By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday March 10, 2024
Indian Wells – Stefanos Tsitsipas is happy to join the chorus of voices that are showing support for the one-handed backhand. The 25-year-old Greek, a two-time Grand Slam finalist, talked lovingly about the one-hander, and vowed to do his best to restore the shot to glory.
“I do feel like it's the most beautiful shot in tennis,” Tsitsipas, who defeated Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-3 to reach the round of 16 at Indian Wells on Sunday. “I do believe it's the most difficult thing to learn in tennis, but of course it has its rewards as sort of creating opportunities, opening up the court. I think it's a massive weapon for courts that have sort of a high response to the ball, especially clay courts, as well.
“I do find it a beautiful shot that also, if perfected in the right way, it can be a massive lethal weapon for those who feel confident hitting that shot.”
That said, Tsitsipas admits that the single-handed backhand, however beautiful, can be a difficult animal to tame.
“It's a complex shot to master and to perfect, and it takes a lot of time to get to a point where you develop an amazing single-handed backhand, one that is a weapon,” he said.
“I also think that people have the tendency to choose the double-handed backhand [because of] the ease of it, how less complex it is to learn and how you can always support your left hand to close out certain shots or save certain shots that perhaps a single-handed backhand would slice instead.”
Tsitsipas knows the one-hander has limitations, but he would never think about hitting a backhand any other way. And he truly believes his backhand gives him advantages that he can exploit.
“I do feel like it's the most beautiful shot in tennis,” he said. “I do believe it's the most difficult thing to learn in tennis, but of course it has its rewards; creating opportunities, opening up the court. I think it's a massive weapon for courts that have a high response to the ball, especially clay courts, as well.
So I do find it a beautiful shot that also, if perfected in the right way, it can be a massive lethal weapon for those who feel confident hitting that shot.”
Tsitsipas says he’s proud to carry the one-hand flag, and he says he believes that just because there aren’t any in the Top 10 at the moment doesn’t mean that it won’t be a shot that is once again employed by a Grand Slam champion – maybe even him.
“I feel like I am part of the players that carry on the legacy of the single-handed backhand. If it was not for me, if it was not for Grigor (Dimitrov), if it was not for Lorenzo (Musetti), if it was not for Richard (Gasquet), this shot would barely be seen on the tour.
“Yes, it's an old-school shot, something that people used to play back in the day, but it has its modernity these days. It has evolved into a modern shot that looks way different than it was hundreds of years ago.
“I do believe that more kids in the future would definitely decide to pursue a single-handed backhand and we might see that at big levels again, perhaps even a lot of players playing it inside the top 10 soon.”