This stroke is perhaps the least well-understood weapon in the game. While it is by far the most popular backhand groundstroke among pros and duffers alike, few know its full capabilities. Firstly, it is not a full stroke like the one-handed backhand; it is a short stroke like the volley. The consequences of that fact alone are massive. A short stroke doesn't make use of a long, luxurious lag phase to accelerate the racket head and maximize racket head speed and pace. That means that no matter how much oomph you put into the shot, the pace you can get with the two-hander is limited. On the other hand, having two hands on the racket means that leverage is excellent, so moderate pace is easier to generate. The accuracy of the two-hander is unmatched, as is its overall consistency, but the degree of topspin and the depth of shot are disappointing compared to the one hander. Its compact backswing while still maintaining the ability to add moderate topspin makes it the best shot for returning a heavy serve, hands down. It isn't much for adding backspin to the ball, so following it to the net is a dicey proposition. The ability of the two-hander to handle high balls has been unfairly impugned by those who don't realize that they are dealing with a two-handed volley. They try to take a big, impotent swing at the ball instead of just snapping it by counter-rotating the wrists. On the minus side, having two hands on the racket does cut down on one's reach at the net and when trying to track down wide-hit balls on the baseline.

The two-hander is not a full stroke like the one-handed backhand; it is a short stroke like the volley.

The two-handed backhand (2HBH) is a unique and deadly weapon that, when used properly (and backed up by a reliable one-handed slice), will encourage your opponents to hit to your forehand.

The left elbow muust be extended and locked during the pose and stay that way until the later part of the follow through.

The key elements of the 2HBH pose are high racket head, reaching back with the right superficial and deep shoulder joints, stance slightly open to moderately closed depending on the target and right forearm supinated (racket not laid back).

Foundations

The Pose

Right forearm supination in the pose and lock is critical for both control and power as it permits storage of supination force during the load.

The left elbow muust be extended and locked during the pose and stay that way until the later part of the follow through. 'Shoving' the ball with the left arm is right out! The left arm serves as the fulcrum around which the right wrist-racket complex pivots. Remember that Leverage = Power = Control!

Right arm supination in the pose and lock is critical for both control and power as it permits storage of supination force during the load.

The high wrist and racket head create the opportunity to use gravity, rather than muscular tension, to motivate the racket during the lock phase. Use of gravity is a common practice in tennis strokes; used to good effect in slice groundstrokes, the topspin forehand, and the serve. It is particularly important in the 2HBH because of a tendency to get tight with the stroke owing to its compact, violent nature. The stroke follows the same physics as any other stroke in that the arms and shoulders must be relaxed at the end of the lock phase when the power wave hits and draws the racket into the load. If the muscles are tight going into the load, stretch shortening fails and there is no control and suboptimal spin.

The reach-back that occurs in the pose phase of the 2HBH is unique. The purpose, I believe, is to involve the deep shoulder joint of the hitting arm in the stroke. The purpose is to add to the raw power of the stroke which, as I have said, is at best less than awesome. By pulling the deep shoulder muscles back, you have the opportunity to enlist them in the massive acceleration effort that comes during the load phase.

Finally there is the stance. The importance of the stance is way beyond critical. When I hear people whining about how difficult it is to hit a 2HBH down the line or inside out, I want to scream at them; "Just turn your body in the direction you want the ball to go!" Reorienting the body is a foreign concept to a lot of players who are accustomed to steering the ball by mistiming the strike. Some argue that "If I have to tun my whole body and orient my feet in the direction I intend to hit the ball, won't I telegraph my intentions to my opponent?" I like to remind those people, "You don't play anyone with that capability." Varying your stance with your intent is particularly important in the two-hander. Because the shoulders are bound together, there is a minimal arc over which you can develop usable power. Power is required for pace and control (see Powerlessness Syndrome). If you try to hit down the line with a closed stance, you will be lucky if your ball clears the net.

Never force the racket head into the starting load position!

The Lock

From the pose, to complete the lock you reverse-rotate the hips slightly and drop the racket down under gravity completely relaxing all of the muscles. If you do not relax the muscles, there will be no beneficial storage of control and spin forces during the load. The hips reverse-rotate just slightly, and the rear foot sets itself into the court getting ready to push off into the load. At this point, the racket is pointing straight back towards the fence. The dominant forearm falls into pronation, and the non-dominant hand into supination and both wrists begin to ulnar-flex. When the power wave hits, these rotations will be increased, winding up the forearm muscles.

One subtle but important point about the relationship between the lock and load that applies to all strokes but is key hitting the two-handed backhand with pace. You will note that during the transition from the peace and relaxation of the lock to the fury and violence of the load, the wrists break a bit and the racket wraps around the left hip. The racket head also dips, and the pronation present as the racket falls through the lock disappears. If you intentionally put the racket in this position, the entire stroke will fail. The express purpose of the lock is to prepare the forearm, wrists and racket head for the arrival of the power wave that fuels the load. As the load hits, the inertia of the racket head results in a deformity of the relationship between the wrists and racket that "winds-up" the forearm muscles, stretch-shortening them in just the right way to deliver control and spin impulse at the moment of contact. If you intentionally direct your racket into this deformed position, there will be no wind-up during the load. In the forehand, this fault can be fairly subtle, since, as a long stroke, most of the pace of the forehand is in the form of racket head speed generated during the lag phase. The two-hander is a short stroke, so the stored control forces also provide a significant portion of the pace of the stroke. Therefore, if you anticipate the early load position in the lock in the two-handed backhand, you will note a distinct loss of power. Never force the racket head into the starting load position!

The Load

The load is the focal point of the two-handed backhand. As in all other strokes, the purpose of the load is to convert the power wave into stretch-shortening stored force in the shoulders, arms, and forearms. As with the one-handed backhand, the stored force carries control and spin to the ball, but because there are two hands on the racket, the force contributes significantly to pace. This additional power source is helpful in a stroke with no lag phase. The load begins the acceleration of the racket, and it is the inertia of the racket head resisting that acceleration that contorts the forearm muscles into their stretch-shortened state. The shoulder muscles, including the deep shoulder, adds to the normal power wave - dragging the racket forward with the deep shoulder while pronating and radial flexing the non-dominant (left) arm and supinating and radial flexing the dominant (right) arm. This power boost must end immediately before the moment of contact if the stored forces are to be released and the forearm muscles must remain relaxed throughout the load phase so they can store and later deliver control and spin forces.

What makes the 2HBH unique among the strokes is, of course, that there are two hands on the racket during the load. That means there are twice as many muscles to "wind-up." You must use twice the force and therefore twice the acceleration to initially stretch-shorten the muscles and then hold that force in place until you can release it in the explode phase. Creating that much acceleration is challenging. Maintaining it for any length of time is impossible. The lag phase must be brief or nonexistent; otherwise, the force will all be dissipated before the racket head ever reaches the ball.

Instead of a short load phase followed by a long lag, the 2HBH has a slightly extended and violent load phase followed by an immediate explosion into the ball. The consequences of this difference are many, and I have outlined them above. The most important issue is how you think about the stroke. The racket is not a smooth, balletic rapier cut like the one-handed topspin backhand; it is a savage, brutal battle-ax swing. If you try to "stroke" or guide the ball you will fail. The violence of the 2HBH is the ultimate source of its superior ball control. There is so much stored force in those two arms that the ball can hardly resist bending to your will. Pace is a little harder to come by with the 2HBH. It requires excellent timing and superb preparation, but the combined force stored in both arms is formidable as is the leverage through which you apply those forces.

2HBH Power
1. stance(feet)
2. counter-kick(legs)
3. counter-rotation(shoulders)
4. pull(deep shoulders)
5. shoulder roll(spine, hips, deep shoulders)

Power Sources

The 2HBH has an extraordinary hunger for raw power. Most of this power will be used to grab control of the ball; the rest will reveal itself as pace. If the power is insufficient, you get neither power nor control. The earliest and principal source of power is a rotation of the hips which requires excellent, dynamic balance, a fully loaded back foot during the unit turn and a stance appropriate to the direction you intend to send the ball. Next is pulling into the ball with the deep shoulder joints. That requires preparation in the lock phase -pulling the racket way back with the left arm, right arm straight and tight across the chest with a relaxed right shoulder. This action pulls the right scapula around in front of the body. Next is counter-rotation of the wrists powered by rotation of the (superficial) shoulder joints. Counter-rotation is an effective way to add power to the power wave but the shoulders need to stop rotating just before the moment of contact, during the explode phase, or you risk misdirecting the ball.

Finally, but importantly, there is a subtle rolling motion of the shoulder. You prepare for it in the lock phase with a dropping of the forward shoulder that makes you look and feel like you are "leaning into the shot". During the load, the forward shoulder begins below the level of the rear shoulder. As the load progresses, the shoulders level out. This rotation is a small but quick and powerful movement that contributes to the amplitude of the power wave enhancing both power and control (kudos to Bill Demars, Pro at Schuyler Meadows, Loudonville NY for this tip). While useful, this move can be dangerous if you try using your thoracic spine muscles to produce it. One should never use the intrinsic muscles of the spine unless one happens to look fabulous in a back brace.

All of these sources of power are additive, and each one increases the amplitude of the power wave. They are not simultaneous, but you must complete all of them between the pose and the strike.

Explode

This is the easiest part of the 2HBH. The Explosion is triggered automagically at the end of the load-lag phase by the ebbing of the power wave. This decreases acceleration, "lightens" the racket head and releases the stored control and spin forces. As long as you don't try to prolong the acceleration through the moment of contact (see Hot Shoulder Syndrome) everything should play out as it should. Basically you should just relax and let the racket do the work.

Follow Through

As in all strokes, the follow through is merely a read-back of events that occurred during the stroke. In the end, your racket should be wrapped around your neck. However, the route that the hands and racket take to get there is of paramount importance. If the racket beelines to that point, your two-hander will be plagued with miss-hits, decreased power and lofty floaters. From the point of contact, the racket should first wrap itself around the right (or dominant) upper arm. In other words, the stroke angle of attack is only slightly low-to-high, much like the topspin forehand and for the same reason. Orienting your swing along the path of the incoming ball permits more solid contact, better pace and easier handling of high-speed incoming balls. Much of the topspin generated by the two-hander comes from stored rotational force and rotational impulse