Hi guys in today's video I'm going to show you how to correctly use the
backhand slice when approaching the net.
Your backhand slice technique on the approach shot is not going to
differentiate from your regular backhand slice and this includes things such as
the backhand slice grip. the take back, the contact point and the finish. So what
differentiates a slice approach shot from a regular backhand slice executed
from the baseline is that we usually have to hit a backhand slice in
transition and it therefore makes it a lot more difficult. So in today's video
I'm gonna show you how to correctly use the slice but first let's talk about
when to use the slice or when to use your regular backhand let's say from
this area the half court. So what I recommend is that any ball that's between
your waist and your shoulder you take as a regular backhand because let's face it
with a slice it's gonna be very difficult to hit a winner so you're
giving away a chance to possibly hit a winner or a very aggressive shot if you
select the hit a slice from the shoulder to the waist area. Here you should rely
on your regular backhand and look to hit a winner. On the other hand if the ball
is below your waist here if you tried to hit your regular back end because your
closer to the net you'll have to hit up on the ball and you also are closer to
the baseline so the ball doesn't have a lot of space to go up and down and at
the recreational level a very common mistake is that players will spray the
ball long if they attempt to hit a regular backhand on a low ball. So here
it makes a lot more sense to hit a slice backhand. So on any ball that's below
your waist you should absolutely select the hit a backhand slice. And the same
thing goes for balls that are above your shoulder. See if the ball gets this high
on us and we have a very difficult time hitting a winner
because we're very weak in this particular shot. So it makes a lot of
sense to slice balls that are this high and it looks something like this. So the ball
is gonna be above my shoulder and I'm gonna slice it straight down and this is
gonna be the better option to choose from. A very common problem on the slice
backhand in general is that players will push on the ball instead of hitting
across the body like this and in case of the backhand slice approach out that
this is gonna cause even more problems because what's going to happen the momentum
from you coming from the baseline to the net and in addition to that
you are going forward on the ball this will very often cause the ball to go
long looking something like this. So if I push on this ball it's very easy to
spray it long. Now there are different variations when it comes to the finish
on the slice. I have a separate video titled three ways to slice that shows
you in detail how to execute these different finishes and which one might
be best suited for you. And guys if I'm coming from the baseline all the way to
the net with a lot of momentum and then I hit across the body like this you can
see that how the racket is going across my chest this is gonna give me a lot
more control so it's crucial that you stop pushing forward on your slice and
this is going to eliminate a lot of frustrating slice mistakes. And what
makes the backhand slice approach shot more difficult than a backhand slice
executed from the baseline is that we have to do it in transition and there's
a couple of variations. So imagine if you're hitting a slice backhand and you
may be getting there a little bit late or the short ball is very low there's
not gonna be any time to stop and you'll have to hit this slice in transition. So
it looks something like this so there's no time here to stop and I'll have to
move through the slice basically.
And what's important to remember on a ball like this you'll have to keep the
steps somewhat small in order to keep your balance.
Do not take large steps on a ball like this because you likely are going to
overrun it. You can initially take some large steps but then once you get closer
to the ball you make the steps a little bit smaller and it is crucial that you
also don't stop because then you'll end up reaching for the slice like this and
there's no way to execute it correctly if you do that. Now if there's more time
you can execute your slice approach shot just like a regular slice from the
baseline. Now any slice will have to have fundamentals and basically you will need
a big shoulder turn and this is easiest achievable by making a lateral step. So
if you make a lateral step you naturally you get that shoulder blade pointing
towards the ball. See if I step more forward now I would have to force the
shoulder turn and this might be the case if you are transitioning through a
slice. This will require a little bit more of a forced shoulder turn but if you have
more time you can come into the slice and just simply set that dominant leg
across the body like this.
Now even though you have more time this doesn't mean that you're gonna stop and
then hit the slice and not move at all you will have to transition through this
type of slice as well because let's face it what are we doing we're hitting an
approach shot and we'll have to get to the net and something very
interesting is gonna happen if we achieve the lateral setup and we
continue to transition through our slice. So if we set the leg dominant leg up
like this and we continue transitioning through the ball the back leg will go
behind the body naturally
And this also called the karaoke step and it's not something that you have to
execute consciously like a dance step you know. This is gonna happen naturally
if you achieve the proper setup and let me show you what it looks like. So I'm
gonna make a lateral step continue moving through and I don't even have to force
this movement and naturally you can take a look from this angle
and as I'm continue to move through the slice the back leg will go forward
take a look so it's going to continue going forward like this and the steps
are gonna look this way look this leg is gonna go across and now the back leg is
going to go behind and now the front leg is going to go forward and now once
you've done this now the back leg goes back into the normal position and you
can run towards the net
And one of the mistakes that I see at the recreational level is that players
will stay sideways the entire time and end up karaokeing all the way to the net
looking something like this. They end up moving this way and this is completely
unnecessary it will make you a lot slower. So once you have executed
this movement basically by continuing moving through the stroke only. So once I
do this and I finish my stroke now I can go back to my regular movement which is
this and again this is not something that you have to worry about worry about
setting that slice up perfectly with a lateral step and then most importantly
continuing moving through your stroke but once your stroke is over continue
moving normally towards the net and then go into a split step before you hit your volley.
Now let's talk about how to hit the slice approach shot. So it doesn't really
matter whether you hit it down the line whether you hit it cross-court you can
even hit it through the middle, whether you hit the ball short or deep
the most important thing on a slice approach shot is that you don't let the
ball sit up with a lot of under spin because then the passing shot becomes
very easy for your opponent. So what you must do instead is keep your slice
extremely low something like that because now that bounce is going to be
very low your opponent will have to bend down and they're going to be in a
disadvantageous position for a passing shot which will increase the chances of
either them missing or you putting the volley away.
And whether your slice sits up or not will depend on the angle of your racket
face at contact and on the slice it should be neutral and if you're
interested in how this works I have an entire video dedicated to this topic and
now on the slice approach shot there's going to be some exceptions. So what's
going to happen if the ball is extremely low and you're close to the net you will
have to open the racket face up because with a neutral racket face
there's absolutely no chance that that ball will go over the net. So let's
summarize what you have to do on your slice. So if you have good slice
fundamentals this will translate into your approach shot as well. It's very
important that you recognize what kind of short ball you are getting and then
you can either transition through the ball or you can slow down a little bit
set up the ball and then execute your slice
And most importantly you don't want to come in on a week slice and then get
passed. This is very frustrating so what you need to learn is how to slice with a
neutral racquet face so that you come into the net on a low ball and give
yourself the best possible chance to put the volley away.