How to Hit a Tennis Backhand: Grip, Turn, Contact, and Drills

To hit a tennis backhand, turn your shoulders early to take the racket back, load onto your back foot, then swing low-to-high and strike the ball out in front of your front hip with a firm wrist, finishing with the racket up and over your opposite shoulder. The single biggest fix for a weak backhand is making contact in front of your body instead of letting the ball get behind you. Below is the full sequence — grip, turn, contact, follow-through — plus which version to learn first and the drills that groove it.

One-Handed vs Two-Handed Backhand: Which to Learn First

Start with the two-handed backhand if you are a beginner or club player. The second hand shortens the swing, stabilises the racket face against pace and high bounce, and lets you hit cleanly with less strength — which is why most juniors and pros are coached into it first. Learn the one-hander later if you want extra reach on wide balls and a more natural slice, and if your timing and upper-body strength support an earlier contact point.

Neither is “better” in the abstract; they are different tools, a trade-off we break down in full in our companion explainer on the tennis backhand. For most readers the honest answer is: build a reliable two-hander, add a one-handed slice for variety, and only commit to a full one-handed drive if the two-hander feels limiting.

Step 1: Get the Backhand Grip Right

The grip sets the face angle before you even swing, so get it right first. Grips are described by which bevel your base knuckle sits on, using the octagonal handle numbered 1–8 (bevel 1 is the top face for a right-hander). Our pillar guide to tennis grips explained covers all of them; here is what each backhand needs.

Two-handed backhand: Place your dominant hand low on the handle in a Continental grip (base knuckle on bevel 2), then stack your non-dominant hand directly above it in an Eastern grip — effectively an Eastern forehand for that top hand. The top hand does most of the driving; think of the shot as a non-dominant-hand forehand with the other hand along for support and stability.

One-handed backhand: Use a single Eastern backhand grip, rotating your hand so the base knuckle sits on bevel 1, on top of the handle. This closes the face slightly and lets you get on top of the ball for topspin. If you want a heavier, higher-bouncing ball on slow surfaces, some players shade toward a Semi-Western grip, though that makes low balls harder. Your non-dominant hand cradles the throat of the racket during the takeback, then releases before contact.

Step 2: The Unit Turn and Backswing

Take the racket back with your shoulders, not your arm. As soon as you read the ball coming to your backhand side, rotate your shoulders and hips together — the “unit turn” — so your back is nearly facing the net and your non-dominant hand helps carry the racket back. This coils your body and stores the power you will release into the shot; players who “arm” the ball skip this and end up weak and inconsistent.

Keep the backswing compact. The racket head should drop to roughly waist height or just below, set up beneath the incoming ball so you can swing upward through it. Split-step as your opponent hits, then move — getting set early is a footwork problem as much as a stroke problem, and the spacing habits drilled in our tennis footwork drills are what let you take the racket back on time instead of rushing.

Step 3: Load, Step, and Swing Low-to-High

Load your weight onto your back foot during the turn, then transfer it forward as you swing. For a right-hander hitting a backhand, step across with the right foot into a neutral or closed stance and drive off it, letting the hips and shoulders unwind toward the ball.

The swing path is low-to-high: start the racket head below the ball and brush up the back of it to generate topspin. The steeper the upward brush, the more spin and net clearance; a flatter, more forward path produces a driving, penetrating topspin backhand that stays low and hurts your opponent. Keep the wrist firm through the hit — a loose, flipping wrist is the fastest way to spray the ball. This same low-to-high, body-driven engine mirrors the tennis forehand; the difference is which side of the body leads and, on the two-hander, that both hands drive together.

Step 4: Contact Point and Follow-Through

Make contact out in front of your front hip — this is the detail that separates clean backhands from mishit ones. For a two-hander, the ball should meet the strings slightly ahead of your front foot, arms extended but not locked. For a one-hander, contact is even further in front because the hitting arm is straight; letting a one-handed backhand get level with or behind your body collapses it every time.

At contact the racket face should be square (perpendicular to the ground) for a flat or topspin drive. After contact, keep swinging up and let the racket finish high — over your opposite shoulder on a two-hander, or extended out and up with the arm on a one-hander, chest and hips rotated to face the net. A full, balanced finish is not decoration; it is proof the swing accelerated through the ball rather than decelerating into it.

Step 5: Backhand Drills to Groove the Stroke

Repetition at low speed builds the pattern faster than rallying at full pace. Work these in order:

• Shadow swings (no ball): In front of a mirror, rehearse the unit turn, low-to-high swing, and finish over the shoulder. Freeze at the finish and check your contact point was in front. Do 20–30 reps daily.
• Drop feeds: Drop a ball yourself, let it bounce to waist height, and hit a controlled topspin backhand cross-court. This isolates the swing without having to move.
• Wall rally: Hit continuous backhands against a wall, focusing on early racket preparation and a firm wrist. The wall returns the ball fast, forcing you to turn sooner.
• Cross-court consistency: With a partner or ball machine, hit 10 backhands in a row cross-court, resetting the count on any miss. Cross-court is the higher-percentage, larger target and should be your default.

If you are just starting out, fold these into a broader session using our tennis drills for beginners, which sequence the backhand alongside forehand, serve, and movement work so the whole game develops together.

Common Backhand Mistakes to Fix

Late contact. Letting the ball drift behind your front hip is the number-one fault. Prepare earlier — start the unit turn the instant you read the ball to your backhand side.

Arming the ball. Swinging with the arm while the shoulders stay square kills power and consistency. Rotate the body and let the arm(s) come along for the ride.

Loose wrist. A flicking or breaking wrist at contact sprays the ball. Keep it firm and let the low-to-high swing, not the wrist, create spin.

Standing tall. Failing to bend the knees on low balls forces you to scoop with the arm. Get your legs under the ball so the racket can travel from low to high.

Decelerating into the ball. Stopping the swing at contact produces a floating, defensive shot. Accelerate through and let the finish be full and high.

Fix one fault at a time — the same principle behind targeted practice generally — and the backhand becomes a rally-neutral shot rather than a liability opponents attack. Once it holds up under pace, you can start hitting it earlier, flatter, and more aggressively down the line to turn defence into offence.