In tennis, the backhand shot is often not as favored as the forhand, however a strong backhand can give you the edge over your opponents. The key to improving your backhand lies in consistent practice and targeted drills so that you can get as comfortable with the shot. Over the next 30 days, try to be as consistent with exercises, and you’ll notice a significant difference in power, accuracy, and control of your backhand. Try to do at least 3 drills when you practice and switch it up in your practice periods. At the end is an example of a week of training. Below is a video on the backhand shot:
1. Shadow Swings
Shadow Swings are a very good practicing drill that gets you comfortable with the action of the shot. Practicing your swing without hitting a ball helps refine your technique and gives you the ability to practice the shot pretty much anywhere. The way you perform this drill is you stand in an open area with a racket in your hand and just go through the motions of the shot. With each swing, you must increase the speed of the shot. Perform at least 20 shots with increasing speed. If the shot feels weird or unnatural, stand in front of a mirror and go through your backhand motion slowly, ensuring correct form. Repeat 20 times per session.
Tip: Focus on a full follow-through and proper weight transfer of the shot.
2. Wall Rally
Have you ever noticed that some courts have a wall on the side, well that is what will be used for this drill. The Wall Rally drill will help you build consistency and accuracy with the backhand. Hit the ball against a wall using only your backhand. Aim for consistency and control, trying to maintain a steady rhythm. Once you get comfortable with that try and make more difficult shots with your backhand, the reason for this is to make it simulate a game. The reason you want to simulate a game is so that when these shots happen in a game your body can react to the shot and you don’t need to waste time thinking about the shot.
Tip: Use markers on the wall and try to hit these markers to improve your accuracy.
Below is an example of wall rallies but try to add a main focus on backhand shots:
3. Drop Feeds
One of the most difficult aspects of the Backhand shot is the timing of the shot. Since it is performed on your weaker side, you are slower and far less comfortable on that side. One way to improve timing is by performing the Drop Feeds Drill. How this drill is performed is by dropping the ball in front of you and then hitting it with a controlled backhand. This drill enhances timing and balance and also gets you more comfortable with the shot in a controlled environment.
Tip: Keep your eyes on the ball and ensure smooth contact.
4. Partner Rally
One of the best ways to practice and get into a game mindset is by using a partner to practice with. Using a partner is great practice because you get fed shots that are not consistent and you need to adapt while at the same time you get to work on your accuracy because you need to return the ball to their backhand side. How you perform this drill is to rally with a partner, using only backhands. This drill builds endurance and helps you adjust to different ball speeds.
Tip: Maintain a relaxed grip to improve fluidity.
5. Basket Feed Drill
The basket feed drill can be intimidating at first but once you get the hand of it, you will benefit tremendously. This drill really helps you to reset and get ready to perform the shot again and again at raid succession. So the way this drill is performed is you either have a coach or partner feed you balls to your backhand repeatedly. They do not stop feeding you balls until they have run out of balls. Every time you perform this drill try and keep a note of the number of balls you hit that were in bounds of the court. Every time you perform this drill try to hit better the your score until you get pretty much off of the balls in bounds.
Tip: When performing this drill focus on footwork and follow-through so.
6. Crosscourt and Down-the-Line Drill
One of the aspects of tennis is try and get the ball as far from your opponent as possible so that they struggle to get to the ball and return it. That is why being able to perform crosscourt and down-the-line shots are very important to get consistent at. So get a partner or a coach, let them stand in the middle of the court and feed you shots. Let the person feeding you shots say either “down the line” or “Cross court” it is then your job to hit the shot they call out. Alternate between hitting crosscourt and down-the-line backhands. This develops directional control of the shot and allows you to use your backhand in various situations. Below is a diagram explaining what a crosscourt shot and down the line shot goes:
7. One-Handed vs. Two-Handed Backhand Practice
You have probably seen Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz hit their backhand with both hands. This is a way to generate power in your backhand but limits how far you can stretch to reach the ball. So switching between using one-handed and two-handed is what pretty much what all the professionals do. So if you use a one-handed backhand, try and get comfortable using two hands when the ball is easy to reach and read. This helps you get used to it so that in a game you can just perform the shot and not need to worry about thinking about the shot.
Tip: Test both styles to see which feels more natural for certain situations.
8. Resistance Band Training
This drill is not so much a drill but more of a workout to help you generate power with your backhand. What you will need for this workout is a resistance band, any will do as long as you can perform the drill in its entirety. So to perform this drill attach the resistance band to a fixed object and mimic your backhand motion against the tension. This drill will strengthen the muscles used in your backhand allowing you to develop power in your swing.
Tip: Engage your core to develop a stable base.
9. Backhand Approach Shot Drill
As we all know tennis is a dynamic sport that involves a lot of footwork and timing. This drill incorporates both of these elements and combines them into one drill. To perform this drill you will need a partner. You must stand on the baseline and your partner must bit a short shot and it is your job to get to the ball and hit it. So you will in essence practice moving forward and hitting backhand approach shots. This drill helps transition from baseline play to net play which are all real game scenarios.
Tip: Stay low and step into the shot for better control.
10. Match Simulation
Last but certainly not least is the match simulation drill. Grab a partner and just play a practice/ friendly game of tennsi but in this game you must deliberately hit more backhands or at least try to. This helps you adapt under real-game pressure which is what I have reiterated through this entire article.
Tip: Remain patient and focus on executing good technique instead of winning the point.
Example Week
As stated in the beginning I will give you an example week for training your backhand.
- Practice day 1: Shadow swings as a warm up; wall rallys to get your eye in, then either backhand approach drills or a match simulation (if you have a partner)
- Practice day 2: Resistance band training to warm up; followed by crosscourt and down the line drills and then end on either partner rally or basek feeds
- Practice day 3: Shadow swing to warm up; followed by one-hand vs 2 hand drill and then end on match simulation
This is an example and you can structure it however you like, just remember to emphasise your backhand in these training days.
Final Thoughts
Improving your backhand takes dedication and repetition. Stick to these drills for 30 days, and you’ll develop a backhand that’s more reliable and powerful. Stay consistent, focus on technique, and enjoy the process!
