Breaking down the preparation of the Backhand

The backhand drive is a fundamental shot in a typical game of squash. Unfortunately many players in the beginner/intermediate stages of development tend to neglect its importance in favour for the forehand, as the forehand is a much more natural motor pattern. If you don’t want to limit yourself as a player it would be wise develop the backhand to be stronger than the forehand, as typically most matches are conducted down the backhand side of the court. This is supported by Vučković, James, Hughes, Murray, Sporiš, & Perš, (2013) with their analysis of the men’s World Team Championships in 2003. Results showed 37.2% of shots where played deep to the backhand side of the court comparative to 17.3% that were played to the forehand. It should be noted only right-handed player’s matches were recorded. Another reason the backhand should be a strong focus in your development is that it has been shown to significantly correlate to in game performance resulting in a better tournament result (Williams, Bourdon, Graham-Smith & Sinclair, 2016). In other words the more accurate ones backhand is, the better they will perform and subsequently they will be higher ranked. So what should you do to improve your backhand?

There are several steps to get your backhand to the best it can be, but it all starts with your preparation. The two most important aspects of the backhand are:

1. Get your racket up early. Early preparation is a key to success, as it will allow you to execute your shot when you are comfortable. This position should be where you begin your swing phase of the backhand.
2. Imagining your pushing someone away with your racket can attain the racket up position. There should be a slight bend in the elbow, with the wrist cocked. This should form a diamond position. 

To see this at work, see the image below.

One of the handiest ways to ensure early and proper racket position, is to PRACTICE! To learn more about how to better your backhand and to get more advice about to how to have excellent technique, contact us for a private lesson or for group training classes today! 

References:
Vučković, G., James, N., Hughes, M., Murray, S., Sporiš, G., & Perš, J. (2013). The effect of court location and available time on the tactical shot selection of elite squash players. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 12(1), 66.
Williams, B. K., Bourdon, P. C., Graham-Smith, P., & Sinclair, P. J. (2016, May). A Quantitative Analysis Of Squash Shot Accuracy. In ISBS-Conference Proceedings Archive (Vol. 33, No. 1).

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