Many in the tennis world admire the one-handed backhand, but it is becoming less of a fixture on the Tour.
In February there were no players in the top 10 of the ATP rankings who hits the ball with a one-handed backhand for the first time since the system was introduced in 1973. There are a few explanations as to why this is the case. Compared to the past, the intensity of playing tennis is far greater and therefore playing a two-handed backhand makes it easier for younger players as it gives them a bigger margin of error when hitting. It is also argued that this technique makes it easier to return fast serves with interest. Finally, more coaches are teaching this technique to children.
However, the shot is still used by the likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Lorenzo Musetti. A player regarded to have one of the best one-handed backhands in history was 24-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer who still believes there is still a place for the technique in modern tennis.
“I guess a lot of it comes from coaching. Two things: It would be great to have world No 1 and world No 2 with the one-hander, which we don’t have right now so that’s not going to inspire the generation of playing with the one-hander,” Sky Sports quoted the Swiss Maestro as saying earlier this week in Berlin.
“Juniors tend to look towards the best players in the world and if you see the double-hander then you think that is the way moving forward even though it might not be and then I just think it’s the coaches around the world who might realise some players play better with a one-hander rather than a two-hander.
“Do you ever take your hand off the double-hander? That’s the question. The coach needs to know and the player needs to have the urge to try it out like I did.
“I do think for sure the one-handed backhand still has a space in the modern game. Of course, you can fight so much more with the double-hander on the return and in defence, while maybe the one-hander can be a lot more difficult.
“What I’m also seeing nowadays is double-handed players have a much better slice as well which I feel was not always the case 20 years ago when I came on Tour.
“Be interesting to see. Be sad to see less and less one-handers.”
Despite Federer’s huge amount of success in the sport, it has been four years since a Grand Slam was won by a player who hit with a one-handed backhand. That was Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open. It is a massive contrast to the 1970s and 1980s.
Tsitsipas, who is a two-time Grand Slam finalist, said earlier this year that he hopes to inspire younger generations to use the shot.
“With my single-handed backhand that I’ve been using for so many years, I want to inspire more people to pursue a single-handed backhand, to keep it in the game.” He told ausopen.com.
Federer will be watching Tsitsipas and his one-handed backhand in action this weekend at the Laver Cup.
ATP top 100 players with a one-handed backhand (as of 20/9/24)
10 – Grigor Dimitrov BUL
12 – Stefanos Tsitsipas GRE
19 – Lorenzo Musetti ITA
51 – Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard FRA
65 – Dusan Lajovic SRB
72 – Aleksandar Kovacevic USA
75 – Christopher Oconnell AUS
83 – Daniel Altmaier GER
source – https://tennisabstract.com/
