By Don R. Mueller
Hello, my name is Don R. Mueller (Physics professor and the “Two Racket Guy”). I present to you a form of tennis with an interesting twist called Two-racket Tennis. The two-racket game, unlike its one-racket counterpart, is truly a full-body workout as both sides of the body are utilized in a balanced way to play the game. Two-racket tennis can be played by anyone willing to give it a try. Kids like the two-forehand appeal of the game, because they generally have trouble controlling a backhand. Senior players find two-racket tennis to be a novel way to alleviate arm strain by employing the two-arm strategy. For the garden-variety tennis enthusiast, two-racket tennis affords the player a number of practical benefits over that of conventional tennis:
(1) Hitting with power from both sides. (2) Bigger wingspan: more easily reach those difficult shots. (3) Avoid backhand injuries.
(4) Hand-eye coordination for both sides of the body. (5) Less back strain. (6) Less arm fatigue. (7) Greater flexibility.
What sparked me to try two-racket tennis in the first place?
This article pretty much tells my story:
Physics professor promotes two-racket tennis (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/24/sports/tennis/24rackets.html?ref=sports
Two-racket Tennis
In what follows, I’ve put together several links to the two-racket game. Feel free to give it a go.
My website is www.tworacket.com
Two-racket Tennis Videos:
“Long Island: The place for Two-racket Tennis??”
“Two Rackets” is “Too Many” (News 12 – Bronx, NY)
Edward Scissorhands of Tennis (Times-Herald Record)
Tennis Connected: (Adobe Flash Player) ABC News Interview
http://tennisconnected.com/home/2010/07/30/two-rackets-better-than-one/
Can’t get enough Two-racket Tennis? (Two-racket Tennis in Two minutes)
Serving with Two Rackets
full-body workout · It's a balanced
Dan Markowitz · October 28, 2011 at 9:15 pm
Congratulations on coming up with two-racket tennis. I think I might be one of those “middle-ground players” who don’t think I’d like to do more than give it a shot one or two times. Here’s why: Most of us are not ambidextrous like yourself. So hitting a forehand with our left hand is much less powerful than hitting a backhand.
Secondly, I love tennis for the movement as much as the stroking and your movement is impeded when you wield a racket in each hand. It must be much harder to run and hitting shots like slices and spins on the run must be harder because you don’t have your non-hitting hand available to adjust the grip.
But I still think it’s cool.
Scoop Malinowski · October 28, 2011 at 11:41 pm
Understand that idea Dan and that’s my first impulse too. Very happy with playing tennis the normal way. But I am going to try it with an open mind and see what happens. Over the last 3 years I have been playing some occasional lefty tennis, to try to become a good lefty player, so as to be able to enjoy playing with novice level players, as opposed to always playing high level intense 4.5 – 5.0 level tennis. Also I feel playing lefty helps to balance out my body which has to be out of whack after 15 years of hardcore righty tennis. And after playing lefty, then when I go back to righty I feel so strong like I can’t miss anything. Also, I will try to play with one racquet and just hit forehands off both wings and see if it feels better with one racquet or two. Definitely this is an interesting innovation though. Don, do you also play one racquet tennis still? Or have you gone completely to the two-racquet method?
Dan Markowitz · October 29, 2011 at 10:26 am
I have a little fear and bad memory playing lefty tennis. I did it with you, Scoop, a bit in Delray Beach once and that was when I was recovering from my rotator cuff tear. And of course, the ball is traveling more slowly and I got used to that pace.
The first time I tried playing with my right hand again, and my opponent did the same, the very first time, the ball came back so much quicker and I cut for the ball and tore my meniscus in my right knee.
So I think sometimes if you play with your left hand you get used to this granny-style of hitting–Don can really whack the ball with both arms–and that can cost you when you go back to hitting exclusively with dominant hand.
Scoop Malinowski · October 29, 2011 at 2:23 pm
I think getting used to the “Granny style” of hitting is very important. A lot of players can be frustrated by it, and to master it and feel comfortable against it adds another dimension to your arsenal. Many players can be disturbed out of their natural rhythms by teasing them with slow balls. Dan that lefty match we played was a lot of fun, for me at least. I really enjoy playing lefty sometimes, it’s a totally different experience than righty. I played last week and lost a a friend 5-7 but she is a pretty good righty player, playing serious for about 4 years, she wears Oudin’s colored Believe adidas, she got me this time because it was 2 windy but I’ll get her next time : )
Dr. Don R. Mueller · November 2, 2011 at 7:25 pm
Hello, I’m Prof. Don R. Mueller, aka the “Two Racket Guy.” I was asked by the moderator to reply to comments that have been made by others concerning the game of Two-racket Tennis, ‘Tennis Gone Wild,’ if you will…
Comment 1: “Congratulations on coming up with two-racket tennis.”
Reply 1: Actually, the two-racket game goes way back, likely to the early days of tennis; this according to my Russian friends and their Two-racket Tennis Federation (Moscow, Russia). At some point in time, it simply took a one-racket detour. The “Godfather” of the Two-racket game is Dock Houk. His website is http://www.boobackhands.com. I have simply taken two-racket tennis to new heights, with a power serve, that uses the two rackets simultaneously and more powerful groundstrokes.
Comment 2: “Most of us are not ambidextrous like yourself. So hitting a forehand with our left hand is much less powerful than hitting a backhand.”
Reply 2: You’d be surprised how quickly most people can pick up that second forehand with a little practice, whether they consider themselves to be ambidextrous or not. It simply takes some trial and error and then; Wow! I think you’ve got it! After that, it’s just like riding a bike, you never forget it. With a second arm in your arsenal, you can play more often without wearing out. Burn off those excess calories from lunch.
Comment 3: “…your movement is impeded when you wield a racket in each hand. It must be much harder to run and hitting shots like slices and spins on the run must be harder because you don’t have your non-hitting hand available to adjust the grip.”
Reply 3: I can only speak for myself, but I have no difficulty running, stopping and starting, rotating quickly and so on concerning typical “tennis movements” when playing with two rackets. On this note, let me tell you an amusing story: During a phone conversation, I was talking with a “Head of Officials” at the USTA. Weeks earlier, I sent him a DVD of my two-racket exploits: the two-racket serve and volley, overhead smashes and running about the court unimpeded to return my opponents shots. This is what he said, “Professor, we do have one question: How do you run?” I said, “You obviously did not watch the DVD, I sent you.” “I run with my legs!”
Concerning the grip: Each hand has its own grip, which caters to the individual.
Comment 4: “Do you also play one racquet tennis still? Or have you gone completely to the two-racquet method?”
Reply 4: That’s yet another of the fun and useful aspects of two-racket tennis. I do play one-racket tennis, sometimes righty and sometimes lefty and I prefer a one-handed backhand. By the way, two-racket tennis can be useful to the one-racket player who prefers the two-hand backhand. When you dissect the two-hand backhand you see elements of an opposite forehand. Try this experiment: Go into your two-hand backhand, and then let go the bottom hand on the racket. Now swing away! You now have an opposite forehand. If you slide this hand down on the racket, you have a full-fledged opposite forehand. How easy was that?!
Comment 5: Concerning the so-called “Granny-style” forehand.
Reply 5: Again, upon exploring the two-racket game, you may in fact, start out with a Granny-style forehand or backhand for that matter. However, with practice and some muscle building of the arm, you will quickly find yourself firing the ball back with your newly-minted opposite forehand (backhand). Good luck.
Feel free to contact me if you have any comments, questions, etc. (www.tworacket.com)
Enjoy the day,
Don R. Mueller, Ph.D. (The “Two Racket Guy”)
Scoop Malinowski · November 8, 2011 at 1:12 am
Definitely the lefty forehand skill develops a lot faster than you would expect after taking the first few strokes. So does the serve actually. But you have to be patient and committed, and refuse to give up. Make the decision to master a certain skill and you will eventually. I didn’t have a chance to play two hand tennis this weekend, when I got to the courts had to play doubles with a 1 min warmup. Next time!
Dr. Don R. Mueller · July 24, 2012 at 4:43 pm
Two-Racket Tennis Returns!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEjbJW5ZY5w
Two-racket Tennis on Cablevision (Hudson Valley)
Scoop Malinowski · July 25, 2012 at 2:17 am
Congratulations Don!