Most players fall in love with their forehand first, it's the shot that feels powerful, the one you see on highlight reels. But if you watch closely at any level of competitive play, the backhand is where the majority of points are actually built and lost. It's the shot you're forced into most often, the one that has to work under the least favorable conditions, and the one that separates players who can rally consistently from players who break down under pressure.
This guide covers the two backhand strokes every player needs, the backhand drive/push for consistency, and the backhand loop for attack, along with the most common technical breakdowns and how to fix them.
1. Why the Backhand Feels Harder Than the Forehand
Biomechanically, your backhand has less room to generate power. Your forehand benefits from a full rotation of your hips and shoulders and a long swing path; your backhand happens closer to your body, with a shorter, more compact motion. This isn't a flaw, it's simply a different mechanism, and trying to force forehand-style power into a backhand swing is one of the most common causes of backhand breakdown.
The good news: because the backhand relies less on big rotational power and more on timing, wrist and forearm action, and a stable base, it's a stroke that rewards precise technique over athleticism. A smaller, technically sound player can have an excellent backhand even without elite physical power.
2. Backhand Grip and Setup
Before the stroke itself, your grip and ready position determine how much power and control are even available to you.
- Slightly looser grip pressure than your forehand, a backhand relies more on wrist snap and forearm rotation, and a death-grip on the handle kills that whip action.
- Elbow away from your body, but not extended. A good backhand-ready position has your elbow roughly at a 90–100 degree bend, positioned slightly in front of your torso, giving your forearm room to accelerate through the ball.
- Racket angle closed slightly for topspin play, more open for blocking or pushing, this is adjusted stroke to stroke, but your neutral ready position should be close to vertical.
3. The Backhand Drive (Foundation Stroke)
The backhand drive, sometimes called the backhand block or backhand hit depending on pace, is your consistency shot: the one you use to rally, to keep the ball low and controlled, and to set up bigger opportunities.
- Start with your paddle slightly below and behind the ball's expected contact point, elbow bent, forearm relaxed.
- Initiate the stroke primarily from your forearm and wrist, not your shoulder. Think of a small, quick "flick" rather than a big swing.
- Make contact at the top of the ball's bounce, brushing slightly up and forward through the ball for topspin, or meeting it more squarely for a flatter drive.
- Finish with your paddle slightly higher than contact point, forearm extended but not locked, ready to recover immediately.
4. The Backhand Loop (Attacking Stroke)
Once your backhand drive is consistent, the backhand loop adds a genuine attacking weapon, a topspin-heavy shot that can open up points or finish them outright, especially useful against underspin serves and pushes.
- Drop your paddle lower than the drive's starting position, bending your knees slightly to lower your whole body toward the ball's height.
- Rotate your waist and shoulders slightly to load the stroke, more rotation than a drive, but still far less than a forehand loop.
- Brush up and through the ball explosively, with your forearm and wrist providing the acceleration, contact should feel like a fast, thin graze up the back of the ball rather than a flat strike.
- Follow through upward and slightly across your body, then recover quickly to your ready stance.
5. Backhand Serve Receive
A huge percentage of backhand opportunities come immediately after your opponent's serve. Being comfortable receiving with your backhand, pushing short serves low and controlled, flicking short serves that sit up, and looping longer serves aggressively, is just as important as your rally backhand.
- Short push receive: get low, contact the ball early (near the top of the bounce, close to the table), and use a short, controlled forward brush to keep the return low and short.
- Backhand flick: for serves that bounce too high or long to push effectively, use a compact wrist-driven flick to attack the ball before your opponent can follow up.
- Backhand loop off long serves: treat a long serve like any other underspin ball and loop it using the mechanics above, many players freeze here out of habit, but a long serve is simply an invitation to attack first.
6. Drills to Build Backhand Consistency
Drill 1, Backhand-to-backhand rally
With a partner, rally cross-court backhand to backhand for extended sets, 2 to 5 minutes at a time, focusing purely on consistency and clean contact rather than power. This is the single most effective way to groove the compact, repeatable motion your backhand needs.
Drill 2, Backhand loop against block
Have a partner feed underspin balls (via push) to your backhand while you loop each one, and have them simply block the loop back. This isolates your attacking backhand motion under realistic, repeated conditions.
Drill 3, Random forehand/backhand transition
Have your partner or a robot alternate randomly between your forehand and backhand side. This trains the quick transition and recovery between strokes, which is often where backhands break down in real match play even if they're solid in isolation.
7. Mental Notes for a Reliable Backhand
A strong backhand is built more on repetition than on any single technical insight. Resist the urge to muscle extra power into the stroke, the backhand rewards patience and compact, repeatable mechanics far more than it rewards raw effort. Most players who feel like their backhand is "weak" actually have a backhand that's simply inconsistent, and inconsistency is fixed by hours of controlled, focused repetition rather than by any quick technical fix.
Give your backhand the same practice time you give your forehand, and it stops being the shot you're forced into and starts becoming the shot you can rely on.