Badminton Backhand: The Technique to Stop Being Dominated on Your Backhand Side

The backhand in badminton is the number one weakness for amateur players, and it shows as soon as an opponent spots it: they send everything to your backhand side and watch you struggle. The problem is almost never a lack of strength. It's a misplaced grip, a forearm that doesn't rotate correctly, and an impact point taken too late, behind the body. The good news is that the backhand is a mechanical movement: once the grip and rotation are understood, it unlocks quickly. This guide gives you the exact grip, the motor movement, the difference between high backhand and low backhand, and exercises to stop avoiding your left side (for a right-handed player).

The essentials:

• The backhand is played with the backhand grip (thumb grip): the thumb flat on the wide side of the handle, not the forehand grip that you twist at the last moment.
• Power comes from forearm rotation (supination), not from the arm or shoulder. Relaxed hand, then the thumb pushes at contact.
• There are two backhands to work on separately: the high backhand (clear, overhead drop) and the low backhand (defense, net, drive).
• The backhand clear is one of the hardest shots in badminton: as long as it's not reliable, go around it with a forehand when you have time.
• The impact point is taken in front and early: a backhand taken behind the body is already dead.

Why the backhand in badminton makes so many amateurs struggle

The backhand in badminton combines three difficulties at once, which explains why it remains the hole in the racket for most club players. The first is mechanical: on the backhand side, your body is closed. You can neither wind up broadly nor transfer your weight like on a forehand. Power can only come from one place, forearm rotation — precisely the movement that no one works on.

The second difficulty is behavioral. In free play, you naturally avoid your backhand: you go around it, you shift, you improvise. You then accumulate thousands of forehand shots and almost no clean backhands. The movement never settles: the more you avoid it, the weaker it remains. This is one of the fundamental errors in our inventory of classic beginner mistakes.

The third difficulty is placement. A struggling backhand is often a failed movement: you arrive late in the corner, the shuttlecock already behind you, and all you have left is a survival shot. Many “bad backhands” are actually bad footwork. Working on your badminton footwork to get under the shuttlecock early solves half the problem before even talking about arm technique. To place the backhand within the overall range of shots, the Badminton Wikipedia page provides a useful overview of the shot repertoire.

The backhand grip: thumb flat on the wide side

Everything starts with the grip, and that's where most missed backhands happen. The backhand grip, or thumb grip, differs from the forehand grip in one thing: the thumb is placed flat on the wide side of the handle, the one that is broad and flat. The thumb becomes a piston. It's what will push the racket and give it rigidity at the moment of impact.

Start from your universal grip (the hammer grip for all your forehands) and rotate the racket a quarter turn, until you feel your thumb settle flat on the wide side. The hand remains flexible: you don't squeeze, you place. If you want to review the basic mechanics of a handle and grip, the guide on racket grip explains why a slipping handle prevents you from making this change properly.

The most common mistake, by far: keeping the forehand grip and compensating by twisting the arm and shoulder. The movement then starts from the elbow, without leverage, without rotation, and the shuttlecock dies mid-court. As long as the thumb is not positioned, no power work will be effective. Change the grip first, power comes after.

How to feel the right grip change

Do the exercise without a shuttlecock, stationary: switch from forehand grip to backhand grip ten times in a row, without looking at your hand. You should feel your thumb leave the side of the handle to press flat against the wide side. Once the change happens automatically, you can chain it under pressure. This repositioning reflex is at the heart of the fundamentals of overhead hitting.

Forearm rotation, the true engine of the backhand

Once the grip is in place, power comes from a single movement: supination, which is the outward rotation of the forearm. It's the mirror mechanism of pronation that makes your forehand snap — same logic, opposite direction. The arm and shoulder position the racket; it's the forearm that accelerates it in the last tenth of a second.

The elbow points towards the target, the hand is relaxed, the racket head hangs slightly downwards. At contact, the thumb pushes and the forearm rotates with a sharp snap, as if you wanted to show the back of your hand to your opponent. The racket head whips and the shuttlecock flies. If you finish the movement with a frozen racket without your hand having rotated, you haven't supinatied: you pushed with your arm, and that always tops out.

The point of contact is the other half of the equation. It's taken in front of the body and high, never behind the head. A backhand taken late, when the shuttlecock has already passed over your shoulder, has no possible trajectory. This requirement for early and front contact applies to all shots; we detail it in the guide on badminton hitting technique. Remember this above all: relaxed hand, then forearm explosion at the last moment. Constant tension is the enemy of the backhand.

High backhand and low backhand: two movements not to be confused

We talk about “backhand” as a single shot, but there are two, as different as a smash and a defense. Confusing them in training means working halfway. The grip is the same (thumb on the side); it's the height of contact and body orientation that change everything.

The high backhand is played above the shoulder, often with your back to the net: these are the backhand clear, backhand drop, and overhead counter. This is the most difficult register, because you hit behind your axis, without fully seeing the target, with only the forearm as the engine. The low backhand is played below the shoulder, facing the game: defense against a smash, net shot, drive, and backhand lob. This is the most frequent register in a real match, the one you play dozens of times per set without thinking about it.

Many players focus on the spectacular backhand clear and neglect the low backhand, which nevertheless decides far more points. Work on both separately, with distinct instructions. The course on high and low hand maneuverability is precisely designed to alternate these two registers and teach you to switch from one to the other without losing your grip.

The backhand clear, or when to go around with a forehand

The backhand clear is one of the most demanding movements in badminton, and it's normal to struggle with it for a long time. You are with your back to the net, the shuttlecock is behind you, and you have to send it back to the opponent's baseline with only the supination of your forearm as a resource. The elbow rises and points towards the shuttlecock, the hand is relaxed, then the forearm rotates with a sharp snap at contact, taken as high and as far in front as possible. The finish is brief: it's a snap, not a push.

But the real tactical question is not “how” but “when.” If you have the time and footwork to get behind the shuttlecock, going around with a forehand — the round-the-head shot — is almost always superior: more powerful, more offensive, it leaves you the possibility to smash instead of just clearing. The high backhand should remain your emergency shot, the one you use when you're caught off guard and there's no time to go around. Deciding quickly between the two relies entirely on your footwork: arriving early means being able to choose the forehand; arriving late means having to play the backhand.

To improve depth, the high and deep clear course provides a trajectory evaluation grid usable for both backhand and forehand. And if you want to see a reference backhand clear, capable of reaching the back without apparent effort, watch Viktor Axelsen's matches: his backhand from the back of the court is a case study of well-executed supination.

Defense and net: the badminton backhand you play the most

The most decisive badminton backhand is not the spectacular clear, it's the everyday low backhand: defense against a smash and net play. These are the movements that hold your points, and they rely on the same thumb-on-side grip, in a compact and fast version.

In defense, when the smash comes to your backhand side, you don't have time to wind up. With the backhand grip already in place, the thumb provides rigidity: a simple block sends the shuttlecock to the net, a firmer push turns it into a lob or a counter-drive. Keep your hand relaxed while waiting, to tighten only at impact. This work of blocking, lobbing, and driving is exactly what the block, lob, and drive defense course targets.

At the net, the low backhand is used to return a shuttlecock on the left side: backhand net shot, push, or clearing lob. Touch takes precedence over power — the same subtle logic as in the drop shot guide. And since the backhand grip hides the intention well, the backhand net shot lends itself very well to feint and deception: same preparation for an aggressive push or a soft net shot, and the opponent goes the wrong way.

Classic mistakes and exercises to unlock your backhand

Five mistakes repeatedly occur on the backhand, and you can diagnose them yourself. One: keeping the forehand grip and twisting the arm — the movement starts from the elbow, without leverage. Two: taking the shuttlecock behind the body instead of in front. Three: a constantly tense wrist and arm, which kill forearm rotation. Four: forcing with the shoulder instead of letting the forearm do the work. Five: systematically avoiding by going around, even when the shuttlecock is unplayable with a forehand, which puts you late for the next shot.

To correct, proceed in stages, from simplest to most complex:

• Dry grip change. Switch forehand ↔ backhand ten times without looking, until the thumb settles automatically on the side.
• Low backhand multi-shuttle. A partner feeds shuttlecocks to your backhand side; you chain defenses and returns, relaxed hand, pushing thumb. Aim for consistency first, not power.
• Stationary high backhand multi-shuttle. High shuttlecocks on the backhand side, you work on the clear focusing on front contact and the forearm snap. Add movement only when the stationary movement is clean.
• Backhand-to-backhand rallies. Two players, driving or defending, without letting the shuttlecock drop for 30 seconds.

And most importantly, film yourself. Place your phone behind you and check two specific things: is your thumb visible flat on the side of the handle, and is the impact point in front of your body or behind? These two visual cues are better than any sensation, because during intense effort you don't feel that your contact is late. Transform every vague feeling (“my backhand is terrible”) into concrete observation (“out of ten clears, eight contacts are behind the head”): this is the only way to know what to correct.

Frequently Asked Questions

What grip to use for the backhand in badminton?

The backhand grip, or thumb grip: from your universal grip, rotate the racket a quarter turn to place your thumb flat on the wide side of the handle, the one that is broad. The thumb acts as a piston and provides rigidity at contact. Keeping the forehand grip and twisting the arm is the most common mistake and the cause of most powerless backhands.

Why does my backhand clear never reach the back?

Almost always for two combined reasons: contact is taken too late (behind the head instead of in front and high), and the forearm does not rotate. Backhand power comes from supination, that forearm snap at the last moment, not from arm strength. Film your shot: if your hand hasn't rotated at the end, that's where it's blocked.

Is it better to go around with a forehand than to play the backhand?

When you have time to get behind the shuttlecock, yes: going around (round-the-head shot) is more powerful and leaves you the option of a smash. The high backhand remains your emergency shot, when you're caught off guard and there's no time to go around. Everything depends on footwork: the earlier you arrive, the more you can choose the forehand.

Is the backhand played with the wrist or the forearm?

With the forearm. The motor movement is supination, the outward rotation of the forearm. The wrist accompanies and stabilizes, but does not generate speed. We often mistakenly talk about a “wrist shot”: power comes from forearm rotation, hand relaxed then explosive at contact.

How to improve your backhand quickly?

In order: first the grip (thumb on the side, dry, until automatic), then low backhand multi-shuttle for defense and net, then high backhand multi-shuttle for the clear. And film each series to check grip and impact point. Since the backhand is a mechanical movement, it unlocks quickly once the grip and rotation are in place.

If you want to know where your backhand really stands without waiting for a coach's opinion, analyze a video of your game on BadmintonPeak: the AI identifies your grip, impact point, and forearm rotation, and tells you precisely which error occurs most often on the backhand side. You can also create a free account to compare your movement before and after correction.