by Ariana D’Avanzo
Your forehand is a very important technique to have when playing a match; it’s one of the shots that you will use the most when on the court.
But what happens when your opponent hits a ball that lands on your non-dominant side? Are you going to try to quickly run around the ball to hit it? Obviously not. Instead, you use the opposite of a forehand swing: the backhand.
Before you can pursue this swing you once again need to know how to hold the racquet. Just like all swings, there are a few grips that you can use, but here we will focus on the two-handed backhand grip.
The hand you use for your forehand will be at the bottom of the grip and your other hand will be placed higher up. Your index knuckle of your swing hand is on bevel two and the heel pad on bevel one. For your other hand the index knuckle and heel pad will be on bevel seven.
Just like the forehand, your stance will stay the same (knees slightly bent, feet shoulder width apart, and your weight shifted to the balls of your feet). Once in your tennis stance position, grip the handle of the tennis racquet correctly and hold it out in front of you with your elbows slightly bent. Look at this as position one.
Next you will shift your weight to your non-dominant side and bring your racquet towards that side to about the height of your waist. This will be position two. When doing this motion it is natural to have the leg of your dominant side swivel on the ball of your foot with the motion of the swing.
Once in this position you will follow through with the swing and bring the racquet behind your body and up towards your shoulders. This will be position three.
Backhands are one of the tougher swings for a beginner to get the hang of. You will need to repetitively do this motion until you can do it smoothly and with power. Once you have accomplished this you can try to hit some balls.
At first your shots will most likely be wild and not even hit in the court. This is normal due to the awkwardness of the swing and also with having both hands on the racquet.
Like all shots practice is a necessity. A backhanded swing is a hard concept for many players; you need to train yourself to use your weight and the strength of your body to produce the power for the shot and not rely on your elbow and wrist.
Once you have conquered the two handed backhand, you could then move to a one-handed backhand; many established tennis players and professionals do this along with the two-handed shot. One-handed backhand shots use the eastern backhand grip or the semi-western backhand grip.
Now that you have the knowledge to master the forehand and the backhand you are just that much closer to playing a match and being able to adequately defeat your opponent.