Estimate my Rating! Plus Advice Welcome!

Hey, thanks so much Ben. There are a few reasons.

@balldance Sorry!! I didn't notice your post... I'm really bad at pushing no spin. At the moment, I'm returning them with no spin by just opening my racket and pushing forward to match their motion. It works... but it's not ideal. I need to learn to do like an over the table chop on those for a more aggressive return.

mickd, I think you're far better than the lefty, not even close.  His serves are too high, and return of serve is weak.  He was playing a very weak player and still didn't look good.  He did have a powerful forehand, but against a tougher opponent he might not get the opportunities to make those shots.
Put the lefty in the ICC club in California and he's under 1000.

Thanks for the info. Personally, I do think I can beat the kid (just based on what I saw from that video). I know you think differently, so we might have to agree to disagree here lol. No way to say for sure unless we played!

Hard to use as a comparison if you don't know his rating!! Unless you're waiting to let us know!

here is a vid of another young lefty FOR COMPARISON.

Edited by el luchador - 10/20/2017 at 7:37am

mickd wrote: Thanks guys. Recently I've been spending more time doing BHs than FHs during practice, and it's the reason why my backhand has actually improved a lot compared to a year ago. I've still probably practiced my forehand like 2-3 times more, so that's why my BH is so underdeveloped. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to play as much as I used to (like 4-5 times a week over a year ago, compared to 0-2 times a week recently). I'll keep working on being more aggressive with my backhand. Placement is something I definitely need to abuse more of. I actually think I need to go down the line more often. Anyone who knows me knows that I always aim for their backhands/middle. @pongfugrasshopper Off memory I served a lot of side/side top and side under against player 1. Most my side under serves had a lot more side than under, too. A year ago when I played him, if we got into a pushing rally, I always lost the point. I'd either push it into the net after a few tries or drive it into the net. But I think I'm getting used to heavier spins now. So maybe it isn't too bad! Maybe in the USA since there are a lot less players, most players are more dedicated and play at a higher level. Player 2 is easily better than 50% of the players here. I'm not sure how that translates though. I definitely won't call him just above beginner. But yeah, it might just be because there are more actual beginners here (especially students and older people). I lost the set against him due to a series of unfortunate events, and me trying different things. It's quite easy for a few things to go wrong and to lose a set t_t Similarly, I've taken sets off player 4 in the past, too. Never 2 sets, though!! Player 3, yeah I lost strategically too. Thanks!! I'll definitely keep working on it. I still feel like I'm nowhere near my peak.

Player 1 has good serves in terms of spin, but I question how high that toss is.  You say he has heavy backspin, yet nearly all of your serves are underspin.  Try no spin, medium length serve to allow you to open up easier.

Good luck friend, I think we'll all be very happy to see more videos of yours from months to come :)

Sorry NL. I didn't really mean to generalize the statement when I said it, especially since I agree with you. It was more that I felt like the short serves would disadvantage me, rather than my opponents not attacking it.

OK.
I give you 2 observations and 2 training suggestions

1) Don't jump or stamp or stand up one one leg when doing forehand topspin. All the power is lost into the ground or directed not where you want, ruining the shot and worse, leaving you unbalanced and too slow to react when someone actually knows how to block a topspin or return it. Look at how you jump and stamp when you topspin in the clips. DONT DO THAT. Rotate the hip, transfering weight from the forehand knee to the other but without moving them from where they are.

Look at the footwork of the kid from the 3rd clip, the last shot where he beats you, that's how your feet should move in preparation to the shot and during the shot itself (very small very precise movements).
In fact, that last point in the 3rd clip, from serve to the kill shot, the kid's footwork was gorgeous, absolutely beautiful, you must copy that exactly. Even a very good player will look at that footwork in some awe, I promise you.

Also the guy who's much better in the 4th clip. Look at the legs.


2) Your backhand is the typical awful backhand. I'm not saying that to offend, it's the same as EVERY player who wasn't coached properly or is just a beginner, same problem for everyone and also me until I noticed it and practiced it --- you're moving your arm towards the ball and 'touching' it lightly instead of keeping your arm back, waiting for the ball, and executing an actual backhand stroke that's fast. Like you do when practicing backhand to backhand. I hope.

This happens in games generally because your reaction time isn't fast enough (so you feel, it's not true) and you feel that you have to return the goddamn ball however way, that just touching it would be enough, better than not touching it. But it would be a lot better for you to not do that. It's not just a bad shot, but you're effectively training yourself to repeat it. Just wait for the ball to come and execute the correct movement with speed when the ball is close to you. Even if you lose games to begin with.


Training suggestion:
1) ALWAYS topspinning/flicking every third ball (not pushing/chopping except in serve return), while making sure your feet ARE PLANTED SOLID AND UNMOVING (but knees bent).
Sure you'll lose but you'll improve

2) Playing matches with friends using ONLY backhand, using footwork to get you around. Sure, you'll lose, but you'll improve



Edited by Lightzy - 10/17/2017 at 11:32pm

Thanks guys! I think I play well under pressure. I probably play in close to 10 competitions a year. Japan has a lot of local tournaments. The only problem is that they're mostly all team competitions, and my team isn't very strong, so the group we get put in is not so difficult. I usually win most of my matches.

Edited by mickd - 10/17/2017 at 10:47pm

The spin level is too low.  The stroke looks right, but the acceleration is too small compared to what it should be to generate good spin.  The last video with your opponent's shots shows what 2000+ (likely 2200+) acceleration looks like.  He is the one player in all the videos who looks like he is in a completely different class from everyone else.

What a wide spread of the estimates !!!!!

mickd, in USA, your rating would fluctuate by region, you could be 1300 in a few places and mid 1500s to 1600 in some others. Some places, your league rating would be higher.