Switching to a One-Hander
I feel my two-hander is and always has been holding back my game, and I'm starting to get fed up. It doesn't really feel natural to me, I frame or awkwardly block every single shot, even though I try to get my feet in the right place and unit turn. I compensate for it by slicing which feels very natural to me and often works well, as does the occasional one-hander I hit on the run. Does anybody have advice, or words of wisdom?
When people talk about switching between the 1 or 2 hander, it's almost always a case of "the grass is greener on the other side." You feel the liberation and the extended reach of the 1 hand right now, but when you commit, you'll run into a wall of how difficult it is to maintain heavy rallies under pressure. There are simply more things to go wrong for the 1-hander, so it begs the question: if you are struggling with your backhand now, will it honestly be better if you switch and start over? It's going to be a hard road and a long commitment.
But look, tennis is a complicated game, and every individual has different tendencies, so it's tough to judge whether or not you'll be better off with 1 or 2 hands down the line. If you look at the pros and cons too closely it will drive you mad. Fortunately for us though, it's not like this effects our lively hood nor a particularly permanent choice.
As a coach with a 1- hander, if an adult client requests to learn/switch to a 1-hander I typically oblige and support the endeavor. If it's a junior, I think you should consider the proposition more carefully, however.
Look, no one can explain why the one-hander feels so aesthetic, so magical. Tennis is meant to make you happy at the end of the day, and if the one-hander can make you enjoy the game, then all the better. I find it hard to really stop anyone from switching when the desire starts to pop up. So as a coach, I rather support the ordeal and if they have second thoughts down the road, then they now have a more complete understanding of the backhand overall.
So my advice: Don't Overthink It! - commit for a week or two and re-evaluate from there. You'll have a more solid understanding that cannot be replicated by the Pros and Cons we can list here.
