The backhand counterhit should be learnt at the same time as the forehand counterhit. Some people feel that the backhand is a harder stroke to learn and so put off learning the stroke. However we believe that the backhand is as easily learnt as the forehand. Simply watch these videos and practice, practice, practice!

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This lesson appears on PingSkills Coaching Lessons Volume 1 available as a DVD or download.

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The Backhand Counterhit

The starting position of the backhand counterhit

The Starting Position

Get the following basics right and you will be on your way to mastering the backhand counterhit. Your feet position has you facing exactly to where you want the ball to go. Check out Jeff in the Online video. You can see that he is facing where the ball is going. The stroke starts in front of your body with your bat flat (Vertical or 90 degrees to the floor).

The finishing position of the backhand counterhit

The Finishing Position

The stroke finishes with your arm extended, your palm facing the ceiling and your bat at around shoulder to head high. Be sure that the bat finishes on the right hand side of your body for a right hander or vice versa for left hander. Don’t forget to have a look at the video. It will help you to get a good image of what you are supposed to be doing.

Practice your Backhand using the Consistency Chart. Make sure to keep the ball slow at first until you have really mastered the stroke. That means you can easily hit at least 100 shots in a row without a mistake. If you can spend just 10 minutes of your Table Tennis training session doing this you will be amazed at your improvement.