One Hander - Pulling

With these pulling motions on modern groundstrokes, the racket trails the hand all the way to contact. This is how you pull the racket into the ball.

Watch how this player pulls the arm and racket forward. When her hitting hand is by her hip, the butt cap of the racket points straight at the net. Then she continues to pull the arm and racket towards the ball. Right before impact the racket still trails the hand. She is literally pulling the racket and arm into contact.

Besides the wonderful pull into contact, note two other key pieces of this beautiful one hander. In the first frame, watch how her chin overlooks her hitting shoulder. This is a reference point you must hit on every backhand. Second - note how straight her arm is in this first frame. She will really lock in the straight arm in the next few frames before pulling forward. The straight arm serves as a long lever that will be pulled into contact.

   
Pulling the arm and racket to the ball.