Similarities Between The One-Handed & Two-Handed Backhands

In recent years, there has been this big debate between the two-handed backhand and the one-handed-backhand. Some say that one has more power than the other, while the other provides you more control and stability. I’m sure all of you know which one I like the most.

In other cases, the two-handed backhand is often compared to a left-handed forehand if you happen to be a right-handed player, and I'm here to tell you that there are very few similarities between a right-hander's two-handed backhand and a lefty forehand. There are far more similarities between a two-handed backhand and a one-handed backhand.

Lefty Forehand

The main reason why a left-handed forehand is not like a right-hander's two-handed backhand is the position of the torso at the moment of contact. The contact is completely different on a two-handed backhand. What happens on a two-hander is that we make contact with the dominant shoulder in front of the non-dominant shoulder. This is the proper contact on a two-handed backhand.

On a lefty forehand, we would have contact with the non-dominant shoulder in front. This would turn into the dominant shoulder. The contact on a lefty forehand and a two-handed backhand is completely different, and therefore, the sequencing of the torso rotation is different as well.

On a forehand, we're going to have a loop, and the sequencing of the torso rotation is going to start sooner. So that when we hit the forward phase, the chest is already going to be open towards the court. We don't hit a two-handed backhand like that. We initiate the torso rotation much later, and for that reason, the contact occurs much further behind.

Elegant Stroke

Compare that to a one-handed backhand. You're going to see a lot of similarities. On the one-handed backhand, you're going to see a torso rotation that's initiated in the forward phase of the swing, and the contact is very similar. Yes, on the one-handed backhand, it is more behind than the two-handed backhand.

The two-handed backhand always has torso rotation in the forward phase of the stroke, while the one-handed backhand can be struck in two different ways. It can be struck with a rotation that occurs from a proper setup position. On the one-handed backhand, we need to get that shoulder blade towards the incoming ball.

Obviously, we're not going to be able to hit the ball like this. We are going to have to rotate into the contact. Some players will stop this rotation and end up staying sideways on the one-handed backhand. Other players will have a little bit more continuing rotation into the contact, and their chest will be a little bit more open right at the moment of contact.

Same Stroke?

On the two-handed backhand, however, we're going to have a very similar setup. Our shoulder blade is going to be to the incoming ball, and of course, we are going to have to rotate into the contact. However, because we're playing the ball with two hands, you're not going to see players stay sideways. This will be too restrictive of a movement. So naturally, players will continue to rotate into the contact.

Since the rotation is sequenced later, the contact will be with the non-dominant shoulder behind the dominant shoulder. So again, if you compare that to a one-handed backhand, you can see there's a lot of similarity. And if we compare that to a lefty forehand, we see absolutely no similarity whatsoever.

The only similarity is that we are using that left hand in conjunction with the right hand. This is where a lot of players get confused. There are some circumstances where the left side of a right-handed player will be dominant on the two-handed backhand. This is true for some players, but in general, for other players, it's only true in emergency situations.

The vast majority of players are a little bit more dominant with that right side. However, I often tell people not to worry about it, not to worry about which side is dominant on the two-handed backhand because it's a two-handed backhand for a reason. Just hold the racket with two hands and don't worry which side is dominant.

Proper Balance

If you execute your two-handed backhand with the correct fundamentals, the pressure that's applied is going to be pretty even. It's going to be somewhere between 60 and 40 percent. Most players will have 60 percent of the power coming from the right side and 40 from the left side. And there's going to be some players who are a little bit more dominant with the left side.

However, the fundamentals of the two-handed backhand have far more similarities with the one-handed backhand. And not only because of the way the rotation is sequenced but also the way we are rotating the core into the ball.

I already mentioned that on a forehand, we're going to start the rotation much sooner. We're going to be open much sooner. In a way, the torso rotation leads the way on the forehand, while on a one-handed backhand and a two-handed backhand, it's happening simultaneously. And it might come as a surprise to you that on a one-handed backhand, the core is rotating as a unit.

You will often hear that the non-dominant arm has to go the other way to counteract the right arm so that the player has balance. That's absolutely true, but what a lot of players don't realize is that when we're talking about rotating into the contact, even on players who are just rotating and then stopping the rotation, the non-dominant side of the body plays a big role when it comes to this rotation.

Magnetic Hands

What you will see on all high-level one-handed backhands is that the non-dominant arm comes with the dominant arm. In other words, when we're rotating into the contact and then even if we're staying sideways, you'll see that the non-dominant arm is very close to the racket once the contact is established. As the racket starts going away from the body, now the non-dominant arm starts to counteract this movement to give the player more balance.

Even players that have continuous rotation into the contact, they will, of course, keep that non-dominant arm close to the racket when contact is established. And then as the racket goes away from the body, that non-dominant arm starts to spread. With that continued rotation, you'll see these types of players have that non-dominant arm more towards the side. Other players who have a tendency to stay more sideways will have the non-dominant arm going more towards the back.

Turning As One

In both of those cases, it's important to understand that the rotation is happening as a unit. You don't spread that non-dominant arm early. The non-dominant arm stays with the racket as the entire core is rotating into the contact. And why is that done? Well, that's a much more powerful way to get the entire core, the entire system, into the contact, as opposed to only doing it with your right side.

Imagine if I was trying to rotate my right side of the body while the left side stayed behind. You can imagine that this will be a movement that is off balance. It's a less powerful movement than if I have my entire core rotating with the left arm into the contact. Once I make contact, I start going in the opposite direction to give my body more balance.

You see the rotation; it's a very similar action of the body. Now, remember, when we're striking the ball with the back side of the arm, we are weaker, especially when we're talking about hitting the ball with one arm. So it's very important that the body helps the arm so we can strike this shot in a powerful way.

Final Thoughts

A question that players often ask is whether or not it is good to practice your lefty forehand to improve your two-handed backhand. Of course, these are right-handed players. I think it's always great to strengthen the other side of the body. A lot of players will have a weaker left arm than a right arm if they have to be right-handed.

It can help with other things as well, such as coordination, training the left side or the brain. It can even help you with emergency shots on a two-handed backhand because those are handled with your non-dominant arm.

So yes, it's absolutely something that's great to do, and I encourage everybody to do it. But don't expect that once you learn a lefty forehand, this is somehow going to teach you the fundamentals of a two-handed backhand. It will not because when it comes to the fundamentals, there are far more similarities between a two-handed backhand and a one-handed backhand compared to a two-handed backhand and a lefty forehand.