Most beginner to intermediate pickleball players tend to struggle with their backhand shot, so it’s one of the most important pickleball skills you can work on. Learn all things backhand: the pickleball backhand return, backhand drive, backhand dink, backhand counter, two-handed backhand, and more.
Pickleball backhand return shots
What do you do when somebody returns the ball to your backhand? There are two main types of backhand returns: a backhand slice return or a two-handed backhand return with forward momentum.
Return shot #1: Backhand slice return
The pickleball backhand slice return provides a difficult drop shot for your opponents because there's a lot of spin on the ball, which is why it’s so good to use. The disadvantage to this shot is that you are putting a lot of backspin on the ball, which means if you're playing opponents who have really strong topspin drive, it will be an easy ball for them to drive because of the way it bounces and spins.
How to hit the backhand slice return:
- Imagine a backward Nike sign: it's a high to low shot movement.
- Hinge your wrist and keep it still through the entire shot.
- Swing down like a Nike sign and then swing up, making sure that you're pushing forward momentum through the shot so you can get pace on the ball.
To watch this how-to in action, watch the video above.
Return shot #2: 2-handed backhand return
The two-handed backhand return is many players’ go-to return because when you add a second hand on the paddle, it gives you increased stability and control.
How to hit the 2-handed backhand return:
- When you add your second hand to the paddle, make sure that you choke up on the paddle and put your finger up on the paddle. This will give you much more control than if you just hold the paddle at the top of the handle.
- Get low and keep your shoulders level with the ball.
- If the ball doesn't bounce very high, you will have to pull the paddle back to your backside hip or just above that backside pocket.
- Use your legs and rotate with your kinetic chain.
- You don't need a big follow-through on the return because you're using pace from the serve and your legs. So you really don't need to finish up for this shot, you can use your feet and then finish right in front of your body.
Some advantages to the 2-handed backhand return shot are:
- If you master the footwork, this shot will be pretty easy to control.
- The shot will be a nice flat deep return.
Some disadvantages of the 2-handed backhand return are:
- You have to practice the footwork.
- It can be pretty difficult to hit this shot if you're off balance. For instance: if the serve were to push you out wide or push you deep into the court, similar to the return.
To watch this how-to in action, watch the video above.
Pickleball backhand dinks
There are two main types of backhand dinks: the backhand slice and the backhand roll dink.
Dink #1: Backhand slice dink
With the backhand slice dink pickleball shot, you're going to be putting backspin on the ball. The pickleball will be spinning toward you, so it throws off the timing to your opponents that are hitting it because the backspin is going to make the ball jump toward the net.
The backhand slice dink can give you time to reset, which makes it a great option if you’re off balance or out of position. It's a little more of a defensive way to get back in the point with your footwork.
How to hit the backhand slice dink:
- Have your paddle tip up and your wrist locked in place.
- Make that same Nike sign, going high low and ending high.
- Don’t chop at the ball (a little spin goes a long way).
To watch this how-to in action, watch the video above.
Dink #2: 2-handed backhand dink (or the backhand roll dink)
The pickleball two-handed backhand dink is a dink that you're rolling with topspin.
How to hit the 2-handed backhand dink:
- Get down low, sit down, almost like you're sitting in a seat.
- When you're nice and low, you should be able to see the bottom half of the ball.
- If you were to cut the pickleball in half and there's an equator, you want to make contact with the southern hemisphere, so getting nice and low will allow you to see the bottom half of the ball.
- Your non-dominant hand is going to do the work: this is a low-to-high motion where you're going to brush up on the ball.
Some advantages to this dink:
- You can add pressure to your opponents by creating angles in the dipping motion onto the ball.
- You have the opportunity to speed up off the bounce.
- You can rarely speed up off the bounce with a one-handed backhand.
To watch this how-to in action, watch the video above.
2-handed backhand drive
The two-handed backhand drive is going to have some overlap with the two-handed back backhand return.
How to hit the 2-handed backhand drive:
- In the 2-handed backhand drive, you will take your non-dominant hand and put your finger up on the paddle. Your non-dominant hand is going to do a lot of the work.
- Get really low and step into the shot.
- You should be so low that you can brush the bottom of the ball.
- The ball should have a dipping motion with more topspin so it can get down and force your opponents to hit up on it.
- Don't pull your paddle too far back, you will want to pretend there's a brick wall and you should pull the paddle right back to the backside hip.
Hopefully this will create an easier ball to drop in transition or create a popup.
To watch this how-to in action, watch the video above.
2-handed backhand counter shot
The two-handed backhand counter shot will give you both good power and good control.
How to hit the two-handed backhand counter shot:
- Stack your hands on top of each other and keep your finger on the back side of the paddle.
- Your non-dominant hand should do the majority of the work (your dominant hand is simply there to stabilize).
- You are loading your feet and making a very small movement — you won't have a huge backswing.
- Keep your paddle in front of the kitchen line at all times.
- Push forward, almost like you're pushing to get to the ready position again.
The 2-handed backhand counter shot should be really compact and really short — but it's really powerful when you hit that sweet spot on your paddle.
To watch this how-to in action, watch the video above.