Best One-Handed backhand?

[alan-n]

Henin's backhand can't be considered even close to the best because she is weak and her stroke isn't enough powerful.

I was amazed by Gasquet's backhand recently during Fed-he match. I'm not sure is it consistent enough, but it was really impressing.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I can't stop laughing. OMG, yeah when she was healthy she made it to #1 with her weak backhand..... Yeah right. When healthy she had the BEST backhand in the WTA. Overpowering all the bigger ladies.

 

[paulfreda]

Well it is not pretty, but it is a simple stroke .....
Lubijic's backhand can have more pace than any other BH I can recall.

But I love Guga's, and JHHardine's BH.

 

[Justine Fanatic]

Henin's backhand can't be considered even close to the best because she is weak and her stroke isn't enough powerful./QUOTE]

Ha! Ha! Very funny - you really should be on TV as a comedy act. Oh by the way ...... I am Justine Henin-Hardenne and I take great insult about what you say regarding my backhand. If Johnny Mac says it's the best then I know it is. Anyway, I've been told by numerous professionals that is it. So what do you know?

Love
Justine xxx

 

[gugafanatic]

justine your backhand is sweet!

 

[Justine Fanatic]

justine your backhand is sweet!

Thank you darling!! Next time you are in Belgium, gimme a call! It's only over the water.

 

[Justine Fanatic]

Oh by the way gugafanatic, your's is fantastic as well!! We are both on a comeback arn't we? so good luck to us both! Hope your hip is doing OK.

 

[gugafanatic]

Yeah the hip is holding up. Let me fill you in on a secret, they are making a new artificial liquid metal hip for me designed by head. It will provide 100% mobility, flexibility and suppleness. It will be implanted 4 days before Roland Garros.

 

[Justine Fanatic]

Yeah the hip is holding up. Let me fill you in on a secret, they are making a new artificial liquid metal hip for me designed by head. It will provide 100% mobility, flexibility and suppleness. It will be implanted 4 days before Roland Garros.

Fantastic - we can celebrate our GS wins at Roland Garros together then - will you be able to do the "twist" at the party then? Mind you, I hope I've got enough energy after winning Charleston, Warsaw, Berlin and Roland Garros. But "for sure" for you, I will have.

Justine xxx

 

[Lambsscroll]

Guga wins in my book. He can hit his backhand as hard as guys with big forehands and with control I might add.

 

[SAMPRAS]

 

[SAMPRAS]

The Best Sampras

 

[SAMPRAS]

 

[GameTime]

Gaudio, Kuerten, Gasquet, Sampras, Henin-Hardenne, Mauresmo, Federer

 

[Rickson]

I'm not in the ATP, but I'd say my one handed backhand is currently the best in tennis.


As far as the pros go, Roger for men and Justine for women.

 

[Bogie]

gaudio, gasquet, federer

 

[FedererUberAlles]

Federer, Guga, Gasquet

 

[finchy]

pete's wasnt as good as some of the top one's today. thats how rusedski beat him in wimby (i forget the year), by focusing on the backhand.

 

[friedalo1]

Ivan lendle, Gasquet, Kuerten,

 

[Max G.]

pete's wasnt as good as some of the top one's today. thats how rusedski beat him in wimby (i forget the year), by focusing on the backhand.

Rusedski never bete Pete at Wimbledon.

 

[ThunderServe]

Sampras at 1, guga at 2 and gaudio at 3 federer possibly at 3 or 4 instead of gaudio but at times his one hander gets a little pushy.

 

[thejackal]

Rusedski never bete Pete at Wimbledon.

Maybe he meant Krajichek.

 

[Rodzilla]

Just out of the players still playing:

Gaudio, Guga, and Gasquet for the men

JHH and Mauresmo for the women

 

[TwistServe]

Too bad Gasquet blows Federer away in backhand rallies.. Federer does not belong in the top backhand category. They exchange backhands in Rome and Federer ends up mishitting the ball when Gasquet cranks up the juice.

 

[gugafanatic]

I'm going with the three g's: Guga, Gasquet and Gaudio.

 

[Pushmaster]

If you want to learn how to hit a 1 handed backhand properly, just watch JHH. Technical perfection and poetry in motion rolled into one.

 

[snv]

h-h's backhand is overrated...didn't say it was bad tho. :mrgreen:
but there are a handful of guys who have sweeter looking backhands than hers.

 

[Justine Fanatic]

h-h's backhand is overrated...didn't say it was bad tho. :mrgreen:
but there are a handful of guys who have sweeter looking backhands than hers.

Yeh right!! Have you ever really watched the technique of it and the power and placement - seeing that she is only 5'6" - she is definitely the best?

 

[Rickson]

Yeh right!! Have you ever really watched the technique of it and the power and placement - seeing that she is only 5'6" - she is definitely the best?

Justine is only 5'5.

 

[Vlad]

justine has the best timing on the backhand on the women's side. she does not look natural however when she hits it. gasquet and guga have very natural backhands it is like they were born with it.

tommy haas has very sweet backhand too.

 

[theace21]

Edberg - It was amazing. I also like his serve motion...

 

[gofederer]

gasquet by far the best in terms of power, consistency, placement...
and then gaudio > federer > many others

 

[35ft6]

tommy haas has very sweet backhand too.

Yeah, he hasn't been mentioned enough. Not as beautiful as Gaudio or Kuertan's, but his top spin and slice backhands are equally good unlike theirs.

 

[Chanchai]

Haas still has one of my favorite one-handers. Probably still my favorite. Mainly because of how Haas can hit that backhand under different sitautions. He hits it clean, he can hit it flat or with lots of topspin. He has a nasty slice backhand. And the true test--he can still hit an amazing one-hander off the backfoot if he has to, on the run, and even when he's off balance.

Richard Gasquet's one-hander is fun to watch, crazy angles. I haven't seen enough of Gasquet to make a call on his one-hander, but his running one-hander always impresses me.

Henin-Hardenne's backhand, not the most beautiful to me, but a really good model of how to hit a high backhand. Considering how short she is, but how much firepower and angle she gets from hitting a ball at head height... A common bane to the existence of a one-handed backhand drive (as opposed to slice). A very sweet one-hander in how she can drive a ball so (relatively) high.

I wish I had seen a decent amount of Sampras from the early and mid 90s. Sampras fans assure me that his one-handed backhand at the time was great. I only started watching tennis seriously in 2002, and while I admit his backhand then (when his game went more S&V oriented) was used really well as a tool... I wasn't impressed with it solely as a weapon. But I do understand he changed his backhand when he went towards S&V play. Would love to see more clips or even matches when he had his attacking backhand. Might change the way I look at Sampras, even.

-Chanchai

 

[35ft6]

Sampras's backhand, I thought, was weird looking. His arm was bent at the moment of contact, and he used a continental grip. It appeared as if he was actually snapping his wrist through the shot. That guy had some unbelievable arm strength.

 

[match]

1 handed backhand

Ivan Lendl gets my vote.........imagine if he played with a real racquet!

 

[kanjii]

Here here for Lendl also. Now Bjorn Borg kinda starts with a 2 hander but finishes with a one hander...does that count?

 

[sedwickdotcom]

gaudio, haas - beautiful stroke

 

[Babblelot]

Gaudio - I got to watch this guy up close and personal (1st row, court #2) at 2005 RG and was amazed by the power he could generate taking a ball above his shoulder and consistently driving the shot deep, cross-court.

Henin

 

[hari2]

Richard Gasquet's one-hander is just beautiful.
Women: Henin, Mauresmo.

 

[x Southpaw x]

I vote Federer. Lots with beautiful and effective 1BH, but only Federer can use it as a passing shot so effectively. Short crosscourt winner into side pocket, or down-the-line fast-paced winner.

 

[efice32]

Federer and JHH

 

[SAMPRAS]

SAMPRAS IS THE BEST BUT FEDERER TOO SO LOOK:
http://federermagic.blogspot.com/2005/01/clips-of-roger-federer-in-slow-motion.html

 

[prostaff1]

Can we qualify the word "best"? What is most important in a one-handed backhand? Variety (slice/topspin,flat)?, Pace?, Disguise? Consistency? Depth? Placement/Accuracy? Looks?

Stefan Edberg: but he did slice a lot when he was at the back of the court.
Federer: can do anything with it- and he is number 1 by a wide margin.
Tough to argue against him.

 

[Swan Song]

Topspin:
Federer
Lendl
Corretja
Haas
Edberg
Gaudio
Henin-Hardenne
Kuerten

Slice:
Rosewall
Graf
Federer
Edberg
Haas
Henin-Hardenne

They are in no particular order.

 

[oiler90]

Topspin
1. Federer
2. Lendl
3. Haas
4. Gasguet
5. Guga

Slice
1. Graf (not even close)
2. Rosewall
3. Lendl
4. Federer
5. Edberg

 

[killer]

Nice to see a couple of votes for Lendl's backhand in here; he seems to be routinely 'forgotten' as one of the greats of the game. He routinely crushed backhand winners down the line against Becker, Edberg and Mac; if for nothing else but the power he had on that side, he definitely needs to be at the top of the list.

That being said...Fed has got the most variety of anyone on that side- he knows how to mix it up, how to use it offensively...and oh yeah, those ridiculous angles he finds are a beauty to behold.