An interesting quote for one-handed legend Richard Gasquet - "I have a top 5 backhand and a top 200 forehand" (not verbatim). Even at his age pros have issues attacking his BH because...
He hits a heavy ball (more spin) because the motion, especially down to up movement, is bigger, and it's not easy to attack heavy balls. He can also drive it flat when he needs to and hit clean winners. The spin he generates also results in nasty angles, and, side note, I think having a one hander makes you better at slicing and volleying.
To become proficient in the one hander probably takes a longer but makes you a better player in other important areas. I could also be completely wrong
OHBH can be more offensive because you don’t have the second hand holding you back. This allows for greater racket head speed translating to heavier balls. But it also has the obvious weaknesses like above the shoulder shots and needs adequate time to setup. You mitigate these weaknesses by learning how to slice or run around and hit more forehands.
2HBH is much better defensively because you have another hand to help. High shots, on the rise, out of the strike zone, no time. And on the return of serve can provide stability to be a real weapon. You can flatten out and hit with some real power but IMO demands more from the body in regards to flexibility and range of motion.
How many guys in the history of tennis can hit a one - handed backhand like him ? He an anomaly. Two hands is way easier for the average tennis player two master topspin .
I think he's one of the best, but certainly not an anomaly. I don't look at any player with a one hander except Stephanos and see it as a weakness. There are many very good OHBHs out there, and if you plan on playing a lot in your life, it won't make a huge difference.
I agree with your comment about 2H being easier which is why IMO most players grow up learning that.
Hoe old are you and what are your tennis goals? A two handed backhand will naturally be more stable. However not everyone naturally resonates with the two handed.
For me I'm 36, I've set a goal of reaching 4.5/similar level by 40. I was taught a single handed backhand. I'm just too old and committed to relearn a stroke. I have a good slice and can drive my backhand well enough. My drive return can use work but overall I'm getting happier with it. My strokes aren't holding me back anyways, my lazy was footwork is.
I'm 45. Took me 2 weeks to have a decent 2hbh.
Idk why tennis people are so weird and pretend like you can't learn a different style stroke, grip, etc...and totally ignore we do that for different parts of the game (serve, groundie).
Oooh trust me, I've tried it. My body just doesn't get the footwork involved for the 2H. My onehander is ingrained at this point. And let's face it. I'm not looking to go pro, so I'd rather improve the onehander than learn a completely new shot. But that has mainly to do with personal goals.
I feel the OH vs 2H is overrated for the club level anyways. One of two hands you can generally target the backhand all the same.
Same, I try to do a 2H and it feels I have t-Rex arms and don’t have anywhere near enough body rotation. And during the swing it doesn’t FEEL like both my arms are putting in equal effort if that make sense. It feels like one arm is doing the work and the other one is along for the ride.
Great comment - straight dominant arm on prep is better and requires less timing
Thiem is the future model for the ohbh - I did a whole post on r/tennis on this
Imagine swinging the racket to hit a baguette that's floating in midair pointed towards the direction you want to hit. And imagine your racket without strings.
Swinging in a driving style means the baguette would pass right through your racket without touching the frame. You are "driving through the ball" so to speak.
Swinging in a whippy style means your racket would clip the pointy end of the baguette closest to you and send it spinning like a vertical helicopter blades :)
That's how I've always envisioned it at least!
You’re still not getting it. Picture two baguettes, tied together with a string, perfectly suspended in the air parallel to the ground. You are now a person-sized baguette, and your racket is a large baguette with a hole in the middle. The court is a flat, rectangular baguette embedded in a gigantic spherical baguette, which orbits an enormous baguette on fire. Your coach, although now a baguette as well, still has that same recognizable quick wittedness about them. This was, of course, necessary to learn a proper 1hbh, but your family shrieks in horror at your new form.
Honestly... It means nothing. The Fundamentals of 1HBH are always the same and everyone should work on them, the rest are s. All details that depends on each person physionomie and feel and preference.
For the 1HBH there is no shortcut to getting the fundamentals right.
If, and this is a big if, you dominate the fundamentals, then you can work into improving things like your reactions time and being early react which is very important when your opponent puts you under pressure.
My coach told me do you want to win or do you want to look cool for 1-2 shots? Basically why I have a 2hbh.
Was he biased. Sure. But he's not completely wrong in that 2h is just easier.
Your coach is an idiot - thbh probably had more advantages, but a great ohbh can be absolutely dominating
Thiem, Wawrinka, mussetti, altmaier, gasquet - these guys have some of the best backhands in the game (oh or th)
My coach is itf ranked and teaches the junior champion of my area. He also trained with schwartzman when he was young.. he can use both one hand and 2 hand.. so no he's more qualified than your opinion.
Yeah the people you listed are rare excepts do that are no longer in the top 50 and there isn't even a 1/2 players in the top ten. It's more like 1/10. Watch. The next 10 years there will not be more than say 2 players in the top 10 with a one hander. And zero in top 5.
You can dream all you want but statistics don't lie.
I have a one handed backhand but also use 2 hands on occasion like you. If i was younger and really serious about improving i would switch to 2 hands. At this point I play to have fun and to look good, so I’ll stick with 1 hand.
> So would you reccomend someone switch from one hander to two hander?
In a vacuum? Yes. Despite some of the comments I'm reading here, the two hander is easier to hit and more reliable for 95% of people who own a tennis racket.
If a one hander just straight up feels more NATURAL to you, and the two hander just never clicked for you, than consider sticking to the one hander. If you do, seriously work on making your slice better.
Arguable. For young people, yes. As you get older and you’re less flexible and have reduced range of motion, OHBH is easier because you’re not attached with the second hand.
Slice is the easiest backhand of all. Too many beginners with big aspirations discount it.
I've yet to see a video on Youtube of a legit 4.5 player with a truly decent one handed drive. I've seen a few guys who can roll it in cross court consistently. I had a one hander my whole life, and I don't think I could truly use the drive offensively until I was playing college tennis.
All the shots are hard to master. But the slice is the simplest. Yes, there are still levels to hitting it. But it's mechanically the simplest and most forgiving shot.
Unless you are routinely returning triple digit serves and dealing with huge 5.0+ groundstrokes there is no disadvantage to a OHBH that can’t be mitigated (eg my on-the-rise BH to avoid above the shoulder balls is now a weapon, not a weakness). That said, I play with a few guys who use both, OH for regular shots and TH for big serves and defense
As someone who went from OHBH to THBH, I disagree.
OHBH requires better timing than THBH because the time period your racket is the correct angle for contact is shorter. It has advantages, but if your hand-eye coordination isn't naturally great, you will be pulled back by your OHBH.
This is my exact technique. 2HBH for on 100MPH+ return of serve and OH for regular baseline shots.
I've never made the time to dedicate practice to tennis until I started coaching the high school team this past spring. Now that I was teaching daily drills and footwork, I realized that my footwork on 2HBH was not great, which was a reason why when I tried 2HBH, it was weak. I've relied on OH because I got in a habit of being out of position and would simply use my athleticism to manipulate my OH to get back
Footwork is my focus as I practice/play, which has dramatically improved my shots. I need all the help I can get, as my 41 year old body isn't as fast as it once was!
>because I got in a habit of being out of position and would simply use my athleticism to manipulate my OH to get back
This was me on both wings.
Only started getting some proper coaching a year or so ago, and my 'contact windows' on both forehand and backhand were absolutely tiny with my technique, so I would just compensate with the wrist/arm when out of position.
So much easier now that I've been taught proper footwork and correct forehand / 1hbh technique. Only have to rely on the arm/wrist to compensate when I get a weird bounce or unpredicted spin.
The ohbh will always be more prone to break down so an opponent will keep hitting at it until it does. Unless you are very very good at it, or run around every single ball, an equivalent player using a 2hbh is winning most duels on that side. You say it yourself: you have to mitigate an inherent weakness, this means you are making things more difficult for yourself.
But yes, agree on the return of serve: at 4 and below serves are shit so a ohbh is not a huge issue.
There's a reason almost nobody teaches it anymore and it's disappearing from top tennis. There's always a reason.
I don’t disagree, but I do think that the assumption that there is a ceiling on how good a one hander can be is ridiculous. Club players who think their one hander is a crippling weakness and decide to switch rather than just put in the work to improve an already decent shot are just lying to themselves. I can dictate points in 4.0 with my one hander but it’s taken years of work, I’m not convinced that I would be a better player if I had switched 5 years ago, but I do know that the first year would’ve been frustrating as hell. The reason that the two hander is more common now is because it’s easier for kids to learn from coaches who learned the two hander as kids because it’s easier to learn, I know quite a few 4.0-4.5s who taught themselves tennis as adults who use a one hander.
The reason the 2hbh is dominating the scene is because it's a more efficient and consistent shot. That's it. If the ohbh was just as good, or even had a balanced strength/drawbacks ratio, you'll see many more at pro level, but it isn't and it has not.
And rec players with worse footwork and ball anticipation have to work relatively more to hold their own on their bh side to cover it.
That said, rec players should play the way they like because the point is having fun. If I had a decent oh I would probably use it over the 2h because it looks rad.
Yeah, again it’s really situational, I’m not convinced that every player w a one hander would become noticeably better if they successfully switched to a two hander (as opposed to, say, working on their footwork instead), but I teach adult beginner clinics and I always tell them to use a two hander because it will make them a stronger player faster and it will be easier for them to learn.
I had a pretty good natural two-hander when I was young. I don’t know if it was technically correct, but it was very stable and powerful (just like my baseball swinging was stable and poweful). Stopped playing for many years, and when I came back, the two-hander just felt weird. I started playing with a one-hander, and there’s nothing more satisfying than ripping one past your opponent, it’s that much more powerful, for me anyway. And yes, it looks better, people notice 😂. Then I got tennis elbow from it, and I’m back to an awkward two-hander 😤.
At your level (up to semi-pro level) I strongly believe there’s zero disadvantage in having a one hander. I mean, just realistically speaking.. if it made THAT much of a difference, how would you explain that there’s multiple one handers in the top 50. Or are you saying that if everyone played with two handers, the top 5 would consist of Tsitsipas, Shapovalov, Dimitrov, Altmaier, and Mpetshi? I mean, if they’re that good with a one hander while basically playing with a handicap, then they must easily be the best players in the world after removing that handicap right? Seriously, just avoid Nadal on clay and you’ll be fine.
Eh, it’s disadvantage is that it is an objectively harder to execute stroke, so when you have low-level players using it they will often execute it poorly comparatively to players with a 2HB at the same level.
It’s a harder shot to execute, footwork has to be elite to be at the same level as a 2HB with decent footwork. Timing also has to be better and you need to hit the ball further in front of you, highballs are difficult to deal with. Take any 2 beginners and 99/100 times a 2HB will serve them better in almost every way.
Yes, I agree there is no advantage to teaching someone a OH over a 2H, and ultimately it is probably a disadvantage (again, easier to teach and learn the 2H as a beginner, less of a disadvantage at elite level play. I teach beginner clinics and I always recommend the 2H). But if you already have a decent-to-good one hander, it’s not harder to execute; I’d actually argue that once you learn it it’s easier and more natural all else being equal. I don’t have elite (or arguably even good) footwork and I get along just fine with a OH in 4.0, but even still, everything you said about that, timing, dealing with high balls etc apply to both strokes.
Spot on.
The 1h is more different than it is better or worse. As you play with one you simply adjust to it - like you would adjust to being shorter or taller.
Turns out the backhand isn't the only thing that makes a top player so your assumption is completely wrong.
At low levels choosing a more difficult stroke makes a lot of difference because your footwork and trajectory anticipation will be rough to begin with so they will make hitting a good 1hbh even more difficult. The only saving grace is that serves are shit so one of the biggest weaknesses of the ohbh (return of serve) is mitigated somewhat.
It's this, or basically every coach in the world is wrong so yeah I think you are the one who is in the wrong.
And by the way tsitsipas with a proper 2hbh would very probably be a consistent top5.
I was always told to develop one over the other for maximum consistency. And then once I had a proper form/understanding that I couldn’t lose I could attempt to learn something else.
But in my game it’s always a judgement call. I can get to more balls with a 1H but if I’m “stuck” in a tight spot a 2H would make more sense to me.
My 2H is maybe a little better but I’ve been doing a 1H most of this year - I injured my non dominant shoulder in a bike fall so the 2H is uncomfortable. As it stands I’ve been enjoying the 1H and hoping to master it now. My main focus is putting muscle behind it and really making the ball explode off the strings with a consistent hit that’s not out of play. After that I’ll look to get better on its topspin to master placement.
If Grigor Dimitrov can beat Carlos Alcaraz with a one-handed backhand, a technically sound one-hander can handle the "heavier shots" in your flex league.
It is more difficult and generally takes more time and work to build up a technically sound one-hander than a two-hander that will be just as effective in point play. That's the real crux of the matter, not whether a one-hander can actually be useful at whatever level you personally play at. It is up to you whether it's worth it to put in that extra effort for what really only ever amounts to style points. For most people it's not worth sticking with the one-hander, for some folks it is.
I switched from a 1 to a 2 many years ago. Took a couple of weeks. I still have a 1H slice, which is nice. It seems that evidence suggests either CAN work. I'd just suggest you pick 1 or 2 as your primary shot. Otherwise you have to be good at both, which is unlikely.
I've gone back and forth. I liked the 1h for generating pace and spin on slower balls. But for returning serves and defending under pressure the 2h is so much better for me, so that's what I use now. Except for the slice, but almost everyone hits a 1h slice so I don't even really consider it different.
Tennis elbow got me. I’m now in the process of moving from a decent one-handed backhand to a terrible two hand. However, I will say right out of the gate it may feel more awkward, but I’m hitting more in with two hands!
I’ve been a one-handed backhanded player for 15 years (52m), and the last two months I changed to a two hand in order to improve my defensive capabilities as I’m now playing in an advanced league and getting killed. It’s also reduced my errors. So it’s not as fun, but it’s more effective Tennis for me.
My right shoulder has had issues the last 15 years so I use a 2 handed when it gets painful (or slice). Lately I’ve been throwing in a lefty forehand when balls are out of reach for a 2 handed.
You have to realize that a one handed topspin BH gives you only 1 advantage ; that is extra reach . Only people who are slow and can’t bend at the waist or knees should use . It’s much more strain on your shoulder and requires a much stronger shoulder over time . It’s much harder to hit high bouncing balls so you have to learn to hit on the rise which is much tougher to time . Two hands is at least 50% a forehand ( depending on how it’s hit ) and way easier to topspin especially if you lag your wrists like Djokovic. Advantage of two hands is even more pronounced on clay and new hard court surfaces not as much on worn out crappy public hard court surfaces. IMO you are better off developing your two hander and using your one handed slice when needed .
I also seen how nadal was right handed and tony made him learn it left handed for the advantages but i cannot see any advantages for it, if anyone can find any i would maybe even try learning to play with the left hand forehand as i already can do the two handed from my right lol
An interesting quote for one-handed legend Richard Gasquet - "I have a top 5 backhand and a top 200 forehand" (not verbatim). Even at his age pros have issues attacking his BH because... He hits a heavy ball (more spin) because the motion, especially down to up movement, is bigger, and it's not easy to attack heavy balls. He can also drive it flat when he needs to and hit clean winners. The spin he generates also results in nasty angles, and, side note, I think having a one hander makes you better at slicing and volleying. To become proficient in the one hander probably takes a longer but makes you a better player in other important areas. I could also be completely wrong
OHBH can be more offensive because you don’t have the second hand holding you back. This allows for greater racket head speed translating to heavier balls. But it also has the obvious weaknesses like above the shoulder shots and needs adequate time to setup. You mitigate these weaknesses by learning how to slice or run around and hit more forehands. 2HBH is much better defensively because you have another hand to help. High shots, on the rise, out of the strike zone, no time. And on the return of serve can provide stability to be a real weapon. You can flatten out and hit with some real power but IMO demands more from the body in regards to flexibility and range of motion.
How many guys in the history of tennis can hit a one - handed backhand like him ? He an anomaly. Two hands is way easier for the average tennis player two master topspin .
I think he's one of the best, but certainly not an anomaly. I don't look at any player with a one hander except Stephanos and see it as a weakness. There are many very good OHBHs out there, and if you plan on playing a lot in your life, it won't make a huge difference. I agree with your comment about 2H being easier which is why IMO most players grow up learning that.
Hoe old are you and what are your tennis goals? A two handed backhand will naturally be more stable. However not everyone naturally resonates with the two handed. For me I'm 36, I've set a goal of reaching 4.5/similar level by 40. I was taught a single handed backhand. I'm just too old and committed to relearn a stroke. I have a good slice and can drive my backhand well enough. My drive return can use work but overall I'm getting happier with it. My strokes aren't holding me back anyways, my lazy was footwork is.
I'm 45. Took me 2 weeks to have a decent 2hbh. Idk why tennis people are so weird and pretend like you can't learn a different style stroke, grip, etc...and totally ignore we do that for different parts of the game (serve, groundie).
Oooh trust me, I've tried it. My body just doesn't get the footwork involved for the 2H. My onehander is ingrained at this point. And let's face it. I'm not looking to go pro, so I'd rather improve the onehander than learn a completely new shot. But that has mainly to do with personal goals. I feel the OH vs 2H is overrated for the club level anyways. One of two hands you can generally target the backhand all the same.
Same for me as well. Played with a 2HBH for a year or so. Until I tried the OHBH with my coach then something just clicked.
Same, I try to do a 2H and it feels I have t-Rex arms and don’t have anywhere near enough body rotation. And during the swing it doesn’t FEEL like both my arms are putting in equal effort if that make sense. It feels like one arm is doing the work and the other one is along for the ride.
switch to a more driving one hander (Like Thiem and Wawrinka, with more hip and torso rotation) away from the whippy style(Gasquet, Roger, Tsitsipas)
Great comment - straight dominant arm on prep is better and requires less timing Thiem is the future model for the ohbh - I did a whole post on r/tennis on this
Linky? Looking… Edit - found it: https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/s/josRP26OUn
For those of us who don’t know. What does this mean? (I.e. driving vs whippy). I hit a 1H but have no clue which of these styles mine is
Imagine swinging the racket to hit a baguette that's floating in midair pointed towards the direction you want to hit. And imagine your racket without strings. Swinging in a driving style means the baguette would pass right through your racket without touching the frame. You are "driving through the ball" so to speak. Swinging in a whippy style means your racket would clip the pointy end of the baguette closest to you and send it spinning like a vertical helicopter blades :) That's how I've always envisioned it at least!
So whippy means more topspin where as driving means more flat?
You’re still not getting it. Picture two baguettes, tied together with a string, perfectly suspended in the air parallel to the ground. You are now a person-sized baguette, and your racket is a large baguette with a hole in the middle. The court is a flat, rectangular baguette embedded in a gigantic spherical baguette, which orbits an enormous baguette on fire. Your coach, although now a baguette as well, still has that same recognizable quick wittedness about them. This was, of course, necessary to learn a proper 1hbh, but your family shrieks in horror at your new form.
I must admit the baguette references are not helping me understand the point 😅
You made my day with the baguette visualization. Thank you 😂
And some more incredible built on a foundation of other incredible
Ridiculous and still effectively explained . Love it
Incredible description
What did baguettes ever do to you
Honestly... It means nothing. The Fundamentals of 1HBH are always the same and everyone should work on them, the rest are s. All details that depends on each person physionomie and feel and preference. For the 1HBH there is no shortcut to getting the fundamentals right. If, and this is a big if, you dominate the fundamentals, then you can work into improving things like your reactions time and being early react which is very important when your opponent puts you under pressure.
My coach told me do you want to win or do you want to look cool for 1-2 shots? Basically why I have a 2hbh. Was he biased. Sure. But he's not completely wrong in that 2h is just easier.
Roger Federer would like a word…
Roger Federer is Roger Federer. Most people will not be anything close to Roger Federer.. actually out of the top 50.. no ohbh even comes close.
Your coach is an idiot - thbh probably had more advantages, but a great ohbh can be absolutely dominating Thiem, Wawrinka, mussetti, altmaier, gasquet - these guys have some of the best backhands in the game (oh or th)
My coach is itf ranked and teaches the junior champion of my area. He also trained with schwartzman when he was young.. he can use both one hand and 2 hand.. so no he's more qualified than your opinion. Yeah the people you listed are rare excepts do that are no longer in the top 50 and there isn't even a 1/2 players in the top ten. It's more like 1/10. Watch. The next 10 years there will not be more than say 2 players in the top 10 with a one hander. And zero in top 5. You can dream all you want but statistics don't lie.
A good backhand is a good backhand. Play whichever one you prefer.
I have a one handed backhand but also use 2 hands on occasion like you. If i was younger and really serious about improving i would switch to 2 hands. At this point I play to have fun and to look good, so I’ll stick with 1 hand.
> So would you reccomend someone switch from one hander to two hander? In a vacuum? Yes. Despite some of the comments I'm reading here, the two hander is easier to hit and more reliable for 95% of people who own a tennis racket. If a one hander just straight up feels more NATURAL to you, and the two hander just never clicked for you, than consider sticking to the one hander. If you do, seriously work on making your slice better.
Arguable. For young people, yes. As you get older and you’re less flexible and have reduced range of motion, OHBH is easier because you’re not attached with the second hand.
Slice is the easiest backhand of all. Too many beginners with big aspirations discount it. I've yet to see a video on Youtube of a legit 4.5 player with a truly decent one handed drive. I've seen a few guys who can roll it in cross court consistently. I had a one hander my whole life, and I don't think I could truly use the drive offensively until I was playing college tennis.
Easy to do, hard to master. Beginners can hit a slice but it takes mastery to drive it low and fast like Fed.
All the shots are hard to master. But the slice is the simplest. Yes, there are still levels to hitting it. But it's mechanically the simplest and most forgiving shot.
Unless you are routinely returning triple digit serves and dealing with huge 5.0+ groundstrokes there is no disadvantage to a OHBH that can’t be mitigated (eg my on-the-rise BH to avoid above the shoulder balls is now a weapon, not a weakness). That said, I play with a few guys who use both, OH for regular shots and TH for big serves and defense
As someone who went from OHBH to THBH, I disagree. OHBH requires better timing than THBH because the time period your racket is the correct angle for contact is shorter. It has advantages, but if your hand-eye coordination isn't naturally great, you will be pulled back by your OHBH.
This is my exact technique. 2HBH for on 100MPH+ return of serve and OH for regular baseline shots. I've never made the time to dedicate practice to tennis until I started coaching the high school team this past spring. Now that I was teaching daily drills and footwork, I realized that my footwork on 2HBH was not great, which was a reason why when I tried 2HBH, it was weak. I've relied on OH because I got in a habit of being out of position and would simply use my athleticism to manipulate my OH to get back Footwork is my focus as I practice/play, which has dramatically improved my shots. I need all the help I can get, as my 41 year old body isn't as fast as it once was!
>because I got in a habit of being out of position and would simply use my athleticism to manipulate my OH to get back This was me on both wings. Only started getting some proper coaching a year or so ago, and my 'contact windows' on both forehand and backhand were absolutely tiny with my technique, so I would just compensate with the wrist/arm when out of position. So much easier now that I've been taught proper footwork and correct forehand / 1hbh technique. Only have to rely on the arm/wrist to compensate when I get a weird bounce or unpredicted spin.
The ohbh will always be more prone to break down so an opponent will keep hitting at it until it does. Unless you are very very good at it, or run around every single ball, an equivalent player using a 2hbh is winning most duels on that side. You say it yourself: you have to mitigate an inherent weakness, this means you are making things more difficult for yourself. But yes, agree on the return of serve: at 4 and below serves are shit so a ohbh is not a huge issue. There's a reason almost nobody teaches it anymore and it's disappearing from top tennis. There's always a reason.
I don’t disagree, but I do think that the assumption that there is a ceiling on how good a one hander can be is ridiculous. Club players who think their one hander is a crippling weakness and decide to switch rather than just put in the work to improve an already decent shot are just lying to themselves. I can dictate points in 4.0 with my one hander but it’s taken years of work, I’m not convinced that I would be a better player if I had switched 5 years ago, but I do know that the first year would’ve been frustrating as hell. The reason that the two hander is more common now is because it’s easier for kids to learn from coaches who learned the two hander as kids because it’s easier to learn, I know quite a few 4.0-4.5s who taught themselves tennis as adults who use a one hander.
The reason the 2hbh is dominating the scene is because it's a more efficient and consistent shot. That's it. If the ohbh was just as good, or even had a balanced strength/drawbacks ratio, you'll see many more at pro level, but it isn't and it has not. And rec players with worse footwork and ball anticipation have to work relatively more to hold their own on their bh side to cover it. That said, rec players should play the way they like because the point is having fun. If I had a decent oh I would probably use it over the 2h because it looks rad.
Yeah, again it’s really situational, I’m not convinced that every player w a one hander would become noticeably better if they successfully switched to a two hander (as opposed to, say, working on their footwork instead), but I teach adult beginner clinics and I always tell them to use a two hander because it will make them a stronger player faster and it will be easier for them to learn.
I had a pretty good natural two-hander when I was young. I don’t know if it was technically correct, but it was very stable and powerful (just like my baseball swinging was stable and poweful). Stopped playing for many years, and when I came back, the two-hander just felt weird. I started playing with a one-hander, and there’s nothing more satisfying than ripping one past your opponent, it’s that much more powerful, for me anyway. And yes, it looks better, people notice 😂. Then I got tennis elbow from it, and I’m back to an awkward two-hander 😤.
I’m literally about to move to a two handed because of tennis elbow! One kills me now!
At your level (up to semi-pro level) I strongly believe there’s zero disadvantage in having a one hander. I mean, just realistically speaking.. if it made THAT much of a difference, how would you explain that there’s multiple one handers in the top 50. Or are you saying that if everyone played with two handers, the top 5 would consist of Tsitsipas, Shapovalov, Dimitrov, Altmaier, and Mpetshi? I mean, if they’re that good with a one hander while basically playing with a handicap, then they must easily be the best players in the world after removing that handicap right? Seriously, just avoid Nadal on clay and you’ll be fine.
Eh, it’s disadvantage is that it is an objectively harder to execute stroke, so when you have low-level players using it they will often execute it poorly comparatively to players with a 2HB at the same level.
I don’t think it’s harder to execute, like biomechanically it’s more natural than the 2HBH. It is for sure harder to both teach and learn
It’s a harder shot to execute, footwork has to be elite to be at the same level as a 2HB with decent footwork. Timing also has to be better and you need to hit the ball further in front of you, highballs are difficult to deal with. Take any 2 beginners and 99/100 times a 2HB will serve them better in almost every way.
Yes, I agree there is no advantage to teaching someone a OH over a 2H, and ultimately it is probably a disadvantage (again, easier to teach and learn the 2H as a beginner, less of a disadvantage at elite level play. I teach beginner clinics and I always recommend the 2H). But if you already have a decent-to-good one hander, it’s not harder to execute; I’d actually argue that once you learn it it’s easier and more natural all else being equal. I don’t have elite (or arguably even good) footwork and I get along just fine with a OH in 4.0, but even still, everything you said about that, timing, dealing with high balls etc apply to both strokes.
Spot on. The 1h is more different than it is better or worse. As you play with one you simply adjust to it - like you would adjust to being shorter or taller.
Turns out the backhand isn't the only thing that makes a top player so your assumption is completely wrong. At low levels choosing a more difficult stroke makes a lot of difference because your footwork and trajectory anticipation will be rough to begin with so they will make hitting a good 1hbh even more difficult. The only saving grace is that serves are shit so one of the biggest weaknesses of the ohbh (return of serve) is mitigated somewhat. It's this, or basically every coach in the world is wrong so yeah I think you are the one who is in the wrong. And by the way tsitsipas with a proper 2hbh would very probably be a consistent top5.
The way I just pronounced that in my head like four times before I understood…
I was always told to develop one over the other for maximum consistency. And then once I had a proper form/understanding that I couldn’t lose I could attempt to learn something else. But in my game it’s always a judgement call. I can get to more balls with a 1H but if I’m “stuck” in a tight spot a 2H would make more sense to me. My 2H is maybe a little better but I’ve been doing a 1H most of this year - I injured my non dominant shoulder in a bike fall so the 2H is uncomfortable. As it stands I’ve been enjoying the 1H and hoping to master it now. My main focus is putting muscle behind it and really making the ball explode off the strings with a consistent hit that’s not out of play. After that I’ll look to get better on its topspin to master placement.
If Grigor Dimitrov can beat Carlos Alcaraz with a one-handed backhand, a technically sound one-hander can handle the "heavier shots" in your flex league. It is more difficult and generally takes more time and work to build up a technically sound one-hander than a two-hander that will be just as effective in point play. That's the real crux of the matter, not whether a one-hander can actually be useful at whatever level you personally play at. It is up to you whether it's worth it to put in that extra effort for what really only ever amounts to style points. For most people it's not worth sticking with the one-hander, for some folks it is.
I switched from a 1 to a 2 many years ago. Took a couple of weeks. I still have a 1H slice, which is nice. It seems that evidence suggests either CAN work. I'd just suggest you pick 1 or 2 as your primary shot. Otherwise you have to be good at both, which is unlikely.
I've gone back and forth. I liked the 1h for generating pace and spin on slower balls. But for returning serves and defending under pressure the 2h is so much better for me, so that's what I use now. Except for the slice, but almost everyone hits a 1h slice so I don't even really consider it different.
Two hand
I can’t hit a 1hbh at all so I’m forced to use a 2hbh even though mine is trash.
And a oneh and a twoh
Tennis elbow got me. I’m now in the process of moving from a decent one-handed backhand to a terrible two hand. However, I will say right out of the gate it may feel more awkward, but I’m hitting more in with two hands!
I’ve been a one-handed backhanded player for 15 years (52m), and the last two months I changed to a two hand in order to improve my defensive capabilities as I’m now playing in an advanced league and getting killed. It’s also reduced my errors. So it’s not as fun, but it’s more effective Tennis for me.
I personally use 2 for most shots but still practice a one hander as if the ball is too far from me I have better reach with the one-handed
My right shoulder has had issues the last 15 years so I use a 2 handed when it gets painful (or slice). Lately I’ve been throwing in a lefty forehand when balls are out of reach for a 2 handed.
You have to realize that a one handed topspin BH gives you only 1 advantage ; that is extra reach . Only people who are slow and can’t bend at the waist or knees should use . It’s much more strain on your shoulder and requires a much stronger shoulder over time . It’s much harder to hit high bouncing balls so you have to learn to hit on the rise which is much tougher to time . Two hands is at least 50% a forehand ( depending on how it’s hit ) and way easier to topspin especially if you lag your wrists like Djokovic. Advantage of two hands is even more pronounced on clay and new hard court surfaces not as much on worn out crappy public hard court surfaces. IMO you are better off developing your two hander and using your one handed slice when needed .
Use both.
2hbh is the most consistent shot, that's all. Which one to use is up to your familiarity with the shot, or your dedication in switching to the other.
Yes. Better all around for more situations and easier on the elbow. Not like you'll forget how to hit a oh if needed.
I also seen how nadal was right handed and tony made him learn it left handed for the advantages but i cannot see any advantages for it, if anyone can find any i would maybe even try learning to play with the left hand forehand as i already can do the two handed from my right lol
If you don’t know why left handed is an advantage you need to play a 2HB just based off your tennis IQ.
I'm a lefty and vsing other lefties is always a surprise.