Roger Federer was asked why the one-handed backhand is dissappearing from tennis. Starts by saying “I don’t know” then gives an incredible four-part answer: ▫️Modern coaches grew up playing two-handed backhand and passed it down to students. ▫️One-handed backhands take a lot of time to perfect control and coaches/players... don’t want to dedicate the time when they can make faster improvements elsewhere. ▫️Tennis went from 50/50 between baseline and net play to 90/10 baseline play (two-handed backhands much more useful for defensive and sliding baseline play). ▫️Equipment for tennis has changed (stiffer strings, modern rackets, heavier balls) and slower surfaces…more difficult to attack with only one hand. *** Tennis Channel link:show more

I dont know or care about tennis, but this is the kind of content i love. I love hearing experts talk about nuances. mastery is incredibly attractive

Holy shit what an incredible answer Federer is the best man. Wish he would do some commentary

I love how he was just riffing. Never thought long about it but is obviously 🐐 so just needs to talk and answer comes out.

I love that despite being a champion many times over, his response is grounded in the ‘I don’t knows’ opening up the topic to thinking and discussion rather than being a verdict. Good stuff to watch and learn from.

related:

takes a lot of upper body strength to hit a high topspin one hander, very tough for kids to do it

The one-handed backhand is sub optimal in the world of heavy topsoin, which really makes it a vulnerability. Its why he struggled at Roland Garros. Nadal exploited it with high bouncing heavy TS balls. It reqlly requires low balls which is why he excelled at Wimbledon.

What a beautiful answer, man! What a beautiful sport! What a guy! We need more of this.

I would also think that kids with “pro” aspirations are starting to play at a much younger age, and they likely don’t have enough strength for the one-handed backhand early on.

1 handed bh is less stable, less rally tolerant, worse in the corners, worse against the high ball. it's also overall slower (not all shots but overall) Fed showed up these disadvantages himself It's ok for recreational level but not at the top of the pro game anymore

My argument pro two-handed backbands would be that you employ both hands and arms and don't put all the pressure on one hand and arm. Serve and forehand are often dominant shots and it makes sense to put the other half to use to be balanced in terms of muscles etc.

It comes down to style/flow vs brute force If you've got style like Roger does, you go for the one-handed backhand. It's way more natural; a backhand feels like a forehand. You don't have to contort your body into something it's not meant to do If you don't have any style and just want to compete for the sake of competing so you can be the best, then you'll go for the more awkward but also technically more powerful two-handed backhand This is why Djokovic won the most grand slam titles, but everyone still feels like Federer was the greatest of all time. Because Federer didn't kill himself to get there, he was just flowing.

shout out to the amazing @Gill_Gross for asking this question !!!

The decline of this shot says a lot

Interesting breakdown of why the shot is becoming less common

One-handed backhand is my best strike. I think in addition to trainers (mine is a woman, two-hand backhander), it's tied to feel. My backhand is incredibly relaxed, controlled and strong, whereas my forehand sucks (which is reversed in most non-pro tennis players).

🐐

he’s the 🐐 for a reason

Enables pinpoint returns

Classiest tennis player ever! What an incredible answer to a very elaborate question!

Why it's declined is no mystery While a pro can murder a 1hbh with more pace/spin then 2H, you rarely have time to deploy that to effect & you can't be offensive off platform. It's also weaker on returns Both these things generate a lot of weak replies = death on the ATP tour.

I went from 1 hand to 2 hand backhand because modern equipment had guys serving so hard i couldn't time out a 1 hander anymore. Bet I'm not the only one.

I have a one handed backhand and a two handed forehand and am right handed. Loooove the one handed back hand!!!!

He gave exact reason why he’s the goat Ask me to break it down if you don’t understand

Coaches passing down what they know makes sense

Damn .. didn't know tennis was this technical

That’s really playing tennis with intelligence

El revés a una mano es lo mejor!!!una pena se esté perdiendo por las razones que sean !!!un grande su majestad

Glad to see he is passing that shot down to his son

How do you not like this guy 🤗

This is like that Phil Mickelson clip. The details and dynamics they store (subconsciously, most of the time) are vastly underestimated by the rest of us.

true parents paying a lot two handed will sed faster improvements

Far be it from me to correct Federer (huge fan here), but just something to add: sports medicine. The one-handed backhand seems to be more closely linked to lateral epicondylitis and muscle injuries. In an era of such high physical demands, that can make a difference.

Another modern factor is the amount of spin that players can generate. You can empirically conclude that the game today generates more RPM’s in average and it is harder to defend a ball with a lot a spin and bouncing high. In the end Rafa strategy against Roger was key

Always unfortunate to see technology play a role in sport like tennis