Poor Backhand Grips (groundstrokes)

Many players dislike hitting backhands and have little confidence in them. In many cases, this is because players use poor grips (e.g. eastern forehand) when hitting from their backhand side. Here are two examples of what that looks like. Players should be encouraged to use a continental grip or eastern backhand on the backhand. You can see examples of these in our section Technical Fundamentals.

Get a Grip

When players hold the paddle with an eastern forehand grip (sort of like a frying pan) they are more prone to having poor backhands. This is a major contributor to players lacking confidence and success on their non-dominant side.

Inverted Forehand

One 'solution' players try to use is to flip the face of the paddle so that when they hit, their hand is on the back of the grip (between the paddle and the player). While this is a relatively strong hitting position, it leads to over-reliance on the forearm and elbow when swinging. This is difficult to control and makes the player more susceptible to injury due to the stress placed on these relatively small joints.

'Nothing' Backhand

When players use an eastern forehand grip to hit their backhand, the hand is in front of the paddle (between the handle and net). This is an incredibly weak hitting position and makes it difficult to generate power. While the players may get the ball over the net, it is likely to be high because of the open paddle face, and rather soft.