HI I'm Alois Rosario from PingSkills. Today Jeff and I are going to talk to you about
the Backhand Smash.
The first thing that you need to know about the Backhand Smash is you shouldn't be playing
it very often at all. If the ball is up high enough to smash that means you also have enough
time to turn around and play a Forehand Smash.
So why don't we recommend the Backhand Smash?
One of the main reasons is because on the forehand you can lift your bat up nice and
high or low and adjust to the height of the ball. On the Backhand if you're doing that
you are going to be coming across your face with your arm and makes it a little bit harder
to adjust to the height of the smash. You could also get a bigger swing through with
your forehand so you can use your rotation of the body and your arm to come through in
a bigger arc and circle than you can with the Backhand smash. Having said that occasionally
you might get caught out and not be able to get around in time and so for that purpose
we will show you the technique for the Backhand Smash.
A Backhand Smash is a shot that you play against a ball that comes to you really high so if
the ball is up that high then you can play a Backhand Smash. If the ball is lower then
you are looking to play a bit more of a Backhand topspin or a backhand counterhit so you can
have a look at our video on the Backhand topspin or the Backhand Counterhit and both of those
shots you can play quite fast but not as fast as a Backhand Smash.
The start position of the Backhand Smash is to get your bat back and up fairly high so
you want to lift it up around head high or shoulder height in that area. Your body is
also going to be turned sideways to make sure that you can get a little bit more speed and rotation
with the stroke.
Then you come through and have a nice flat contact to get the speed on the stroke. If
you have a brushing contact the ball isn't going to travel as fast so you want to come
through in a nice flat contact on the ball.
And your finish position is all the way through allowing your arm to go all the way through
and around.
Through the Backhand Smash allow your wrist to be quite relaxed because you can generate
a lot extra speed and power by your wrist coming through with the stroke.
If you want some really good examples of a player that played some fantastic Backhand
Smashes search for Jorgen Persson the World Champion from Sweden that played unbelievable
Backhand Smashes in match situations.
1. Don't use a backhand smash! 2. If you do, start with your bat high
3. Hit the ball with a flat contact 4. Use your wrist for extra power
5. Play a forehand smash instead!