On the Coach' Mailbag, Thread of Order author Hugh Clark joins Gill Gross to answer your questions about professional technique and various tennis topics. We'll start by discussing Stefanos Tsitsipas's one-handed backhand in response to the recent video by Intuitive Tennis claiming it's "not bad." Comments include: an argument that Casper Ruud's big match struggles are technical not mental, is it true peaking Carlos Alcaraz better than peaking Jannik Sinner while average Sinner is better than average Alcaraz, should coaches and players focus on strengths instead of fixing weaknesses, why do Americans serve bigger on average, what are the changes Alcaraz is making to his serve technique, what we would do if we were tasked with coaching Novak Djokovic, and much much more.
00:00 Intro
03:56 Tsitsipas Backhand
10:40 Ruud Mental vs. Skill
18:28 Peak Alcaraz & Sinner
21:45 Sinner Easy Power
24:30 Focusing on Strengths
30:25 American Serves
33:05 Alcaraz Serve Technique
37:10 Weird ATP Forehands
40:09 Stop Double Faulting
43:38 Footwork Importance
46:41 Coaching Djokovic