Uning a strong backhand is key to playing successfully in squash, yet can take time and requires taking a different approach than with forehand swings.
Beginner and club players often make the mistake of “breaking their wrist,” in which they collapse their wrist during backswing, thus hindering an accurate shot and creating an unstable shot.
Grip
Backhand drives are among the fundamental shots in squash, as their speed and accuracy depend on players being able to control their wrist during swing. Improper technique leads to inaccurate or inconsistent shots that lower one’s level of play; for this reason it is essential that one learns correct technique in developing his backhand drive – the first step being understanding what an ideal grip looks like.
Backhand players should use a slender hand with thumb spread across both sides of the racket head for optimal backhand performance. As you train yourself to increase the speed of your shots, your shot accuracy may falter; don’t worry; this is all part of learning process and once you master correct timing of shots your accuracy will return naturally.
One common misstep when shooting tennis can be placing the ball too far forward in your guide hand during each shot, which could leave you unable to control its direction and force the racket head to hit off-center. If hitting left shots, place ball slightly earlier; vice versa for right shots.
Beginners and club players often struggle with what I call the ‘breaking of the wrist’ during backswings, where instead of keeping their wrist cocked, flexed, and strong they collapse at the wrist and develop an inconsistent and weak swing rather than one with solid and powerful strokes.
Maintaining a tight grip on the ball during each shot is essential for maintaining control and hitting an assortment of different types of shots. Achieve sufficient power by hitting with your backhand drive with its sweet spot (the center of racket head). This will provide maximum power, assuring your shot makes contact at the desired distance from wall and time.
Shoulder Rotation
One of the most frequently made mistakes by backhand players is failing to properly rotate their shoulders during shots, which prevents them from producing enough force and hitting through the air. A good starting point for shoulder rotation would be aiming to form a diamond shape at the start of your swing – this ensures that all parts (shoulder, wrist and elbow) move in sync for accuracy as well as power.
The shoulder rotates through two distinct movements – internal and external rotation. Backhand drives involve using muscles such as superior infraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis to power this rotation; it is vital that they be strong and active to make this work effectively.
Backhand swinging requires wrist flexion. For many players, however, this can be challenging when trying to play powerful backhand strokes. Therefore, to improve rotation it is beneficial to practice the “diamond break”, in which your racket head forms the top point of a diamond while wrist and elbow make up side points and fist forms at bottom point of diamond break – perfect way of increasing wrist movement during backhand swings and providing added power!
Backhand drives often result in wrist collapse upon impact, often as a result of overrotating shoulders or tightened wrist flexors due to long term play. If this occurs, simple exercises to strengthen them should help.
Final component of an effective backhand swing is to ensure the correct shoulder tilt at impact. At contact you want your front shoulder facing directly at the ball; to check this you should look in the mirror and ensure both shoulders are parallel to your target line at impact.
Body Position
Backhand shots in squash are one of the most essential shots, yet like all shots they take time and practice to master. Finding an optimal body position when taking a backhand shot will allow for maximum control of the ball and increased power.
As part of a backhand swing, it is key that players get their elbow into as low a position as possible. By doing this, the racket head has an easier time making contact with the ball. Furthermore, lower elbow positions lead to higher racket heads at the start of a swing; something all players should keep in mind when developing their backhand swings.
Key Point #2: Make sure the Shoulder Is Rotated Well at the Top of Backswing Many beginners neglect to rotate their shoulders at the start of a backswing and as a result are unable to generate sufficient power from their backhand. Similar to with forehand tennis, proper shoulder rotation will provide both power and accuracy improvements for their backhand game.
As you take each swing it is essential that your eyes remain focused on the ball to accurately judge its speed, direction and spin. This will enable you to better judge its placement on the court so you can decide where and how to hit it, while also helping predict where it may land so you can set up for your next shot.
Once you have the basics down pat, it is crucial that you focus on honing its consistency. At first your shot accuracy may suffer as you work on speed but as your swing improves this will come back naturally. Being proficient with backhand shots allows you to attack from any location on court and will add depth to your game.
Follow Through
Follow through is an integral component of any shot, particularly backhand shots. It ensures proper speed during contact and that body deceleration occurs at exactly the right moment to ensure an efficient transfer of energy from body to racquet upon contact. Extending arms during follow through allows full range of motion alongside correct wrist positioning to produce maximum power and control for shots.
An experienced player may take an almost effortless approach to backhand drives; however, newcomers are often taken aback at how much effort is required for even basic backhand drives. With practice comes improvement both in speed and accuracy of shot as you become acquainted with all of the movements necessary for such shots.
An effective backhand drive is essential to successful squash play, since most matches are won on that side of the court. A powerful backhand will enable you to win many points that would otherwise go to your opponent by giving them time and space to reach out and reach for it themselves or play shots without giving away positions against walls.
While forehand shots tend to come more naturally to most players, the backhand requires much more practice and technique in order to achieve and sustain high levels of play. It requires being powerful yet accurate at the same time; many players compromise accuracy for speed when trying to improve this shot but this can lead to issues when not executed properly.
Failure to follow through during backhand shooting can result in not enough power being applied to make contact with the ball, usually because shoulder rotation or arm extension does not reach full extension during strokes. Sometimes players take this too far by breaking their wrist in an effort to swing racket head faster at ball – something which is highly dangerous for elbow health.