The Mizuki Shot by Hisham Ashour

October 23rd, 2008 Mithun Mukherjee Posted in Education, General, Video

The Egyptians are famous on the pro circuit for their flamboyant shots and racquet skills. Check out current World #25, Hisham Ashour explaining a gem from his collection up close – the Mizuki shot, a backhand-forehand volley drop to the nick! Trivia: This is unverified but my theory is that the origins of this shot possibly lie in a popular Japanese manga called The Prince of Tennis and that it is a derivative of the “dangerous Twist Spin Shot” taught by the character Mizuki Hajime.

Okay so The Mizuki may be just a bit much to practice and perfect. If you’re the regular social club player, you want to make sure you have the basics right – the rails, the drops and the boasts. Here are some words of wisdom from Kim Lee Wong on the #2 ranked Princeton squad:

“…If you are truly a beginner, and you are playing with other beginners, resist the urge to whack away. Instead, try to play the ball high, deep and to the corners….”
“…Ideal rail shots are both deep and tight and usually find their way to the back corners of the court, where space limits both your opponent’s swing and what he can do with his return….”
…”It’s about timing,” Wong said with a slight laugh. “If your opponent is off his balance, hitting a really hard shot just about anywhere will win the point. If your opponent hits a loose shot, you can hit a hard shot that takes up a lot of space, to get him stuck in a corner….”
“…Hacking the ball is not so much hard, but hard to keep it up…”

Read the entire article from the Daily Princetonian – “Mastering the shots: a beginner’s journey” by Jake Miller.

And finally, a quick primer of the basic forehand and backhand from Shahier Razik, current World #22. (previous Razik videos on grip and footwork)