Practice › Table tennis › Backhand drive
Table tennis backhand drive: check your form with your phone
The backhand drive is a compact stroke made in front of the body, with the elbow close to the waist and the forearm doing the work. It is often the first stroke beginners find easiest and the one they overswing the most.
No equipment needed. Practise at home. Just do the swing properly in front of your phone. No court, ball or shuttle is needed, and a racket is optional: the coach judges your movement, so a shadow swing at home in a hallway or garden is enough.
What good looks like
- Stand ready, knees bent, with the bat in front and the elbow just ahead of your body.
- Take the bat back a short way and keep the elbow roughly in place.
- Hit the ball in front of you at the top of the bounce, with the forearm driving forward.
- Finish in front, relaxed, and return to the ready position.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Swinging from the shoulder
The stroke becomes big and late. Keep the elbow in place and drive with the forearm.
Contact beside the body
Meet the ball in front. If you are late, move your feet.
Bat angle too open
The ball pops up. Close the bat slightly at contact.
What Formanti checks on your backhand drive
At the moment of contact, on every swing you take.
- Contact in front: hand clearly in front of your shoulder. meet it in front of you, not beside or behind
- Contact height: about chest to waist height. the height this shot is usually hit at
- Backswing: short and compact. less swing back means more control on this shot
- Arm height (only if far off): 0–100°. Close to the body, low setup
- Elbow (only if far off): 50–160°. Compact L, wrist snaps over the ball
- Body at contact: legs not locked, no leaning back. a stable base to hit from
Your ready stance
Hold still between swings and the coach talks you into position.
- Knees: 100–150°. Soft, bent knees let you push off in any direction
- Back lean: 8–40° forward. A little forward: not upright, not hunched
- Feet apart: 1.2–2.2× shoulder width. Feet wider than your shoulders, for balance
What your report looks like
When you finish, you get a report like this one.
- How many swings were in range, out of how many.
- The one thing to work on next, then the next, each with a drill.
- Every swing as a picture with your skeleton on it: ticked, or flagged with what was off.
What you hear and see when you are off
Hitting it too close to you
The coach says: “Meet it further out in front.”
On screen: Meet it further out in front.
Drill: Shadow swings, freezing at contact: your hand should be clearly in front of your shoulder before you swing for real. If the ball is too close, move your feet, not your arm.
Hitting it too high
The coach says: “Let it drop. Meet it lower.”
On screen: Meet it a little lower.
Drill: Shadow swings with your knees bent, freezing at contact at the right height, so your legs do the lowering and your arm stays quiet.
Hitting it too low
The coach says: “Take it a bit higher.”
On screen: Meet it higher.
Drill: Shadow swings freezing at contact at the right height, then feed yourself a ball and take it on the rise.
Too big a backswing
The coach says: “Shorten the backswing.”
On screen: Keep the backswing short.
Drill: Shadow swings with a wall behind you that your racquet may not touch, or with your back against a real wall.
Arm too low
The coach says: “Get that arm up a bit higher.”
On screen: Lift your hitting arm a lot higher at contact.
Drill: Shadow 10 swings in slow motion and freeze at contact: check where your elbow is before you speed up.
Arm too high
The coach says: “Keep that arm a bit lower.”
On screen: Keep your hitting arm a lot lower at contact.
Drill: Shadow 10 swings in slow motion and freeze at contact: check where your elbow is before you speed up.
Arm too bent
The coach says: “Straighten the arm more. Meet it long.”
On screen: Straighten your arm a lot more through contact.
Drill: Slow shadow swings, pausing at contact: your arm should be almost straight with a soft bend.
Arm locked straight
The coach says: “Keep a little bend in the elbow.”
On screen: Keep a lot more bend in your elbow at contact.
Drill: Slow shadow swings, pausing at contact: keep a soft bend and finish with a wrist snap.
Legs too straight in your stance
The coach says: “Bend your knees”
On screen: Bend your knees.
Drill: Hold a low ready stance for 20 seconds between reps.
Hunched over in your stance
The coach says: “Chest up, don't hunch”
On screen: Chest up, don't hunch.
Drill: Hold the ready stance with your chest proud for 20 seconds.
Drills you can do alone
- Elbow anchor: shadow backhands with the elbow staying put, to feel the forearm drive.
- Tempo drill: shadow 30 backhands at a steady rhythm, returning to ready every time.
How to set up your phone
Prop your phone up 2 to 3 metres away with your whole body in view, at about hip height. For the backhand drive, stand side-on to the camera on your hitting side: how far in front you make contact and how big your backswing is can only be judged from the side. It all runs on your phone and nothing is uploaded.
Guide values: where the hand should be at contact comes from coaching rules (Coaching consensus across the sport: contact in front of the body, at a height that suits the shot, compact where the stroke is short.) and has not yet been checked against real players. Contact point and backswing need you side-on to the camera.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my backhand drive inconsistent?
Usually a swing that is too big or contact that is too late. Shorten the swing and meet the ball earlier.
How should I stand for a backhand?
Knees bent, weight on the balls of the feet, and the bat in front with the elbow slightly forward.
More table tennis practice
Forehand drive · Smash · Forehand loop · Backhand flick · Push · Chop · Serve