The Modern Two-Handed Backhand:
Two Paths to Power

Doug Eng

In the first article in this series on the modern two-hander, we looked at the grips and how top players positioned the hands in a wide range of combinations. (Click Here.) Now let's look at the technical factors in the two-handed swings, including the positioning of the elbows and the wrists, and the shape of the backswing.

As with the grips, the range of options is wider than usually imagined. There are also interesting and important differences between the men and women. When we look closely at the backhands of the top players, we can identify two different paths to backhand power.

We'll also see that there are what I call “associations” between certain technical elements. This means that some techniques tend to work well together in high quality motions and others don't.

As we saw with the serve, (Click Here) many problems, even at the tour level, can be traced to players combining techniques that do not function effectively together. The implications are significant for both players and coaches.

The Wrists

Let's start with the wrists and see how they associate with the range of grips we outlined in the first article. There are two types of wrist movements.

The first is backward and forward. This is when the wrist is laid back and/or snaps forward. The biomechanical terms here are flexion and extension.

The second type of movement is the sideways movement of the wrist to the left and the right. Biomechanically, we call this ulnar and radial deviation.

The two handed backhand can include both of these movements. Taken together I call these movements the “wrist break.”

The degree of wrist break in a given two-hander is associated with the specific grips involved. The wrist break is generally greater when the grip with the dominant or bottom hand is weaker, that is, rotated downward off the top of the handle toward a forehand grip.

Remember that in the first article we saw that pro players generally used three grip variations with the bottom or dominant hand. The first is the continental, with the heel pad on top of the frame and the index knuckle rotated one bevel down.

The two other variations shift the hand slight toward the forehand grip, what I call the backhand continental and the forehand continental. As the grip shifts toward these slightly weaker variations, the wrist break tends to increase.

For example, a player such as Venus Williams with a continental forehand grip with the bottom hand has a pronounced wrist break with the top hand. Players with the hand more on top of the frame such as Andre Agassi and Robin Soderling have the least wrist break.

Balance of the Hands

The relative contribution of the hands in the forward swing is related to the amount of wrist break. The greater the wrist break, the more likely the main strength of the shot will be provided by the top, non-dominant hand. This means that backhands with greater wrist break are the most like opposite arm forehands.

But the interplay between the hands is complex, and can actually change over the course of the stroke. Andre Agassi describes his backhand swing as initially dominated by the bottom right hand. But he also believes that as the forward swing approaches contact, the role of the left hand becomes important, especially just prior to contact.

The Elbows

The relative bend of the elbows is another factor that is associated directly with the grips. The more both hands are rotated toward forehand grips, the more the elbows will rotate outward and bend in the swing. This effect is increased even more for players such as Venus Williams who also space the hands slightly apart.

Try it yourself by rotating both grips downward on the handle. Notice how the thumbs are now much more on top of the grip. As an extreme example try placing both hands in the western grips. This pushes your elbows even further outwards, making it virtually impossible for the arms to straighten on contact.

As the hands rotate downward, the elbows bend and push out.

Swing Radius

The position and the alignment of the elbows has a direct effect on the radius of the swing. When the player has both arms bent, the radius of the swing will be smaller.

This means the contact will be closer to the body. Players who hold the arms especially tight to the body will have a smaller radius still.

The grip and elbow position also effect the ability to drop the racket head at the start of the forward swing. In general, the weaker grips and bent elbow positions allow players to rotate the arms further backward, lowering the racket head at an angle that can approach 45 degrees to the court.

Wider Radius

With a Continental grip the arms are straighter with less wrist break.

Now let's look what happens with the stronger grips. With a continental backhand or continental grip, the hands are usually placed closer together on the grip and have less wrist break. With this grip, the base of the thumb, palm and wrist all move closer together.

This grip is far more common with the men players. The result is that in the forward swing, the elbows and arms straighten out and also move closer together.

This can be true for both arms as in the case of Agassi or Nadal. Or it may be mainly for the top arm in the case of Andy Murray or Novak Djokovic.

In either case, these differences in the arm positions create a larger radius in the forward swing. This greater radius also has the effect of moving the contact point further away from the body.

All other things being equal, this wider radius or swing arc is probably more desirable, since more leverage can be generated. The implication may be that men may be able use their arms more than the women in the forward swing.

This is not unlike what happens on the so-called straight arm forehand. When the racquet is farther away from the body, the forces are greater, but this also means it takes more strength to sustain power through a wider swing arc.

It also means more stress is probably transferred to the arms. The shorter lever in contrast creates less stress on the wrists and arms. A straight arm swing therefore probably requires the wrist to be firmer since the load is more stressful.

Players often gravitate to doing things to minimize stress and economize movement, although it is sometimes unintentional. Therefore, players with less strength may naturally adjust the grip toward the forehand and bend the elbows more to reduce effort and strain. The result is an automatic change in the swing arc.

So to review: a weaker grip tends to go with more wrist break, more bend in the arms, and a smaller swing radius. Stronger grips are associated with less wrist break, straighter arm positions, and a larger swing radius.

But it is important to note that although these associations are general but not exclusive. We can find examples of men players with relatively stronger grips with the bottom hand who still hit with both arms bent, Nikolay Davydenko for example. There are also a few women, such as Elena Dementieva, who hit with the arms relatively straight.

We can also find players such as Andy Roddick with a weaker continental forehand grip who hits with the top arm straight. And women such as Martina Hingis who holds a stronger bottom arm grip but still hits with both elbows bent.

Contact Height

Another factor affecting the amount of elbow bend is the height of the contact point. On both forehands and backhands, the elbow tends to be closer to the body on low balls but can be farther away on higher balls.

On the men's tour, the ball is struck with heavy spin and pace. This means that even taking the ball on the rise, the contact point can be at shoulder height.

In the women's game, played generally with flatter trajectories, the contact point is in most cases naturally lower. This may be conduce to elbow positions closer to the body.

Hips and Shoulders

There is still one more association that may explain why the overwhelming majority of women use bent elbows. Could this relate to the fact that women have a smaller shoulder-hip ratio? The shorter spacing from the body to contact may be a way for most women to maximize power given the fact that their shoulders are normally narrower than men.

Conversely, the fact that the men have a wider shoulder-hip ratio may help explain the tendency to straighten out the arms and make contact further away from the torso. Men may naturally have the reach and the strength to maximize the impact of a wider arc in the swing due to wider shoulder structure.

Backswings

Now that we've seen the associations between grips, wrist, and elbow positions, let's take a look at the backswings and, again, note the differences between the men and women.

As with other factors we see a relationship between the backswing and the grip. More wrist break in the grip allows a larger loop in the backswings.

Many women players loop the racket head by tilting the tip upward in the backswing. I call this the C loop. When the racket falls it traces a shape roughly equivalent to the letter C.

The larger C loop swing has been favored by recent young American females since as Melanie Oudin, Christina McHale and Beatrice Capra. At the highest level, Caroline Wozniacki, Lindsay Davenport, Kim Clijsters and Dinara Safina use the same C loop pattern.

With the C loop, the elbows are set very close to the body at contact point. The large C loop with the continental forehand may be suitable for players hitting long, medium-paced groundstroke rallies. With flexed wrists and elbows, not as much strength is required and less stress is placed on the arms in general, so a player may be able to hit a greater number of backhands with less stress.

Players may also gain from the larger loop racket speed that is lost with the shorter swing radius. This vertical or 90 degree position creates greater potential energy for the downswing. This is analogous to a ball dropped straight down that has greater energy than a ball rolling down a slight ramp.

In comparison, male players who are more firm in the elbows and wrists and use the right hand more in the backswing. This reduces the size of the loop.

None of the elite men studied use the C loop pattern. Instead players such Agassi, Murray, Djokovic favored smaller loop backswings. Some use what I call U loop. Others take an even flatter backswing.

In the U loop, the racket head initially drops to an almost horizontal position. At the end of the backswing, the racket head cocks up at about a 45 degree angle.

Throughout the swing, the wrists are relatively firm and the hands stay mostly near waist level. Marat Safin, David Nalbandian and Lleyton Hewitt are all prime examples of the U backswing. Among the women, only Serena Williams used a U backswing.

Some of the men use a backswing that is flatter still, not reaching even the 45 degree angle of the U loop. Most Agassi backhands are this shape, as well as players such as Radek Stepanek, Nicolas Kiefer, and Thomas Johanson.

Again the lines are not hard and fast. Among women, Ana Ivanovic and Jennifer Capriati use smaller loops. But in this study, most of the men used a small loop compared to only a quarter of the women.

In general too hit hard with a smaller loop the player must have greater ability to accelerate the racket. So those that can't generate significant racket speed with a compact backswing, they may find a larger C loop beneficial.

We've spent some time now going over correlations between technical components in the strokes that have not been previously widely recognized. And we've looked at how these clusters of components can differ for men and women.

Together they offer two different paths to backhand power. Check out the chart for a summary listing.

In the next article, we'll talk more specifically about how coaches can apply these insights in teaching, and how players at all levels can make decisions about their own two handers based on the range of possibilities we have outlined. Stay tuned!