I am always curious why Akane Yamaguchi REALLY favors round the head forehand as opposed to normal backhand shots. I know forehand is weaker than backhand in general, but the way she plays is like she is allergic to backhand. Since she is obviously a very good player (watching her playing in Dubai open final on my pc as I am typing this post), I am wondering if this is actually a strategic choice? I thought with her shorter stature, she potentially has to take more steps than other taller players. Therefore, by preferring round the head shots to backhand shots will tire her even more, since she will have to take even more steps to get into the position to do the round the head shots, and to get back to the center afterwards. Conclusion: round the head shots is not good for players with short legs. Or is it?
And she just won Dubai Open 2017, good for her! EDIT: oops yes not Dubai Open, Dubai SS! Sent from my SM-N930F using Tapatalk
It's Dubai Super Series Final 2017, not an open tournament But anyway congratulations to Akane. It was a good win, great SF and Final matches. #Tapatalk
Maybe it's the way she was taught that's old school? A family member of mine was the junior state champion and almost made it to the national team in the 1970s and she said she was taught to always use round the head and never to do backhand except in emergency.
You play what works for you.......Like taufik, he favors the backback....Some say it's as good or even better than his forehand......
Okuhara also sticks to the forehand (more so than Yamaguchi). When you're short it's a bit easier to do.
She and Nao Ono celebrated Seijin no Hi (Coming of Age Day). Congrats Akane-chin! She's an adult now, can do more jobs and drink alcohol.
Shouldn't it be the reverse? Most people have weaker backhand than forehand. Therefore, it's better to take it at the forehand than backhand. My coach has also said the same to me. Don't use backhand, use forehand. Use backhand only if you have no choice. Also, short people by nature has to take more steps to all corners of the court if they practise the usual footwork (e.g. me, at less than 1.5m tall, take 7 steps to either corner and back to centre, whereas average height or tall players can manage with 5 steps). One thing I notice that is Yamaguchi plays a more defensive style to shorten the number of steps taken and recover. So from the moment she hits to another corner, instead of small steps to the centre, she takes a big step or runs to the centre. Interestingly though, she isn't susceptible to attacks to any 4 corners despite such a footwork (most short people are if the shots are corner enough). Okuhara doesn't have such a footwork, even though they have similar stature and sometimes she has more steps to the centre and recovery typical of a shorter person than Yamaguchi.
Shorter players often prefer to take overhead, whilst taller players are usually easier to force into backhands. The WC final is an example of this. Dubai final is also an example. Watching their footwork is hypnotising.
While any backhand shots can't be as good as forehand shots (not even Taufik's), one can argue that the lower quality of the backhand shots can easily be compensated by superior shot angle and better body position after the shot, not to mention better stamina management compared to the round the head shots. "Don't use backhand unless you have no choice" is a very old school approach to badminton. Most modern badminton players have developed very good backhand shots; you can see there are not many players at the top level who still play like Akane. Or is it because not many professional badminton players are as short as Akane, so round the head shots are not as effective? :S
While her teammates were in Indonesia, Akane was busy receiving a special award from the Fukui Prefecture ^^ So many achievements already for a 20yo youngster
So...can we pop the champagne already or do we have to wait 'till thursday? https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports...no-1-singles-player-world-badminton-rankings/
