A backhand slice is one of those tennis strokes that requires a lot of skill and feel to play well. Even if you have good control of your backhand slice shots, you may still struggle with different balls and different situations in the game.
The following article shares simple backhand slice tips for playing a more consistent and accurate slice hit at different contact point heights. This article includes tips from three videos so make sure you scroll through the article to see all the videos.
We’ll cover the pros and cons of each contact point height, including the most common mistakes players make and how to avoid them. We’ll also discuss what should be your main tactical objective.
Low Contact Point
Hitting a backhand slice at a low contact point is very comfortable because we naturally have an open racket face (since we use a Continental grip).
Since a low ball and an open racket face are naturally a good combination, there is no real trouble handling low balls with a backhand or a forehand slice. (see the video above!)
Open racket face and low ball work well together…
Pros: Easy to control
Cons: Cannot hit with maximum slice speed since you need to play the ball upwards and the slice shots tend to float and fly long
Common Mistake: Players tend to lean with the upper body to get to a low ball rather than lowering themselves with their legs and maintaining correct posture. They also stop watching the ball too early and therefore mistime or mishit it often.
Main Tactics: Because you’re hitting a low ball and because slice shots are not the best for aggressive hitting (since they want to fly long), you need to focus on consistency and depth.
As such, your goal is not to make unforced errors as you focus on playing the ball deep. When the ball is right (not too fast), look to play to your opponent’s weaker side and wait for another opportunity where you can apply pressure.
Medium Contact Point
The backhand slice can be used to its maximum potential when the ball is at waist height, which enables us to hit the ball more horizontally rather than upwards.
That allows us to hit a slice shot at its maximum speed at which we’re still consistent. That not only gives us consistency but also a skidding fast ball that troubles our opponent.
Pros: Can be hit with maximum slice speed while still being comfortable to play
Cons: Lower level players may struggle with this extra height of the contact point and will tend to hit too much under the ball, making it float and land short.
Common Mistake: Players tend to over-rotate as they search for more power; therefore, the swing path of the racket is too much across the ball. This causes the ball to spin sideways, float upwards and then land short, making it very easy for your opponent to attack it.
To correct this mistake, focus on staying sideways longer as you’re hitting the ball.
Another backhand slice tip that can help you out is to watch the ball until you “see” it disappear. That will automatically keep you sideways longer and help you hit a cleaner slice shot.
Main Tactics: If you have the skill to control the backhand or the forehand slice well, then you can add a bit of extra speed and bite to the ball and look to move your opponent around.
Your main objective is, of course, still consistency and depth, but when you have a chance, you can add a bit of power to make the ball skid on the other side. That may cause your opponent to mishit the ball or to play it short.
High Contact Point
Hitting a backhand slice at a high contact point requires good slice skills, and it may take a while for you to master them.
This is not an ideal situation for slice shots, so you need to be careful not to over-hit the ball or to slice it too much, as it will just land short.
Pros: There are no real advantages to hitting a slice at a high contact point, unless you have a mid-court ball that you can attack and you have really good slice skills.
Cons: A high ball and an open racket face are not a good combination. It’s very easy to hit the ball either too long or too short, so you need to take extra care in how you approach hitting such shots.
Common Mistakes: Players tend to aim too low above the net when they hit a high backhand slice, and that makes the ball land short and bounce right into the ideal strike zone of your opponent, making it very easy to attack.
Don’t be afraid to aim high above the net. Good height gives you good depth.
Focus on keeping good height above the net, especially when hitting a high backhand slice from behind the baseline. Only good height above the net will give you good depth, which neutralizes your opponent’s potential attacks.
Main Tactics: Tactically you are neutralized, and you have to accept that. Sometimes players struggle with that concept and still want to hit “great” shots even though they are neutralized and not able to. Of course, that results in many unforced errors.
Therefore, focus on good ball control and depth, and do not look for speed or accuracy. Your goal is to hit a good neutralizing shot and wait for another opportunity to apply pressure.
Summary
The backhand and forehand slice shots are not the types of strokes with which we create pressure, except in some specific situations.
They are shots that we use to control our opponent’s power, to keep the ball deep and to stay in the rally without making unforced errors.
Depending on the height at which you’re hitting the backhand or forehand slice, you need to make small adjustments to how you will hit the ball.
To do that, you must know the main tactical objective and work on overcoming the most common mistakes in the long term.
With patience and persistence, you will develop your backhand slice into a very reliable stroke that can handle balls at any height.
With another weakness eliminated, you will pose an even greater challenge to your tennis buddies so that all of you can grow and enjoy the game of tennis even more.
