It may sound surprising, but many players throughout the country aren’t working on their backswing. As an integral part of playing tennis, it’s actually something that you need- but the why and how can be a little foggy to beginning players. Let’s go over the basics of what a backhand is, and why it’s so important to playing a good game.

What Is A Backswing?

A backswing is, quite literally, exactly what its name sounds like. It’s the continuous, fluid movement of your racket backwards, so that you can serve the ball. It’s actually impossible to play tennis and not have at least a little bit of a backswing, because that’s just how movement works. But if you don’t use your backswing correctly, you’ve wasted all the energy it took to create the backswing, and then you’ve got less energy for the rest of the match.

Building A Good Backswing

Building a good backswing is actually deceptively simple. To begin, raise your racket to a comfortable angle- not too high up or down too low. Keep your racket pointed up, not down, and there you go- your backswing is built. It might take some practice to get it right, but with time, it’ll become your secret weapon.