By Juan Nuñez
Photo by Eric Gaillard/Landov

Guillermo Coria stays perfectly balanced and composed on his two-handed backhand.

HEAD:
Coria is making a tremendous effort at this point of the swing, yet his body is nicely composed. His eyes are relaxed and focused on the point of contact, and his head is steady, which allows him to keep his whole body coordinated.

SHOULDERS:
Although he’s a fraction of a second away from impact, Coria still keeps his shoulders sideways to the net. This will allow him to uncoil his whole body at the moment of impact. That’s how an undersized player can hit with such force.

UPPER BODY:
Coria’s body is perfectly balanced in relation to the ball. It’s at a nice angle, with a slight lean forward. As a player, you don’t want to be too erect or too crouched over.

RIGHT WRIST:
Because Coria doesn’t use a full backhand grip, his right wrist is bent unnaturally. He does this to help keep his racquet face closed. To compensate, Coria will have to drive his backhand with a strong left hand and arm, which is fairly common on a good two-hander.

FEET:
Coria uses his back leg to push through and transfer his body weight toward the ball. You can see how his left heel is off the ground and the clay is kicking up around his right foot, indicating his excellent weight transfer.

RACQUET:
Coria’s racquet face is closed and well beneath the ball. By dropping the head below the ball he can swing up, which will give his shot height and depth. And the closed face allows him to accelerate the racquet and apply topspin.