The Modern Two-Handed Backhand: Building Your Two Hander

The pro two-hander—a wide combination of techniques. In the first two articles in this series, we’ve looked at the surprising variety of techniques in the two-handed backhand. We’ve also looked at which techniques tend to be “associated” in the strokes of top players. We started with the grips (Click Here), then progressed to the arm positions, the wrist positions, the backswings, and the radius of the swings. (Click Here.) So as a player, or as a coach, what can you learn from all this about hitting or teaching the two-hander? What are the right techniques for your game? It’s probably not possible to make absolute judgments as to which techniques might be best for a given player, but let’s discuss the range of options you should consider. Ideal? An ideal swing might be a fairly large loop which combines great acceleration with two straight arms at contact, maximizing power from both acceleration and leverage. But any possible technical combination has to be judged against the ability of the player to execute. The truth is you rarely see this “logical” combination. This is where the concept of associated techniques comes in. Would a big backswing and maximum extension be an ideal…