Player practice guide
Backhand Technique - Fundamentals
15 min SoloIntermediate–AdvancedBackhand
Learn how to play solid backhand. How to prepare and a practice by yourself
Best for: players who use the same backhand shape against both pressured and attackable balls.
Goal
Recognise defensive and offensive backhands early, then match the height, target and recovery to the situation.
Success today
Make the correct defensive-or-offensive choice on 9 of 12 feeds and land the ball in the matching target.
Watch before court
Drill demonstration
Video guide
Watch this video before you practise on court.
Open video on YouTubeArrive ready
Before you go
- One coach or capable feeder
- Basket of 24+ tennis balls
- 6 flat cones
- Approximately 15 minutes of court time
Court blueprint
Set up the court
The feeder mixes wide pressured and shorter central backhands. Defend crosscourt with height from the wide ball or step in and attack the suitable ball towards the alternate deep target.
- Ball direction
- Feeder ball
- Recovery
- Target zone
- 01Mark a high deep defensive target and a lower attacking target inside the opposite baseline.
- 02Place a wide defensive contact cone and an inside-baseline attacking cone.
- 03Ask the feeder to mix wide pressured backhands with shorter central backhands.
Step by step
Your 15-minute practice
0–3 min
Name the two situations
- Track six feeds and call defend or attack before the bounce.
- Move without hitting.
3–7 min
Separate the shapes
- Defend the wide ball high crosscourt.
- Step into the shorter ball and drive the attacking target.
7–11 min
Read mixed feeds
- Let the feeder vary depth and width.
- Recover wider after defence and forward after offence.
12 feeds · 4 min
Score twelve choices
- Count correct decision and target together.
- Aim for nine successes.
Remember
Three player cues
- Read pressure before swinging.
- Defend high, attack forward.
- Recovery follows the shot.
Avoid these
Common mistakes
- Trying to attack from outside the sideline
- Floating the short attacking ball
- Using centre recovery after every situation
Keep the same purpose
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Ask the feeder to call each situation and use larger targets.
Make it harder
Remove the call and play a live second ball after every correct decision.
Keep it safe
Keep both contact zones clear and give the player enough recovery time after wide defensive feeds.
Continue later