Pivot forehand footwork

Amiel Castaneda Asked 13 years ago

hi alois,

how do I hit a forehand topspin on my backhand side because my backhand is really weak and i want to cover it with my forehand but i cant get to my backhand side fast enough to hit a topspin but there are some cases that i could get to the ball but the angle of my racquet changes while i hit the ball so the ball always go outside of the table

sir alois is there a way for me to make my footwork fast enough to make me hit a forehand topspin in my backhand side?
and also to make the angle of my racquet to stay as it is to make me brush the ball easier???

Thank you in advance :DD

Alois Rosario Answered 13 years ago

Hi Amiel,

You need to train your footwork to get to the piot position.

A good drill for this is the Falconberg footwork  This drill is one backhand from the backhand corner, then one forehand from the backhand corner and then one forehand from the forehand corner.  This is a difficult drill but one that you will be able to train and improve.  You can also do just alternating one forehand and one backhand from the backhand corner.  You can get your training partner to keep blocking the ball to your backhand corner to do this drill. 

The movement is a sideways shuffling motion the same as if you are moving across the table. 

As you practice this drill you will also start to learn to keep the angle of your racket correct.  Like anything,do the drill repetitively and it will improve.