If you ever wanted to analyze the tennis one-handed backhand technique from the top down view in slow motion, then here's where you will find it.
I recorded myself hitting a one-handed backhand using a drone from the top down view and analyzed the key elements of the backhand technique that are the most interesting to observe from the drone view.
I also recorded the backhand slice from the top down view and compared both types of backhands in a side-by-side manner.
One-Handed Backhand Technique From Top View
While there are several key elements of the one-handed backhand stroke that make it reliable and effortless, we'll focus just on the four that are best observed from this top down view.
1. Unit Turn
Tennis players tend to pull the racket too far behind as they begin their backhand preparation and therefore swing too much which results in poor timing and loss of control.
But what we can see from this top down view is that as I initiate the unit turn there is no backswing yet.
Note how my arms are in the same relation to the body as they were in the ready position.
The arms and the racket are in the same relationship as they were in the ready position. It is literally just a unit turn, meaning I just turned my upper body to the side.
2. Head Orientation
While executing the unit turn, I kept my head steady and my eyes focused on the ball approaching me. It's crucial to maintain this focus so I can judge the ball's speed and spin accurately and adjust my swing accordingly.
I make sure that both my eyes are facing forward, which gives me a good depth perception and prevents misjudgment.
You must try and kee your head and both of your eyes oriented forward even though you are turning your body.
Many players rotate their heads too much during the unit turn.
This causes them to look sideways when they should actually look forward towards the ball. As a result, they may end up with a mistimed or misplaced shot.
3. 45° Racket Lag
As I move forward to position myself for the swing, I try to keep a 45° racket lag with the racket behind my body.
Do note that 45° racket lag is not set in stone; it depends on the situation but also on the variation of the player's technique.
My racket lag is more than 45 degrees here since I am relaxed and receiving a nice ball.
As a comparison, Roger Federer kept to an almost 90° racket lag. At the same time, the one-handed backhand maestro Stan Wawrinka may have around 55°.
Ample racket lag allows you to accelerate the racket and slap your racket into the ball, giving you a nice, powerful, and crisp return.
Many players lack racket lag, starting their swing outside instead of behind their body. This causes their one-handed backhand to lack power due to insufficient swing on their racket.
4. Rotation Control
The most common problem on the one-handed backhand technique among tennis players is that they over-rotate their body.
This over-rotation tends to happen for two main reasons: they turn their head forward too quickly since they want to see where their ball is flying (and their body follows the head) and because they feel that more rotation of the body also means more power. (but it is way less consistent)
When we rotate the body in the right amount, it will stop turning at around 45 degree angle to the court or in other words, the chest will point towards the contact point.
There are several ways on how we can help ourself control the body rotation on the backhand and not over-rotate:
- keep a still head a bit longer oriented towards the contact point
- block the rotation through your hips by dragging the back foot behind the front foot (and not around)
- extend your non-dominant arm firmly back and align it with the hitting arm (see pic)
The goal is not to hit with maximum power as that is way too risky, but to find the right balance between power and control.
Backhand Slice Technique From Top View
Let's now also take a look at the backhand slice technique in slow motion from this drone view and see what technical elements stand out the most.
1. Unit Turn
As the ball flies to me, I initiate the stroke with a unit turn, just like in the topspin one-handed backhand.
This involves rotating my shoulders, arms, and torso while keeping the racket and non-dominant arm aligned. Instead of relying on my arms, I aim to use my body's rotation to prepare the stroke.
The preparation is just a unit turn, the arms have not moved at all in the preparation.
Many players attempt to prepare the one-handed backhand slice by using their arms too much and getting a really big backswing which then causes a lot of timing problems and ball control problems.
2. From Open To Neutral Racket Face
The most deceptive part of the one-handed backhand slice technique is the open racket face that players see very obviously at the start and at the end of the stroke.
That makes tennis players believe that the racket face is mostly open through the shot but that is not the case at all.
The racket face is open in the preparation but it's not going to stay open through the shot...
As you can see in the first picture of the backhand slice from the top view the racket face is very open as you can see the strings quite clearly.
But as the stroke progresses and the racket touches the ball, my racket is almost perpendicular to the ground, perhaps only a couple of degrees off.
The racket is almost perpendicular at contact which means it "closed" from the initial open racket face.
It is through this "closing" or supination of the forearm that the backhand slice gets good power into the ball.
3. Follow Through
The most common mistake tennis players do on the backhand slice in the follow-through is that they relax their wrist and they arm as they feel the stroke is finished.
But that's not how tennis strokes work, especially not the backhand slice.
Both the arm and the wrist are firm at the end of the stroke.
Note how my wrist is still arm, the arm is extended and that racket face is open again.
This "firmness" at the end of the stroke gives me good control of the racket head throughout the shot and results in a more powerful and controlled backhand slice stroke.
One-Handed Backhand - Topspin vs Slice
What are some of the similarities and the differences of the topspin and slice variations of the one-handed backhand technique.
Here, I executed my unit turn in about the same way. I kept my entire upper body moving together.
The only noticeable difference would be the racket face. I adjusted my face to be more open when performing the unit turn for the one-handed slice which is partially the result of using a Continental grip and not the Eastern backhand grip.
Note how similar the unit turns are where the only real difference is the racket head orientation.
2. Contact With Ball
There is a distinct difference in contact point for each variation of the one-handed backhands and it's very important to be aware of it.
I've shared this difference in the contact point of the one-handed backhand strokes before, just follow the link.
But since we can now use the top down view of both backhands, we can see very clearly how the contact point of the topspin backhand is more in front and closer to the body and how the contact point for the backhand slice is further from the body and hit slighly later.
Note the differences in the contact points between both types of backhands.
As a result, you should also notice that my body orientation is more diagonal towards the ball when playing the one-handed topspin backhand and more sideways when playing the one-handed slice.
The main reasons for this difference in contact points are the grip differences and the way we hit the ball - topspin requires contact more in front and the slice slightly later.
3. Follow Through
If you compare the two, you will notice that my lower racket-holding arm is more relaxed when playing a one-handed backhand. It is a lot more rigid and firm when playing a one-handed slice.
This is more noticeable during the follow-through stage - my lower arm remains firm during contact with the ball on both strokes.
Since the backhand slice is more of a controlled stroke it also finishes earlier.
The swing motion is also more intense on the one-handed backhand; it is more of a swing. The one-handed slice is more controlled, much like a drive.
Summary
The top-down view of the one-handed backhand and the backhand slice strokes reveals a lot of hidden details about the stroke technique and the timing differences that are hard to see from the sideview footage.
I pointed just the most obvious technical elements of both strokes but now the ball is in your court; what have you noticed from this top down view of the one-handed backhand stroke that you find the most interesting? Share your views in the comments below!
