Transcription
The modern pickleball drive. One of the most sought-after and popular shots in all of pickleball right now. We see players like Wang Yung, you know him as Kang Dwang, Zayn Ford, and even Yame Martinez Vic, use an extreme grip as they're ripping through their drives in order to create more spin and get away with more power.
In this video, I'm going to be breaking down everything from the grip to the technique, as well as a few winning tactics that you can instantly implement on the court to make hitting this shot extremely easy. So, stick around.
By the way, I'm Coach Austin Hardy. I'm a 5.5 rated player and a PPR certified coach. And before we get into the technique, comment below what side you prefer. Do you prefer the backhand or the forehand? Just comment with one word, either FH for forehand or BH for backhand. And if you want access to hundreds of different drills to help you improve the consistency of your drives, drops, resets, volleys, and much more, you can go to pickrdillsapp.com and try the Pickleball drills app for free.
Let's open the playbook. So, we're going to start by breaking down the grip for both the forehand and the backhand side. So, start by putting your paddle on its edge like this. As you can see, it has eight different sides. These are each called bevels, and it makes this stop sign shape. We have bevel number 1, 2, 3, 4, so on and so forth all the way to eight.
The modern pickleball forehand typically either has an eastern forehand grip or a semi-western forehand grip. Semi-western is on this fourth bevel. Eastern forehand is on this third bevel. You're going to be aligning your index knuckle, the inside of it, and the bottom corner of your palm on whatever bevel correlates to the grip that you want.
Now, the more difficult of the two is going to be that semi-western grip because you're going way further around your paddle with your hand, but it's also going to create more spin. So, this is what we see players use like Kuang Dwang and Zay Ford, and that looks something like this. So, our paddle face greatly favors that forehand side and it's pointed down towards the ground.
Now, eastern forehand is more typical for players like Yame Martinez Vic, Jack Sock, and Ben Johns. They're not getting as much spin, and with that, they have a much more simplified stroke. So, try both of those grips on the forehand side. See which one works for you. What you'll find is the very first time that you use that semi-western grip, you're going to hit your ball directly into the ground. So, it's really important to aim higher with that semi-western grip. And you might even find that by holding that eastern forehand grip as well. So, all it comes down to is aiming a little bit higher with your brain.
For the backhand side, what you're going to be doing is using an eastern forehand grip with your non-dominant hand. So, you're going to that third bevel with the non-dominant. And then I use an eastern full time for my forehand side. So, I'm holding eastern and eastern. I don't suggest semi-western and eastern. You're going to want to shift that hand. Just simply loosen up three fingers, pull over, and come to that eastern forehand position in order to hit this backhand. Otherwise, your paddle face is going to be open as you're making contact with the ball. Again, this is another reason that eastern forehand grip is so much simpler and easier because you don't actually have to switch that grip as you're hitting a backhand.
So, notice how bevel number three for my non-dominant side goes in the opposite direction. It's truly bevel number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. But just to keep it simple, bevel number one, two, three to that non-dominant side. That's what you're going to be holding. Notice I have a trigger finger up here on my paddle face. That's going to help with stability. It's also going to help me know where my paddle is at in space.
Okay, now we're going to break down the mechanics of this shot on both the forehand and the backhand side. And the mechanics are slightly different depending on what grip you are holding. And something to remember is that you can have a super aggressive drive, but it's not going to go in unless you have the correct form and technique as you're making contact. So, let's break it down.
The very first thing to talk about is our feet. We want to keep an open stance towards the net. So, since the net is in this direction, I'm keeping my feet relatively open in that direction as I make contact with this ball. The reason that you want to stay open in pickleball is because you're so much closer to your opponents, especially as you move towards the net. So, staying open towards them is a huge advantage for getting from that forehand to that backhand side. Whereas if you have your feet closed like this, it's going to be much more difficult to get to that backhand side on time. That's why we see the vast majority of pros hitting with an open stance. And what we're starting to see is that they're hitting with an open stance even on the backhand.
So, first and foremost, open stance. Notice my dominant leg is slightly further back than my non-dominant leg. And the reason for that is going to help me to get rotation as I make contact through the ball. I can step in, put all that weight on my dominant leg as I swing forward into the court.
The next thing to talk about is our load-up. What we're going to be doing is holding on to the throat of our paddle with our non-dominant hand and pointing our paddle face towards where you are right now. What this does is it sets me up for success in two ways. First of all, with my paddle face facing towards the side fence, as soon as I come down, now my paddle face is down. Whereas, if I don't point it towards the side fence and I come down, now my paddle face is down on the edge instead of on the flat soft surface where we're going to be creating spin. If I go down on the edge, I'm losing out already on a ton of power.
The second thing is as I bring it over with that non-dominant hand, I'm closing my shoulder towards the court. This is helping me to coil, build up a ton of energy so that I can release it through my hand. I'll be able to create way more spin and way more power from doing this. So, I'm here in this position. I come down, pet the dog. I like to act like there's a medium-sized dog that I'm petting. I'm not petting it with the edge of my paddle. I'm petting it with the flat surface of my paddle. And then I'm pulling outwards and upwards. And all that upwards motion is is a windshield wiper. All that it is is me waving hello. And then I'm going to finish by pointing my elbow towards where I want to go. If I turn towards you, if I wanted to hit to you, my elbow would be pointing towards you. So, I make contact with the ball and I'm pointing towards where I want to go. So, that's all the motion is. We're turning with both hands on the paddle. Then, we're coming down, out, and up. And I'm stepping into the court as I make contact, finishing by pointing that elbow towards where I want to go.
And then, one of the most important things is making sure that you're keeping control in your feet. You don't want to be stepping forward as you're making contact with the ball. Instead, we're staying low, keeping a low base, and we're very quickly uncoiling our body as we step both feet, just like that. So, all that it is is a little tiny step. This is called a mogul step. I'm going in a forward direction, but my feet are staying in the same exact position that they started. It's really important to make sure that that right leg stays back in order to have control on your shot. If instead you bring it forward through contact, you're not going to have any base. Your base is going to just get thrown out the window. So, we have to keep that base nice and steady. And so, the way that you're going to do that is you're just going to simply hop with both feet. A really tiny hop in the sideways direction and also forward. So, I'm here and it's just a simple hop here. Hop. Notice I'm not bringing my back leg forward. So, I'm here, down, out, up, finish with that elbow.
Now, like I mentioned, it's a slightly different stroke depending on what grip you're using. If you're using the eastern forehand grip, your arm is going to be straight through contact. I don't mean rigidly straight, but relatively straight. You're still relaxed, but it's going to be straight through contact. So, I'm here and it's straight through contact.
If you're using the semi-western grip, it's going to be bent through contact. So, this would be a 45° angle. It's going to be further open than that, just slightly as we make contact with the ball. Notice the difference here. Eastern grip, I'm here. Semi-western grip, I'm here. And the reason that you have to bend is it's the only way that you can get under the ball and not just hit it directly down into the ground. So, you're bending your arm at contact with that semi-western, and you're really ripping up the backside of that ball like how we see players like Kuang Dwang and Zayn Ford do all the time. But remember that it's bent if you're using that semi-western. Like so. We're still finishing with that elbow pointing towards where I want to go. And it's not bent if I'm using eastern.
Okay. Up next is the backhand side. And it's very similar to the forehand side. Again, remember we're holding an eastern forehand grip. So, first and foremost is our legs. If you're hitting with an open stance, it's the same exact thing that we talked about on that forehand side.
If you're hitting with a closed stance, it looks more like this. And I'm pointing my front toe towards the net post. Specifically, it's going to be the net post on my non-dominant side. What this pointing of my toe does is it helps me to be able to rotate through the motion. If instead I don't point my toe, I'm not going to be able to rotate as far. As you can see, I'm kind of stuck in this position. So, being able to rotate is going to be absolutely pivotal to releasing all that power from the ground up.
So, once we get to that position, we first step out in front of us. The next thing that we're doing is we're pointing our paddle face towards that side fence. So, I step and the first thing that I'm doing is I'm coiling that shoulder in. I'm pointing my front shoulder towards the net. I'm completely closing my body towards the net and my paddle face is now pointed towards the side fence. In this position, the next thing I'm going to do is come down and pet the dog and then I go outwards and windshield wipe upwards. And again, it's the same exact thing where I finish by pointing my elbow towards where I want to go.
Now, people really struggle on the backhand side mostly because they've prioritized the forehand side their entire life. So, it always feels way more awkward. But when we think about a backhand, all that it really is is a non-dominant forehand drive, and we just simply add that other arm on for stability and a little bit of added power. So, I'm here pointed towards the side fence, down, out, and up. And I'm just simply brushing up where that ball is. Now, notice that I am uncoiling. So, I close that shoulder and then I'm uncoiling through the shot. What will really help you to create insane amounts of spin as you make contact with this ball like players like Juan Guang and Zane Ford, Yame Martinez Vic, is actually trying to put your back towards your opponents prior to making contact with the ball. That's something that I have found helps a ton.
So, now specifically with open stance, it's that same exact thing. I now have my non-dominant foot slightly behind my dominant foot. I'm loaded in this direction. And then I'm doing that same exact mogul step. And notice I'm still finishing with that foot behind. Again, for control, I don't want to bring that foot forward into the court. Then I don't have a solid base.
When we're doing a closed stance, all the weight is on our dominant leg. And so because of this, we can lift that non-dominant leg and swing forward towards where we want to go. Whereas with that open stance, all of the weight is on our outside leg as we make contact. So if I have all the weight on my outside leg, it just doesn't even make any sense. I'm not gonna have a solid base at all. So what you'll find is this is comfortable. Make sure that you're not jumping as you make contact. That's going to be very hard for your eyes to focus and be able to hit the sweet spot consistently. Make sure that it's just a slight shift off the ground as you're making contact with the ball. And then finish pointing where you want to go with that elbow.
What I strongly suggest is practicing open stance. You can always start with closed stance. It's much more simple, but I strongly suggest using open stance because of what I talked about before. This is going to take over pickleball because we're so much closer to our opponents than other paddle sports. Our reactions have to be faster. We have to be able to get from that backhand side to the forehand side so much faster. And the only way to do that is if our body is open towards our opponents. So, let me know below what you think about that. If you think that pickleball is going to open stance. Obviously, this is just my opinion, but it would be cool to hear what you think.
Now, that brings us to section number two, where we're going to be talking about specific tips that will instantly help make this shot extremely easy and effective. When we're hitting a modern pickleball forehand and backhand, it's really important that we have specific things that we're focused on throughout each stroke to make it consistent time and time again. And so these three tips, hacks are gonna absolutely blow you away.
Tip number one has to do with our forehand drive. And that is that we want to hold on to the throat of our paddle until the ball bounces. As soon as the ball bounces, we're going to let go of the throat and then swing through our motion. This trains you with one fluid motion so you're not trying to muscle the ball over as you're making contact. It's going to help you to have the correct timing every single time and will help you to keep the ball out in front of you as you make contact. And so I'm running out to hit my forehand. I hold as soon as it bounces, then I make contact with the ball. So, run out with both hands on the paddle, let go as soon as the ball bounces, and then it's just an instant hack to help you have way more consistency and better timing every single time.
Now, this also applies to the backhand side, except for we're never taking off our dominant hand as we make contact, obviously. And so, instead, what I think about is I'm loaded up here and I stay in this position. And once the ball bounces, that's when I continue my motion. And that's when I go down, out, and up. So, I'm in this loaded, coiled position, then I make contact with the ball. As soon as that ball bounces, that's when I start my motion. Down, out, and up.
Tip number two is going to help you swing faster as you make contact with the ball, creating more spin and power. And the best part about it is that it's super easy to implement. So, what that tip is is you want to think about accelerating your hand right as you make contact with the ball. I know for many players out there, they struggle with trying to muscle the ball over. And so, what this does is that acceleration last second, right as you contact the ball helps you to be relaxed prior and then get full power right as you make contact.
And tip number three is hitting with that open stance and making sure that you keep your back leg behind you even after contact. Just having your back leg slightly behind you like how I talked about before will help you to have more control, a more stable base so that you can hit this ball consistently time and time again. So that way when you combine all three of these tips, holding on to the throat of your paddle until the ball bounces, thinking about accelerating your hand right at contact, and lastly keeping that back leg back even after contact as you do that mogul step so that you can ultimately use your entire kinetic chain, bring that power from the ground up as you make contact with the ball.
So that is exactly how you hit the modern forehand and backhand. Remember that the more spin you want, the further that you're going to put that grip over. The more power that you want, the further that you're going to put that grip over this way. And if you want to continue improving your modern pickleball game, you can watch this video right here. It gives you the exact blueprint that you need to play modern pickleball. And trust me, you want to watch it. It's the best resource that I can give you to stay ahead of your competition. I'll see you over there.