Set Up for Topspin
In the preparation phase you had the head of the racquet up high.
Now it's time to bring the racquet head down below the ball in order to drive it upwards and through the ball to impart some topspin for control and some zip through the court on the other side.
Advance Towards the Ball and Into the Court
Towards the end of the preparation phase you should have transferred your weight onto the rear foot.
It's now time to transfer your weight forward into the ball and into the court. The success of your shot will largely come down to how well you transition from the small approach steps to setting up for the ball and finally into the motion of stepping forward and hitting through the shot.
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If you do this too soon, you'll lose the momentum of the footwork and the potential of using the ground forces available, too late and you get rushed into the shot.
Never Drop Your Shoulder
All good players are able to uncoil, rotate, separate the upper body from the lower body, the trunk from the shoulders, extend the racquet right through the ball into the follow through and still keep the shoulders in a straight line and the head still.
Doing this well keeps the racquet on course to swing right through the ball. Failure to do this will cause the racquet to vary its path and will lead to mishits and errors.
Develop the Pose
The final component is to maintain proper balance throughout the entire shot. If you're playing a shot and are not balanced that's an indication something is wrong.
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Even if you're under pressure and at full stretch, the more balanced you are the better your shot will be.
You should be able to play your backhand and finish as though you were posing for a photo. The ability to do this will tell you whether you have put all the pieces together beforehand or not.
When played well it's a shot that can be a real weapon in your game so have a good look at how well you execute each one of the eight and see how quickly you can improve.
More: How to Reduce Unforced Errors
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