How to Hit the Two Handed Backhand | Tennis Technique

🎾 Get 10% OFF on Kirschbaum Strings & Grips (ENTER CODE INTUITIVETENNIS AT CHECKOUT)
kirschbaumusa.com/INTUITIVETE...
In this video, you will learn how to hit the two-handed backhand. Djokovic, Agassi and A. Zverev have arguably the best two-handed backhands in the history of the game. What makes these backhands so great? What are the technical differences between these great two-handers? In this step-by-step instruction, you will learn everything you need to know about the two-handed backhand.
🎾 Second Channel 👉 / intuitivetennis247
🎾 What is the Intuitive Zone? 👉 bit.ly/witiz7
📱Get the Intuitive Tennis iPhone/iPad App
apps.apple.com/us/app/intuiti...
📱Get the Intuitive Tennis Android App
play.google.com/store/apps/de...
🖱 SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE VIDEOS LIKE THIS
👉🏻 kzbin.info...
My Gear:
Racquet: amzn.to/3NbuMl6
Overgrip: amzn.to/39TYbTb
Shoes: amzn.to/3NfFQNZ
Microphone: amzn.to/3QLJwKA
Camera: amzn.to/3NfALpa
Tripod: amzn.to/3QLZZhC
Drone: amzn.to/3nal2gn
🤜🤛 Share this video
👉 • How to Hit the Two Han...
🎾 www.intuitivetennis.com
🎾 Video Analysis 👉 bit.ly/2Kz8AEK
#intuitivetennis #twohandedbackhand

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Learn The Croatian Serve 🇭🇷 (FREE COURSE) 👉🏻 bit.ly/tcs1977

[@diario_e-bike]

6:59 what a shot !! Man, I wish I had that backhand! It's not just technical, it's confidence!

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Thank you Daniel

[@user-ot4ge9uf7i]

Your channel is always the best ,always let us know the key points quickly ,above others' tennis coaching videos

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Ernest, thank you 🙏👍🎾

[@steveb2854]

Great video. I really appreciate short and concise demonstrations.

[@annettelow837]

Thanks, the way you explain it is really helpful.

[@lamprosgiannopoulos3521]

Gr8 video coach,short,sweet and to the point!

[@andymisirkov7292]

Great Content, Well explained, as Always!

[@Sweeney-Kubach]

I noticed Nick is that elbows have to be away from the body. I played a lot of club players that hit the two handers and their elbow’s are to close to their body! I have always been able to hit really well with the two handler, I think it’s just genetics and my footwork used to be very good. I am 51 disabled man now, and I am still able to hit a solid backhand. Great job on the video Nick.

[@hansolsson3409]

Nice video, thank you Nick!

[@Sully44JJ]

Great instruction, I picked up some great tips, thank you.

[@ahnguyen1]

Great detailed video!

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Thank you

[@Ali4451_]

Fantastic video. Thanks

[@MinhVu-in9iz]

Thank you for your help, I watched your video with Anna and that helped , I had a one handed backhand but that was weak!!

[@mrjohnsonfong]

Thank you!

[@IronFist2508]

Cheers Nick, learnt alot from this video 👌

[@IntuitiveTennis]

🙏

[@counsela9240]

Nice thanks!

[@amsaliqbal2130]

I really want to apply all this to improve my 2HB...thanks in advance.😊

[@ripleypipe]

Hi Nik, my best shot is the single hander but I'm going to try the two-hander via a ball machine just to see if I can do it, thank you for this excellent breakdown of what is and what is not necessary. Gordon

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Hi Gordon, my experience has been that adults have difficulty transitioning to the 2-H backhand. Let me know if it’s working well for you.

[@ferfa2010]

Thnak's from Argentina!

[@IntuitiveTennis]

💯

[@samuellee9624]

Really love your videos! Could you explain which leg should drive/generate power into the body twist when swinging? I face the issue of losing the momentum after running and stopping.

[@samuellee9624]

Sorry if the question is unclear but maybe it's more of a question about the awkward robotic feeling of shifting the weight from the back foot to the pivot foot.

[@grinbaum1234]

Hello, i wanted to ask you the role of the left index finger (being right handed) in the double handed backhand. Should it go a bit open, as in the forehand? or should it go attached to the other fingers? Thank you for all your amazing videos.

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Hi Camilla, that’s a great question and it’s funny you bring that up because I just posted a IG video about that. You definitely need a spreading of the index finger on the non-dominant hand (your left hand). Very important for the left wrist to be positioned in this way so that it’s more flexible.

[@xe2ywi]

AFTER 4 YRS OF REACREATIONAL TENNIS LEVEL, STILL STRUGGLE PRETTY MUCH ON MY TWO HANDED BACKHAND, GUYS KNOW ALREADY ABOUT IT AND IT MAKE ME LOSE MATCHES,. I'LL TRY FOLLOW YOUR STEPS HOPEFULLY I'LL IMPROVE, THANK YOU NICK😂😂

[@haozhe3237]

Thank you coach! What can I do if I cannot hit deep shots with my backhand?

[@motaku7525]

I like that, very nice. Just a tiny thing, could mention how right wrist is bent appropriately to help racquet face dip below handle. But you can see you are doing this in stroke.

[@omarsultanov362]

Can't help but to happily recognize that it's the best to my best knowledge and by far step by step coverage of the 2H BH. For me as a single BH it'll be a must once my left shoulder and the left elbow would recover. I did harm them by trying 2H BH in just three matches and it was enough. 🤔🙁 Never thought it'd be that easy to harm the joints with the wrong 2H BH. Great input, Nick! 👏👍😊

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Omar, thank you and be careful. Don’t hurt yourself.

[@syinseattle]

6:25 great summary! Thank you so much for the video

[@jasonong6014]

Hi nick, thank u for the vid. How about the timing of the swing. When the ball about to/ bounce, which phase of the dbh should i be at? Weight at left foot or front foot?

[@motaku7525]

If you look closely at his first backhand, near the beginning Jason, I think you can see that as the ball is bouncing he is starting to rotate and simultaneously with that the weight is in the process of being *transferred* from rear foot to front foot. E.g. you can the rear foot is planted first, *then* he steps forward with front foot and the rotation/weight transfer begins. So think of it more as a process of transfer than something static. If you see this of course you can correct me, Nik.

[@gowzahr]

"Zverev has one of the best backhands on tour right now." Three years later, Zverev wins Olympic gold and the ATP finals.

[@obaidfarghani9202]

Nice explanation of arms and grip - I am an ambi playing with left hand and can generate lot of power on backhand but use my right hand more

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Interesting I coach a high level junior player who started lefty, then was switched to righty by another coach. When I took over I switched the player back to lefty and interestingly the backhand was a problem. You would think that the 2 handed backhand would have been amazing bc the player played a righty forehand, but this wasn’t the case. It’s turns out after I conducted research that the majority of pros use their dominant arm more on the 2 handed backhand. Exceptions are Serena and Murray

[@obaidfarghani9202]

Intuitive Tennis agreed and u r right, most coaches mention for a lefty two hander is a right handed forehand but in fact its not and we ambi’s can prove it :) I actually switched as i grew older from one to two handed because of injury

[@IntuitiveTennis]

That’s really interesting. Ambi’s are amazing. I was teaching a guy who played 2 forehands lol. I don’t know how u guys do it. Impressive

[@ravindrajain9855]

@@IntuitiveTennis I'm one of those rare 2 forehand guys :)

[@kingtrawal]

Awesome stuff... which hand do you lead with if you’re right handed? I’ve heard it’s a left handed forehand, or do you lead with the core rotation?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/e32ol4GQp8xgp9k

[@Justin-ow3yr]

Can you do a video on leg drive/weight transfer?

[@tylerbelgrade]

hey Nikola, great videos. regards from Serbia! :)

[@IntuitiveTennis]

tylerbelgrade, puno hvala

[@tylerbelgrade]

nema na čemu, samo nastavi! ja sa 46 odlučio da treba da naučim tenis :)

[@IntuitiveTennis]

tylerbelgrade, nikad nije prekasno za tenis. 👍👍

[@tylerbelgrade]

@@IntuitiveTennis samo još da to objasnim ženi :)

[@IntuitiveTennis]

tylerbelgrade, može i ona počet sa tenisom pa igrajte mixed. 🙏

[@MF-tt4pf]

On the left side dhbh, how much is left hand vs right hand? About 80% left, 20% right? Other ratio. I tend overuse my right hand. Would be nice to see a video on right vs left hand usage on the dhbh. Thanks for the awesome video.

[@SrirachaEnjoyer]

Excellent breakdown, thanks Nikola. About the grip, 1:30 you mention the left index knuckle is placed between eastern and western grip. Did you mean to say between eastern and semi-western? Are you placing the knuckle on bevel #4, or on the ridge between bevel #3-4? (not trying to split hairs, I'm genuinely trying to understand how far over the left hand should be)

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Btw eastern and semi-western

[@farhadrosh]

Nice job. The only thing which you are doing on your backhand but you explained differently is your left arm’s role after the contact. After the contact you want to extend your left arm out then both arms go across. It’s a very important piece.

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Fahrad, thank you for your comment. What you are describing is a Djokovic backhand. However, It is not important to extend the left arm after contact, furthermore the left arm actually extends prior to contact on player with a straight left, bent right arm structure (Djokovic). A. Zverev and almost all WTA players have their left arm (non-dominant) bent before, during and after contact. This is going to depend on which arm structure is intuitive to a player, everyone is different. At the 4:10 mark I discuss this topic, and the fact that my left arm is extended doesn’t mean that this is going to work for other players. If you are interested I dedicated an entire video on the role of the non dominant arm on the 2-handed BH. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e32ol4GQp8xgp9k

[@pleaseenteraname1103]

The two-handed backhand is my best shot it’s most consistent thing I can get in, my server is not that good and my forehand is fine but it’s not very consistent but my two in the back and makes than most of the time.

[@vijaynarsapur147]

Thanks for spending time on the grip. I am a ntrp 5.0 with a good single handed backhand. I am struggling to convert to a double hander. Any suggestions? I am changing in order to have a more aggressive back court game.

[@IntuitiveTennis]

It’s a tricky move kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIDPeGtmYraJjbM

[@Pain420]

You're a very clear speaker, and I like your transitions. Nice instructional video

[@hustlingdhruv1546]

Can I use the left hand grip (the edge between eastern and semi-western grip) as my forehand grip? Or will it cause any problems on my forehand

[@AnhNguyen-gc2gu]

Dear coach Nick, After watching your instruction I have a question. In the forehand, the take back and dropping of the racket is in 1 motion whereas in the backhand there is a stop between the take back and the dropping down of the racket, thus there are 2 different motions. Am I right ?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Once the racquet drops the 2-h is continuous. 1-H is continuous prior to drop

[@TennisFedable]

Hi Niko - What's the best way to play a high 2 handed backhand? If you could suggest how to deal with 2 situations - a) the ball is deep and gets above the shoulder (can't always take it on the rise!) and I'm just staying in the point, and b) the ball is short but high (again above the shoulder) so I want to end the point. Thank you!

[@IntuitiveTennis]

T-Hits, a) you probably need to let it come down (depends on how much penetration the deep ball has) b) short and high is usually attackable don’t let it get above shoulder

[@ronlebens9143]

@@IntuitiveTennis You also can jump like Marcelo Rios

[@ogpurple8712]

@@ronlebens9143 jumping gives you momentum but not much stability. Think, if you jump, nothing is connecting you to the ground. Nothing is stabilizing you. The only thing you can use is your arms, which will not give much power on their own.

[@AvantiMoltoVeloce]

Hey Nick your lessons are extremely helpful! Can you please do a video about footwork-leg use on the two-handed backhand? I think in fact that I'm hitting the backhand by keeping the legs too straight and this is actually harming my backhand game.. cheers man and keep it on!!

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Sure will 🙌

[@AvantiMoltoVeloce]

@@IntuitiveTennis Thanks man I'm counting on it ahahahah :D! Thanks again for your videos!!

[@norberthuelse1800]

I follow the channel for a long time. Its one of the best. I wish have the money and the choice for some trainings session with Nick. Its a wish and i am waiting for some lottery win😊😊😊👍 thats life. All the best Nick for your channel here and your good work.

[@dai786]

Thanks Coach, I understand that there are different types of BHs, my daughter on her lesson was instructed to do much more flip on the wrist, is this something that comes in later stage?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

No flip of the wrist

[@dai786]

@@IntuitiveTennis Hvala Coach probably I did mistake with my English with Flip vs Drop of racket head. In our setup as initial progression we try to keep stiff straight arms and super relaxed wrist. @4.46 you mentioned something similar about drop. Will see how it will go. need little more time to digest.

[@smilli6415]

how do you avoid knew injury ,knee pain .. please do a video on tips to prevent knee injury

[@dejpsyd0421]

I thought you did a great job teaching and teaching by example. I’m a visual learner, and I can’t stress enough how sooo many of the online coaches just stand there and pontificate like frustrated wannabe university math professors. Going into detail about the grip, and bevels, and charting out bevel 1, 2, 3....blah blah blah. Like we can’t see that for ourselves? Good job...I think I’m going to subscribe and watch how your other lessons are!

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Thank you

[@Justin-ow3yr]

Do you have a video on what the legs do in the backhand? Or is it just the shoulder/arm action?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

I do

[@Justin-ow3yr]

@@IntuitiveTennis can you send me a link or let me know the title of the video?

[@greenhammer1148]

how to train the relaxation of the wrist?

[@omarsultanov362]

Nick, a question if I may please. Appreciate your comments. My new coach convinces me (and I switched from 1HBH 1,5 years ago starting to learn it myself) to raise the left hand elbow right at the left shoulder height/level at the backswing (I'm the right hander). You here teach QUOTE "the perfect 2HBH" with your left elbow much much lower then my coach idea is. It's in your case almost tucked in to the body at your backswing and quite low. For sure any stroke might be hit with all sorts of variations. Still what would be your advise re. the left elbow level at the backswing? For me, initially, I felt a bit awkward with this setup but in a while I started feeling it gives much much more power while not compromising a control. What about a real fast play (with at least 5.0+ levels amateurs and pros)? Wouldn't it cause the ball being hit late? So far so good though. Best regards. Omar 👋🙂

[@IntuitiveTennis]

There are some players with this elbow position however most will have the non dominant elbow lower ie Djokovic, Agassi. If it works well for you keep doing it...

[@omarsultanov362]

@@IntuitiveTennis thanks a lot, Nick 🙏👋🙂

[@lintonblaise2356]

Nick can we see some of your college highlights or matches?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

It’s a painful story that I might talk about. All the match footage was unfortunately lost😡

[@deeps10]

I am a right handed level 4.5 player and having been recently trying the two handed backhand, if gives me more consistency but less power than one handed. One thing I like with the two handed backhand is that my right hand grip stays the same whether I am doing a back hand slide or two handed backhand, it always a continental/hammer grip, so I don't need to worry about changing my grip. Is this correct?

[@arthurtao6820]

Yes this is correct, the grip of the non dominant should be very similar in the continental grip

[@motaku7525]

Of course, I'm not Nik, and also much less knowledgeable! But here are my ideas: 1. Perhaps by 'slide' you mean 'slice.' In that case, continental grip is good to use, so since that is recommended grip for right hand in two-handed b/h, you make sense. 2. But Nik recommended what is in effect a sort of 'pistol' grip for both hands - the index finger and middle finger should be spread out from each other a bit. 3. I might be wrong, but if right handed, your right arm is your dominant arm by definition, so Arthur's kind reply might be misleading. 4. Just a small thought - I too went from one handed two two handed b/h for more consistency (I had nice 1 handed stroke, but I was often tense). But I always had trouble generating much velocity. Then recently in watching vids i realized I wasn't following through properly over my right shoulder. I think I was sort of following through with racquet more in front of me, kind of like classic one handed backhand. I also suspect that with proper low to high motion, and some snap in both wrists, we'll get more velocity as well as topspin. Interesting question!

[@LiveTennis-gn7re]

The most important sentence he mentioned that I finally realised is that Don't force the drop, once you accelerate the racket fast the drop will happen naturally

[@4jchan]

How can I hit a 2H backhand with the right hand dominant when I'm using a continental grip which is a weak grip?

[@miguelromero3256]

If you are right hand dominant, the drive should be coming from the left hand

[@motaku7525]

I think Miguel is right, Josiah - in *that* sense it's a *bit* like a left handed forehand. What Miguel said is one way of explaining how the two handed (right handed) backhand is a very different stroke from a left handed forehand. So you don't need to think of it as being 'like' a one-handed continental grip backhand.

[@oliverbesi5871]

Whitch hand does the drop down of the racquet? Thx!

[@motaku7525]

Hi Oliver. Let's assume you mean "how do you make the racquet head dip down so it's below the handle at beginning of actual stroke." I think it's not just one hand, it's a combination of things: a) As you begin to rotate body, right shoulder begins to rise and left shoulder falls... b) As this is happening, racquet head starts to dip. c) As it dips, your left wrist (and forearm) 'naturally' rotate counterclockwise, while your RIGHT wrist bends in a certain way. You can see Nik's right wrist doing this in nice backhand near beginning.

[@oliverbesi5871]

@@motaku7525 Thanks! I’ll try it this week!

[@benchan85]

I’ve been working with a tennis pro and I’ve gotten hung up on when one should load up the bh from the back leg...got really confused when it was introduced to me...the open stance two handed bh. It was explained to me that it’s meant for defensive shots on the run...can you clarify this for me? Thanks!

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Ben, You have to load the front foot in a closed stance 2-HB. As you hit across your back leg will come around the body. Your coach likely has you hit through the ball and wants you to go from back to front leg, trough the shot. All groundstrokes are circular strokes with an across the body swing path. Open stance 2-Hander is possible, but you need flexibility to pull it off. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWrbpIWVd9-Yl6c

[@benchan85]

Intuitive Tennis Nick, thank you for being so thorough in your lessons and replies. I was actually about to ask you why an open stance bh feels so unnatural compared to an open stance fh and the link answered it immediately. Thanks!

[@benchan85]

Intuitive Tennis I now understand how the open stance bh is utilized, thanks to your vid. So to clarify, the open stance bh on run is ideal for counterpunching a penetrating ball...is the expection to focus on striking the ball cleanly with a short back swing? (less-so on attacking?)...similar to returning a fast serve?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Ben, I would focus on the penetration of the incoming ball. If done correctly the open stance 2-hander will feel very natural. Most players will not be aware that they struck the BH open stance. It comes out intuitively. You’ll know when it’s right and when it’s wrong.

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Ben, kzbin.info/www/bejne/jp3dmmhogtqZqMU This is for forehand only, however it applies to the 2HBH as well. The incoming ball on the open stance 2HB probably needs a little more penetration and width for it to feel completely natural, since 90% of 2HB are struck closed stance.

[@vagabondjx]

Great info. The only thing unclear from this video is body weight transition. I see your shots almost start with the body weight already on the front foot. Does this matter? I always thought the shot has to start with body weight on back foot and transition it towards the front foot. I also realize the more I try to drop my front shoulder the more it actually comes up and feels off balance. Where is the balance/body weight at the beginning of this shot and where does it end?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZ6llGuiq9-Do6M

[@Xunxunism]

Don’t know what is my problem. I can only play my right hand in a eastern grip. My left hand is as depicted in the video in the between western and eastern grip.

[@dmitryprivate6558]

Nikola, I am testing a two-handed back hand; at home, not on the courts. And it seems to feel that most power comes from the left arm, not the right arm. Am I correct?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpTboGWpZbxglbM

[@dmitryprivate6558]

@@IntuitiveTennis Thank you.

[@ceejay257]

Do you pull dominant hand to drop racquet?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Racquet drops on its own

[@motaku7525]

Excuse me for butting in, Nik, I just want to repeat some stuff I wrote above for Ceejay: Let's assume you mean "how do you make the racquet head dip down so it's below the handle at beginning of actual stroke." I think it's not just one hand, it's a combination of things: a) As you begin to rotate body, right shoulder begins to rise and left shoulder falls... b) As this is happening, racquet head starts to dip. c) As it dips, your left wrist (and forearm) 'naturally' rotate counterclockwise, while your RIGHT wrist bends in a certain way. You can see Nik's right wrist doing this in nice backhand near beginning. So basically, as Nik says, the racquet head drops on its own because of how you rotate your core and shoulders. Nik, I hope I'm not putting a bunch of dumb stuff in here! If you have the power, you can also delete any posts by me you think are wrong.

[@jonathanchen1026]

I'm watching this video debating on whether to switch from one hand to two hand

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Jonathan, switching is tricky

[@jonathanchen1026]

@@IntuitiveTennis true, but I originally started with two handed and switched to one hand successfully, the only sad thing I noticed with both my backhands, is I never learned how to hit either of them with proper topspin, it was mostly flat I'm thinking of first trying to improve the topspin on one hand back hand, and if I'm not good at it, try doing two hand and use the tips you gave

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Jonathan, topspin is a lot easier with the 1-H BH kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIDPeGtmYraJjbM

[@carewsn]

This is hard to explain. When i watch your follow thru i see the racket coming almost straight over your head. Not much wrist action. I feel more wristy and the racket flips more over the right shoulder. I do this to try to get more topspin. Is this wrong? I don’t have anything close to your racket speed. And mishits are an issue for me.

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Try this 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6GaeYltq614eZI

[@afifsamadi1759]

why don't you have an anti chock attached to your racket?

[@somekindofmixt5307]

I have a little problem at understanding the contact point. the problem is when i see the player hitting two handed backhand and I see the racquet face starts facing upwards right after the contact point I just don’t understand how the ball is supposed to go forwards, not upwards

[@IntuitiveTennis]

I’ll cover it in a future video

[@somekindofmixt5307]

@@IntuitiveTennis thanks for the answer 🙏

[@hometennispractice4276]

I would like to talk Nik, (Dom here).

[@123xyzabccba]

Great video ! But you played only 1 demo shot

[@motaku7525]

I see what you mean, but look carefully at his swings through the air, there is a lot of information there ;)

[@f.t7857]

s

[@dantheman1337]

Did you know that nearly all the poooower in your serve comes from the arm and not the legs?

[@Jack-er6wi]

What’s this have to do with this video ?

[@spikefist]

😂

[@blackwarb]

too complicated

[@Gigi-pd8vj]

Hitting with a straight arm is so overated. There are coaches out there who have idolized this technique.