Photo Study of the Rafael Nadal Backhand

Many players drop the racquet head below the hands at the low point of the backswing in order to give the racquet head more upward distance to rise before meeting the ball, thus increasing topspin production. In this photo, Rafael might have dropped the racquet head farther than usual because he's about to hit a relatively low ball. Low balls are generally awkward for a two-handed backhand, and many two-handers will go to the one-handed slice once the ball drops below a certain height.