I will offer you the obvious answer – it depends on many different things

If the backhand smash wins lots of points, but occassionally loses you a point, then keep going for it, and good on you!

More seriously though… this sounds like two problems. Note: I am talking about mixed doubles, not level doubles when this is less likely to happen anyway.

Firstly, your partner really should be looking to cut out any sort of cross court drive or shallow lift. Big high lifts are still yours, but anything fast and flat should be theirs. BUT, that means that they cannot cover the entire front court – so any straight block from your opponent needs to be covered by you i.e. a straight backhand smash, followed by a straight block, needs to be covered by you – which is also a tough movement! But it means that you will know where to move and what to cover after you hit your shot, knowing that your partner has all cross court shots covered.

So, I appreciate that I have potentially given you even more problems with that solution, but I personally find that covering the straight drops and blocks is easier for me (one step away) rather than having to sprint across court. If you are uncomfortable with your partner doing the above (or you can’t cover that straight shot), then your only option is to play a shot that does NOT get you out of position. Your job is to control the rally and maintain a good position on the court – I recommend a fast backhand straight drop, or a straight backhand clear, or a backhand drive that lands in the midcourt. Each of these shots helps you maintain good court coverage as a pair – the drop gives you time to recover but keeps the attack, the drive neutralises the opponents attacking opportunities and gives you more time to recover, and the clear gives you plenty of time to get into a defensive formation and continue the rally.

Personally, I would use these shots interchangeably – depending on how I felt.

Of course, you could also try to improve your recovery after your backhand smash, but you will always be at a disadvantage. Remember – to recover properly, all you need to do is turn back to face the net as quickly as possible and THEN move back towards the middle of the court. To do this (as a right hander), after playing your shot backhand (with a lunge on the right leg), then step towards the right leg with the left, and then pivot on the left leg and turn back to face the net – this is a “quicker” recovery than trying to take a big step back towards the middle, but it doesn’t move you back into the court quickly. However, it should help give you sight of the court again, in time to see them whip the shot cross court to your forehand, and hence, whilst you are not in the perfect position on court, you have plenty of time to see the shot coming and move to get it accordingly.

Good luck!