The State of the One-Handed Backhand
Don’t write the eulogy just yet. The one-handed backhand isn’t the common sight that it used to be, but there are still plenty of them out there. When the current generation retires, however, we might...
View ArticleStubborn Richard and Fighting Flavia
We all know how great Richard Gasquet‘s backhand is. It’s arguably the best one-hander in the game, and the down-the-line version is right up there with with any other men’s backhandweapon, one- or...
View ArticleMeasuring the Effectiveness of Backhand Returns
One-handed backhands can be beautiful, but they aren’t always the best tools for the return of serve. Some of the players with the best one-handers in the game must often resort to slicing backhand...
View ArticleThe Difficulty (and Importance) of Finding the Backhand
One disadvantage of some one-handed backhands is that they tend to sit up a little more when they’re hit crosscourt. That gives an opponent more time to prepare and, often, enough time to run around a...
View ArticleThe Federer Backhand That Finally Beat Nadal
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal first met on court in 2004, and they contested their first Grand Slam final two years later. The head-to-head has long skewed in Rafa’s favor: Entering yesterday’s match,...
View ArticleWill a Back-To-Normal Federer Backhand Be Good Enough?
Italian translation at settesei.it After Roger Federer’s 2017 triumph over Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open, I credited his narrow victory to his backhand. He came back from the injury that...
View ArticleA First Look at the Down-the-Line Backhand
When executed correctly and deployed at the right moment, the down-the-line backhand is one of the most devastating shots in tennis. How valuable is it, and which players use it the most effectively?...
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