Hitting Arm Position

[lukman41985]

Hi John,
What's to keep a player from establishing the hitting arm position right away on the backswing? To me it seems that on the forehand, a player can establish the hitting arm positon by keeping their elbow tucked into their torso, laying back the wrist, and dropping the arm just under the anticipated contact point (in order to establish topspin). The same could be done on the two hander with the left arm (if the player is right-handed). Is this the "straight-back" takeback that you are referring to? If so, I think this abbreviated backswing is perfect for today's faster game. Thanks.

[John Yandell]

Hitting Arm

The answer is nothing! And for most players it's a much better alternative. But I hope you're resisting the video--we don't really know what your hitting arm positions look like...

[lukman41985]

Resisting the video?

Haha, maybe it's the fact that I've been reading this site all day and that's taken a lot out of me, but I didn't get what you meant by resisting the video. All I know is is that all day I've been holding a racquet, practicing the double bend. On the backhand, I've modeled your clip of Rios from the Myth of the Wrist: Backhand section. On the forehand, I've just been looking at the clip of Agassi from page 3 of the Common Elements Across the grip styles. If I can achieve those positions and keep in mind Kerry's Mitchells lesson about measuring the point of contact, I think I'll be set.

[John Yandell]

I doubt it unless you use video to compare your models to reality--it's critical to players at any level.

[lukman41985]

True, true.