a motion on the verge of extinction

Analyzing the ATP rankings on the finish of the 12 months, one information emerges clearly: the disaster of the one-handed backhand. Of the highest 100 gamers on this planet, 92 play it with two fingers and solely 8 are the interpreters of the one-handed shot.

The one-handed backhand is a shot that’s more and more much less widespread on the ATP Tour. A sport that’s more and more based mostly on the ability of the two-handed backhand, which is more and more dominating.

Analyzing the highest 10, there are 9 gamers with a two-handed backhand: Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Novak Djokovic, Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev. Whereas solely at quantity 10 is the primary participant with a one-handed backhand: the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.

I used to be saying that there are 92 gamers with a two-handed backhand and solely 8 who play it one-handed. As talked about, the best ranked participant is Grigor Dimitrov (ATP quantity 10). Then there’s the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas who follows him within the rankings at eleventh place.

The third participant so as of rating is Lorenzo Musetti, one other nice interpreter of this elementary shot. Musetti is ATP quantity 17. Then there’s the Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, quantity 31 on this planet. One other 4 gamers exterior the highest 50: Denis Shapovalov at quantity 56, Australian Christopher O’Connell at quantity 64, Serbian Dusan Lajovic at quantity 81 and German Daniel Altmaier at quantity 89.

Nonetheless lively however exterior the highest 100 are two different extraordinary one-handed backhands: Stan Wawrinka’s, among the best pictures ever for velocity and sweetness, and Richard Gasquet. The Swiss is now quantity 161 on this planet and the Frenchman is quantity 129 within the ATP rating.

It’s clear that within the final 20 years there was a drastic decline within the customers of the one-handed backhand. If earlier than this shot was widespread, now tennis gamers focus extra on the seek for energy and management. The grace of the one-handed backhand, which within the final many years has given interpreters like Roger Federer, Wawrinka and Gasquet themselves, is changing into a much less and fewer peculiar attribute in fashionable tennis, the place bodily energy is suppressing qualities similar to contact and style in actions.

New racket applied sciences, the composition of courts, more and more slowed right down to favor rallies and – consequently – the present, has led many gamers and coaches to go for a safer shot, with higher management and that expresses higher energy (and why not, I might additionally add that expresses extra safety with respect to the margin of error). The one-handed backhand is now a shot on the way in which to extinction.