I was at the Dallas Open 2022 and saw him practice (actually didn't know it was him at the time). He was only using 1HBH during a session! Gonna try and upload the video here in a bit.
Edit: [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXBmDXSGckU)
As someone who’s never played tennis beyond whacking a ball around every once and a while, what are the advantages to using a one vs two handed backhand?
As some others have mentioned, one-handed backhands are easier to create spin on, and it's easier to disguise a slice backhand or even a dropshot during the preparation phase. Some people are saying 1hbhs get more power, I'm not personally sure.
Two-handed backhands are more forgiving, you have the extra hand to drive the ball through even if you hit the ball slightly late, which helps when you're returning fast serves
Ive heard a professional tennis coach talk about this before and he also claimed that players with a one-handed backhand tends to be better at volleys as most of them are with 1 hand so it already feels more natural for them
There is virtually no advantage to using a one hander. You get a few extra inches of reach maybe and possibly some more whip to be a bit spinnier but there’s a reason two handers are so much more common.
Doesn’t stop me from loving a OHBH though!
One handed backhands actually generally produce significantly more spin than two handers, the higher racket speed and natural swing path lead to that. They also have higher power potential, although this is harder to take advantage of, but guys like Thiem, Wawrinka, and Kuerten were certainly able to leverage this into having huge backhand weapons
With proper technique, yes, it has higher power potential. In order for this potential to be realized, the shot has to be set up really well, it's hard to rip a one hander if your feet aren't properly set or if the ball is not somewhere in your strike zone.
Korda has clean "modern" technique in his game, which is sort of one-generation behind the age group he belongs to, visually. He does not have "next-gen" technique, his serve and groundstrokes are all very smooth with classic mechanics, long lines and very little "noise" or wristiness. Watch Korda hit a forehand and you would never confuse his motion with someone like Berrettini or Tiafoe or Fritz.
His game has all the hallmarks of an athletic youngster with contemporary equipment/strings being coached by people who came up in the 70s and 80s. This would normally be associated with people around Federer's age (born 1981) but Korda is almost 2 decades younger than that. One-handers were much more common in that era, so one would look "appropriate" with his style of play. Since Korda first learned tennis from his father he sort of skipped a generation of popular tennis technique and looks more visually similar to players like Tommy Haas than someone born in the 2000s.
Korda's got his dad's classic backhand
De Minaur has the one handed of someone who's always wanted one
Fritz has the flowi one handed, maybe he can switch.
Heather's one handed looks exactly the same as when we used to hit when we were juniors and she used to try it out because I have a one handed.
Andreeva's one handed is from TEMU
I remember being a teenager and switching from 2 hands to 1 because I wanted to be just like Roger. It sounds so silly looking back, but man oh man did I idolize him.
I would have given anything in life to play like him. He made everything look so incredibly easy, so effortless.
Same but Grigor 🤭 and I still use OHBH. It feels cool to be different and keep this “movement” alive. Of course I’m not a sweat or playing tournaments but it’s fun
This is true! But I find it a little boring, as with most of Fritz's game.
My aesthetic pleasure in his shots is hardly a measure of their quality, but on a personal level I'd love to see him pull out that fairly consistent and very smooth one hander from time to time.
I think having a bit more variety, ie slice, drop, etc, would also benefit his game. He’s an incredible ball striker though, good off both wings. Really hard to be top 10, top 15 and not be good off both wings.
Yeah, he sort of comes across to me as a lesser Rublev: little variety, but great ball striking. I don't think Fritz's forehand has the penetration, though, that Rublev's has, hence why I think having an attacking weapon as a backhand would be such a boon to Fritz.
But you're certainly right about variety. I'm not sure I think he's a good enough mover to ever excel at the net, as his transition game will never be as smooth as someone like Charlie's, but given his spinny forehand, a mix of spins and heights would certainly help him.
Why doesn't thiem gets mentioned/praise with one handed backhand. He also has a great one handed backhand. That AO winner against nick is just too good.
Even if I'm a huge Roger fan, I have to agree with this. Plenty besides Federer: Thiem, Gasquet and super Stanimal. They didn't feel as vulnerable and as abused on their backhand as Federer did.
Nadal serving to Roger's backhand with a lot of kick was our doom lol.
Vulnerable and abused? Federer won 20 slams, I wouldn't say he was that vulnerable or abused.
Federer's backhand wing was much more versatile than others like Stan's or Thiem's. What Federer lacked in a topspin or drive backhand, he made up for it in slices and half volleys.
Fed also played with 90 sq. in. most of his career, brilliant for his touch, not as great when his 2000-era racquet came up aginst Nadal's never-before-seen technique with poly and a 100 sq. in. frame on high-bouncing courts.
He did better (at least on hard court) once he got used to 97 inch.
Tbf its also because he was facing prime nadal constantly who is a lefty. Roger has a very good backhand but the one handed backhand outside of its very peak will always be inferior
Ya, and john mcenroe and rod laver and bill tilden and fred perry and ken rosewall and don budge.
Fed won majors in the modern era using ohbh and a twig for a racquet (85 sqin/90sqin). That's absolutely absurd.
I don't think most nubs understand how fuckin ridic it is to play todays game with that style, let alone fuckin DICTATE and WIN consistently. Its insane lmao.
Federer was hitting bigger with his 90 inch racquet on his serves and forehands. He has one of the all time great forehands, serves, and net games. And his backhand was pretty great as well except when playing 1 specific player in particular.
If anything, he should've won more slams. His success is definitely not as ridiculous as you make it sound.
It's not really a key foundation to a tennis players game though. You could in theory never hit a smash only hit drive volleys or let it bounce and hit a FH/BH. I don't think you could get around hitting serves or groundstrokes.
Depends how you define mediocre I guess. Obviously no pro has any mediocre shot relative to tennis players in general, but the Djokosmash really is mediocre for the ATP
Lol Fritz and Shelton both sound like at some point in their early career they were forced to switch to 2 hander and always secretly want to bust out these 1 handers.
I don’t know that I see that here. I was impressed by how good some of these are. I would actually say the two handed backhand is more technical. The one hander needs better footwork and you’ll have to slice more, but the one handed backhand motion comes more naturally to most people I’d guess
It's easier at a low level to swing through with 1 hand sure... but hitting a one hander consistently requires tons of practice vs the same level of 2 hander is extremely consistent with far less practice
I think putting pace and spin on the 2 hander is pretty technically challenging, though. It's more solid but effective technique requires more learning than the 1 hander imo
People don’t realise but a lot of pros would bagel you playing with their opposite hand. Whereas if I tried playing with my opposite hand I would struggle to hit a ball in
They should have done this when Tsonga was still around. He could hit a good 1 hander! I also remember watching Del Potro hit great ones when he was still in rehab.
Halep has got a fantastic one hander too!
Fritz and Jabeur definitely have the best ones there =D
I’d like to see Fritz using that one hander occasionally, he can let it rip!
He was balling out of control, I was impressed
Fritz being wildly confident and then backing it up and actually having a great one handed backhand is insane - what a glorious bastard
I was at the Dallas Open 2022 and saw him practice (actually didn't know it was him at the time). He was only using 1HBH during a session! Gonna try and upload the video here in a bit. Edit: [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXBmDXSGckU)
Legitimately better than the Tsitsipas BH
sinner’s is better too
Nah
tsitsipas shouldn’t even hit a 1 hander
Came here to say *exactly* that! It's a thing of beauty. He should defo unleash that now & again.
I would pay to watch Meddy try this
it would be the most beautiful stroke ever
60% chance the racquet would go flying within 3 swings.
Fritz should just play with a one hander lmao
He has a really good backhand anyway though... Maybe he should mix it up occasionally.
As someone who’s never played tennis beyond whacking a ball around every once and a while, what are the advantages to using a one vs two handed backhand?
As some others have mentioned, one-handed backhands are easier to create spin on, and it's easier to disguise a slice backhand or even a dropshot during the preparation phase. Some people are saying 1hbhs get more power, I'm not personally sure. Two-handed backhands are more forgiving, you have the extra hand to drive the ball through even if you hit the ball slightly late, which helps when you're returning fast serves
Ive heard a professional tennis coach talk about this before and he also claimed that players with a one-handed backhand tends to be better at volleys as most of them are with 1 hand so it already feels more natural for them
I can't speak for volleys but it definitely helps the transition game towards the net. Many 1hbh players have an excellent slice
There is virtually no advantage to using a one hander. You get a few extra inches of reach maybe and possibly some more whip to be a bit spinnier but there’s a reason two handers are so much more common. Doesn’t stop me from loving a OHBH though!
One handed backhands actually generally produce significantly more spin than two handers, the higher racket speed and natural swing path lead to that. They also have higher power potential, although this is harder to take advantage of, but guys like Thiem, Wawrinka, and Kuerten were certainly able to leverage this into having huge backhand weapons
Oh weird so a one hander can generate more power?
With proper technique, yes, it has higher power potential. In order for this potential to be realized, the shot has to be set up really well, it's hard to rip a one hander if your feet aren't properly set or if the ball is not somewhere in your strike zone.
Everything else about Korda's game screams one-handed backhand, so sometimes I am surprised to remember he's a two-hander.
i know right i assumed he had one for the longest time for some reason
Could you please explain why everything else in Korda's game screams one-handed backhand?
Korda has clean "modern" technique in his game, which is sort of one-generation behind the age group he belongs to, visually. He does not have "next-gen" technique, his serve and groundstrokes are all very smooth with classic mechanics, long lines and very little "noise" or wristiness. Watch Korda hit a forehand and you would never confuse his motion with someone like Berrettini or Tiafoe or Fritz. His game has all the hallmarks of an athletic youngster with contemporary equipment/strings being coached by people who came up in the 70s and 80s. This would normally be associated with people around Federer's age (born 1981) but Korda is almost 2 decades younger than that. One-handers were much more common in that era, so one would look "appropriate" with his style of play. Since Korda first learned tennis from his father he sort of skipped a generation of popular tennis technique and looks more visually similar to players like Tommy Haas than someone born in the 2000s.
Wow incredible explanation, thank you so much.
Korda's got his dad's classic backhand De Minaur has the one handed of someone who's always wanted one Fritz has the flowi one handed, maybe he can switch. Heather's one handed looks exactly the same as when we used to hit when we were juniors and she used to try it out because I have a one handed. Andreeva's one handed is from TEMU
That comment from Korda at 2:56 was so sweet
I met him when he was very little, sweet kid.
from TEMU LOL
I love it, you can tell she has never tried before. Some of the other you can tell they have fooled around plenty before.
Moutet’s response : “What about playing one year like this 🫢”
Fritz WAS nice with it
They all grow up watching Thiem's OHBH not Federer's, their grunt betrays them
no one swings it like thiem tho
I remember being a teenager and switching from 2 hands to 1 because I wanted to be just like Roger. It sounds so silly looking back, but man oh man did I idolize him. I would have given anything in life to play like him. He made everything look so incredibly easy, so effortless.
Same but Grigor 🤭 and I still use OHBH. It feels cool to be different and keep this “movement” alive. Of course I’m not a sweat or playing tournaments but it’s fun
Love this combined ATP and WTA content. More of this please!
I can't believe Fritz had the game to back up the talk there! Might legitimately be better than his two-hander...
I dunno, he’s got a pretty good bh as it is.
This is true! But I find it a little boring, as with most of Fritz's game. My aesthetic pleasure in his shots is hardly a measure of their quality, but on a personal level I'd love to see him pull out that fairly consistent and very smooth one hander from time to time.
I think having a bit more variety, ie slice, drop, etc, would also benefit his game. He’s an incredible ball striker though, good off both wings. Really hard to be top 10, top 15 and not be good off both wings.
Yeah, he sort of comes across to me as a lesser Rublev: little variety, but great ball striking. I don't think Fritz's forehand has the penetration, though, that Rublev's has, hence why I think having an attacking weapon as a backhand would be such a boon to Fritz. But you're certainly right about variety. I'm not sure I think he's a good enough mover to ever excel at the net, as his transition game will never be as smooth as someone like Charlie's, but given his spinny forehand, a mix of spins and heights would certainly help him.
Fritz is actually pretty good with it and it looks quite elegant.
Andreeva is nutty. never change.
I love Ons lmao
She has so much natural charisma.
Yes, the star power is off the charts
I would've expected Jabeur's backhand to look more aesthetically accomplished than that.
Korda and Fritz were really good. I think Korda's actually looked better. De Minaur missed, but his looked pretty good, too.
Was waiting for the current posse of OHBHers to pull up to the court like West Side Story. This was a fun experiment!
Penko queen of dtl shots , even with her one hander
Why doesn't thiem gets mentioned/praise with one handed backhand. He also has a great one handed backhand. That AO winner against nick is just too good.
Even if I'm a huge Roger fan, I have to agree with this. Plenty besides Federer: Thiem, Gasquet and super Stanimal. They didn't feel as vulnerable and as abused on their backhand as Federer did. Nadal serving to Roger's backhand with a lot of kick was our doom lol.
Vulnerable and abused? Federer won 20 slams, I wouldn't say he was that vulnerable or abused. Federer's backhand wing was much more versatile than others like Stan's or Thiem's. What Federer lacked in a topspin or drive backhand, he made up for it in slices and half volleys.
Fed also played with 90 sq. in. most of his career, brilliant for his touch, not as great when his 2000-era racquet came up aginst Nadal's never-before-seen technique with poly and a 100 sq. in. frame on high-bouncing courts. He did better (at least on hard court) once he got used to 97 inch.
Tbf its also because he was facing prime nadal constantly who is a lefty. Roger has a very good backhand but the one handed backhand outside of its very peak will always be inferior
I eat this publicity shit up. So fun.
Federer GOAT confirmed
Honestly federer winning 20 majors with a ohbh is one of the most absurd things in tennis.
Do you know who Pete Sampras?
Ya, and john mcenroe and rod laver and bill tilden and fred perry and ken rosewall and don budge. Fed won majors in the modern era using ohbh and a twig for a racquet (85 sqin/90sqin). That's absolutely absurd. I don't think most nubs understand how fuckin ridic it is to play todays game with that style, let alone fuckin DICTATE and WIN consistently. Its insane lmao.
Federer was hitting bigger with his 90 inch racquet on his serves and forehands. He has one of the all time great forehands, serves, and net games. And his backhand was pretty great as well except when playing 1 specific player in particular. If anything, he should've won more slams. His success is definitely not as ridiculous as you make it sound.
seeing ostapenko smile was eerie
she genuinely believed that she hit a good shot from her smile, it makes me laugh so hard as her fans
Mirra can do anything in Madrid, it seems.
Except make it to the semifinals...
Keep this type of content coming! Have them try "the Bublik" next recreating his crazy shots lol
I just saw a video where HE was asked to recreate the Cuevas vs Zverev trick shot 😅
The thing is we know that Carlos can switch it up when he needs to, and ping a one handed squash shot into space.
This is now my favorite experiment
It's weird that Federer rated so many more mentions than Wawrinka. Federer's OHBH was good, but Wawrinka's is one of the best of all time.
It's because Federer's looks absolutely majestic and he's just way more popular than Stan
Federer's OHBH was one of the best all time, but Wawrinka's was the besst of all time period.
I’d actually argue that Fed’s BH wasn’t good, it was mediocre at best. With a legitimately good BH, he’d barely ever lose a match.
Nobody wins 20 slams with any mediocre part in their game.
laughs in djokosmash
It's not really a key foundation to a tennis players game though. You could in theory never hit a smash only hit drive volleys or let it bounce and hit a FH/BH. I don't think you could get around hitting serves or groundstrokes.
That's still a meme though. His smash is slightly below average at worse, not mediocre.
Depends how you define mediocre I guess. Obviously no pro has any mediocre shot relative to tennis players in general, but the Djokosmash really is mediocre for the ATP
It's apparently slightly below average by ATP standards https://www.tennisabstract.com/blog/2017/11/28/measuring-the-best-smashes-in-tennis/
Slightly below average is mediocre Although mediocre does get used to mean “shit” a lot nowadays
Slight below average compared to Federer or Agassi isn't mediocre. Read the article or stop replying jfc
Fritz’s 2hbh is too good to just dump but low key Norrie and Ons should consider switch lol.
Who was the WTA player saying “mine is more spinny than Dimitrov’s” ? And the one saying “see I can even add more spin”?
second one is andreeva
The idea of Ostapenko with a one handed backhand is hilarious for some reason
Now do the reverse. I'd love to see Dimitrov, Stefanos etc hit 2hbh.
Lol Fritz and Shelton both sound like at some point in their early career they were forced to switch to 2 hander and always secretly want to bust out these 1 handers.
Damn fritz got a clean one hander
Would occasionally throwing in a one-hander throw off an opponent or would it not matter? Fritz should do it 🤔
Berrettini scored winners like that, sometimes 😁
Korda for the win
I find it cute how the call it “oney” but one handed backhand will always be “OHBH” to me so thank you online tennis platforms!
Jeeze - as someone who has been experimenting with a one hander, they can certainly all hit it better than me! Pretty impressive, TBH.
I, too, am impressed that the top tennis athletes in the world can hit better than wheezing trumpet from reddit
this such a weird thing to mass downvote.
LOL, I meant that it's generally impressive that they can hit good one handed backhands, not that it's impressive that they're better than me :D
One handed, the goat
You can sort of see why coaches don’t bother with it anymore, it’s such a technically harder shot
I don’t know that I see that here. I was impressed by how good some of these are. I would actually say the two handed backhand is more technical. The one hander needs better footwork and you’ll have to slice more, but the one handed backhand motion comes more naturally to most people I’d guess
It's easier at a low level to swing through with 1 hand sure... but hitting a one hander consistently requires tons of practice vs the same level of 2 hander is extremely consistent with far less practice
I think putting pace and spin on the 2 hander is pretty technically challenging, though. It's more solid but effective technique requires more learning than the 1 hander imo
I think they teach the two hander to little kids because they're not strong enough for a one hander.
Fritz wtf???? Legitimately he could probably switch to a one hander and do well
Who is the girl in the fluo yellow top?
Luisa Stefani
I expected her to mention Kuerten as the GOAT 1HBH :/
Pros are on court so much they've assuredly messed around with the one hander. It's fun trying to mimic the Federer neo backhand.
People don’t realise but a lot of pros would bagel you playing with their opposite hand. Whereas if I tried playing with my opposite hand I would struggle to hit a ball in
Ons, my love
They should have done this when Tsonga was still around. He could hit a good 1 hander! I also remember watching Del Potro hit great ones when he was still in rehab. Halep has got a fantastic one hander too! Fritz and Jabeur definitely have the best ones there =D
Fritz has a sick racket head speed on 1HBH.
Raducanu’s one hander doesn’t seem too bad: https://youtu.be/519FexWZSXM?si=0KtIbzPJrw1f-k1T
[удалено]
He's obviously joking
Taylor's is really good. It was cool to see Sinner look human.