Badminton Backhand Smash: Bevel Grip and Whip Action

Last checked: August 2026 · Written by the player-led team at Badminton House

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When Is a Backhand Smash Actually On?

A backhand smash is realistic only when you take the shuttle earlier than you would for a clear or drop, which needs a quicker turn into the backhand corner. It is a surprise weapon played a few times a match, not a rally staple, and even a clean one rarely wins the point outright.

The trigger is timing, not how deep the shuttle lands. Badminton Insight's breakdown of the three backhand shots is direct about it: the smash "can be used when you are slightly earlier onto the shuttle than for the drop or the clear," and reaching the shuttle that early takes a body rotation that is "a lot quicker" than either of the other two shots need. If you have not turned in time to be early, forcing the smash anyway is the wrong call, not the fix.

Set your expectations honestly. Even a well-drilled backhand smash is, in the same source's words, "a difficult shot," and it is "unlikely you are going to be hitting lots of winners from it." Its job is putting pressure back on your opponent and catching them off guard, a handful of times a match, so treat every attempt as a tactical choice rather than a shot you should be reaching for on instinct.

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The Bevel Grip: Why It Matters for the Smash

The bevel grip moves your thumb off the flat back of the handle and onto the racket's slanted ridge. Starting from a standard backhand grip, turn the racket head until the strings face diagonally; the thumb slides onto that ridge on its own, opening up the forearm rotation a flat thumb position blocks.

Badminton Insight's grip breakdown describes the same move: "start in a backhand grip and move your racket head round so that your strings are now facing diagonally, and your thumb is on the ridge." It names this the grip for backhand rear-court shots generally, clears, drops and smashes alike, which is why the setup for this article's shot is shared ground with a defensive backhand clear even though the intent behind it is not.

The most common grip mistake is not choosing the wrong grip; it is choosing the right one and then squeezing it too early. Set the bevel grip in preparation, hold it loosely, and save the tight grip for the last instant before contact. A hand that clamps down early stiffens the wrist before the swing starts and takes the whip out of the shot before it has a chance to build.

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The Arm Action: Forearm Rotation, Not Arm Strength

Power for this shot comes from a relaxed grip, quick footwork into the corner, and a sharp forearm rotation released right before contact, and arm or shoulder strength barely enters into it. Squeeze the handle only in the final instant and let the forearm whip, rather than a muscled arm swing, drive the shuttle down.

ADIBO's technical guide to the backhand rear court states this as a correction to a common assumption: "the biggest misconception ... is that it requires massive arm strength. In reality, power comes from a relaxed grip, explosive footwork, and a sharp rotation of the forearm." The recommended setup is to "lead with your elbow pointing up toward the shuttle, and right before contact, snap your wrist and squeeze your fingers tightly," which produces a whip-like snap rather than a push. Peer-reviewed research on the related forehand smash backs the same pattern: a 2026 biomechanics study in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology measured peak racket-head speeds above 111 metres per second, generated in a shuttle-racket contact window of roughly 3 milliseconds, driven by fast forearm rotation and wrist stiffening rather than a large shoulder-driven swing.

Two errors account for most failed attempts. The first is an arm-only push: swinging from the shoulder instead of whipping the forearm produces a slow, telegraphed shot that a decent opponent reads and blocks easily. The second is late contact: if you were not early enough onto the shuttle to begin with, forcing a smash usually produces an underpowered, half-paced shot that sits up for the attack. When that happens, choose the clear or drop instead of forcing a harder swing; the last section covers that decision.

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Building the Shot: A Feeding Progression

Learn the backhand smash away from real rallies before you use it in one. Start with rehearsal swings, add a fed, predictable lift to the backhand rear corner, then mix in normal-paced and random feeds only once the grip, elbow position, and timing hold up without conscious thought.

• Stage 1, no shuttle: set the bevel grip, raise the elbow toward an imaginary shuttle, and rehearse the forearm snap. Ten slow reps, then ten at a natural tempo. The only goal is a clean sequence: relaxed hand, elbow up, late whip.
• Stage 2, fed lift: ask a partner for an easy, predictable lift into your backhand rear corner. Turn fully into the corner every time, even on reps you plan to clear, so the preparation never gives the shot away.
• Stage 3, mixed feed: the feeder alternates a backhand-corner lift with a shot elsewhere. Now you have to read the shuttle, decide whether you are early enough to smash, and default to a clear or drop when you are not.
• Stage 4, match reps: use it two or three times in a practice match, only when the timing is genuinely there. Resist the urge to prove you have the shot; a smash that only works on a cooperative feed is not ready for a rally.

Keep the disguise habit from stage 2 all the way through stage 4. Badminton Insight's coaching note on this matters here: "the preparation for all of your backhand shots should be the same," specifically so an opponent cannot see whether a clear, drop or smash is coming until the very last second.

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When to Clear or Drop Instead, and What Happens After

When you are not early enough to smash, the right answer from the backhand corner is a clear or drop, and forcing a smash you have not earned only sets up your opponent's attack. Play a drop when your opponent is not pressuring the front of the court, and a clear when they have pushed forward expecting a drop.

That decision rule comes straight from the same shot-selection logic that governs the smash. A backhand drop is the shot "to neutralise the rally, and not give away the attack," a good choice "when your opponent isn't stepping up and pressurising the front of the court." A backhand clear is the shot to "get yourself out of trouble and reset the rally," and it is the better choice "when you feel your opponent has pushed up to the front of the court, anticipating the drop shot." For the grip, footwork and contact point that make that clear work, our badminton backhand clear technique guide covers the shot you will actually play from this corner far more often than the smash.

Court position after the shot changes too, and it is worth planning on purpose rather than by accident. After a backhand smash specifically, the recommended recovery is a stance "a little higher up the court," anticipating a weak return and ready to pounce on it. That is the opposite instinct from a clear or drop, where you recover to a neutral base and expect the rally to continue. Choose the higher position deliberately when you smash; then sprint back to base immediately if the return is not the weak one you were expecting.