The single handed backhand groundstroke
The grip
As with the forehand we use the Eastern backhand grip. This can be found by placing your racket under your non playing arm with the butt of the racket grip facing the net and the racket head pointing to the back fence and simply grab the racket handle with your playing hand and pull out the racket from underneath your armpit – this should give you the correct grip and may feel slightly unfamiliar as the majority of club players tend you use the chopper grip and generally slice their backhand, but this Eastern grip with encourage topspin.
The swing
Again we make a shoulder turn by taking the racket back with the non playing hand (by holding the throat of the racket) and generally we step forward down the court with the right foot (for right hander’s) and then carry the racket below the level of the ball (low) and brush the back of the ball, finishing with the racket high with the butt of the racket handle pointing down towards the ground. The same tip as the forehand with the 10 ball visualisation.
Contact point
Played in front of your leading leg (right leg for right hander) and slightly out to the side. Generally played as a closed stance, but if the ball is high and wide then use an open stance.
