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Tennis slice backhand: check your form with your phone
The slice backhand is a defensive and tactical shot: it stays low, skids and slows the rally down. It is struck high to low with the racket face slightly open, and the best slices are firm and compact rather than wristy.
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
- Turn your shoulders and take the racket back and up, with the racket head above the ball.
- Swing forward and down through the ball with the racket face slightly open.
- Meet the ball in front of your front hip, with the arm extending forward.
- Finish out toward your target, balanced, rather than chopping down.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Chopping steeply down
It pops the ball up. Swing through the ball, forward as well as down.
A floppy wrist
A loose wrist makes the contact unpredictable. Keep the wrist firm.
Contact too close to the body
You end up crowded. Meet the ball further out in front.
What Formanti checks on your slice backhand
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
- Arm height (only if far off): 30–140°. Compact prep, knife-through-butter feel
- Elbow (only if far off): 100–185°. Carve under ball, follow-through stays high
- 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: 115–165°. Soft, bent knees let you push off in any direction
- Back lean: 0–30° 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.
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
- Slice shadow with a finish: shadow slow slices and hold the finish out toward the target.
- Wall slices: hit slices against a wall at a low target height and aim to keep the ball low.
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 slice backhand, 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
When should I use a slice backhand?
To keep the ball low, change the pace, or when you are stretched. It is also a good approach shot because it stays low.
How do I stop my slice floating?
Swing forward through the ball, not just down on it, keep the wrist firm and make contact in front.
More tennis practice
Forehand · Backhand · Serve · Volley · Overhead smash · Lob · Drop shot