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The last of the great single backhand tennis players. Is the double backhand really that much of an advantage? Does power trump lateral range? I'm not a tenn

The last of the great single backhand tennis players. Is the double backhand really that much of an advantage? Does power trump lateral range? I'm not a tennis player but I was a fan watching Sampras while growing up.

trequartista 11y ago
Roger Federer is still playing and he has a single handed backhand and is considered by many as the greatest ever to play the game. Having said that, I agree with your sentiment. It was a great era to watch tennis. Legends like Becker, Edberg & Lendl were fading and newer upstarts like Sampras, Courier, Agassi were coming up
- larrydag 11y ago
  That validates my theory. I always thought that there is such a big advantage to a single backhand vs double backhand. I haven't watched tennis is a while but I was a Becker and Connors fan.
  - smeyer 11y ago
    What about the parent comment validates your theory? The commenter gave another example of a skilled single backhand player but that doesn't really validate a theory that it's better or worse than the double backhand.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- VeejayRampay 11y ago
  Don't forget the very talented yet always disappointing Richard Gasquet. That backhand is just out of a book.
adpd 11y ago
AFAIK, the single-handed backhander can be hit with more power than the double-hander. However, the single-hander is tougher to execute when under time-pressure compared to the double-handed backhand (given that you should hit the ball further out in front on the single-handed backhand, and it is possible to have a good contact later for the double-handed backhand). It is also difficult to execute well with higher balls. Given the amount of top-spin that exists in the modern game, this makes the single-hander a tough choice to stick with. If anybody saw Stan Wawrinka hitting through Federer (my current favourite player, and arguably the GOAT) and Djokovic to claim the French Open this year, you wouldn't say that the single hander is weaker than the double-hander. And I would suggest that Federer is the last of the great single backhanded tennis players. * Edited to add a bit of additional info around contact points for the single- and double-handed backhands.
pselbert 11y ago
Stan Wawrinka is also a single backhand player who just won the French Open, denying Novak Djokovic in the process. There aren't many of them left, but there are a few prominent examples.
- factorialboy 11y ago
  Wawrinka has potentially the greatest backhand of all time (single or double handed).
geoka9 11y ago
All other things being equal, one-handed backhand can generate more pace than a double-hander. However it is vulnerable to high bouncing balls (it's hard to generate much pace on those and they wear you out) and getting "jammed" (when you don't have enough separation between your body and the ball - it's much easier to hit with some pace using 2 hands from a jammed position).

trequartista 11y ago

Roger Federer is still playing and he has a single handed backhand and is considered by many as the greatest ever to play the game. Having said that, I agree with your sentiment. It was a great era to watch tennis. Legends like Becker, Edberg & Lendl were fading and newer upstarts like Sampras, Courier, Agassi were coming up

larrydag 11y ago
That validates my theory. I always thought that there is such a big advantage to a single backhand vs double backhand. I haven't watched tennis is a while but I was a Becker and Connors fan.
- smeyer 11y ago
  What about the parent comment validates your theory? The commenter gave another example of a skilled single backhand player but that doesn't really validate a theory that it's better or worse than the double backhand.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
VeejayRampay 11y ago
Don't forget the very talented yet always disappointing Richard Gasquet. That backhand is just out of a book.

adpd 11y ago

AFAIK, the single-handed backhander can be hit with more power than the double-hander. However, the single-hander is tougher to execute when under time-pressure compared to the double-handed backhand (given that you should hit the ball further out in front on the single-handed backhand, and it is possible to have a good contact later for the double-handed backhand). It is also difficult to execute well with higher balls. Given the amount of top-spin that exists in the modern game, this makes the single-hander a tough choice to stick with. If anybody saw Stan Wawrinka hitting through Federer (my current favourite player, and arguably the GOAT) and Djokovic to claim the French Open this year, you wouldn't say that the single hander is weaker than the double-hander. And I would suggest that Federer is the last of the great single backhanded tennis players. * Edited to add a bit of additional info around contact points for the single- and double-handed backhands.

pselbert 11y ago

Stan Wawrinka is also a single backhand player who just won the French Open, denying Novak Djokovic in the process. There aren't many of them left, but there are a few prominent examples.

factorialboy 11y ago
Wawrinka has potentially the greatest backhand of all time (single or double handed).

geoka9 11y ago

All other things being equal, one-handed backhand can generate more pace than a double-hander. However it is vulnerable to high bouncing balls (it's hard to generate much pace on those and they wear you out) and getting "jammed" (when you don't have enough separation between your body and the ball - it's much easier to hit with some pace using 2 hands from a jammed position).