Video summary

Why Your Backhand Has No Power (It's Not What You Think)

Main summary

Key takeaways

Sport

Overview

The video explains why many players’ two-handed backhands can seem to have “no power,” even when they swing hard. The coach’s central claim is that the problem usually comes from a hidden hitch in the backhand takeback, not from a lack of strength or effort.

Key Moment (Student: “Chad”)

During Chad’s backswing, the racket blur stops abruptly. The racket then tucks back behind his body with an extremely closed racket face, creating an overly “super-closed” detour.

This causes:

  • Loss of racket momentum
  • A need to restart the shot’s energy from scratch

Evidence From Match-Style Play

In six full cross-court service games:

  • Chad did not drive or hit topspin his backhand even once.
  • Every time the ball went to his backhand side, he defaulted to the same choppy defensive slice/block-style shot.

The coach notes Chad is a strong 4.5-level player (including as a double specialist), so a reliable backhand drive is essential for winning more matches—yet Chad had been unintentionally avoiding it.

The Technical Cause (What the Coach Sees)

Early in the motion, Chad starts well:

  • racket tip up
  • shoulders coil correctly

But then:

  • his momentum stops
  • his racket changes direction abruptly
  • his racket wraps too far around his body, beyond the “line” the coach says top two-handed players keep their racket/hands outside of (relative to Chad’s left hip)

The coach contrasts Chad with elite mechanics:

  • Elite players drop and drive forward in one continuous circular motion
  • Without a pause or hitch

Chad’s racket crosses the coach’s line too much (“another zip code”), disrupting the stroke and training his nervous system to rely on the simpler slice because it feels more efficient.

Five-Phase Training Plan

1. Physical feedback with the racket as a marker

The coach places Chad’s racket at his left-hip line to stop him from wrapping behind his body. Chad immediately notices the change (“This feels incredibly short.”).

2. Shadows, then short feeding

Chad practices while maintaining the line. After a few shadow reps, he briefly falls back into the old habit during ball tossing—wrapping behind the line too far.

3. Abbreviated takeback drill

Chad starts with the racket pointed toward the back curtain, but is told not to take it further.

Coaching goals:

  • keep hands/racket in front of the left-hip line
  • use repetition to feel the limited range
  • hit with a smooth forward swing

When asked how it feels, Chad says it’s like “nothing” and “the simplest backhand” he’s hit in a long time.

4. No-man’s-land to real hits with a full swing (controlled angles)

The coach checks whether Chad’s racket position is at 90° to the net (or short/past).

Key warning:

  • avoid going “past 90”, which brings back the old wrap/stop.

Chad maintains a more continuous racket motion and reduces the momentum-killing pause.

5. Baseline with the same feed/rhythm

Using the same rhythm as the earlier evaluation, Chad’s backhand looks dramatically simplified and easier.

Chad repeatedly says it feels “so much easier.”

Later, Chad texts that he’s “starting [his] backhand again,” explaining that the improvement came not from adding “features” (angles/lag/snap), but from removing excess motion and excess range so momentum can stay smooth.

Common Mistakes the Coach Warns Against

  • Mistake 1: Letting easier shots (like slice/block) become a crutch in match play.
  • Mistake 2: Assuming improvement is “fixed” after partial progress—video verification is needed to confirm the full flaw is corrected.
  • Mistake 3: Trying harder instead of removing the movement that causes the hitch/pause (swapping to faster swings usually isn’t the solution). The coach emphasizes: “less energy in, more energy out.”

Weekly Challenge

  1. Feel rough edges/inefficiencies in your stroke (For Chad, it felt like “swinging through a wall.”)

  2. Record and review your swing in slow motion Identify stops/starts and excessive movements, then remove the friction point instead of adding new effort.

Presenters / Sources Mentioned

  • Quintilian (referenced at the start)
  • Andre Agassi (mentioned via “Andre Agassi’s mullet… I mean, backhand,” as an analogy)
  • Tennisolved.com (coach/website referenced as the source for coaching guidance)

Original video