The backhand open up is a shot in general that most players find harder to grasp than the forehand side, but mastering it enables players to have a more balanced attacking game and will allow you to confidently initiate a positive attack from your backhand side. So read on to discover our tips to fix those unforced errors with the backhand against backspin.
3 simple steps to improve your backhand open up
1) Bat below the ball
Many players when performing the backhand topspin against backspin, bring the bat back towards the body but don’t drop it low enough and below the ball. When playing against backspin this is necessary to stop the ball falling into the net. So get the bat low and ensure its below the ball to enable you to brush up, a good guide for getting the bat lower if you find the ball still dropping into the net is to make sure before contact your bat actually drops below the table and out of sight from your opponent.
2) Closed bat angle
The contact on the ball when playing against backspin is crucial, without a fine brushing contact its very difficult to generate the topspin needed. This contact is only possible if you keep the bat angle closed, if the bat angle is too open the contact will be thick and ineffective, so be confident to close the angle and find that optimum position for whipping up the back of the ball with a soft and light brushing feeling.
3) Using the wrist, elbow and legs
To have an effective and efficient backhand open up, it’s not only about the use of the arm. The legs should play a big part in this shot, especially before contacting the ball to get low the bat below the ball, then using the leg power to explode up into the shot. This links to the use of the wrist and elbow, to use the wrist effectively the elbow should be in a fixed position which allows the forearm and wrist to drop back towards the body ready to accelerate into the ball and generate spin.
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