HOME Support Drills Backhand Drills

Support: Decide & Control

I can't get enough of Sportplan. It's given me back the enthusiasm...

Cornel

DESCRIPTION

Court is divided into 4 zones, 2 short zones service boxes and 2 deep zones from service line to the baseline.
Every zone has a number from 1 to 4.
Coach feeds balls to player's backhand.
Player says the number of one zone and tries to hit the ball into this zone using only backhand slice.

COACHING POINTS

Players work on controlling the shots into different areas on the court.
Every opponent has their strengths and weaknesses so being able to identify and target this weakness should be a players primary goal.
To make this exercise more challenging for the player, the coach can feed various balls or add a scoring system for made and missed shots.

READ MORE

READ LESS

OFTEN USED WITH...

Backhand Live drill:

Coach feeds the ball from the forehand side of the court.

Players start in the centre and hit the first backhand back to the coach. The player should try to recover back to the centre to then move towards the short ball and hit a backhand cross-court.

Backhand Drills

Backhand Approach:

Players start iff in no mans land. Players approach the backhand, gets into the first volley position (Backhand), then changes to forehand for second volley down the open court

Volley Drills

Backhand slice:

Although it's possible to hit a slice from two-hands players should be encouraged to play this shot with one hand as it is far easier and more versatile.

Use lots of small steps to prepare and position yourself for the shot - feet should run parallel with the tram lines.

Bring the racquet up in preparation for the shot, with your second hand gently holding the throat of the racquet (this hand will release before the shot is played).

Swing forward and downward towards the ball (the more downward momentum the more spin will be applied to the ball)

Backhand Drills

Lateral Backhands:

Dead Ball drill
Players start in the forehand alley and hit two backhands on the move.
Trying to hit both shots at down the line.

Backhand Drills

2293166

4278

SIGN UP NOW FOR FREE

search our library of support drills
create professional support coaching plans
or access our tried and tested support plans

Support

MORE Support Answers DRILLS

/drills/ Tennis/ Backhand-Drills /categoryDrills_21.jsp

JOIN SPORTPLAN FOR FREE

search our library of support drills
create your own professional coaching plans
or access our tried and tested plans

LATEST FROM THE BLOG

Sportplan's 2026 FIFA World Cup Preview

The 2026 World Cup is nearly upon us. Here is Sportplan's preview for the tournament on who we think is going to do well and which teams to look out for.

June 1st, 2026

Cam Hughes

Introducing Coaching Trends: Expert Insights Across 9 Sports

Discover our new Coaching Trends section - in-depth articles covering the latest tactics, techniques and innovations across Football, Hockey, Cricket, Rugby, Netball, Basketball, Tennis, Handball and Volleyball.

March 9th, 2026

Sportplan