Backspin
Backward rotation on a ball that makes it float, stay low, and check or stop on the bounce.
Definition
Backspin, or underspin, is rotation in which the bottom of the ball turns forward while the top spins back, against the direction of travel. It generates lift that keeps the ball in the air longer and produces a low, skidding bounce; on some surfaces it makes the ball check, stop, or even spin back toward the striker — notably a golf ball biting on a green.
It is produced by an open face moving high-to-low under the ball: the tennis slice, the table-tennis chop, the golf wedge shot. Players use backspin to slow the pace, keep the ball low and hard to attack, and gain stopping power on soft surfaces. It is the opposite of topspin and is the spin most associated with slices and chips.
Where you’ll hear “backspin”
Sports that use this term:
Tennis
A singles or doubles racquet sport that blends agility, strategy and stamina on court.
Golf
A precision target sport played across an outdoor course, blending skill, strategy and a long walk in the open air.
Table Tennis
A fast, low-impact indoor racquet sport that sharpens reflexes and is easy to start.
Padel
A sociable, doubles-first racquet sport played in an enclosed court where the walls stay in play.
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Equipment
- Golf ballA small, firm, dimpled ball struck with a club and played toward the hole on a golf course.
- Golf teeA small peg pushed into the ground to raise the ball for the first shot on a hole.
- The padel ballThe padel ball's own specification — diameter, weight, bounce and internal pressure — and the separate altitude ball the rules provide for above 1,000 metres.
Skills
- PuttingThe skill of rolling the ball along the green so it drops into the hole.
- ChippingThe short lofted shot played from near the green to get the ball rolling toward the hole.
- TacklingThe skill of legally challenging an opponent to win the ball or stop their progress.
- DrivingThe skill of hitting a long tee shot that sets up the rest of the hole from a playable position.
- Aiming and alignmentThe skill of setting the body and the implement so the shot starts on the line you intend.
Techniques
- Chip ShotA compact lofted shot from close to the green that carries a short distance and then rolls to the hole.
- The slice in tennisThe underspin stroke that changes a rally's height and pace — how slice keeps the ball low, when it is defensive and when it is an attack, and what it does on different surfaces.
- Spin in table tennisWhy table tennis is a spin sport before it is a speed sport — how topspin, backspin and sidespin change a ball's flight and its bounce off an opponent's bat.
- The push and the chopTable tennis's backspin strokes — the short push that stops an opponent attacking, the long push that changes the rally, and the chop that defends from distance.
- Bunker ShotThe greenside sand shot where the club enters the sand behind the ball and lifts it out on a cushion of sand.
Tactics
- Phase playHow rugby union teams attack by keeping the ball through successive rucks — what a phase is, why phases move a defence, and the cost that eventually makes a team stop.
- Crosscourt and down the lineThe geometry that makes crosscourt the default tennis shot — the net is lower in the middle and the court is longer on the diagonal — and when down the line is worth its extra risk.
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- Content updated
- 2026-09-01
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