Hit Like if You Think the One-Handed Backhand is the Most Elegant Shot in Tennis

When you really connect with the ball and everything is perfect, there is no shot more satisfying than a one handed backhand winner.

Love the journey. I had a golf instructor who I spotted on the range hitting balls left-handed. When I asked him why, he said "so I can feel what's it's like to learn the golf swing and be a better instructor." It takes humility to empty the cup so you can refill it with new learning. Congratulations.

@intuitivetennis, I'm not sure you want any advice. But, let me help, since you help us so much.... 1. Turn immediately u notice the ball is going to your backhand. 2. Use the power position - hold the racket with the head of the racket up for the racket take back, and with the left elbow raised to about shoulder height. Currently, your left elbow is too low and two close to your body, and your racket face at take back is over rotated as in you lose power because you already sent the racket back and low. It's kind of like getting into a slot postion before the ball bounces on the forehand. You are locking up the power. 3. Drive from this power position forward into the ball. You will get the racket now naturally swinging back to the slot position and then coming forward with speed. 4. Dont forget to air your armpits out more with the finish. Let momentum take the racket accros the body and not a deliberate swing across the body.

I think your one-handed backhand is a mix of slice and top-spin, just like how some kick serves can get closer to a slice serve depending on the ball toss and contact point. The reason seems to be that you don’t have an eastern grip but a continental. When I switched to eastern, my racket automatically started the whipping motion where the butt cap of the racket looks to the opponent, just like Federer and Wawrinka. Your backhands look more like Federer’s returns where he doesn’t do high top spin but more of a block. For the pain in your palm when doing an eastern grip, you can try the trigger finger, separating your index finger from the rest, which increases the space between each finger, as well. This will lead to a slight change in the alignment of your hand with the racket, so the butt cap does not hurt as much.

I also switched from 2H to 1H and absolutely love it! The freedom is amazing

I learned the one-hander growing up and then took 20 years off. One thing that I discovered as I return to tennis now is that I can toss the racket from my backhand side to my forehand side and regrip in midair. No idea when I learned that, but yeah, regripping from backhand to forehand is definitely its own skill. Thanks for committing to put time into the 1HBH, and congrats for getting your two-hander back 🎉

it's great you're exploring possibilities of the game with the "Project one hander", one thing I noticed is how you pause after hitting the backhand at the baseline like you're admiring the shot whereas you get back into position immediately after hitting a forehand

Loved the one - hander series. I switched a couple years back after returning to tennis. I had developed a bad low back and when using a two -hander the rotation energy put a lot pressure on my disks/hips... The more linear shot production of the one hander helped me get back but... I was so good with that two hander down the line and cross. It was like having a handy cap when playing usta at low level now with that one hander. After some time it's gotten better and I realized that my standing position needed to change on the return of serve to adjust for the different contact point. Early prep, less cheating and it has to be clean lift. Anyway, enjoyed it and thank you.

Hey Nik, I don’t know if You saw that, but in this years AO doubles final, 3 out of 4 Players on court played the one hander and it was a beautiful thing to Watch!

You are absolutely correct on 1 hander does slice and volley with backhand much better because its some what similar. One thing i want to point out for other people that want to or have 1 hand backhand is. 1. Prepare early. Before the ball bounce on your court. If you aren't finished with preparation. It will be tough to drive your 1handback. Might have to just block it like the return of serves. 2. Choose to hit the 1handback only IF the ball is the right heights. If you know its higher than your shoulders. Dont force the drive. Slice it. If its below your knee. Slice it. 3. Use more hips. And less arm. Those are 3 things that help me out. Excellent video displaying the progress!❤

great work on the stroke Nick, I'm 39 and I'm lucky I grew up being taught the one handed back hand, I found it really helped to have a racquet which has a high head light balance and higher swing weight and the right responsive strings to hit one hander back hand, especially on the defensive back hands. Yonnex Vcore 95, Ezone 98, Wilson Six One 95, Pro staff 97, Blade 98 are some of the best known racquets for a one handed back hand. Return of serve is art form, it a thing of beauty to watch Henin Hardene, Grigor Dimitrov, Wawrinka, Shapovalov, Thiem pull this off. Perhaps the technique of this will be content for a new video one day, P.S. One glaring detail that another comment mentioned below here is that your left elbow should be pointing to the back fence and much higher up at face height, you need to be hitting the baller earlier in order to bend your knees more. Don't take my word for it, look at the video replay of all the pros mentioned before, they can't be wrong.

I think it's extremely cool that you are so committed to really learn the one-hander just to add it to your arsenal. As a one-handed player, I am considering doing the reverse: exploring the benefits of the two-hander.

Great series. Best coach on KZfaq, easy.

Keep going Nick. There is nothing more complex and artistic and athletic than a 1hbh.

I'm a one-hander ... I didn't really choose it, it just felt natural. Probably in part because of playing a lot of table tennis in years past. I do still have a LOT to learn on it though. I struggle with taking the ball off the bounce, or like you said on returns. On the other hand, when I hit a solid one-hander, I can probably put more pace on that shot than any other shot aside from my serve. If my opponent comes to the net on my backhand without a solid shot, I kinda enjoy it because I can lay into it, and it's unlikely (at my level) they'll be able to do much with it. I do think it is the most beautiful shot in tennis. But I understand why you gave this up. Even though I've not been playing tennis very long, trying to switch to a two-hander would be a real challenge. Fun project though!

What's beautiful about your one-handed backhanded journey is that by July '23 you can see your shoulder rotation to harness and maximize direction, spin, and power, as well as your finish that looks so natural. One observation is that your take back isn't automatic, even by January '24. Long live the stroke but well done in any event!

I did the same thing 10 years ago. My bh was the strong side of my game but I wanted to have fun. I enjoy the speed of the racket with the 1h bh. I’ve Improved my bh volley. The problem is I’ve lost the feeling with the 2h bh. Great videos, thank you

It also gives you the option of a slice return .. which I find tremendously useful. Glad to see you also think it's not a disadvantage .. I've never heard of the top players who have one complain they felt that : Federer, Wawrinka, Thiem, Shapo, Dimitrov, Musetti, Eubanks, Gasquet .. come to mind.

In the January 2024 points being played, most of the backhands missed seem to be caused by (1) racquet face a bit inside out when striking and/or (2) being off balance when striking the ball. I have always used one-handed backhand and I have the having the feeling of the stroke being like a swinging door and throwing myself through the ball rather than a pushing motion. My backhand is my most winning stroke, but I do not have an inside out strike (unless slicing intentionally) and I am mostly balanced when hitting. Going from 2-hands to 1-hand probably needs 1 year under pressure rather than 1 year easy practice..

I have become hybrid with backhands, used to be 2handed, learned the one handed last year and now can hit similar shots with both type of backhands either if it is long line or return of serve. I do howover always keep my 2h for higher balls or when I am under pressure. I switch to a one hander in most normal rally shots, when I have more time to set up a strong attacking shot or to create an angle. The 1h just feels more comfortable, my 2h can become stiff when hitting more of them in a row. It just works for me like this and I dont really think about it anymore, just my little quirk I guess.

I started to play tennis 41. My first coach, a relatively old man told me that every man has to have a one-hander)) i fell in love with this shot and have been trying to improve that for 4.5 year. Now I'm 45. I still love one handed backhand very much and finally see that that shot started to love me 😂 P.S.: I have lots of videos of my game on my channel. If you have interest you can watch them😊

Really appreciate you sharing this journey with us. I have great respect for the effort and time you put in! I was a college player and a teaching pro for years (I'm now 43 years old). I have a one-handed backhand and couldn't imagine playing any other way. My backhand is by far my stronger side and least likely to break down. Students over the years have asked, "How do we beat you, coach?". My answer's always the same, "Don't hit it to my backhand." It's a beautiful stroke, and I owe my coaches a fantastic debt for helping me stick with it. It is, truly, the most elegant, beautiful shot in tennis. And, for anyone else with a one-hander (and you now, Nik, since you've joined us for a bit), there is absolutely NO better feeling on a tennis court than hitting a clean one-hander down the line for a winner. Every time I do, especially on the run, I tell myself, "Now's a good time to retire." 🙂

I'm a natural OHBH, so it's my best (consistent and powerful) hit. my FH grip is between semi-western and western, so adjusting to eastern BH is minimum. After seeing your OHBH, I'd say a slightly more eastern grip would help with spin and consistency, like you noticed. The head of the racquet should point upwards in the beginning of the takeback (you'll get more momentum and acceleration, like when you explained how bad for timing and acceleration is starting the FH takeback with the head backwards). And maybe trying to hold the hips, ala Federer, ending the hit with your torso heading to the side: you end with the torso at 45º, ala Wawrinka, which indicates you are using a bit of hip rotation at the end; not bad, but you'll get better control and similar power otherwise; to achieve this, you are doing well the torso rotation at the beginning, pushing forward and down the right shoulder, but you need to carry the left arm backwards with more decision, to hold the hips (Federer even used to nod with the head to avoid any torso rotation). Try to improve your OHBH instead of quitting, it would be wonderful seeing you resting and hitting high balls double-handed, but creating incredible angles one-handed

Loved this project! I'm a late convert to tennis, went straight to a OHBH thanks to RF, and not a bad result after 10 years. Now thinking of learning a two-hander for returns of serve and backcourt defense, and maybe the jump-off-one-leg high ball put-away like Lleyton Hewitt!

I started playing tennis again after 12 years of not playing tennis and it took me like 2 solid years of practicing like 3-4hours of ONLY 1H-backhands a week to get it to a state in which i would say its not really a weakness anymore. (even though i always played a 1handed backhand except for the first 6 years of being a little child) Returns are still hard to be cosistent with but during a rally i love it and as you said the angles you can create with a 1 hander(sometimes not even consciously to be fair) are really incredible. Its a lot of hard work to be consistent with a 1handed backhand and i would still say the 2handed backhand in general is probably better to use for the majority of players but just got to love the style and the more offensive nature of it. 1h BH for life

I play with the one handed backhand ..👍🏻 No regrets man ...👍🏻 😃 Its got more reach on the stretch while running ..👍🏻 Plus i like my backhand slice 🍕 the most.. Most elegant shot in tennis 🎾 ..👍🏻 😃 😎 Some of the Greatest tennis 🎾 legends men and women have used this beautiful stroke through out the years..👍🏻

Thank you Nick! I'm also have been learning one-handed backhand for one year, and I feel funny cause I cannot get Federer level (LOL) on that shot, but after this video I feel much better 😂

Hey, nick. You said that you have troubles changing from the 1 handed backend eastern grip to your semi-western forehand grip. As most players you make the change going from bevel 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 which is too far away. I realized that making the change from 1 - 4 in the other way around is much faster, you basically just have to change the angle of your hand from a square hand (one handed backend) to a more inclined position of the hand (forehand). There are even two handed backhanders such as Jack Sock and Coco Gauff who make the change in this less conventional way. I believe that in the future it will become more common to make the grip change this way as players have more and more extreme forehand grips, which make the distance to cover smaller and smaller by going this way around the raquet.

This was an amazing journey and I happy you did this series. Looking great for 46 years old my friend. You’re almost in the 50 club young fella. Hahe

Great video, as always! Truly, the goat 🐐 of tennis content on YT. I hit a 1 hander and can tell you the problems you have aren't just your own. Unfortunately for me, after a gymnastics accident as a teenager, playing with a 2 hander isn't an option for me. Long live the 1 handed backhand!

Great video, and glad you gave the one hander a fair go. I find for me that the losing the grip issue you found was so dependent on the racquets grip shape and material. Some brands like Head and Technifibre use a more rectangular grip shape which i find gives better tactile feedback on my grip changes. For racquets with squarer grip shapes like Wilson and Yonex, I can only use them with a harder leather grip to make the edges more obvious during grip changes, but then that adds weight. I'll be curious to see if you have any carry over benefits from this exercise, as i found every time I'd try then inevitably give up on learning a two hander, the added focus on correct footwork and spacing carried over to my one hander and makes that shot better

Hi. Well I am so happy you put this video out there and brought up this topic. I am also pleased you are enouraging coaches to help bring through new one handers in future. I grew up watching guys like Ivan Lendl and a smilar age to many of the last crop of one handers from the 1990s and 2000s. Such a pity its disappearing.

I'm in my late 50s and always used a 1HBH. I was a USPTA pro for ten years and I would teach both the 1HBH and the 2HBH and would introduce both to juniors so they could decide what felt best. In my opinion, the 1HBH is a much better stroke than the 2HBH "if" mastered. With that said, I believe it is much more difficult to master the 1HBH than the 2HBH. Ironically, I cannot hit a 2HBH very well. I could never get any power nor feel any solid shots with it. I have always been able to rip the 1HBH, which is so much more versatile, yet more complicated. The 1HBH as a weapon to me is like a sword while the 2HBH is like a frying pan!!! 🤣

Hi Nick. I've always felt much more natural using a one-handed backhand. I could produce good effortless power but made too many errors, especially in matches, as you pointed out. I switched to a two-hander about 5 years ago and it's helped with less errors but feels so un-natural to me. The biggest problem with my two-hander is that it has put a good deal of stress on my lower back, which has taken away much of the enjoyment when playing. If I want to keep playing, I may have to switch back to a one-hander. Thanks for this video!

Can't believe you're dropping it! It looked great this video. Need to have racquet head higher on take back so you can drop it for more topspin tho.

Thank you for this video and for your daring experiment. It's so refreshing to hear somebody speak admiringly of the one-hander with respect to qualities other than its beauty (which is obviously superior). I play a one-handed backhand because after my first year of tennis playing a two hander, I found the one hander way more powerful, spinny, and kinaesthetically elegant. Of course it requires better footwork to hit consistently well, but I think techniques that necessitate you improve in other areas are important in sports, and life generally. I hope that with young players like Musetti and Mpetshi Perricard, the one-handed backhand can undergo a revival in children players. It's an ambitious shot, and that's why it's so magnificent when mastered.

Awesome to see this video about the one-handed backhand😊. Yeah the one-hander has its disadvantages but it is a classy shot. Agree with your point Nick about the grip change. It took me almost two years to feel okish when changing from backhand to forehand😢. Personaly, there is no way anybody could talk to me into a two-handed backhand. I simply feel jammed and tight playing like that. Good luck getting back to your two-hander👊

Hi Nik.. I think your backhand looks good. Reminds me abit like Michael Stich backhand. I could be wrong. Maybe you should make a comparison video. Regardless always enjoy your videos. So informative and educational. I habe have learned a lot from you. Many thanks

I think you were spot on with all of the criticisms you've encountered on your way to that solid One-Hander you have now, especially because I related to every one of them you mentioned (except the hand blister. The side of my thumb would blister; not my hand. Tightening my grip helped with that - which you taught me!) I understand why you'll stick to your 2BH but tis a shame to not be able to see that sweet return (8:05) in future videos. Long live the 1 hander indeed!

I play tennis since 2010, I watched a wawrinka's match and I put in my head "I need play tennis with one hand backhand". For a long years, that was the hole in my game, but today is better, I can control my games with a combination top spin and slice. I know if I started playing with 2HB my life in tennis woud be easier, but I don't have any regets

Nick, keep going. Don’t let this set you back!! Your one hander series is motivating myself to work on mines

Great video. Tis a shame you couldn't integrate it better. You actually look like you have some confidence in your one-hander cross court. Awesome effort on your part. I've always played a one-hander because I'm old, and have always been jealous of the two hander.

Thank God! Your two hander is so solid. Good experiment though. I spent a whole season with a one hander on a 4.0 team and was undefeated but I ran around it A LOT. Switched back to my original two-hander I used as a junior and have been slowly retooling it. One plus side was that it helped my backhand slice which is something I did not have as a junior. That's the best combo for me. Two hand drive, one hand slice.

Great great video man. Keep it up!

From the start, you are very well!!👏 I couldn't even hit over the net.🤣

I've been coaching my 8 and 6 yr old girls OHBH for the past 1+ yrs and it was not as hard as I thought: 1. As compared to adults, a higher takeback for kids helps them generate more pace 2. The 8 year old developed a pretty decent BH slice by herself without any coaching and I only refined it. 3. For return of serve the 8 year old developed a a part block/ part chip return with reasonable pace so it works for her. 4. Quicker footwork & positioning is crucial for a more aggresive OHBH with good topspin Like what Nick said I do hope more coaches teach the OHBH. It requires more patience but the rewards will come oneday.

Eastern 1h backhand for life! The grip change thing is real though and you need to practice.

I really like your one hander coach Nik, and even if you don't use it again, it's always good to have it in your tool box in case you develop a wrist injury on your left hand for your 2 hander. I have a one hander, so it was really cool seeing you hitting a technically correct one hander! 👍👏

Your racquet head control is noticeably improved on the one hander.

For returning its generally more optimal with a onehander to chip/slice the shots back, or play with a continental just for the return (since you can opt to use the grip for either shot). In terms of the hand placement issue, it sounds like you may be placing your hand way too low, personally my palm never touches the butt or anything on the eastern.

Thank you for this great video. Keep up the fantastic work! ❤

You nailed every single issue..... Brilliant analysis.

The backswing reminds me of the old-school 70s backswing, which is very compact and holstered like you are unsheathing a sword. The finish has a more 90s style finish where the follow through is big but not exaggerated like a Wawrinka or Shapovalov follow through. More or less a Lendl or Edberg style follow through.

I can play both although I am more confident with the 2 hander. I really enjoy practicing the one handed because it improves my timing for the 2 hander.

i would love to have you as my coach. Come to italy pleaseeeeeeee

Kudos for making the effort. I started with a two hander and then moved to single in my early teens. I did notice you kept your racquet up for an extra second plus at the end of your follow through. You might want to put that time back into getting ready for your next shot.

❤❤❤

I went from my one handed backhand to two handed backhand, it’s been two years and I’ve never looked back 😎

One handed looks much cooler 😊

You should do "project left hander" and try to learn to play left handed next

It is exactly what I'm struggling with! When I started to replace slice with one-hander my level started to decline due to weak backhands, which allow my partners to attack them.

For the return I basically take an abbreviated backswing and half swing on fast serves. I think you just have to have a strong shoulder on the one hander and just block stuff just like a two hander. It takes more strength to do though. Sisapase is an example.

When talking about the wide balls, a heavier eastern grip will help. I use a conservative eastern grip but mess around with the modern eastern grip and follow through for fun. Biggest differences i notice is more average topspin and WAY better crosscourt power with a modern eastern.

Changing a core shot is crazy hard, especially off a stroke that is a good part of your game like your 2hbh. I changed to a 1hbh when I was 16 for some very foolish reasons, but it didn't become a good shot until I was 19 and training 4 hours a day on clay for a semester in Spain with college players and aspiring pros. And even then, the shot got worse when I came back to a regular schedule in the States. I think intense practice has to be maintained for a period of years to turn a new stroke into a match worthy weapon.

I learned 1 handed backhand at 35, had been playing 2 handed backhand for 13 years. Suddenly had the urge to learn a 1hbh after buying a Pro Staff 97 RF autograph as it was going out of production. My motivation was mostly aesthetic, I wanted to look better on the court, lol. But it soon turned out that I could attack the ball from so much better than my 2hbh, and my movement to my backhand side became so much more economical. It has been 2 years, my journey continues, these days, I am hitting rallies with a tennis Saber to get my hits cleaner.

Finishing the two-hander love affair with a shank is a bit of down note. There were many good moments after all, and visible progress, even though it was never love at first sight. Your best backhands were the very flat ones, and the best one might have been the one we couldn't see, when you were forced way to the left, out of the picture, and hit it down the line. I saw some improvement to the return in the last part of the video. You eliminated the stopping moment and returned more in one fluent but short swing. When I'm back on the court after my herniated disc surgery, I will hit a few flat backhands in your honor - thanks for the video and the one-year-effort with the shot that seemed to go so much against your grain at the beginning.

7:31 This is perfect. And this is exactly what happened to me when only practicing my one handed backhand! Glad to see I’m not the only one😂

Coach, I use sandpaper on the butt cap to reduce its sharpness. I am on the opposite path. I started with one-handed backhand and am now trying a two-handed backhand.

Your progress is quite good but I think the take back is something that could be changed, for the shot at 9:20 when you were coming back into the court after hitting your forehand at 9:22 it looks like you were setting up to hit a double handed backhand (muscle memory), the left hand on the throat of the racquet could perhaps be higher and also have the racquet in a more vertical position. Overall I think to hit the one handed backhand well, takes a lot of effort to get the footwork right and be precise in positioning yourself to hit the shot. In my experience it's an on-going battle to recognise the path of the incoming ball since it's such a challenge dealing with above shoulder / head height balls, as well as balls that have awkward bounce with a one hander. You have to really commit early either to take it on early or move back quickly. I think that's what makes the one-hander so difficult. The return of serve one-handed backhand is almost like a different shot to the full one-handed backhand stroke.

I had a two hand backhand all through juniors and college tennis. After finishing college I didn’t play for 7 years and when I started up again I took lessons and learned the one hander. The serve return is the only time I miss the two handed backhand.

Return of 1st serve will always be weaker on a one-hander but you can always slice the ball. Well hit slice can allow you to neutralize the rally.

Oh and Nick for the high backhand on both return and rallying the swing back is from shoulder, high to high. So you set up the take back or coil at your chest or shoulder level and swing. Follow this shallow swing path from start to end. Not from low to high. This will give you a ball that's flat and dives down deep into the court. The wide balls as well, your are being hurt because of that old school take back, if you use the power postion you get to the ball quickly with an even shorter take back. In your case, you are using the same take back on wider balls us u use for normal rally balls, you gonna get hurt by wide balls. Finally the short or low return. Your take back must be abbreviated and u must move torward the ball maybe with a hopping step. That should fix it. And oh, stay low Nick, stay low on the one hander. its your best friend

Please, continue training your one-handed backhand and please, also explain what are the reasons the one-handed sometimes fall apart?

What are your thoughts on the inverted one handed backhand? It’s mainly used by wheelchair players and allows them to hit backhands while maintaining a semi western forehand grip.

how about using both OH and 2H? use OH as a cheese or surprise to your oppoinent to do a parallel shot or get an off angle?

I play with one handed backhand since years now, and I feel every time I prepare my backhand shot it is like a mission, two handed is much easier that every time I miss my shot I think about switching to a two handed bh

Don't hang off the end, it's digging into the palm. A little higher up the handle. Pain solved.... A return to neutral grip after a backhand/forehand...off hand rests on the throat(w/preference).

I know that you are competitive, but being frustrated about a shot that you know you won't use ever again says a lot. Man i wish i had that spirit some times.

“C’mon, Niko!!!” - me during the progression sequence of the video

I also struggle with recovering as quickly after hitting a one-handed backhand. If I'm playing a more aggressive player, I play a low slice on my backhand side instead 90% of the time. This is a more consistent shot than my one-hander and also difficult to return for opponents that don’t bend low enough or cannot deal with the spin that comes with it.

very interesting and thanks. I can relate to what you say. I also go back to a continental grip when i hit multiple backhands because i use to play on clay as a kid. I noticed that early in your venture you were not turning your shoulders a lot. As you progressed in time, i noticed your right shoulder was turning MORE and that made your backhand more fluid.

Reminiscent of Guga Kuerten‘s backhand

Try to come around the outside of the ball a little more. Try to make your grup more eastern, things will come easier with a more estern grip including the high balls. The pain in the hand will go away. Stip changing the grip around that direction, turn it back to the forehand the other way, there is less distance. The wide backs are hard cos you are a bit slow, either speed up or slice.

i started playing tennis 6 months ago with completely zero sports background and my coach gave me option to choose and i chose the one handed just because it looked very nice and two handed looked like a cricket shot , now 6 months later im still unable to play the shot properly but i think im gonna stick with it

@IntuitiveTennis , why are you not starting to prepare the shot in front of your body with the racket facing upwards?

I don't know if this is actually recommended, but I was always taught to go back to continental grip from eastern on the one-hander after hitting. Maybe as a two-hander you never had to learn this cause you're naturally in continental. Also, I'd put cross court one-handed backhands as one of the pros. One of the best feeling shots in all of tennis.

I hit a high ball today with lots of inside out spin down the line. My opponent said he never even imagined that shot. I told him because you can't hit that shot with two hands. I love my one hand backhand 😊😊

Good progress. I play one hander for 40 years and I think the key is footwork. You can hit good forehand with ok footwork just muscle the ball, but if you do that with one hander, the swing path is not as long and you are usually in closed position so the racket speed will be much slower and the backhand wont be as good. Me personally the footwork is a key. Needles to say, I wish i grew up with two hander.

Although you would probably beat me in a bh to bh exchange I would still suggest that you: 1. Try table tennus and only try to hit backhands - blocks, block-punches and topspin loops; I came from abackground of table tennis and I believe that's what has made my backhand my more reliable shot; table tennis however destroyed my forehand 2. See tennisnerd's video about the ohbh with Nikki, especially the part about rolling the forearm, I think you could improve slightly on that front. Don't give up!

For my grip I have a simple rule. When my brain sees a forehand coming I make a unit turn, point my racquet tip to the sky and the racquet face to the right side fence and my right hand automatically finds the grip. When it’s a backhand I do the same thing on the left side. I can’t sit and think about the grips. It’s working out all right for me but the swings are quite loopy like the pros. Higher the ball, higher is my take back and more modern is my grip such that the racquet starts pointing forward. Now only if I could execute. Clay court sucks for the one handed backhand due to variable bounce. 😅

If you were a one-handed player who spent the same effort learning the two hander, would your two-hander be better than your one-hander now? Is the one-handed backhand an inferior stroke for rec players for the reasons you struggle with it? A small workable "strike zone". The ball has to be just in-front, between shoulder and hip level and not too far away from your body horizontally to work, requiring incredible footwork, anticipation, and timing. Works great in drilling where the balls are consistent and the opponent is not *trying* to make you miss - but breaks down in matches with the variety (shanks, lobs, drops, half volleys, short/lowballs).

shouldnt the racket be higher on the take-back?

I feel You Should Combine Your Game now with One Hander and Two Handers in Every Point. Hit a One Hander when Comfortable. Hit a Two Hander on the Returns the High Balls and on the Move Stretching Out Wide

Going from a 2 to a 1 hd bkhd, can actually have a bigger swing( the rear hand is not riding along and you don't have to worry about over torquing your back).

What are your thoughts about actively using both as opposed to using one necessarily more than the other? I know many two-handers will only use it when they are forced to reach, but I never really understood the logic from many coaches who advise players to choose one over the other.

Interesting that you don't create any side spin which is what makes the one handed backhand so deadly, you can tell by the way that his racket follows through that his only using top spin and also playing it rather safe, when you see a top player using a one handed backhand they rotate that racket in a way that also creates side spin if hit in the right position which was one of Fedders biggest tricks, the side spin that Hits the corner every single time

I am a self taught player, 49yo, started tennis around 37 . I could not hit but one-handed backhand. Probably wrong grip initially, even now the grip is not clear Eastern. I can only hit 2 handed as last resort when in really defending position when ball seems to go past me, but I can only hit a high ball, sometimes loopy sometimes with spin. I tried to learn 2 handed but could not manage :)

I think at 04:10 a natural one hander would slice the ball and keep it low from that position. A player would really bend low and stretch out the front leg, like a batsmen reaching out for a cover drive in cricket. Exception being going for a backhand down the line winner on the run. Saw Edberg, Sampras and others do that many times if the opponent was closing the net.

I play one handed backhand since a small kid and it’s one of my favourite shots, I’m 52 now and just getting back into tennis after many years off and feel like a big kid pretending to be Roger Federer!!!