The Slice: Tennis technique, drills and fixes

The slice puts backspin on the ball so it travels slower and stays low after the bounce, which makes it useful for defending, approaching the net and changing the pace of a rally. You make it with a Continental grip, a slightly open racket face and a swing that comes only gently down into the ball while moving mostly forward, not a steep chop. The numbers here come from studies of one-handed backhand slices; the same ideas apply to a forehand slice. A phone at 120+ fps can follow your hand's path, your shoulder turn and your extension, but not the racket face, the ball or the spin.

Grip, turn, racket up

Use a Continental grip (the hammer grip, index base knuckle on bevel 2). It's the grip most often recommended for the backspin backhand. Some good players slice from an Eastern backhand grip, but start with the Continental.

the same grip you'd use to hammer a nail.

Turn early with your free hand on the throat of the racket. Rotate your shoulders well past side-on so your hitting arm wraps across your body. Tested players turned about 40 degrees past side-on, the same as on a topspin backhand.

coiled, back partly toward the net.

Set the racket head above shoulder height with the face slightly open (tilted back a little toward the sky). This high start is what lets the swing come gently down into the ball.

racket up and back, strings angled slightly up.

Step toward the ball with your front foot and move your weight forward. In tested players the trunk leaned toward the net at contact with the weight mostly on the front leg.

weight flowing onto the front foot.

Swing gently down and through

Swing forward with only a slight downward angle. In high-performance players the racket came down at about 25 degrees into hip-height balls and about 15 degrees into shoulder-height balls. That's mostly forward. Think of hitting through the ball, not chopping down on it.

a long, flat-ish carve through the ball.

Keep the face only slightly open at contact, roughly vertical to about 10 degrees tilted back. A downward swing with a vertical face tends to put the ball in the net; too open and it floats high.

the strings meeting the back of the ball, angled just a touch up.

Meet the ball just in front of your front foot, a little closer to your body than a topspin backhand. Tested players made contact about 12 cm in front of the front ankle (topspin backhands: about 20 cm).

contact beside the front foot, not out at arm's length.

Keep the arm nearly straight but not locked at contact. Elbows measured about 170 degrees and stayed steady through impact. A fully locked elbow may put extra stress on the elbow.

a long arm with a little give, not a stiff rod.

Adjust to the ball's height. For a low ball, bend your front knee (about 155 degrees in tested players) so the racket can travel down into it. For a shoulder-high ball, stand taller (front knee nearly straight), keep your shoulders turned a little further and flatten the swing.

low ball: sit into the front knee. High ball: tall and level.

Stay sideways and extend

Keep your shoulders sideways through contact. On hip-height balls the shoulders were side-on to the net at contact, and on high balls still about 20 degrees turned past side-on. They stayed there just after contact instead of opening up.

chest still facing the side fence as the ball leaves.

Extend out toward your target and finish in front of you and to the side. Keep the elbow steady as you follow through, and let your free arm go back the other way for balance.

arms spread, racket out toward the target.

Feel it

A good slice feels like a long, controlled push through the ball, not a hack downward. The racket starts high, comes in only slightly downhill and keeps travelling forward, while your shoulders stay sideways and your weight is on your front foot. The ball should skim low over the net and skid after the bounce. If it pops up, your face is too open; if it sits up after the bounce, your swing is too steep. Honest note: the app follows your hand, shoulders and legs. It doesn't see the racket face, the backspin or where the ball lands.

Fix-its

The ball goes into the net You're chopping steeply down with a face that's too vertical. Flatten the swing so it moves mostly forward (high to level) and keep the face slightly open.
The ball floats high or long The face is too open. Close it a little, toward vertical, and keep driving forward.
The ball sits up after the bounce instead of skidding Your swing path is too steep. Start high but bring the racket in on a shallower line.
Your shoulders open early Keep your chest facing the side fence through contact and let the arm swing past your body. The shoulders turn toward the net only after the ball has gone.
Contact is late or cramped Turn earlier and step in so you meet the ball just in front of your front foot, with the arm nearly straight.

Drill

Net slide (USTA): stand beside the net, start with the racket above the tape and slide it along the net, finishing in front of you and to the side. This grooves a high-to-level path instead of a chop.
Shadow swings: set up with the racket above shoulder height, face slightly open, then swing gently down and through while keeping your shoulders sideways. Stop if your elbow snaps fully straight.
Hip-height feeds: have a partner drop-feed or toss balls at hip height. Aim to skim the net and get a low, skidding bounce.
Height ladder: alternate hip-height and shoulder-height feeds. Bend the front knee for the low ones; stand taller and swing flatter for the high ones.
Film side-on at 120+ fps: check that your hand path comes in only gently downhill and keeps going forward, and that your shoulders stay sideways at contact. If you play a two-handed backhand, learn this one-handed slice early; a research review recommends it.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-26.