PICKLEBALL INSTRUCTION
GET A
GRIP
on Your
Backhand
12
A
big change at this year’s Nationals
was seeing a lot more women
hitting a two-handed backhand both in
service returns and volleys. I’ve heard
some debate on whether this is “true
pickleball.”
I see pickleball changing as it develops,
like all sports do. At one point in time,
tennis players mostly played with a onehanded backhand, with more spin and
placement; now you see most players
using two hands, which gives them extra
power and more topspin. With the game
becoming faster and more powerful in
both singles and doubles, people are
making adjustments to their game to
adapt.
Right now, you see mostly women
adding their left hand, like in a tennis
grip, to get extra rotation out of their
body and paddle. Adding that second
hand enables a player to bring a higher
ball down on the weaker side of the body
as well as pick up a low ball and get extra
lift that they wouldn’t be able to get
with just one hand. A player who does
this very well is Christine McGrath; she
can take a low backhand dink, add some
topspin and turn it into an offensive shot.
Another benefit is the ability to roll over
a third shot and create a different kind of
spin and pace that most opponents are
not used to.
You are also seeing more intermediate
players and some advanced players simply
placing their left hand behind their
paddle and giving a little extra push on
their dinks. Players who don’t feel strong
enough on their backhand side have
started doing this to add more control.
Sometimes people recovering from an
arm or wrist injury can use the extra
support from their non-dominant hand
behind the paddle or on top of their grip.
There are also some guys who every
so often sneak in their non-dominant
hand to give their high volleys an extra
push. One player who does this is Wesley
Gabrielsen, who plays with two forehands
but is predominantly left-handed. It is
not quite as noticeable, but he sneaks
in his second hand sometimes to give a
higher volley some extra downward pop.
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There are some downsides to using
two hands, especially if it is not a natural
transition. If you are hitting with two
hands at a full swing, you must have a
much higher consistency from both the
back line and the no-volley line. On a
pickleball court, the ball comes back to
you much faster than on a tennis court,
so you must be able to recover from a
two-handed swing and be ready to jump
on that next ball. You are also sacrificing
a bit of the reach that you get with hitting
with one hand.
What you see most commonly is a
one-handed backhand using a continental
grip. This is the grip that I use; from here,
I can hit with slice or a flat, powerful
volley. Because I don’t get the rotation I
would by using my left hand, when I do
want to add topspin to a backhand to roll
it down into the feet of my opponents, I
move my grip slightly over to an extreme
eastern grip. This enables me to drive
through the ball better than with a
regular continental grip.
By far the greatest benefit of a onehanded backhand is the extra reach
you can’t get while holding on with two
hands. For many players, though, it’s
worth the sacrifice for the added power
they feel with two hands. Although some
might argue that using a two-handed
backhand isn’t “true pickleball,” the game
is changing, and with it different shots
and power are developing.
Overall, it comes down to what a
person is comfortable with. If you are
doing what comes naturally, you will
always succeed. There is no right or wrong
when it comes to what a person feels
comfortable doing — what works for you
may not work for someone else and vice
versa. •
Sarah Ansboury resides
in Portland, Oregon.
She teaches tennis
and pickleball at Club
Green Meadows in
Vancouver, Washington.
She is the current
National Open Women’s
Doubles Champion.
www.sarahansboury.
proliteproud.com