Developing The Backhand Shot In Tennis!
In this 2nd blog of 12, I’m excited to share tips on developing the backhand shot. The backhand is often a challenging shot for most players, but it can be turned into a weapon as I did in my career. Below are 3 drills to work on to improve your backhand.
Much like in blog 1, I have outlined 3 target zones for your practice to develop greater accuracy on the backhand shot. The player starts from the center of the court (the “X” mark), and is made to move a few steps towards their backhand side (as shown in the picture below for a right-handed player).
Zone 1 is the deep cross-court which I used very successfully to attack my opponents’ backhands (those who were right-handed). Against players who have a weaker backhand, this is a great shot to use to put them on defense. Notice the trajectory of the shot going away towards the corner of the court.
Zone 2 is the deep down the line which becomes an important shot to change direction in a point or to attack a player who likes to run around their backhand with their forehand. Such players often position themselves further towards their backhand side leaving space for you to attack with your backhand down the line.
Zone 3 is a short cross-court which is a great shot to pull your opponent off the court or as a passing shot when your opponent comes in to the net.
To improve your accuracy when practicing these drills, I encourage you to set measurable targets such as trying to hit “5 in a row” to a specific zone. Also, raise the bar when you achieve this target and play games up to 11 or 21 points with a player scoring a point for each shot hit in the target zone.
Later this month, I will release a video demonstrating the above drills and sharing technical tips to help players further improve their backhand shot.
Best,
Harsh
About Tenicity and Enerzal’s Partnership:
Tenicity is founded by former India no.1 singles player and Davis Cupper, Harsh Mankad. A player’s team using Tenicity’s platform can create an organized and efficient communication process that is data-driven to improve the player’s training and match performance.
Enerzal is India’s leading balanced energy drink replacing vital energy and body salts lost during tennis practices and matches. It can be consumed before, during, and after tennis to maintain optimum energy levels at all times.
Together, Tenicity and Enerzal have embarked on a partnership to deliver high quality instructional content via digital channels to support Indian junior players to develop their tennis game to the next level!
