3 Ways to Hit a Better Backhand in Pickleball
It’s not uncommon to have a weaker backhand than a forehand in pickleball. It’s one of the most frustrating shots to learn. Much like tennis, the forehand tends to be an easier shot to master and becomes your favorite shot to it. In this blog post, we’ll go over three ways you can improve your backhand, and not be afraid to it it!
You’re using the wrong grip
After watching and playing with many beginners and even intermediate players, their grip tends to be the most common mistake. How you hold the paddle definitely makes a difference! So many players simply hold the paddle the same exact way they would to hit a forehand and just turn to the other side and hit a backhand.
You can get away with this for a little while as a beginner, but better players will recognize this and start to hit every shot to your backhand. The reason you shouldn’t be using a forehand grip is because it’s a very weak grip on the backhand side. It’s difficult to control the paddle, and doesn’t allow you to have a good and consistent feel.
This isn’t a surprise since most recreational pickleball and tennis players rarely take any lessons. You don’t have the benefit of a more experienced player or coach showing you different ways to hit the ball or how to hold the paddle differently for each shot. That’s not a criticism, but not learning new techniques can cause you to plateau and not move up to the next level.
Continental grip on the backhand
We’d recommend using a continental grip on the backhand side. The Continental grip is also referred to as the shake hand grip since it’s similar to the way you would shake someone’s hand. You can do this by putting the knuckle off your index finger on bevel X on the grip. Left handed players would place the knuckle of their index finger on bevel X.
If you’re new to the Continental grip this will probably feel awkward, and that’s okay. It’s totally normal! The first few shots will probably go all over the place until you get used to the new grip.
Learning the backhand slice
Now that you’ve gotten the hang of your new backhand with a Continental grip, it’s time to learn the backhand slice.
Hitting a slice shot puts backspin on the ball. With enough practice it will be much easier to hit the ball where you want it to go since you can control the shot with spin. This will also help you hit much more effective dinks and resets.
Start with holding the paddle with a continental grip and creating a ‘V’ with your wrist, keeping the head of the paddle up. Your elbow should also be bent like you’re in the ready position. Bring your paddle back around shoulder height and try to angle the face of the paddle at 45 degrees. This angle can change as your get more comfortable with the shot.
Next you’ll move the paddle through the ball at a steady and consistent speed with a slightly downward trajectory. Do this and imagine your arm and paddle are moving as one unit. It also helps to bend the knees and get low, but one thing at a time. How fast you swing with help determine how much spin and how deep the ball will go. You do not need to chop the ball or snap the wrist. There are times where you’ll snap the wrist, but don’t worry about that now.
Your swing speed and angle of the paddle will depend on where you’re trying to hit the ball and what kind of paddle you’re using. A power type paddle may not need to be hit as hard to generate spin and hit the ball deep. On the other hand, a control paddle might require you to swing a little bit faster to hit the ball deep. Either way, you’ll want to stay in control of the shot and really feel the ball.
Footwork
Footwork is the foundation of a great shot. It doesn’t matter if it’s a forehand, backhand, volley or overhead, good footwork gets you in a position to hit the best shot possible. Recreational players might have a good stroke, but they could improve both their consistency and shot selection by making footwork a priority.
Reading the ball early
Before getting into footwork and the proper stance to hit a good backhand, we need to talk about reading the ball early and preparation.
As soon as your opponent hits the ball, you should determine if the ball is going to you or your partner. If you’re not at the net, there’s a decent chance the ball might be coming to you. If your forehand is your strong shot, you should make every effort to hit a forehand instead of a backhand. You can position yourself in a way to take less steps in order to hit a forehand. If you’re being pulled wide off of the court on the backhand side, you’re better off committing to hitting a backhand.
As soon as you realize you’re going to need to hit a backhand, you should initiate a shoulder turn to the backhand side and get the paddle back as you begin to move towards the ball. You should be focused on the ball and taking small, fast steps to where the ball is going to land. All of the above steps should be done prior to the ball bouncing on your side of the court. By the time the ball bounces, you should be at the ball with your paddle back and ready to hit the shot.
Backhand Stance
Weaker players tend to hit open stance backhands. They’re setup in the ready position with their chest pointed towards the net, and simply wind up their backhand across their body with minimal shoulder turn or footwork. This will lead to weak backhands with little to no spin and often pop up high to their opponent.
As we talked about when preparing to hit the ball, you want to get the majority of your footwork and paddle preparation done prior to the ball bouncing on your side of the court. At this point, your shoulders are turned towards the fence or the side of the court, your paddle is back pointing towards the back fence and you’ve taken small fast steps toward the ball.
The next step would be to get your feet positioned in more of a closed or neutral stance to hit the backhand. This means your leading foot should be in front of you, likely greater than shoulder width apart. You should be almost perpendicular to the baseline with your entire body pointing towards the side fence or sideline.
The small, fast steps you took getting to the ball help prepare you for that last step where you plant your leading foot as mentioned above. Stepping into the shot helps to shift your weight foreword and give you a strong base to hit a backhand. This goes for any backhand shot, whether it’s a drive with topspin, a slice, or a dink into the kitchen. Having a strong base increases the probability of hitting a great shot.
Practice
Practicing your backhand sounds like an obvious pickleball tip, and it is. But practicing is easier said than done. Most recreational players want to improve, but they don’t spend a lot of time actually practicing. Sure, they probably play a lot of Pickleball, but there’s big difference between playing games with your regular group and spending an hour hitting only backhands.
One trick to combine playing games and practicing is to focus on a particular shot for a few games in a row. In this example, try to hit as many backhands with your new continental grip as you can the next time you play. You probably won’t play well and your partner might even get mad at you for missing a few shots, but it’s the only way to improve.
When its your turn to return the serve, position yourself so you’re more likely to hit a backhand than a forehand. Keep your new grip ready and practice that backhand slice. If you can, try to keep the shot deep and to the middle of the court.
When dinking try to keep them same technique as the backhand slice return except much softer and with more control. Try to keep your elbow bent and swing with your arm and paddle as one unit moving together. It’ll feel weird at first but once you get the hang of it you’ll be very consistent at the net.
Conclusion
Improving your backhand is not an easy task and doesn’t come as naturally as a forehand. It takes hours or practice and thousands of balls to become a comfortable and confident shot In your arsenal. After watching newer and recreational players struggle with their backhand, the most likely culprit is usually their grip, their footwork, and practice time spent on the court.
There’s a big difference between practice and playing games, and it’s important that you do both. If you only play games and compete with your friends, you’ll always be afraid to step in and hit a strong backhand since you don’t want to lose or you want to make sure you’re being competitive. You have to make sure you’re going out on the court and spending time hitting backhands with a partner and learning how to make a grip change and move your feet properly to the ball.
Once the footwork and grip change feel comfortable, you’ll notice it becomes a lot easier to hit a topspin shot, a slice, or a dink. That’s when the real practice comes in! Then it’s up to you to apply that practice into your match play and get comfortable hitting your new and improved backhand!