Hi! I am Joe Dinnofer, thank you for joining us for backboards off the wall.
Let's start with the statistic from top professional players. Did you know that 75% of them regularly practiced on backboards as children. We all know that hitting against the wall demands control and consistency, both essentials of solid tennis, but we also need to be aware that there is an inherent problem with most walls.
On straight flat walls, were they made out of brick, concrete, wood, or fiber glass, they trajectory of the ball is radically different than real tennis rallying. I can safely say that every single ground stroke hit from the base line in tennis had an arc, no doubt about it. However, hit a normal ground stroke against the flat wall and the ball rebounds very differently. Minimal arc or it actually rebounds downwards slightly off the wall, take a look.
Martha and I are hitting on the court and you can clearly see that the ball is arcing over the net.
Against the straight wall, the ball generally rebounds downward and length is considerably shorter than normal. The result players try to hit harder just to get the ball to reach them. Take a look at a tennis playing friend, the one and only Bizu. You see when you swing harder than normal to increase the distance of the rebound you get in bad swinging habits and lose control, if you over swing like Bizu, practicing on straight backboards, it can hurt more than hell.
That said, there is the solution if you only have a straight wall available for practice, just let the ball land or bounce two times before hitting it, let's watch.
You will gain more time to prepare and not overpower your shots, but just be aware that while this type of hitting will help your tennis, it is still not quite ideal, since the rhythm of one bounce tennis is obviously different, plus hitting off two bounces means that you will unrealistically hit all ground strokes below your waist.
In order to create a realistic arc, the wall should ideally be tilted just about 15 degrees. Now to demonstrate the games and drills in this production, we will be using a backboard that is both tilted and curved, so that even balls hit to the outside sections of the wall, will rebound slightly to extend rallies and practice opportunities. You may not have a dual curved wall like this one but if you are building a wall for yourself remember the 15 degree guideline. It makes a world of difference. Let's watch and see.
On a 15 degree angled backboard you can clearly see the difference, whether it's Martha Alkins, a former professional tour player or my 10-year-old daughter Colindy, the benefits are the same. The ball rebounds upwards off the wall and lands further, amazingly close to the timing of a normally controlled baseline rally in tennis.
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