Great video, Ian. When I play a lefty, I try to pretend that he's a righty who has a weak forehand and a killer backhand, so as to trick myself into reversing my usual righty-on-righty patterns, ... not easy to do when you your mind is accustomed to playing almost all righty opponents, the vast majority of whom have the opposite strength/weakness. But if I can pull it off, I might be able to frustrate him as much as he's trying to frustrate me, and even if the lefty's backhand is strong (like Dill's opponent), they are still likely to prefer their forehand to their backhand, as you mention here.
I often work out a strategy while playing against who I'm playing against so that I continue reminding myself where I want the ball to go and just pound it where the weakness is. Once the person starts getting use to what I'm doing then I switch it up to another spot to throw them off again. Recently, I've found a hitting practice partner and while he wants me to hit to his forehand when we're doing drills, I ask him to hit to my backhand so that I can continually strengthen my weaker side. I've found that by getting more solid on my backhand side, I'm able to go more toe to toe with a left handed player even though my backhand isn't quite as strong as my forehand. Sure they win some points there but it's not a cakewalk for them.
Very interesting analysis. Especially since you're a lefty! I watched this match on Dillon's channel and felt like he definitely had a chance to win it.
Remember, they have the same issue with your serve. Give em a taste of their own medicine and hit plenty of slice serves to their backhand, especially in the deuce court.
I think one option to get out of BH-Hell as a righty is to slice down the line and then cheat a bit on that same side. You could have the opportunity to hit a FH then: Either an inside out and stretch him or break that pattern and go inside-in. Either way, you take control back of the point.
How about a good, strong crosscourt forehand with a trajectory towards the sideline. It doesn't have to land near the sideline but the ball path should be heading there.
Great video Ian. As a right handed player I am more comfortable attacking with the inside out on my forehand. For some reason attacking crosscourt on forehand is weird and very inconsistent.
Another great video, thank you! I think the reason Dill goes inside-out on his forehand on neutral balls so much is that it’s just habit. It’s what his forehand is optimized to do: go inside out to a righty’s backhand from a wide-open stance. Under match pressure he doesn’t always think to do the unnatural act of changing his preparation and swing to go cross court in that situation.
No. For players without a strong crosscourt forehand the straight on shots and inside outs are easier with less errors. That's me and it appears Dillon is one, too.
@@craiglevy8144 that's one the main things I've been working on now hitting cross court forehands j never developed that my thought was your forehand is definitely not as good as theirs so let's not really try that. Inside out forehands and beat them with my backhand and inside out forehands, come to the net win the point.... That was the only tennis I knew and would rely on because it would work for me. So then that's your pattern for far toooo many years and you try to go play a lefty who was a 12utr maybe 2 months ago.... Ya not going to work. I've been working really hard on my forehand cross because it needs to become more of a weapon for me it'll open the game to patterns I would never try and I need to have a tiny bit more diversity to my game. Thanks sooo much for this series.
Inside-out forehands are fun to hit, especially sitters. Fun should be one of the main reasons to play. As I have said in the past, as the match progresses blood flood moves from brain to butt, we suffer hypoxia and forget what works. Write it down. When we forget, the orgasmic feeling of cracking inside-out forehands for winners supersedes good tactics.
Some lefties have improved their BH side more cause righties play them (more) on that side. As a result they are more solid with their BH. I found my solve to the riddle when i started attacking him on his forehand side.... it seemed that it was less developed and more prone to mistakes. I used the 2-1 pattern (2 balls on BH and 1 on the FH) and in general when i was going to push/attack/winner it was to his forehand side.
yeah this has also been my strategy against lefties most of time. I have an esier time predicting what comes from their FH than their BH side. My opponents also tend to avoid my BH too since they have to deal with all kind of strange shot while my FH is meant to hit really hard but doesn't have as many pattern.
Dillon probably was working on his uncomfortable zone, expended his skill, and tried to practice his footwork in this match. Great video Ian, Thank you!
The pusher series was good, but I don't think you should have stretched this series over the same parts. It's always the same pattern, and even though you try to get different angles in your different parts, it just feels long and repetitive. I'm looking forward to more of these series, playstyle analysis, ... but maybe keep it a bit sorter
@@EssentialTennis Strongly disagree that you should shorten. It is excellent to see examples thoroughly analyzed. Too many tennis videos give advice without examples or with only very short examples. Much better to see examples and hear the major points repeated. (Even better for me to go out and try them, but I'm happy sitting here comfortably watching.)
Happens to me many times, that instead of pushing a volley to the leftie's backhand side and put it away after his weak return, I kinda forget that I'm playing against the left handed and set him up for a perfect forehand
The inside out forehand, aside from some form of ego, is probably just habit. It can also be because it's not a shot that they generally practice or are comfortable or confident enough in. The fact that it's over the higher part of the net may be a factor. There's also the fact the the inside in forehand can leave their court exposed and they don't want to get punished. It is important to make that inside in forehand count, especially in terms of quality. So fear might be a culprit. Overall, I think it's mostly habit. They're too comfortable in hitting inside out at times.
The big issue with lefties is that they normally have quite a good backhand. I purposely switch in a match every now and then and start attacking their forehand (I know their strength) but it does throw them.
Hi Ian, I kinda know its unrelated to lefty specifically but I struggle getting into the rythm of a game.. On a certain day I instantly click into a rythm from warm-up throughout the match and smash my opponent and on another day I can't seem to find any conisistency in my strokes particuliarly the forehand. Anything I can do to create the rythm myself?
I love your channel, but in this series on playing lefties I was hoping for more than just ‘stay away from their forehand and here’s why’. Maybe that’s unfair of me as I’m an intermediate player, so the advantage of hitting forehands to someone’s backhands cross court is already clear. I was just hoping for more strategy and shot selection tips :)
Have you watched yourself play a match before, Marco? Dillon is a stronger, more experienced player than 99% of my viewers but he was still making very "obvious" mistakes. Very often the reasons why we lose are in plain sight but we don't see them. These very basic sounding patterns are exactly the reason why most players lose, at all levels.
Essential Tennis - Lessons and Instruction for Passionate Players thanks for your reply. I totally agree with you that it’s a pattern that is so important that it needs to be understood thoroughly. Your breakdown of it was great as always! Still I’m hoping for concrete advice as to how to break out of the pattern once it has been established in a rally eg do you think one should risk hitting a down the line backhand or maybe run around one’s backhand to hit a slower topspin forehand down the line? That would hopefully give one enough time to get at least to the middle of the baseline to get to the next shot. I just saw a new part in the series is coming out, looking forward to it as always!
@@EssentialTennis Dillon is repeatedly making poor decisions on a basic strategy. That's a big mental problem. If you're making physical mistakes then practicing will help correct them but if you continue making mental mistakes you are in trouble.
Dillon seems most comfortable hitting his general rally balls down the middle. That's not going to win a match against this opponent. He should also try to take time away from his opponent by flattening some of his shots but still with some topspin. He seems stuck at his current level, doing what's comfortable.
Sorry, everybody....there was a mistake in the video so had to re-upload. Hope its a huge help!
You are great and very helpful
🙏
Incredibly helpful....my hitting partner is a leftie and beats me every time... I'll put your teaching to action this week. Many thanks matey
Great video, Ian. When I play a lefty, I try to pretend that he's a righty who has a weak forehand and a killer backhand, so as to trick myself into reversing my usual righty-on-righty patterns, ... not easy to do when you your mind is accustomed to playing almost all righty opponents, the vast majority of whom have the opposite strength/weakness. But if I can pull it off, I might be able to frustrate him as much as he's trying to frustrate me, and even if the lefty's backhand is strong (like Dill's opponent), they are still likely to prefer their forehand to their backhand, as you mention here.
Great thoughts, Jack!
Hello Ian thank you for posting these videos. They have helped my game and understanding of tennis strategy
Great to hear!
Awesome job with your videos, Daphne!
I often work out a strategy while playing against who I'm playing against so that I continue reminding myself where I want the ball to go and just pound it where the weakness is. Once the person starts getting use to what I'm doing then I switch it up to another spot to throw them off again. Recently, I've found a hitting practice partner and while he wants me to hit to his forehand when we're doing drills, I ask him to hit to my backhand so that I can continually strengthen my weaker side. I've found that by getting more solid on my backhand side, I'm able to go more toe to toe with a left handed player even though my backhand isn't quite as strong as my forehand. Sure they win some points there but it's not a cakewalk for them.
Love it!
Thanks Ian! as a left handed high school player, I now know what to focus on. I can also understand what is going through my opponent’s head.
Glad to help!
Very interesting analysis. Especially since you're a lefty! I watched this match on Dillon's channel and felt like he definitely had a chance to win it.
He did....his tactics were much stronger and more focused in the 2nd set. First set he really played right into the lefty's strengths.
Looking forward to it!
You the man.
Sorry in advance....this lesson doesn't go easy on you, Dillon, haha. Curious what your reaction is.
@@EssentialTennis Ahhh don't worry about if I didn't like critics I wouldn't have a TH-cam channel 😂😂
Haha....truth!
@@EssentialTennis not too bad, everything you said was correct I'll do better next time
Are we going to get a specific part on lefty serves because that’s my issue.
lefty serves always spin the opposite direction. on the ad side, when youre returning, just stand farther to the side.
Here's a lesson for you, Tom: th-cam.com/video/b-HII85xJRs/w-d-xo.html
@Essential Tennis - Lessons and Instruction for Passionate Players thank you so much!!!!!
Remember, they have the same issue with your serve. Give em a taste of their own medicine and hit plenty of slice serves to their backhand, especially in the deuce court.
I think one option to get out of BH-Hell as a righty is to slice down the line and then cheat a bit on that same side. You could have the opportunity to hit a FH then: Either an inside out and stretch him or break that pattern and go inside-in. Either way, you take control back of the point.
How about a good, strong crosscourt forehand with a trajectory towards the sideline. It doesn't have to land near the sideline but the ball path should be heading there.
Great video Ian. As a right handed player I am more comfortable attacking with the inside out on my forehand. For some reason attacking crosscourt on forehand is weird and very inconsistent.
My crosscourt forehand is my weakest groundstroke.
Interesting, good to know!
Another great video, thank you! I think the reason Dill goes inside-out on his forehand on neutral balls so much is that it’s just habit. It’s what his forehand is optimized to do: go inside out to a righty’s backhand from a wide-open stance. Under match pressure he doesn’t always think to do the unnatural act of changing his preparation and swing to go cross court in that situation.
I think you're spot on, Fly!
Yes absolutely spot on
No. For players without a strong crosscourt forehand the straight on shots and inside outs are easier with less errors. That's me and it appears Dillon is one, too.
@@craiglevy8144 that's one the main things I've been working on now hitting cross court forehands j never developed that my thought was your forehand is definitely not as good as theirs so let's not really try that. Inside out forehands and beat them with my backhand and inside out forehands, come to the net win the point.... That was the only tennis I knew and would rely on because it would work for me. So then that's your pattern for far toooo many years and you try to go play a lefty who was a 12utr maybe 2 months ago.... Ya not going to work. I've been working really hard on my forehand cross because it needs to become more of a weapon for me it'll open the game to patterns I would never try and I need to have a tiny bit more diversity to my game. Thanks sooo much for this series.
Inside-out forehands are fun to hit, especially sitters. Fun should be one of the main reasons to play. As I have said in the past, as the match progresses blood flood moves from brain to butt, we suffer hypoxia and forget what works. Write it down. When we forget, the orgasmic feeling of cracking inside-out forehands for winners supersedes good tactics.
Lefties need video how to improve their game, What else you can recommend to lefties besides this strategy, that actually did reaaaaaly helps!
Glad it was helpful!
Some lefties have improved their BH side more cause righties play them (more) on that side. As a result they are more solid with their BH. I found my solve to the riddle when i started attacking him on his forehand side.... it seemed that it was less developed and more prone to mistakes. I used the 2-1 pattern (2 balls on BH and 1 on the FH) and in general when i was going to push/attack/winner it was to his forehand side.
yeah this has also been my strategy against lefties most of time. I have an esier time predicting what comes from their FH than their BH side. My opponents also tend to avoid my BH too since they have to deal with all kind of strange shot while my FH is meant to hit really hard but doesn't have as many pattern.
Dillon probably was working on his uncomfortable zone, expended his skill, and tried to practice his footwork in this match. Great video Ian, Thank you!
You're very welcome, Qian!
The pusher series was good, but I don't think you should have stretched this series over the same parts. It's always the same pattern, and even though you try to get different angles in your different parts, it just feels long and repetitive. I'm looking forward to more of these series, playstyle analysis, ... but maybe keep it a bit sorter
Agreed. Yes, could be 2 videos or 3, tops.
Thanks for the feedback!
@@EssentialTennis Strongly disagree that you should shorten. It is excellent to see examples thoroughly analyzed. Too many tennis videos give advice without examples or with only very short examples. Much better to see examples and hear the major points repeated. (Even better for me to go out and try them, but I'm happy sitting here comfortably watching.)
I'm actually looking forward to playing a lefty now!
David G Same! I’ve never played one before
Awesome!!
2 lefties didn't like the video😂. I can imagine this lefty being like no no no, you are giving away my secrets
Sorry, lefties!
Hahahaha
Happens to me many times, that instead of pushing a volley to the leftie's backhand side and put it away after his weak return, I kinda forget that I'm playing against the left handed and set him up for a perfect forehand
Talk about the lefty serve!
Here's a lesson for you: th-cam.com/video/b-HII85xJRs/w-d-xo.html
Wow! I never realized tennis can be so complexed!😅 But you make it so easy to understand Ian.
Happy to help!
One of the problems I found is a lefty’s backhand down the line is much better than mine. I’m just not as used to hit it to that with my backhand.
Good to know!
The inside out forehand, aside from some form of ego, is probably just habit. It can also be because it's not a shot that they generally practice or are comfortable or confident enough in. The fact that it's over the higher part of the net may be a factor. There's also the fact the the inside in forehand can leave their court exposed and they don't want to get punished. It is important to make that inside in forehand count, especially in terms of quality. So fear might be a culprit.
Overall, I think it's mostly habit. They're too comfortable in hitting inside out at times.
I think you're absolutely spot on RE habit patterns, Zero!
You are great at telling us where to hit against lefties, but can you tell us how to hit (more topspin, flat) and how to counter the left spin.
The big issue with lefties is that they normally have quite a good backhand. I purposely switch in a match every now and then and start attacking their forehand (I know their strength) but it does throw them.
Hi Ian, I kinda know its unrelated to lefty specifically but I struggle getting into the rythm of a game.. On a certain day I instantly click into a rythm from warm-up throughout the match and smash my opponent and on another day I can't seem to find any conisistency in my strokes particuliarly the forehand. Anything I can do to create the rythm myself?
Great topic! I'll add it to my list.
Is it worth learning to play left hand to confuse your opponents?
Probably not if you don't do anything else left handed already...
I love your channel, but in this series on playing lefties I was hoping for more than just ‘stay away from their forehand and here’s why’. Maybe that’s unfair of me as I’m an intermediate player, so the advantage of hitting forehands to someone’s backhands cross court is already clear. I was just hoping for more strategy and shot selection tips :)
Have you watched yourself play a match before, Marco? Dillon is a stronger, more experienced player than 99% of my viewers but he was still making very "obvious" mistakes. Very often the reasons why we lose are in plain sight but we don't see them. These very basic sounding patterns are exactly the reason why most players lose, at all levels.
Essential Tennis - Lessons and Instruction for Passionate Players thanks for your reply. I totally agree with you that it’s a pattern that is so important that it needs to be understood thoroughly. Your breakdown of it was great as always! Still I’m hoping for concrete advice as to how to break out of the pattern once it has been established in a rally eg do you think one should risk hitting a down the line backhand or maybe run around one’s backhand to hit a slower topspin forehand down the line? That would hopefully give one enough time to get at least to the middle of the baseline to get to the next shot. I just saw a new part in the series is coming out, looking forward to it as always!
@@EssentialTennis Dillon is repeatedly making poor decisions on a basic strategy. That's a big mental problem. If you're making physical mistakes then practicing will help correct them but if you continue making mental mistakes you are in trouble.
Shot tolerance, aka patience, seems to be a big part of the strategy of playing a lefty.
Definitely can be. Depends on their style!
Wtf man? Why do you gotta expose me like this?
Sorry!
To make it easier for 90% of people
Next video series should be about playing against someone with 2 strong forehands lol.
Yikes!
Dillon seems most comfortable hitting his general rally balls down the middle. That's not going to win a match against this opponent. He should also try to take time away from his opponent by flattening some of his shots but still with some topspin. He seems stuck at his current level, doing what's comfortable.
Totally agree!
I subscribe your cancel I’m look forward for strategies for lefty we having trouble!!!! Help!!!!🛑
It about breaking the habit of right handed patern. Most aren't ready to play a lefty
You got it!