(By Larry Hodges)

Want to tie your opponent in knots – not to mention win a lot of points? Aim your backhand crosscourt. At the last instant, just before contact, let the racket fall behind (bringing it back with wrist and forearm), then continue your normal backhand forward stroke. Your racket will now be aimed to the opponent’s forehand (against a righty) – but your opponent will likely have already reacted to a crosscourt backhand. This is especially good when blocking loops. Watch how often you ace your opponents or force them to make last second lunges! (You can also do the reverse of this, and aim your backhand down the line – and at the last second, aim it crosscourt. But that’s trickier as instead of just pulling your racket back, you actually have to accelerate your forward swing to get the racket to aim crosscourt.)

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