Backhand Topspin from outside the body line

Hi Alois,

The start position and the finish position of the backhand topspin you have mentioned in the tutorials seem to work great only when the ball is in front of the body. But if the ball is just a little bit left of the body (I am a right hander.) then I find it very awkward to do the backhand topspin shot with these start and finish position.

I know that this will be solved if I move and position myself so that the ball is in front of my body and then hit the shot. But I just want to verify if we can hit a ball that is only a little bit to the left of the body by making any modifications to the stroke if somehow I find myself in that situation. Or is it that in such a situation I in no way can make a strong effective backhand shot?

Thanks.

Hi Chandrachur,

You can make the topspin from the left side of your body.  The key factor is to get your bat into a similar position that you would have it when hitting it from in front of your body.  That is the angle of your racket and then the swing of the racket though the stroke. This takes some training to get it right but you will notice that the better players can adapt int his way to make shots from different positions.