Roger Federer - Slow Motion Topspin Backhand

[StefanR10]

hardcore

[BastiFoxIKillYou]

EPIC !

[XrenegadeZ]

I cant believe people are comparing this man's backhand to the likes of Richard Gasquet. This man has by far the best backhand ever that if not for its complexity would be as consistent as that of richard gasquet. Roger not only hits his balls flat, he generates a top spin shot that very few players can handle. This is why he has faired well against his arch-rival, Nadal: a well known backhand destroyer.

[jax51292]

@XrenegadeZ nalbandian´s backhand and borg´s backhand are better than roger´s backhand for example...roger hasn´t got the best backhand

[lazyboi128]

Its crazy.his tecnique is perfect!!!

[TurinTuor]

What is the music!??!?!?

Help!!!

[LFiers]

Roger Federer is the fucking king!!! Nuff said. Hater's can eat a dick.

[blueadamov]

when you look at the ball you cant miss it,that is the key like previous comment said.

[chaosIsTheOnlyPower]

Eyes on the ball, eyes on the ball, eyes on the ball!

How many baseball, golf and tennis coaches repeat that. Watch ANY top notch player and their eyes are always locked on the ball til the last moment - indeed PAST the last moment.

[GueorguiJoukov]

@chaosIsTheOnlyPower

I'll even ruin the only two arguments standing against you.

1- some snap shots shows pro who are not looking directly at the contact point;

2- the ball take about 0,005 sec to touch and leave your strings (4-5times faster than a wink).

The idea behind this is to allow someone to execute properly the shot and not actually look at the ball touching the strings. By doing so, you can focus on the ball, adjust your swing and -VERY IMPORTANT- keep your head still.

[Willymaze]

Beautiful, just beautiful!

[KohlschreiberMagic]

Phau in the start?

[GiantStp06]

why are u talking about grammer on a roger federer tennis vid? Some ppl try to hard to be smart.

[fabiozambe96]

urco dio

[TennisFlip95]

lol a few comments below me, there was a fight about grammar problems in their previous comments

[48063696]

yanquis pelotudos de tenis no entienden una mierda callense, estoy numero 12 de la AAT (asociacion argentina de tenis), de esto no me vengan a hablar

[Ketchupguy198]

A stroke of genius!

[TwoToAGrave]

watch nadal's forhand stroke vs federrers and you'll see why

[gewooneerlijk]

i doesn,t understand to hit topspin i coming up to the ball in front off me butt still hitting flat

[GueorguiJoukov]

Because you're probably still hitting classic and can't find out how Federer varies so slightly his motion to get the desired effect.

I'll make it simpler for you. Find this video:

Tennis Forehand - Windshield Wiper Forehand in High Definition

If you are having a solid flat stroke, keep working it to have flat weapon to use. But also, get a more topspin weapon to rally with. Thsi video shows oyu the basics and of course they can be adapt a bit as long as what's important is there.

[animaanimaanima]

lol, at first it is REALLY hard to put top spin with 1 handed backhand. but jjust practice the "2 arms opening" motion, and once u get the timing right, u will get top spin ^^

to get A LOT of topspin, u just have to use the extreme grip or be very talented

hope that helps

[GueorguiJoukov]

Nadal uses a more windeshiled wiper motion than Federer on his topspin forehand and uses a western grip. He got therefor ehavier spin, but lesse fast balls. Probably more suitable for his play.

[powerslavenegi]

Federer is still very much as effective as a top seed needs to be ; ofcourse he might not be as sharp and 'strong' as he was when he was oin early 20's but he has added new strokes to his repertoire , check out the drop shots in FO 2009 and his acute angles on the backhand slice. His backhand being weak is utter rubbish being peddled by self appointed tennis gurus he was going through a lean pactch like any other player and with FO09 in his bag he is inform.

[GueorguiJoukov]

It's true people forget often how he is great and tend to limit their analysis to the old baseline player he once was. He still can put great shots from there, but he had advantage, as you said, to diversify his play while the ball are slowing down a bit.

Federer's backhand always been magic and it has been of the most solid stroke for a long time.

Without reducing Nadal's talent, there's only his fan club to have set Federer going down.

[gewooneerlijk]

i doesn,t understand to hit topspin i coming up to the ball with the wrist in front off me butt still hitting flat .?

[tvp900]

you have to flick your wrist and follow through above your head

[johnbr59]

no there is no wrist flick, the arm is held straigt and the power generated through the shoulder and of course hips/legs, though sometimes federer does flick his wrist with his backhand depending on the situation

[tvp900]

I mean at the end of the swing to generate more top spin and make the follow through smoother.

[Snaurt]

In this shot, you can't see the very thing that makes his one-handed topspin backhand the best ever. If you could see it, it wouldn't have worked. Nobody does it as well.

[ShawEagle2012]

i cant hit a backhand slice, or drop its so hard.

[mansuliu]

cos ur nub

[ShawEagle2012]

yea, i am a noob. but i can probably hit a faster backhand than you. i just cant hit a backhand slice or drop.

[mansuliu]

i'm sure you can, but it probably will fly out of teh court

[ShawEagle2012]

I don't recall saying anything about it going in? :P

[GueorguiJoukov]

Admiting the limit of your present abilities is the mark of humility and, perhapsshall I push further, of wisdom.

However, being in pretention to something one doesn't pocess is the mere reflection of blindness one is afflicted by.

In this present situation I ask, which from the selfish doctor and the ill man in need is the ulgiest?

Sorry, I still have to speak your language; which from you who pretend to know, but keep quite and him admitting his ignorance is the worst?

[DaBigCheeseLuigi]

damn you're annoying...

[Fernandez218]

If you're going to try and speak English ''eloquently'' then use proper syntax/grammar please; you just make yourself look like an idiot otherwise.

[TaoAlaska]

That was an improper and unnecessary us of a semicolon. Not to mention the non-sequitur placement of a forward slash; which should only be used to offer the interplacement of two similar subjects.

[Fernandez218]

Nice trolling. My semi-colon was properly used. A semi-colon can be used to separate two closely related independent clauses. The slash can be used to separate paired terms such as "pass/fail", yet another example. Nice fail.

[BaboonBaksideStudios]

Get a life.

[Fernandez218]

lmao? i didn't even respond to the last guy's comment moron

[tolendoi123]

Federer has the best single handed backhand on tour, coz it's very versatile...until Nadal exposed the weakness of his backhand and now everybody is exploiting it... only murray and nadal are capable of breaking it..but still with his so called "weak" backhand he won 13 slams^_^

[RandaGeox]

is that the wilson six one 95''?

[amsd1231]

it's "suppose" to be ksixe one tour(90") but most players customize their sticks and just paint it as the sponsored racquet. so who knows?

[tennisdrumsnfun]

bottomline all you tennis hackers is he's got the form...

but he doesn't have THE STRENGTH!!!

No longer can he rely on his GOD given graceful talent, he needs to add muscle.

[theartsofebony]

Thing of beauty

[Leziii]

maybe roger will go two handed backhand...

[RandaGeox]

yeh sure, and nadal will play with a continental grip

[lilhu93]

Ur a dumbass.

[johnbr59]

maybe you will shut up.

[daigunder35]

one handed backhand is so much better because it allows more reach and to be more like federer and sampras

[mysteriekiller]

And it fails against heavy topspin shots that go to the one-handed backhand. ever seen Nadal- Federer matches? Federer's backhand lands very short and often breaks down because nadal hits very heavy topspin shots to federers backhand.

[uniquehand]

yep! You beat me to it, i was going to post that lol. Couldn't have been said any much better.

[mysteriekiller]

thanks.

[daigunder35]

But thats why he has a slice for the high balls

[mysteriekiller]

Slicing every shot that goes to his backhand from Nadal isn't going to be effective is it? You're missing the point. When you play against some one like nadal a double handed backhand is better for the reasons I already gave you.

[Breadstick1234]

Yeah. It's hard to handle the kick caused by Nadal's massivetop spin with a 1hb.

[mysteriekiller]

Yeah, federer is bad at it though. I mean I think federer is the best player ever but he is so bad ta handlign topspin on his backhand. Many other players with single handed backhand handle much better with. Still, federer rocks.

[shawnharris43]

hes gotta take heavy topspin from a cross court forehand, especially hard on clay when the ball is well above shoulder height.

right now(08/09) he doesnt seem to be hitting forehand or backhand with the same consistency as he did before, look at how he was dismantling everyones game, and the amount of errors he was making, he makes way more now, he should be blowing murray off the court

[AceGuitarR7]

yeh but the main reason federers backhand is weak against nadal is because nadals a lefty. So its this big spinning forehand up against federers one hander.

[6Ott7]

My dad taught me to hit a one handed back hand when I started at a very young age. I would recommend to anyone to learn a one hander vs the 2 hander. Unless you are Rafa Nadal, Everybody should learn the one hander. You can do so much more with it.

[vliegen12]

wow ur noob i played with a one hander for a year and a half and it didnt help me at all now i am using a 2 hander and beating people that have been playing for twice as long as i have .... not all because of the backhand admitadly but before i was just really inconsistent and had no power

[6Ott7]

Noob huh? Well maybe you are not talented enough for a one hander. After all, it require great ability and athleticism which you probably lack. I would be glad to bagel your ass one day.

[vliegen12]

i guarantee i would own ur arse and ive only been playing 5 years. ur probably some 12 year old lil kid who deserves a good arse kicking

[kadazero]

its all in the preference. one hand vs 2 hand arguments can only be described as stupid. one is not better than the other, one style is just liked more than the other by players themselves and then they just go with it. thats all ther is to it. dont try to push ur own ideals on other ppl... u like 2 hand more, good for u. doesnt mean it works for everyone. i mean, r u gonna say fed is a noob cuz hes 1HBH? y did u watch the video anyway?

[Wndrst]

they both have their strengths and weaknesses, and it depends on the person. that is one of best, and most frustrating thing about tennis; there are different styles, grips, shots etc.. hard to learn, but leads to a variety

[hotty198]

i use both 1 handed and 2 handed backhands. there. they are both good in certain situations.

[davidkim9933812]

does anyone no what grip he uses for his one haned backhand in this vid?

[davidkim9933812]

doesn't roger federer use string savers? y can't i c them on the strings?

[liampimp12341234]

topspin one-handed backhands hurt my arm when i hit them.

[jamesriadi23]

maybe it wouldnt hurt your arm if you did it the right way.

[ozonese7en]

sweetspot!!

[oneguy23]

Federer's backhand is the most technically sound one hander on the tour but there are players who hit a harder and an overall better one hander. It's amazing how he has trouble dealing with Nadal's topspin balls to his backhand and yet Bjorn Phau, at 5'9, could crush balls to his one hander

[acies92]

It would be absolute sad if Federer has the most technically sound one hander. He opens up his body too much before making contact which makes a harder to hit a shot down the line.

[oneguy23]

look at the video above. he does not open up his body too soon. fuck

[oneguy23]

haha didn't mean to say that last word. i just wanted to see if the audio preview would say that

[acies92]

Are we looking at the same video? I wont say the form is off on this shot since hes hitting it cross court, but the fact remains that for down the line and inside out shots, he opens his body up the same amount which is not perfect form.

[LoneDerangerer]

stefan edberg had a much better backhand imo. fed's great still but it's nowhere as elegant and composed

[elit3AMV]

so pro...............

he hits the ball directly at the middle

thats awsome and takes a lot of time to perfect

[wussok]

and 1. he's not even looking at the ball

2. have you seen his racquet in real life? the head size is super small

[feporiscool]

lol @ the guy in the background

[Guild2007]

niceee

[RMUNOZ1963]

The only tournament's he hasn't won is the French Open and the Olympics. His backhand is fine, sometimes his decision making or lack of patience dooms him against Rafa. But Rafa is just too good at time it seems.

[Idontlikeemokids]

just perfect. look how far in front of his body he hits the ball...

[revkins]

He look like a god in slow motion.

[PropheSAY]

i concur lol

[shenanigan20]

Damn straight eh?

[revkins]

I know, especially from 0:10 on. He stares the ball down and backhands it, continuing to stare at the empty space it used to be. Then turns his head towards his opponent and looks as if saying, "I shall be smite thee".

[crazyxiaoxiaomoron]

hah tats cool he does seem like a god...of tennis..heh

[LINKZELDA41]

yea, he looks behind the ball to see the racquet blur rather in front like most pros do...this is what seperate's federer from the rest....consistency :) Tilting and turning your head while moving your eyes to see the racquet blur is hard to do every time

[LINKZELDA41]

lmfao I typed way too fast I meant to type "seperate's" to seperates :P

[LINKZELDA41]

Whoever thumbs down me, I never meant that federer sucked, I'm just saying this is why he is so epic. When I said this is what seperate's federer from the rest, I didn't mean it negatively, I meant it in a positive way. But oh well lol, nice video 5/5

[TheHighwaytoHell]

you care too damn much.

[squeedum]

@revkins lol. best comment ever.

[brimacc16]

Can anyone tell me, do all the top pro's watch the ball right up until contact point as Roger is doing? This month's ACE magazine suggested that this isn't something we need to worry about and most people don't track the ball durin its final few inches prior to contact (OK, I know the LTA aren't an authority on world class tennis)

[PhillyBoy81]

Federer probably has the best backhand in history. Can anyone honestly say that someone else has a more consistent stroke? Plus, the variety of his backhand and the way he can hit baseline half-volleys from that wing is simply sublime.

[Hal5050]

Richard Gasquet.

[cpark02]

You're right, he does have more variety, but I don't think it's more consistent than Gasquet's backhand, but I can't accurately say because it depends on their mental game more at this stage and for the record, Federer is more consistent because of all his good games but.. I wouldn't say it's the most consistent backhand but it sure is helluva a good stroke when his mental game is on like Gasquet (of course when his mental game is on).

[baritono81]

Thanks for posting, this is a great guide. I have found it's important to take a big swing with this racket, notice his racket acceleration just before and after impact...arm straight and high over head after impact. Terrific stuff! He should know, Federer wrote the textbook on this!

[darkhole158]

right on the sweet spot......

[kakalake101]

STOP here, cool?

do you have any idea of tennis?

fereder is playing the best 1handed forehand atm

so pls think before writing bullshit like this

[kakalake101]

sorry >.>

i mean backhand not forehand

[Coolfunster]

i think you guys don't understand the nature of a weakness. In professional tennis, a weakness is the weakest shot. Not necessarily a shot that can't do anything. So for federer, his weakness is his backhand.

[iownzyou78]

His backhand is obviously not a weakness. He hits soo many winners off of it. I dont know why anyone is criticising his stroke. If his stroke is so flawed well then, I would love to have a flawed backhand like that!

[dreamlng]

just because his forehand is so good, you cant say his backhand is a weakness.

[ddrgs]

can you tell me please where i can find more australian open slow motions? i saw they are from the channel"7 sport", but where can i find more,besides youtube?:(...can someone give me an answer,please?

[ddrgs]

Dute-n morti mati de cacat

[FedererTKing]

i bet that's how the ball appears to federer in real life ,in slow mo'!!lol

[cpark02]

Look, we can criticize Federer as much as we want, but it really doesn't matter unless you can do better than him. Can you any of you criticizers have better backhand than him? Nope. I didn't think so. His backhand is one of the best, I didn't say best, just one of them. Yeah it lands short, but he takes advantage of it, so it doesn't even matter. So shut up, and let Federer do whatever he wants, because regardless, his record is a kill for all.

[artanis77z]

Federer really does have one of the best backhand. But I think Gasquet has a better backhand.

[the4paths]

Hey may but hes not number 1. He needs to get the rest of his game together which I think is mostly mental because he looses to people he should not be loosing too.

[raditztheradish]

Exactly.

Like good 'ol Teddy Roosevelt said:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly..."

[cpark02]

Hell yeah man, you got that right. The problem is is that too many people believe in the critics because they don't take the time to geuinely look at the player himself and when they do, they see what they are looking from the critics themselves, not the good stuff, but I gotta say, tennis pros are total monsters these days not like Bjorn Borg days when tennis was as fast as a lawn mower at medium speed.

[19zth93]

man he's the real deal

[lilconti1511]

federers backhand is actually very flawed in the fact that he rolls his knuckles sideways instead of straight up into the sky. if you look at gasquets backhand it is the true definition of perfect technique..

[NansozJ]

lol i still would kill to have a back hand like his!

[zero10iz]

The thing is, there have been many successful players in the past with less than perfect techniques. There's no such thing as one perfect technique. Whatever suits the player best is perfect for that player.

Having said that, Federer's backhand is far from perfect, as it is frequently quite short.

[GrandPatzer]

I think Federer's flaws are marvelous.

[wasmalay]

Well put!

[E121C]

samrich58 go do your catepillar you gay whore.

[samrich58]

you are obviously Roger's bum chum

[Nadal1336]

the "midget" at the start is bjorn phau who is actually 5'9''. obviously, he just seems shorter because he is "sliding" and thus very low to the ground.

[tatsf226]

He should be a coach for other top 10 pro like roddick

[kamalgilkesk]

Somehow I doubt he would throw his career out the window to help andy roddick with his admittidly poor backhand, lol=)

[stevehwan]

gasquet has the better backhand.

[phatbastid]

oviously not betterer enough......

[kamalgilkesk]

Gasquet has a better backhand stroke than federer, that statement is held true by most tennis experts, however federer possesses a better all around game and has the mental strength needed to achieve consistency.

[TheSoloists]

Federer doesn't have as much pace or topspin as Gasquet, but his backhand is more consistent overall for the most part and he can keep it very deep plus he can still hit down the line and cross court both very effectively.

[keundong87]

Federer's backhand lands short.

[ralvarezguitar]

Personally, I admire both backhands, they are huge! maybe Gasquet's even more, or even Gaudio's backhand!, but at this level although they look different (that's the beauty of tennis) the difference in technique is so light, it's mostly mentally when it comes to capitalize with your shot. That is why I'd stick with Federer for every single shot if I had to choose.

[zynx4]

lol@ the midget@ the start

[PowerSlouch]

i like how everybody watches and goes krazy about the way he strokes the ball. his greatness is so much more than just the way he strokes it.

[kamalgilkesk]

I like how you appear to have spelt crazy wrong...and c is very far from k on the keyboard shithead.

[PowerSlouch]

i like the way you think i was serious about it. it's just like someone typing skool or kool. chill the fuck out. i wasn't even dissing fed.

[TheSoloists]

Sorry, we are real humans, we like to have idols and practice/play tennis instead of spamming crap on youtube telling people to get a life yet you are at your house leading a very dull and non-physical life, hence you name "PowerSlouch." Good day

[PowerSlouch]

funny because i never said that he should get a life. and just because i don't feel the need to type like a fucking prick doesn't mean that i spend my entire day at the computer.

and if you're gonna be such a bitch about things like spelling crazy with a k then i'm not sure what "you name" is supposed to be.

[aeroprovinnie]

in tennis, when players are concentrated, its better for them the keep eye through contact. That is because the head is the heaviest part of the body per sq. in. players who keep there contact normally stay calm because their heads have time to think.

[alimurad192]

he is just too good such a smooth follow through

[Hewitt94]

thats a very goood sweet spot hit right in the middle

[philmandud]

I think the eye on the ball thing that federer does is a golf discipline. I took golf lessons before and I was told to keep looking at the ball until contact and not look up until the whole stroke was finished. The difference is that you only have to hit the ball once in golf...federer's concentration is just amazing for him to keep doing that constantly throughout a whole friggin match!

[kobe1federer1]

that sexy

[Hsua]

Actually you are suppose to watch the ball at all times, your prep sets up where the ball is going to go. Fed just has a un-human ability to actually KEEP his eye through contact.

[ralvarezguitar]

No need to categorize it as a un-human ability? Every profesional tennis player needs to have good eye contact with the ball.

[kamalgilkesk]

exactly

[GrandPatzer]

Wow.. he watches the ball until contact. I tend to look at where the ball will go instead of watching it the whole stroke through.

[fedten81]

It's because Fed is in control of his shot sooo much, that he knows where it would go even when he is hitting it

[ralvarezguitar]

It´s because it IS the correct thing to do if you want to be in control of your shot.

[fedten81]

wow check out the concentration by Fed. He is a genius!

[magipablo]

nice one