Andy Murray shares the ‘most important thing’ to do to have the ‘perfect’ backhand.

Andy Murray boasts one of the best backhands in recent memory, as a shot that almost epitomised the Scotsman.

A versatile option that often bailed him out during his prime years, he was capable of both standing and driving a two-handed backhand past opponents, or slicing them into submission with clever tactical play.

Were it not for the generation he was born in, this backhand would surely have fired him to many more Grand Slam titles than the three he managed.

Nevertheless, he is still a revered figure amongst the tennis community and remains hugely relevant, having only retired last year.

With that recency in mind, it’s worth remembering when he offered amateur players some crucial tips to perfect their backhand, given during his prime years.

Andy Murray offers three tips to get the ‘perfect’ backhand
Speaking in 2015, just the year before he would win his third and final Grand Slam title in what many consider to be his greatest-ever year on tour, Andy Murray appeared on the LTA’s YouTube channel to offer a backhand masterclass to fans.

He began by offering a crucial first of three steps, noting: “The most important thing is to use your legs. Don’t stand too upright. You want to get down nice and low, bend your knees. Very important.”

Murray continued: “Secondly, you’ve got to turn your shoulders. If you stand too straight on to the court, you’ll end up just using your wrists, and you’ll find that the ball will shoot off the side

“So you need to make sure you turn your shoulders so that you can really stay balanced and get good power behind the ball.”

His final piece of advice, whilst perhaps tougher for casual player to mimic, proved why he boasted such an effective backhand: “And the third one, this is maybe a little bit more advanced, but you want to use the slice backhand as well to have some variety in your shots, and that’s something that takes time to practice, but it’s very important to have variety on the backhand.

“All of the best players in the world do it. Roger Federer is a perfect example of that. One of the best players of all time, so I’d say work on the variety as well.”

Seven years earlier, Novak Djokovic offered some serving tips to fans as well, as the top players sought to help average players improve their games.

What have other elite players said about Andy Murray’s backhand?
If fans are unsure about whether to take advice from Murray on improving the backhand, perhaps they might need some convincing.

Fortunately, many elite players, both past and present, have lauded that wing for its solidity, strength and penetration.

Novak Djokovic was one such admirer, who told Sky Sports back in 2020: “Consistency, the same things that you said but the fact that you don’t miss much and you make the life of your opponent very difficult because I feel when I played against you I just couldn’t penetrate through that side.”

Andre Agassi, 11 years earlier, went a step further: “Andy Murray has one of the greatest backhands the game has seen.”