I use to really struggle with my backhand… it just wasn’t super consistent, I didn’t really have any kind of weapon that made it threatening to my opponents. And what ended up happening is I’d go to rec play and people would end up just targeting my backhand and it would go something like this. They’d continuously dink to my backhand, I’d dink it cross court until I made an unforced error, I’d pop it up and they’d put the ball away- rinse and repeat. It was incredibly frustrating… So frustrating to the point where I just knew I needed to change things up.

The reality is, most people struggle with their backhand. It’s common for players to develop a stronger and more consistent shot with their forehand due to the nature of the game and the way strokes are typically taught. The forehand is considered a more natural and powerful shot for many players, especially those with right-hand dominance. I identified with that because I felt like I had so many option when it came to my forehand, I could speed it up, I could play slow, I could lob- but I felt stuck in a box when it came to my backhand shots. And the reality is, if I wanted to get better, I couldn’t just run around and avoid my backhand forever…

How to Become a Threatening Player

I realized that my backhand shots didn’t have any type of threat when I stepped out on the court… and something I learned is that becoming a threatening player on the court isn’t necessarily about always attacking or always dinking… It’s not about hitting 3rd shot drops, powerful drives, resets or returns. Becoming a threatening player is about making your opponents uncomfortable by forcing them to hit the shots that they don’t want to hit. How do you accomplish this? Through developing a VARIETY OF SHOTS.

Developing a Variety of Play Styles

A variety of shots means that you have the tools, the skills and number of different types of shots to be able to adjust your game according to what your opponents are showing you how they want to play.

Example 1: If your opponents like to play fast… meaning they often try to attack first, they like to counter and have really fast hands- then develop the skills to slow the rally down and hit shallow dinks that they’re unable to attack. Make them play the slow and patient dink game. This will get them frustrated.

Example 2: If your opponents thrive in the slow, patient and finesse game… meaning they hit more drops, reset attacks, block balls so they land in the kitchen and enjoy grinding down opponents through long rallies at the kitchen line- then develop the skills to learn to attack dinks out of the air and off the bounce. Make them play fast, that will get them frustrated.

Once I started to understand this concept, I realized that I needed to develop more shots and especially a variety of shots for my backhand. When I reflected on my game and the shots I had with my backhand I only really executed a slice dink, topspin dink and a backhand lob. So I decided I needed to add a fast element to my backhand game… so I added in the backhand speed up. And when I practiced this to the point where I was executing it in games I felt like I was finally the one controlling the point! Now I had the option to play fast or slow, picking the type of game I felt my opponents wanted to play the least became a fun game for me.

Do I think this shot and this shot alone makes me win tons and tons of pickleball rallies– not necessarily… but it sure did give me the freedom to start exposing people with limited play styles out on the court. Plus, it really is a sneaky shot and hard to detect from a dinky which makes it a pretty deadly speed up if I do say so myself.

So all that being said, learn to become a versatile player… Learn to be the team to dictate the point and I promise, you’ll win more rallies. And if you want to learn the backhand speed up, I’ll leave a tutorial video up above with clips from the pros, strategic places to aim and some practice drills to help you master this shot!

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