I have had problems with (overhead) clears (backhand and forehand) for a long time now, in that they do not go far enough, from the back of the court they usually end in the middle of the other side (covering 3/4 of the length). Now I am tempted to blame my equipment which is now 10+years old and has never been restrung, would this make the difference? But equipment aside, is there anything specific I should look to change?
Do a search... There are so many threads about that... Why don't you try the racket of the guys that play against you in training?
your strokes and footwork? but if both of them are alright for you, why don't you try new stings and new racquets?
Thanks, I'm going to get a new racquet anyway but I thought it should still be possible to clear from one end of the court to the other with any non-broken racquet. Sorry I didn't look very hard for other posts about weak clears, but I will look now. I know my footwork needs some more training but I'm not sure about my stroke, maybe I should find some coaching.
First thing I'd look at is your impact point - a clear that falls too short suggests you're not taking the shuttle far enough in front of you. Also, try hitting the shot slightly flatter, since depth is more important than height with clears as long as the shuttle passes over your opponent's/s' head(s). The backhand clear is one of the most difficult shots in the game, so don't be as worried about this as your forehand side clear!
I strongly advise a new racket or new strings, I have just bought a new racket (Yonex Muscle Power 21) and found that the tighter strings make it so so easy to hit clears/smashes, Nathan
Just test a new racket to see if it makes much difference (maybe you can try the one your opponent uses just for a few strokes?!) In general it should be easy to forehand clear base to base with pretty much any racket string, combination given good technique and reasonable forearm strength. So if your old racket is not cracked or otherwise broken, you should in all cases consider to get a coach look at your technique and see if you are using your forearm pronation correctly, using correct grip, hitting the shuttle without slice and on the racket sweetspot etc. cheers, Twobeer
Using a full swing, you should be able to hit a clear with just about any racquet. Most likely it is a technique issue. Since I've never seen you play, I can only offer some general suggestions: - keep your grip relaxed. If you tense up, you'll impede the energy transfer from your hands to the racquet - make sure you're using a swinging motion. Many players who don't know how to swing the racquet use a pushing motion - as if they're trying to "punch" the shuttle with the racqet. This works somewhat when the bird has some speed, like with drives, but for the clear a swinging motion is more powerful.
A more expensive solution: Get the Ti-10 'classic' - you could effortless do clears and if you overdo it the shuttle could clear the baseline by 2 - 3 feet easy!
I also suggest trying somebody else's racquet first to see if it makes a difference. 10 year old strings are really something though. That's older than the age of my children combined! Try restringing as well!
Hi Mikebee! Racket and strings do matter a lot (with more emphasis on the strings), so these should be taken into account. As for the proper stroke for clears, it is important to hit the shuttle at the top of your swing with your arm fully extended. This means you start your hitting stroke when the shuttle is just beyond your reach so that you hit the shuttle when your arm is fully extended. This, in coordination with the throwing action of your hand, forearm and wrist, generates a lot of speed and, with your racket face square on the shuttle, should strengthen your clears. We could go into the physics of it but that would make things complicated. Getting the timing of this stroke takes some getting used to but the benefits are well worth the effort.
Shuttle placement is also important. Ideally the shuttle should be slightly in front of you but once you've mastered the stroke I described above, even clears directly above your head should reach the baseline on the other end.
does your opponents clear easily? if everyone finds it hard it might be because of the shuttle......lol apart from that...do a search on forehand stroke techniques
Just a quick update, played last night and tried a few different racquets and found that the racquet did make a difference adding maybe 10-20% to the distance of my clears. However this is still not enough because that only covers 90% of the way from one end to the other. I suspect that I might be slicing the shuttle slightly. We were using a plastic shuttle and I don't think anyone else was hitting clears further than mine. But maybe my friends have poor technique too.
Are you hitting as hard as you can? Try putting more emphasis on snapping your wrist at the highest point of your swing. Sounds weird if NOBODY around you can clear it to the baseline. Even if you slice it, unless you're like 5 years old you should be able to clear to the baseline.
Perhaps you should send as a video of you, playing clears... I think all the "guessing" about what COULD be your problem is nearly senseless... Nobody knows how you play, nodoby knows your racket, your string, your shuttles or your "friends"... Without that perhaps we tell you the opposit of what is actually good for your game...
Maybe the plastic shuttles are just to slow, r u sure thay have the right speed? if you do a std speedtest (stand behind the baseline and do an underarm stroke as long as youu can, how far does it go?? ) /T
well one thing is for certain it is not because of plastic birdies. if you are hitting it correctly anybody can clear very far baseline to baseline with a plastic, providing that you hit it with proper technique. my whole school district use plastic no problem. string tension does affect how you need to hit the birdie harder or softer depending on its tension, however again with proper technique it shouldnt matter either way. ive seen many players take broken up school racquets all probably 18lbs string tension and clear with ease. my tips are: get there faster so you wont be moving while hitting. then stop then hit . make sure you pronate with your wrist (there's a thread) and hit it at around 11-12 oclock.
I also have problem clearing the shuttle from the back of my court, normally it only goes to the middle of opponent court.. but I know that I'm lacking technique. So when I play single, my opponent service to back of my court and I can't clear it.. can somebody explain the clearing technique (very very basic). I also know that I have problem in footwork, but there's many footwork topic I can read in this forum. However, I really need the clearing technique (overhead).. will be really helpful if somebody can post link to slow motion clearing teachnique video
