminds me of how
great downhill skiers allow their legs to go up and down like pistons
but their upper bodies remain relatively quiet and straight up.
Federer’s legs are doing all of the work of getting low to the ball;
he’s not bending at the waist. It takes great core and quad strength to
do this, but the payoff is that there’s no stress on the back. The
angle between his arm and his racquet shows that he’s using a strong
grip that will resist impact well.
5. Federer’s
non-playing hand is back and down to counter balance his racquet hand
going forward and up. Also, when the left arm goes back like that, it
keeps the shoulders from turning and accelerates the right arm, giving
you more power. As you can see, Federer’s shoulders are still sideways
to the baseline. One common problem that players have with the backhand
is that they pull up and open their shoulders so they almost face the
net, losing power and control. Here, Federer’s head has hardly moved
at all, and he has finished with his body perpendicular to the target.
6. Federer is
recoiling after the swing, and it’s only now that he has started to look
up and watch his shot. His body is still balanced, and because of that
he won’t have to take an extra recovery step. If he were leaning over
on such a wide shot, he would have to take one more step. One of the big
differences between a good player and a great player is recovery, and you
can’t recover well unless you have excellent balance. This is one
reason Federer gets to so many balls.
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