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BACKHANDS
THE BACKHAND HAS NOW BECOME A SHOT THAT EVERY PRO PLAYER NEEDS TO COMPETE AT THE TOP LEVEL. AT CLUB LEVEL MOST PLAYERS HAVE NORMALLY A STRONGER FOREHAND. HERE WE WILL DISCUSS HOW YOU CAN HAVE A BACKHAND THAT WILL HOLD UP UNDER PRESSURE.
DOUBLE HANDED BACKHAND
GRIP
Marat Safin's Backhand grip
Above we can see clearly Andre Agassi's Backhand grip. Notice that the right hand is in the Continental grip and the left hand is in the Eastern Forehand grip.
Most pros will use a combination of the following grips for their double handed backhand-
1.Bottom hand-In between a Continental and Eastern backhand grip
Top hand-Eastern Forehand grip
2.Bottom hand-Eastern Backhand grip
Top hand-Semi-western grip
3.Bottom hand-Continental grip
Top hand-Eastern Forehand grip
SHOULDER TURN
As soon as you see that the ball is coming to your backhand wing you need a good shoulder turn. The shoulder turn will also include turning the lower body sideways so you can move to the ball side on.
The biggest mistake many players doon their backhand is noshoulder turn and/or a late shoulder turn.
Rafael Nadal's shoulder turn on the backhand
Novak Djokovic's shoulder turn on the backhand
Marat Safin's shoulder turn on the backhand
Andre Agassi's shoulder turn on the backhand
RACKET TAKEBACK
Good racket preparation is one of the keys to a good backhand. How you take the racket back will determine how much power/spin/control you can get on the shot.
THE FIRST THING EVERY BACKHAND NEEDS IS A GOOD SHOULDER TURN.
THE SECOND THING IS LEVERAGE.
Here we can see in all 3 pictures that Djokovic's racket head is much higher than the grip. This is LEVERAGE. It will help him to generate more power/spin/control.
Djokovic's racket head is higher than shoulder height and the grip is about waist height creating huge LEVERAGE in the wrists/forearm/arm.
Rafael Nadal's LEVERAGE on the Backhand. These 2 pictures are also good to see Nadal's chin resting on his left shoulder indicating the huge shoulder turn he has
Andre Agassi's LEVERAGE on the Backhand. Notice in the above left picture that the racket head is about shoulder height at the highest point and the grip is at waist height.
Juan Martin Del Potro has one of the biggest backhands on tour when its on.
Look at the huge LEVERAGE that Del Potro gets on his Backhand.
The racket is fully upright in his takeback creating massive LEVERAGE.
In the picture on the right his racket head is higher than head height and the grip is just below chest height
Fernando Verdasco's huge shoulder turn and huge LEVERAGE on the Backhand
Mardy Fish's LEVERAGE on the Backhand
Tomas Berdych's shoulder turn and LEVERAGE on the Backhand
Maria Sharapova's shoulder turn and MASSIVE LEVERAGE on the Backhand. She has one of the highest takebacks on the Backhands. Her racket head is higher than head height and the racket fully upright much like Del Potro.
This young Pro (above right) has a very high takeback also with huge LEVERAGE. She also has both elbows bent significantly and this position look's very similar to a baseball batter's ready position (above left)
ALIGNMENT OF BUTT-CAP AND ONCOMING BALL
The next phase of the double-handed backhand is the alignment of the BUTT-CAP (bottom of racket) and ONCOMING BALL.
This will give the player great control over the balland will help them to get more spin/power/feel.
Djokovic's butt-cap pointing to the oncoming ball
Andre Agassi's butt-cap pointing to the oncoming ball
Rafael Nadal's butt-cap alignment with the oncoming ball
Andy Murray's pointing the bottom of his racket to the oncoming ball
David Ferrer pointing the butt-cap of his racket to the oncoming ball
CONTACT POINT FOR THE DOUBLE-HANDED BACKHAND
As you can see here Novak Djokovic make's Contact with the ball on the BH way out in front of his body. Notice the use of his left arm at contact point-it is extended out in front. Also we can see that his eye's are focused on the ball
Andre Agassi's Contact point on the BH. We can see that Agassi like Djokovic hit's the ball way out in front of his body and really extends both arm's out at Contact.
Rafael Nadal's Contact point on the BH. Again we can see that both his arm's are extended and he hit's the ball way out in front of his body
FOLLOW-THROUGH ON THE DOUBLE-HANDED BACKHAND
Novak Djokovic's finish on the BH. He finishes over his right shoulder with both elbow's around shoulder height (a typical problem among player's is they finish with one or both elbow's too low).
Andre Agassi's finish on the BH again over the right shoulder with both elbows quite high
Rafael Nadal's finish on the BH. Again both elbow's are at shoulder height and the racket is over the left shoulder.
On the right hand side you can see just how far Rafa wraps the racket over his left shoulder
Wozniacki's finish on the BH
Marat Safin's finish on the BH
Andy Murray's finish on the BH
Venus William's finish on the BH
Maria Sharapova's finish on the BH
Serena William's finish on the BH
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