How to Handle High Balls in Tennis (Backhand and Forehand)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- www.feeltennis....
In order to handle a high ball to your backhand or forehand in tennis, you need to adjust in two ways: prepare higher and hit more across the ball.
This video shows you Roger Federer and David Nalbandian in slow motion handling high balls on the backhand side so you can pay attention to their preparation and a different racquet path through the ball.
The usual mistakes when dealing with a high ball to the backhand or forehand are hitting it down - which brings the ball in the perfect zone for your opponent to attack, or hitting it back up which sends a passive ball over the net and allows the opponent to dictate again.
Hitting the ball horizontally enables you to hit with some pace and neutralize potential attacks.
As many others have commented, your teaching videos are great: succinct; understandable; logical and accessible. Congratulations on really excelling at your craft.
Thanks a lot for your wonderful feedback, John!
Your entirely welcome Tomasz. But it really is I, needing to thank you. I played Div. 1 tennis many years ago and have had my share of lessons including from the legendary Vic Braden. Your lessons, especially on "throwing" and "pushing" the racket, and the ratio depending on the incoming speed of the ball, are, simply put, eye popping. For years, I've been told that I'm too tight in my shoulders. Your throwing the racket lesson has helped me exhibit controlled power and exhibit looseness that heretofore eluded me. Gracias, mi amigo! And if you're ever in the Boston area, dinner is on me!
John Sommerstein
could you please put the link on the throw and push vids you are mentioning? thank you
Sure, here it is: th-cam.com/video/mb2Wz0alEjs/w-d-xo.html
Best tutorial on TH-cam on how to handle high balls with a one handed backhand. Thanks!
Good shot Shaheed
Excellent tip. I was always struggling with high balls and no coach ever gave this tip. Thank you very much.
I've watched hundreds of tennis videos and I've never heard of this solution to the high balls! Excellent video!
All your videos I've seen are awesome. More effective than most lessons I've taken. Thank you. Keep it up
+Marco Messina Much appreciated, thanks for stopping by!
i so agree! my coach doesnt tell me 1 tenth of it here!its more like 1 hundreth lol
Marco Messina
Good job. Expert coaching 10/10. Pulling across on both the forehand and the backhand is critical to hitting high balls.
you are the best tennis coach on youtube. hands down. first, your serve video corrected my swing path and now im able to pronate naturally. now this video completely fixed my errors on the forehand side. i just came back from hitting and i think i missed two balls with this new technique . both misses were because i was too early but other than that i was able to hit pacey shots deep to both corners. with my previous technique i was able to hit cross court successfully maybe 6/10. now im able to hit cross court with ease but now
im able to hit opposite court which i was never able to do before. you litterly fixed a huge hole in my game. thank you!!
Awesome instruction! I've always had problems hitting high balls and would try to take them on the rise or slice them back. This is how it's supposed to be done! Thanks a bunch. I'm gonna practice this like crazy now!
I was going to put myself through lessons, until I found these videos. Very to the point, and great emphasis on what NOT to do, which I think is more important. Thanks so much coach!
This place was in S'pore Kallang Tennis centre. and he is rally with a S'pore National player. He a Great Coach n in All his TH-cam. Wish you All the Best in what ever You do . Cheers.
Wonderful courts for sure!
I've been past these courts on the MRT so many times, didn't realise!
oldie but a goodie. no one else explain how to handle these high balls as effectively. you are #1.
I played on clay for the first time in several years, and lost all penetration on my forehand. This was a great video. The high preparation is the key, generally once you prepare high, everything else falls into place
Best tennis tip video I've seen on here.Economical with words and clear on showing technique for the high balls so common at club level tennis.Excellent.
I agree with other commenters, an excellent video. I have been having trouble hitting high bouncing balls on both sides. I hit with a one-handed backhand, so the advice to start the racket high, but otherwise with the normal racquet take-back, then to hit across the ball horizontally rather than with the normal low to high follow-through, is very helpful. I will practice that today.
I have been practicing hitting high balls to my forehand the last few days against a ball-launching machine. I have not mastered the right technique yet, so the suggestions here are very helpful for that as well. Last June I saw some very good, 5.0 players in a tournament, one in particular, consistently return high forehands with a flat trajectory, with a lot of power, deep in the court to either side, but I do not remember the techniques that the player used. This video re-iterates points made in other good videos with regard to both shots. I will keep practicing until I get these strokes right.
Мене нравится тоже русское акцент учителя.
This is great teaching, I saw a video from a different teacher who said to still go low to high on the high ball. That’s incorrect for the reason Feel Tennis said .
It’s a different stroke than the low to high for the low ball. Keep your racket high, and it’s almost like an overhead except you swing at around shoulder level, maybe a little lower, maybe a little higher. If you keep your racket high, you’ll start hoping your opponent hits high, so you can drill it. If the ball does come in low, you can always adjust to the low to high swing. But always keep your racket high.
Outstanding tutorial on a difficult and subtle area for juniors seeking to play at another higher level quickly.
Awesome video! Precisely diagnosed my problem with handling high balls with backhand. Thank you for uploading.
The best of all your videos. Deals with a tricky shot for many players and this is not taught by all coaches
Finally. finally i found a good tennis channel. its so hard to get good tips on this on the internet
your stuff is so great. discovered years ago, now starting to play again
This is helpful to my game. The way you have explained the high ball is excellent. Personally don't fear the high bounce embrace it and get your body in a comfortable position so you can swing the ball, you won't get right if you are a beginner but don't worry take small steps . Watch this video at least ten times so you can see the coach how smooth he hits the ball. What I notice with the high ball is you can snatch at the ball, rush the shot which will looks uncomfortable. Take your time and and digest this instruction because this is what you will need for the return of serve. Also good footwork by the coach.
This is the best video on taking the ball on the rise and being aggressive at the same time..all the other videos show to get back and hit but this is an excellent tip.. Thank you so much!!
Subscribed. Among other things, I really like how the demo points aren't ridiculously easy examples, rather it really seems like the other guy is actually trying (although I know he's not).
Exactly what my 1st tennis instructor tried to teach me, either with slice or side-spin, but not as well explained as you did. I used to produce too much spin that hits the net, but now I tried to remember the "high-to-high" finish instead of the normal "low-to-high" stroke.
I don't know if you really see this but I think you should continue this style it is completely helpful and brilliant way to structure.
Love how you make these tips that are accessible for club players. Learnt a lot from you - thank you
Great instruction on high ball. High preparation is the key to hitting effective ball against incoming high ball
This guys is spot on accurate. I developed this same technique over many years - but wish I had this video and I could have saved a lot of time learning.
Dear sir , really you are very intelligent coach , no coaches teaches like you, Really you are amazing person, Love from India
this is one of the best lessons about backhand on youtube! Great advice! thanks from Brazil!
YOUR VOICE SOUNDS LIKE NOVAK DJOKOVIC!!!!
In the first 10 seconds I taught he was the instructor😂😂😂
GelooMejia FromYT Yea!!!
Wow, there's more than one person with an eastern european accent? crazy
@@darkknight2864 he is from Slovenia.. all these countries like Slovenia, Serbia( Djokovic's native) came after the break down of Yugoslavia in the 90's
I dont hear him moaning though?
Federer in 2017 started using this technique against the heavy topspin forehand of Nadal....and it works perfectly!
Thanks this is really helpful! I realise what I am doing wrong with my forehand now, because of my racquet path which is always starting low, I end up just lobbing the ball back like you said
Best Tennis Coach on the WEB.
Excellent instruction and tips.
Thank you
This is really what I want to get. Thank you so much for your teaching. I will always keep in mind this.
Clear, understandable speech, great tips, very very nice lessons
thank you for teaching us so much, i just had an operation so i cant play but im watching a lot of your videos so when i get back to play i can put them in practice, i always have problems with high balls in my backhand so i hope this helps
Makes sense! I will try that on court maybe today. Why not today? :) Thanks for your videos; you're the best teacher/instructor on TH-cam
Very good instructions this one. The high ball on my backhand has always been a problem. I will be using your tips for sure. Thanks for your video.
As always excellent information on tennis techniques. I was aware of the horizontal portion of the follow through when hitting the high ball but I wasn't conscious of the need to angle your racquet diagonally which is a more natural motion once adapted. Many thanks!
I usually twist my wrist a bit and fully expand my shoulder in the follow up, that maximizes my power to hit with decent speed and power (I'm SHBH). Single handed is as powerful as doubled, it just takes more practice to get there. My personal approach to high balls is to hit it up rising at shoulder height and jump a little to generate more spin. If the ball is above shoulder, I usually use extreme grips or just slice long. Two handers can't hit above shoulder balls every effective either.
I think this is the best way to handle high ball. Thank you very much for sharing the idea. 👍
Thank you! Very clear explanation of how to solve the high backhand problem that I've been struggling with (I was/am one of the horizontal can't get out of high ball backhand rally players you talked about).
Now this is the first video I’ve seen from you (subscribed), but your partner hitting balls to you seems to be a master, too. Effortless and perfect demos. *must give credit where credit is due.
Thanks for the info!
Awesome video, Tomas.. this technique is better than running back to allow the high ball to drop or going front and take it on the rise..
Oh yeah good point on coming across letting your arm swing naturally up. I've found focussing on keeping a loose fluid arm is key for the high super spinny balls. Alot of people tense up on high balls losing all power
Very good tip, I have hard time hitting balls on the rise, so for now that will help me to stay away from being defensive all the time. Thanks a lot!
Just lost a match today because my opponent gave me the high balls treatment when he saw he could not beat me otherwise. I lost patience and the match.
I think I got your lesson right. I'll try for sure!
Thank you!
Wow.....thank you....That makes so much sense. I use slice and chip shots at times but will practice this stroke. I was lacking power in trying to spin my backhand shots due to high balls. Coming across horizontally makes total sense. Thanks.
Thank you very much for sharing. Very helpful.
Thanks for that. My coach calls it a transfer shot and I've had trouble for years. You nailed it, I was so focused on getting top spin that I lost all power and control.
Those high balls made me feel very small today, normally I don't have a partner, but today I played a bit with another person and I discovered one more of my numerous weaknesses , thank you for the lesson Thomas,👍🏻❤️ time to practice more 🎾
Best tips to deal with high balls. Thanks
Excellent instruction coupled with wonderful shot examples showing it in action... Really, really good...
Most other video instructions, all they do is talk, talk, talk for a long-time with no shot examples...
Very useful video, and was easy for me to implement on court. Immediate improvement vs. my partner with the high spinny balls.
I've been dying (dying I say!) to fix this stroke on the FH side (BH is good). and the realization to prepare high and finish high and hit across the ball is paradigm shifting. I was for sure trying to hit in the bad examples (low to high and hitting up on a high ball). when i watch your videos - there's always a huge AH-Ha moment. THANK YOU GREATLY!
Good tips ! I was thinking how to counter high ball and this video really help me.
Excellent work handling balls.
Thanks for the great tip, Tomaz. Until I saw this video, I had no idea how to handle high balls with my backhand. With your tip, I now have another great tool in my tennis toolbox.
good stuff. i'd say horizontal/slightly up since that's what we are actually doing there. beginners may start slapping down on those high balls and still think they're swinging 'horizontally'
Nice video. I like the plentiful demonstrations, it helped something click that I hadn't been getting before about pulling across the ball with the same stroke. I needed ammo against the pushers who highball me until I hit a UE.
Excellent guidance, and easy to work on! That still traps me (my muscle memory trying to prepare too low). You have to be conscious of this, especially when you first start working on it, to stress a high preparation, so you can come across high. Great tutorial!
Many thanks. Most of the high backhands I take end up as high returns (if they don't end up going into the net!). Will try the diagonal racket approach and exercises.
Best tennis instruction anywhere
Absolute best video explains the tips effectively
Ive never heard of this before and its certainly not something I would teach. If a player is hitting with height to a BH or FH, the best response is to copy the same ball and reply with height. By hitting horizontally you are opening up the chance of hitting short to your opponent if your strike isn't perfect. By replying with height, you are not only keeping your opponent back but your margin for error is much greater. Think of 3 levels, level 1 is a flat ball, level 2 is a slightly higher ball and level 3 is a high loopy ball. When someone is hitting a number 3 ball at you, why would you then try to hit either a 1 or 2 ball? This makes the margin for error smaller and encourages shorter balls. Nadal was the best in the world for being relentless at the number 3 ball. Another way to cancel out the high shots is to effectively slice. When the ball has been sliced to them, the most natural reaction and easiest reaction is to slice back. Therefore resulting in a lower ball, which for most players, is much easier to hit than a high one. Your demonstrator isn't hitting the ball high. because you are clearly a good enough player its very easy for you to stand on the baseline and drive it back. For most beginners, they wouldn't have the ability to do this. The player in this situation will need to move back way behind the baseline so they're comfortable and hit the high loopy ball back to enable depth and greater error margins.
Excellent video on how to tackle high balls. Not a common topic at all. And it's at Kallang Tennis centre! nice one.
This is really my favorite channel .. i always learn things the right way from u :)
Especially the recommendations about the backhand are very useful and I'll try to implement it to my game.
What I miss here, is the inclusion of footwork and the moment to hit the ball.
If u move backwards, you'll have much more time and can hit the ball at a lower position as it's falling down. This takes a lot of movement and you risk to get more defensive. A working example for it is Nadal.
The more difficult way to hit highballs like flat balls, is to hit them very early while they're rising. This takes a lot of practice and footwork again to be right there just before the ball bumps. Plus the risk to lose control in the short period between bumping and hitting the ball.
On the other hand, the advantage is to accelerate the ball with less power and putting pressure on your opponent. So it's the best way to attack and save energy.
My compromise getting high balls to my one-handed backhand is the slice by the way. Or, if the ball isn't too fast, run around the backhand and hit a forehand out of the left corner (I am right handed).
Back and forth movement works, but against better players who hit a heavy ball it’s much harder.
Fantastic, I mean I have started learning tennis for few days .. now this is helping me a lot..
Who else is wondering how Shaheed is doing right now after 7+ years of recording this video? Shaheed if you can read this, give us an update.
Search up Shaheed Alam. He seems to be playing for Team Singapore
My buddy is on a 3-0 streak against me. Hits nothing but high topspin and defensive lobs, so hopefully this should help me even the score. Thanks!
sry this is 4 years later but damn u are such a savage for just watching a video in the middle of the game xDDDD
Isomiddinjon Abdusalomov I think he means 3-0 matches
picolo2022 Games ooohhh yeah, I’m dumb 😂
@@isomiddinjonabdusalomov6752 LOL "excuse me I need to youtube how to beat you!"
It's really all about racquet head velocity, throwing the head of the racquet...once you're used to it it's like a tweener
Thank you for the tips. I've been struggling with high balls especially on the backhand side. I always feel that I have no power on high ball backhand, hopefully this technique could improve my game.
Yes great job on the video keeping it clear great audio and good camera work...and demonstration...swing....
Thank you this is a very detailed and helpful video
Fantastic tip, spot on for my high ball issues.
How to stop hitting the ball late was a fab vid. So practical. big thanks.
With this instruction plus learning to step in a bit cured my fear of the high ball to the backhand.
You're a really good coach. You're explanations really make sense and helps with my own assessment of my game.
Great lesson, well described and easily digestible information. Can't wait to put it into action . Thank you
FANTASTIC TIP.
Hi, congratulations to share the excellent tips, undoubtedly they will make me feel much better on court, thanks!!!
Great tips!! Had a lot of struggle with this kind of shot.
Great video, I have always wondered how to handle those high balls. Thank You!!
Great tips 👌 The higher prep and finish seem to be key! Thank-you 🎾
Love all your videos. Such a great teacher with great tips I can take to the court. Thanks a lot!
Thanks for the easy way and good advice, very simple explanation and both high backhand shots, single plus double.
very good instructive explanation really well done
i will try it. i feel it will work well. thanks to you and Shahid.
Thanks so much for the video, its helpful for us to prepare the strategy and explains why the high-high or high-Low is not good. very good video
thanks, that was helpful to see the demonstration of how it looks to "prepare high"
this is my favourite video of yours! It was nice to meet you at Kallang on tuesday
Thank you, unequivocal demonstration of handling high balls
This has been something I'd been thinking about for a few weeks so thanks for posting the video!
excellent video instruction.....thanks for sharing. very well done.
Excellent instruction, thanks
The exercise using the fence is great - it gives the biomechanical sense of "fanning" the racquet head across the fence and also gives feedback about the higher preparation of the racquet head. You can explain further that when the ball is struck using this technique it creates side spin which naturally pulls the ball down into the court much like the physics of a tornado. JESleeth Former Tennis Pro
Excellent lesson, always have great tips and drills.