The Two-Handed Backhand: The Hitting Stances

Neutral, Open, and Closed. 3 stances, but which stance when?

In the last article we looked at the preparation and the backswings on the two-handed backhand.(Click Here.) We saw how the players used a body turn to initiate the preparation. We saw the high speed footage reveals that the loop back swing is an illusion, and that virtually all players start straight back and keep their hands quite low throughout the preparation.

Now let’s see how the top players complete the set up and examine the variety of possible hitting stances. Let’ see what good players have in common, and when they use which stance. Then in the next article we’ll take a close look at the forward swing, the contact, the finish and the wrap.

Stances

It’s well accepted that the modern forehand is hit primarily with an Open Stance, although it can also be hit with a Neutral Stance, typically if the ball is low or the player is stepping in to pick the ball up on the rise. On the forehand you just don’t see the Closed Stance, with the player stepping across the line of the shot on a diagonal.

Unlike the forehand the two-hander can…