Are there any OHBH players who are known to be great returners?

E

EddieChang

Semi-Pro
Or stand out in terms of statistics like return points won (relative to how good they are, like fed has great numbers but compare to the rest of his game or players like nadal or djokovic his return is not great)
many OHBH players are known to have weak returns like Tsitsipas, Shapo. Warinka’s return is not great either. He only blocks first serve returns and stands way back to return seconds (which is why he has a tough time against nadal, nadal eats block/slice returns for breakfast). Players like thiem and dimitrov do not have great returns either.
 
For other great one handers in recent memories like Gasquet, Almagro, and Gaudio, I don’t really have an opinion because they stand far back and get many returns in play especially the latter two who prefer clay. James Blake and Ljubicic have good backhands too, but I don‘t think they are “great returners”
 
Last edited:
Can’t really think of any current players TBH.

Fed, Edberg, Mac, and Mike Bryan come to my mind as some of best former pro OHBH returners I can think of during my lifetime. Dont know if they rise to “greatness,” though. Especially compared to some of the incredible 2HBH returners.
 
am1899 said:
Can’t really think of any current players TBH.

Fed, Edberg, Mac, and Mike Bryan come to my mind as some of best former pro OHBH returners I can think of during my lifetime. Dont know if they rise to “greatness,” though. Especially compared to some of the incredible 2HBH returners.
Click to expand...
If you're including Mac, you should really include Lendl. Pretty amazing returner in an era of a lot of S&V.
 
There’s a reason above everything else why anybody who plays with the one-handed backhand is at such a disadvantage. All the best returners in the modern age have used two-handed backhands.
 
EddieChang said:
For other great one handers in recent memories like Gasquet, Almagro, and Gaudio, I don’t really have an opinion because they stand far back and get many returns in play especially the latter two who prefer clay. James Blake and Ljubicic have good backhands too, but I don‘t think they are “great returners”
Click to expand...

James Blake probably had one of the better returns for a one hander.
 
Becker and Stich both had excellent one handed backhand returns. Edberg’s kicker vs. Becker’s backhand return could be fascinating.

It’s true though that players with two handed backhands have had generally had a notable advantage in the return of serve department. When Connors was destroying Rosewall in 1974, there was ‘shock and awe’ at how he played and his weaponry, and that included his aggressive and hugely effective (two handed) backhand return.
 
Last edited:
Gizo said:
Becker and Stich both had excellent one handed backhand returns. Edberg’s kicker vs. Becker’s backhand return could be fascinating.

It’s true though that players with two handed backhand have had been generally had an advantage in the return of serve department. When Connors was destroying Rosewall in 1974, there was a ‘shock and awe’ at how he played and his weaponry, and that included his aggressive and hugely effective (two handed) backhand return.
Click to expand...
One hander was better back then than now way more playable... now with poly modern power and baseline dominated tennis its going obsolete
 
It’s interesting many of the people you guys have mentioned are from the s and v ages. I guess one handers can have great block returns but has huge disadvantages when attacking the modern topspin and kick serves compared to two handers. But it doesn’t mean one handers have no advantages at all, I do think it is easier to generate spin and angels, and the dtl shot while riskier is more rewarding
 
socallefty said:
Thomas Muster Is in the top 10 of career returners on the ATP leaderboard.

Leaderboard | ATP Tour | Tennis

Statistical measures of the best-performing players in three key categories in men's professional tennis.
www.atptour.com www.atptour.com

Kudos to Federer for cracking the top 100 with his 1HBH.
Click to expand...
Kudos to a lefty, but it might also be because he played more on clay and returned more slice serves than topspin serves because of his left handedness
 
What about Philippoussis? I remember that his backhand had a crazy amount of power, though maybe more so in rallies than on return.
 
EddieChang said:
Or stand out in terms of statistics like return points won (relative to how good they are, like fed has great numbers but compare to the rest of his game or players like nadal or djokovic his return is not great)
many OHBH players are known to have weak returns like Tsitsipas, Shapo. Warinka’s return is not great either. He only blocks first serve returns and stands way back to return seconds (which is why he has a tough time against nadal, nadal eats block/slice returns for breakfast). Players like thiem and dimitrov do not have great returns either.
Click to expand...
Federer
Dimitrov
 
Aestheticsaboveallelse said:
One vs two hander doesnt count slice since everyone does that
Click to expand...
I'd disagree. I know my friends @MeatTornado, @Kralingen, @Third Serve will be surprised at this, but the slice is a critical component of the backhand and has to be taken into consideration when considering the stroke overall. Federer without his slice backhand has the very definition of a mediocre backhand. When the slice is factored in, he has a stroke with some memorable attributes (defense, consistency, change of pace, etc.). This is why I usually take pains to separate the topspin from his slice when considering his backhand, since his slice is a near perfect shot and needs no real elaboration. If forced to come up with a criticism of the slice it would be that he simply didn't use it aggressively enough, ala the low, hard shot that Rosewall and Lendl perfected, but I would guess that was a matter of choice rather than limitation. He seemed to prefer the spinny slice to mess with his opponent's strikezone, and looking at Roddick and Hewitt's response one can hardly criticize that choice.
 
Holmes said:
I'd disagree. I know my friends @MeatTornado, @Kralingen, @Third Serve will be surprised at this, but the slice is a critical component of the backhand and has to be taken into consideration when considering the stroke overall. Federer without his slice backhand has the very definition of a mediocre backhand. When the slice is factored in, he has a stroke with some memorable attributes (defense, consistency, change of pace, etc.). This is why I usually take pains to separate the topspin from his slice when considering his backhand, since his slice is a near perfect shot and needs no real elaboration. If forced to come up with a criticism of the slice it would be that he simply didn't use it aggressively enough, ala the low, hard shot that Rosewall and Lendl perfected, but I would guess that was a matter of choice rather than limitation. He seemed to prefer the spinny slice to mess with his opponent's strikezone, and looking at Roddick and Hewitt's response one can hardly criticize that choice.
Click to expand...
He has a good to very good topspin backhand on faster/low bouncing courts. With the slice included, it’s one of the best backhand wings ever on those surfaces.
 
mtommer said:
So you're saying one can rise to GOAT level and not have the best ros? Guess what that means about how important having the greatest ros is then. No. Really. Go on and guess....
Click to expand...
It means Federer was so talented that he could compensate for weak ros by brilliance in the other phases of the game and still be one of the primary people in goat discussions
 
EddieChang said:
It’s interesting many of the people you guys have mentioned are from the s and v ages. I guess one handers can have great block returns but has huge disadvantages when attacking the modern topspin and kick serves compared to two handers. But it doesn’t mean one handers have no advantages at all, I do think it is easier to generate spin and angels, and the dtl shot while riskier is more rewarding
Click to expand...
No wonder there is infatuation for the OHBH.
 
Gizo said:
Becker and Stich both had excellent one handed backhand returns. Edberg’s kicker vs. Becker’s backhand return could be fascinating.

It’s true though that players with two handed backhands have had generally had a notable advantage in the return of serve department. When Connors was destroying Rosewall in 1974, there was ‘shock and awe’ at how he played and his weaponry, and that included his aggressive and hugely effective (two handed) backhand return.
Click to expand...
That's not why Connors destroyed Rosewall.
 
Roger Federer was a great returner. Probably not among the greatest with regards to the return, but it was great nevertheless.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

tennis_hack
Are there players who are "only" good at returning? If so, who?
Replies
7
Views
1K
RoddickAce
RoddickAce
soldat
There is NO change in court speeds over the last 30 years
Replies
34
Views
2K
UnforcedTerror
UnforcedTerror
theagassiman
Nadal: Are players starting to figure him out?
Replies
17
Views
2K
MotherMarjorie
MotherMarjorie
G
Players who defends good
Replies
13
Views
1K
rodrigoamaral
rodrigoamaral
nolefam_2024
Would win a slam in any other era ...
Replies
26
Views
1K
Indeedy71
Indeedy71
Back
Top