Lilli Tagger: A New Hope For The One-Hander?

[Rovesciarete]

While Musetti holds the banner of the one-handed backhand high in RG, we have been witnessing its extinction among the WTA elite. Gone are the days of Graf and Henin. Golubic is over thirty, stalwart Maria closer to 40 and 22-year old Parry has struggled after briefly getting into the top 50. It is easier to learn the two-hander and to have success as a kid and junior, even more for girls. However I have been following a young talent from Austria, which has grown a lot over the years and seems to have a bright future ahead.

She stands indeed tall, with her 6 feet or over 183cm and is developing a fine first serve. Despite her lanky frame the forehand is already quite heavy, with more spin than we usually see in the WTA. Her backhand is beautiful, if somewhat error prone and improving. Under Schiavone her slice has developed very nicely. Seems more comfortable at the net than most of her age-group. Her movement feels subpar compared to other girls, but this is likely due to her growth curve and lithe frame.

After training in Kitzbuehl, Tyrol and a sting at the academy of Sartori in Verona, she has been coached by Schiavone, which herself had a fine one-handed backhand. She had grown up on alpine indoor hardcourt and summer clay but has developed a lot of her game on Italian red. An excellent combination to learn a diverse range of skills, as we have already seen.

She is now playing in the semifinal of RG, so you might have a livestream!

There were impressive reminders across Roland Garros on Wednesday as to why Austrian Lilli Tagger is considered an emerging talent worth keeping a close eye on in the future.

From her stylish backhand, which the 17-year-old strikes one-handed, to her outstanding touch at the net, Tagger has developed a formidable all-court game.

P.S: She is now in the RG final. Great serve and good nerves, kudos. 31 winners in 80 points! 5 aces, 10/11 net points won.

Nice ITF article! Found some great stuff in German before, some in Italian, but English coverage was woefully lacking. Maybe it was better that way.

 

[Rovesciarete]

Love the attitude she showed at twelve:

While Austrian star Dominic Thiem had a superb one-handed backhand, Tagger said that was not the reason for her decision to switch from a double-hander as a 12-year-old. Tagger earned a concession from her coach that, should she win a tournament, she wanted to try the shot.

Given the way she used the weapon in both of her victories on Wednesday, it appears to have been a wise choice.

“It was my choice. I already wanted to change when I was 10, but my coach told me … it was too difficult to do it,” she said. “And then I told him, at 12, if I win this tournament, I will change to a one-handed backhand. And I won the tournament. So I made the decision.

“It was easier for me to play with one hand than with two hands and when I was in practice, sometimes I was there just playing with one hand, so I took the decision.”

Her semifinal in Doubles is still coming up!

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

 

[Shaolin]

Taggers always have flair.

 

[Localfoc]

Looks good. Can't remember a decent WTA OHBH since Suarez Navarro.

Her BH seems very Tsitsipas-like, a flowing type of movement. Might seem that way because of similar tall, spindly frame.

I also think her BH is clearly her weaker side atm( from the few short hightlight clips I have seen of her). Will take a few years to really grow into it. as it often happens with OHers.

 

[accidental]

She beat Lois Boisson only 2 months ago

 

[Rovesciarete]

Looks good. Can't remember a decent WTA OHBH since Suarez Navarro.

Her BH seems very Tsitsipas-like, a flowing type of movement. Might seem that way because of similar tall, spindly frame.

I also think her BH is clearly her weaker side atm( from the few short hightlight clips I have seen of her). Will take a few years to really grow into it. as it often happens with OHers.

Excellent comment. She suffered in some of the cc bh exchanges on hardcourt I have seen. Developing a great slice should help a lot.

I feel she might become strongest on grass in due time, clay to be second best followed by hard court.

 

[Rovesciarete]

She beat Lois Boisson only 2 months ago

You could see why in that match against Klugman. Listened to her interview with, Schett which reinforced my perceptions of a focused mind with the right balance. Great smile and great family and coaching environment. She is even taller, seems like 185cm according to Austrian media. Despite her height her game is geared towards clay, which is an excellent base for long-term success.

Funny that the top 50 players Schett, Seppi, Knapp and Sinner are all from the same historic region of Tyrol and all have, just like Tagger, a double consonant in their surname. Janni and Babsi top 10, Andi top 20 and Karin barely in the top 50. Let us see what Lilli can do. First time I heard about her was this interview, four years ago. Listen from 27:00...

Very similar to Sinner, a quick learner enjoying the process. Mouratoglou mentioned, she almost ended up there. Vittur offered a better deal and so far her work with Schiavone bears fruits.

 

[Rovesciarete]

Growing up I adored Fed, but as a small kid I loved ice-cold Sampras and hot-headed Muster. Lilli Tagger is with 185cm as tall as Pete! He switched his backhand only at fourteen, as most here know:

When I asked Brian if he had ever hit with Pete Sampras, he revealed that he did when Pistol Pete was around fourteen, at an Orange Bowl camp Gottfried was in charge of.

This was when Sampras was still using his two-handed backhand, which was later changed by his coach Pete Fischer. Fischer, a pediatrician and tennis enthusiast, first spotted Sampras as an early teen and became his coach. Later Fischer decided that someday this natural young talent could someday win Wimbledon and his chances would increase with a one-handed backhand. So the change was made.

Don't know how it will play out for her, but a big sign of mental strength to decide that at 12! Kudos also to coach and family for respecting her choice.

The memories:

 

[arsen]

Austria's Tagger to face Klugman
No. 50 (№500WTA) in World junior 18 years-heaven and earth with No. 5 WTA Mirra Andreeva (18 years)

 

[buscemi]

This is a thing of beauty!

 

[Rovesciarete]

This is a thing of beauty!

Agreed. Her dad might have been a bit of an inspiration:

Oldest video of her one-hander I could find:

 

[Rovesciarete]

For the global audience it might be difficult to grasp how close the Girl's champion of RG and the male finalist grew up. This is the 'Euregio' Tyrol-South Tyrol - Trentino, short of 2 million people. Kitzbuehl is of course the site of the ATP 250. Meran/Merano had a single 250 years ago. Smaller tennis events happen in places like Ortisei/Urtijei/Wolkenstein or Rovereto usually every year.

Schett is from Innsbruck, Tagger from Lienz, Knapp from Bruneck/Brunico like Vittur, Sinner from Sexten/Sesto between the two cities and Seppi from Kaltern/Caldaro southwest of Bozen/Bolzano. In 45 min you can go from Sinner's hometown to Tagger's.*

P.S: Most Italians don't know that the great Giuseppe Garibaldi, 'father of the (Italian) fatherland' has a Germanic patronym as surname. The Bavarian Duke Garibald I was also the ancestor of Langobard kings. Wilson is a famous patronym in tennis and means son of Will, short for William...

 

[Rovesciarete]

Her victory against Boisson. Leave it to the Catalans to pronounce various European surnames at least half-decently....

 

[Rovesciarete]

One-hander on the holy grass. Hope that she improves her slice, so many women seems to have difficulties to deal with it on the slicker surfaces. She has the wrist, size and reach to do a lot with that shot. Looks like one of the few women to have a spinny forehand and backhand plus a decent slice. Great fundamentals to throw opponents off with variety.

 

[Waves]

Wow, now that’s a beautiful stroke! Looks even better on grass. Hope she wins a few rounds.

 

[Rovesciarete]

Wow, now that’s a beautiful stroke! Looks even better on grass. Hope she wins a few rounds.

Love it too. She seems to have a wise head on her young shoulders and a good team in support. I wouldn't expect too much on a grass court yet, even if her serve looks nice. Far less experience on the beautiful surface.

 

[tennis24x7]

This is a thing of beauty!

Oh that was hit with some venom almost like Shaps! Hopefully she comes through in WTA.

 

[Vincent-C]

Pops has a nice motion on the BH! Prob was an influence.

 

[Vincent-C]

One-hander on the holy grass. Hope that she improves her slice, so many women seems to have difficulties to deal with it on the slicker surfaces. She has the wrist, size and reach to do a lot with that shot. Looks like one of the few women to have a spinny forehand and backhand plus a decent slice. Great fundamentals to throw opponents off with variety.

Yeah, so far she uses that common, non-penetrating, down-rather-than-out motion on her slice. It's very fixable, though.

 

[sureshs]

Can she handle high bouncing balls on clay to her backhand?

 

[Sudacafan]

For the global audience it might be difficult to grasp how close the Girl's champion of RG and the male finalist grew up. This is the 'Euregio' Tyrol-South Tyrol - Trentino, short of 2 million people. Kitzbuehl is of course the site of the ATP 250. Meran/Merano had a single 250 years ago. Smaller tennis events happen in places like Ortisei/Urtijei/Wolkenstein or Rovereto usually every year.

Schett is from Innsbruck, Tagger from Lienz, Knapp from Bruneck/Brunico like Vittur, Sinner from Sexten/Sesto between the two cities and Seppi from Kaltern/Caldaro southwest of Bozen/Bolzano. In 45 min you can go from Sinner's hometown to Tagger's.*

P.S: Most Italians don't know that the great Giuseppe Garibaldi, 'father of the (Italian) fatherland' has a Germanic patronym as surname. The Bavarian Duke Garibald I was also the ancestor of Langobard kings. Wilson is a famous patronym in tennis and means son of Will, short for William...

This map clears up a misconception I had about Sinner’s Italian birthplace.

San Candido, located in South Tyrol, Italy, is actually much closer to Austria than to Germany.

So if he were to be geographically or culturally associated with another European country, it would be Austria—not Germany.

Anyway, Tyrol region is Austrian.

 

[Rovesciarete]

Yeah, so far she uses that common, non-penetrating, down-rather-than-out motion on her slice. It's very fixable, though.

Can she handle high bouncing balls on clay to her backhand?

Her slice seems to be mostly about defending her backhand and not attacking or drawing her opponent in...

 

[Vincent-C]

Her slice seems to be mostly about defending her backhand and not attacking or drawing her opponent in...

Yes, so far. The slice can be a probing, even offensive shot, though- in the right hands (Yzaga, Fred, Evans as examples).
I think the raw material is there, and I look forward to seeing more of her.

 

[Rovesciarete]

Yes, so far. The slice can be a probing, even offensive shot, though- in the right hands (Yzaga, Fred, Evans as examples).
I think the raw material is there, and I look forward to seeing more of her.

From what I have seen she tries to drive on clay as much as possible. I think this is the right approach for a junior, as it tests the defensive qualities of the stroke.

Given the state of the WTA game I see a lot of tactical utility for a good slice. It was fascinating to watch how so many strong players were puzzled by Maria in Queens.

Good to see her early on the holy grass to get a better feel and prep in.

 

[Rovesciarete]

Her draw doesn't look too bad, although my insight into it is rather limited. She hasn't a lot of experience on this surface and her one-handed drive ought to be more vulnerable than on clay. I guess we will see more classic slices and chips.

As one of the tallest players in the sport her serve should have much room to grow. Few of her direct competitors will have faced the speed she is capable of. Clay helped her kick a lot, maybe we will see more flat ones.

 

[Rovesciarete]

Can she handle high bouncing balls on clay to her backhand?

The girls usually don't impart much spin and even WTA players favor a flat backhand drive. Less running around means fewer inside-out forehands, which have proven devastating against Stefanos. Roggi's weakness against the Rafa forehand has colored our perceptions, but it was the huge lefty spin against a right one-hander.

I think the biggest weakness lies in the return of serve on all surfaces. Height and reach should help here there, on clay she might need to drop back. In this case her big forehand and a heavy bh spin should help a lot.

 

[Vincent-C]

This is a thing of beauty!

You betcha! The confidence with which she hit that shot tells me she really owns it.

nice

 

[Zardoz7/12]

The one handed backhand is the most beautiful shot in the game, anyone with a one hander gets my eye regardless of who.

 

[Rovesciarete]

The one handed backhand is the most beautiful shot in the game, anyone with a one hander gets my eye regardless of who.

Third seed Lilli has won in 2 against Sun. Got broken twice, breaking five times. Serve stats seem good, has anybody seen the match?

 

[Rovesciarete]

Found an interview in German. In short she wasn't super-happy about her performance against 14-year old Sun. No surprise there, more interesting was her scheduling. Her team and she decided to focus on Wimbledon as an investment into the future*, leaving the Paris final early to get to London.

A better interview in German:

"I have improved and play now also increasingly well on grass. The surface suits my fast (flat) serve. Furthermore the backhand slice, which creates problems here, works better.

...

"I really emjoy Wimbledon because I love to play on grass."

....

"The title is the target. However it is also key how much I can improve (now in regard) for the next years."

Funny that she likes New York least - too many people, too chaotic and the buildings are also too tall.

*Guess that with Vittur as manager the financial resources were more easily secured.

 

[Rovesciarete]

Tagger takes it in straights. Was down 2-5 in the second, but took over the game and had almost every point on her racket. At times too many errors, especially after winning the first, however lovely attacking tennis.

Her attacking tennis will win her many fans and is in my opinion the best long term fit. Great also for developing her tennis brain and skill, Schiavone seems to be a fine coach. Lots of areas to improve, net game for example but the direction of travel is excellent.

Winning the next round can't be taken for granted but great to see her on grass.

 

[Rovesciarete]

We lack a large sample size but the improvement of Tagger over the last year has been quite remarkable. Due her great height physical prowess will take longer compared to shortish girls. Went from winning 46.7% of TPW in 2024 to currently 55.5% on the ITF level. Mostly favorable clay and a small sample size of eleven matches but something to keep an eye on.

Love the fact that a rising tall player with a one-hander spends so much time on clay now. Similar to Sinner she has grown up mostly on altitude indoor hardcourt which tends to expose the oney. Great to see also the willingness to invest into time on grass, going right after RG to Wimbledon.

Nilsson's good lefty slice into her forehand clearly bothered her, but she adjusted and overcame. Hopefully she stays healthy and can give it a good go at the WTA level.

 

[Rovesciarete]

On the traces of her RG triumph, from the family website and written seemingly by her mother. Gives quite a bit of insight, nicely done:

Sprachlos, einfach ohne Worte bin ich da gesessen – was für eine Woche von unserer Lilli! Ihr Spielverständnis, die Präzision in ihren Schlägen, ihr Service, die Schnelligkeit am Platz – sie hat sich so viel verbessert – und noch so viel ist ausbaubar haben wir dann aus ihrem Team gehört. Bestens, aber jetzt war es einmal an der Zeit den Moment zu genießen!

Einfach unglaublich, wir brauchten echt eine Weile, um das zu fassen. Wir waren uns schon zu Hause einig, dass Lilli den Level hat, so ein Turnier zu gewinnen, aber genauso gut kann sie in der ersten Runde verlieren, denn hier muss sie bereits in der ersten Runde ihr bestes Tennis und auch die beste Einstellung abrufen. Und das ist ihr gelungen, sie spielte ein fantastisches Tennis über die ganze Woche – und nicht nur das Tennis, auch das ganze Drumherum hat sie so ruhig und geerdet mitgenommen, richtig schön für uns zu sehen, wie sie ihr Ding macht und ihren Weg geht. Der Italiener für ein tolles Abendessen war schnell gefunden!

Fits my perspective rather well. Of course tennis is the sport of the devil and everything can happen in a match or a tournament. The big takeaway for me is that she has a great foundation, the right mentality, a strong team, good environment and is improving fast.

 

[Rovesciarete]

A win in straights against Ruby Cooling, now she will face another British hope in Mimi Xu. The latter lost in the ladies's first round against a Raducano in fine form. Has anybody watched the full match?

Looking at the stats of the whole match the first serve+forehand continues to work well.

 

[Vincent-C]

Go, Lilli!

 

[Rovesciarete]

Lilli loses against Mimi in straights, getting a breadstick in the end. Compliments to the young Brit and her modern grass court game. Good serve, flat strokes, nice angles and fine movement were also on display against Raducanu in the first round. Lilli's backhand return struggled especially against the serve out wide, her strokes got rushed by the flat pace and she was moved around nicely. Some common troubles for strong clay courters with little grass exposure.

In the first rounds she was able to be usually the attacker, but against the slightly older and more experience grass courter she was on the back foot. Personally I think it was wise to stay for quite some time here in Wimbledon and I'm more positive about here future on this surface then before this tournament.

Love the fact that she has an attacking spirit, should be the right mental approach for her qualities. And what a pleasure to see a beautiful one-hander coming up through the ranks!

 

[Rovesciarete]

Key to future success will be obvious the server plus forehand. Both could be great weapons on any surface. On sand her one-hander works imho better than on hard or grass. Nice to see some dropshots and in general attacking tennis, the right choice in the long run imho.

At her age the gap in athleticism compared to top100 is logically quite large. Lots of scope for improvement for her. Her latest results have been (very) good, closing in on the 200. Maybe the best young talent since Andreeva.

 

[Honza]

Quarterfinal in China WTA 250.

What Head model is she playing there?
Blacked out Boom?

 

[Vincent-C]

This is a thing of beauty!

Looked a bit like a taller Henin hitting that BH.

 

[MasturB]

I applaud her big time.

The reason more girls aren't trained to hit with 1HBH is because physiologically/biologically, women have stronger hips relative to their body whereas men have stronger shoulders/arms. That's why a 2HBH is more natural for a girl to develop because of the hip power (and why you see the women being able to do the low squat backhands and more open stance).

1HBH requires a ton of shoulder drive/torque which in the modern game can be taxing on the rest of the arm.

Henin developed elbow and arm issues because the game was evolving with more power and spin and it took a toll on her arm.

Vinci sliced like 95% of the time. I think maybe Tatjana Maria is the only one who consistently hit 1HBH's but she's almost a senior citizen on tour now. And she wasn't going deep in to tourneys like Henin was and accumulating all these matches.

It's refreshing to see a younger girl break in to the top ranks with a 1HBH as teaching it to junior girls is all but extinct.

 

[Rovesciarete]

I applaud her big time.

The reason more girls aren't trained to hit with 1HBH is because physiologically/biologically, women have stronger hips relative to their body whereas men have stronger shoulders/arms. That's why a 2HBH is more natural for a girl to develop because of the hip power (and why you see the women being able to do the low squat backhands and more open stance).

1HBH requires a ton of shoulder drive/torque which in the modern game can be taxing on the rest of the arm. Henin developed elbow and arm issues because the game was evolving with more power and spin and it took a toll on her arm

As somebody inspired by Fed during his rise I love to see that stroke in action. Henin was a particular person but what a game. Some beauties by Tagger in this video:

Vinci sliced like 95% of the time. I think maybe Tatjana Maria is the only one who consistently hit 1HBH's but she's almost a senior citizen on tour now. And she wasn't going deep in to tourneys like Henin was and accumulating all these matches.

It's refreshing to see a younger girl break in to the top ranks with a 1HBH as teaching it to junior girls is all but extinct.

Quite some time ago I wrote that modern tennis demands from a onehander particular height, partly for the reasons you outlined. Makes more balls land into her natural strike zone.

You can see that Lilli uses sometimes a deeper position to return with heavy spin and a lot of height with her beautiful backhand. Classic clay court approach.

 

[MasturB]

As somebody inspired by Fed during his rise I love to see that stroke in action. Henin was a particular person but what a game. Some beauties by Tagger in this video:

Quite some time ago I wrote that modern tennis demands from a onehander particular height, partly for the reasons you outlined. Makes more balls land into her natural strike zone.

You can see that Lilli uses sometimes a deeper position to return with heavy spin and a lot of height with her beautiful backhand. Classic clay court approach.

Well, I can see the inspirations from Henin.

But Henin was a world class mover. People think Iga takes a million steps, they should have seen Peak Henin fly around the court. Henin was short and had such efficient footwork for her height.

The thing about 1HBH's is they move very efficiently to the point where sometimes it almost looks lazy.

I think Tagger can clean up her 1HBH just a little to get a bit more power even if her physiology is kind of against her.

 

[buscemi]

As somebody inspired by Fed during his rise I love to see that stroke in action. Henin was a particular person but what a game. Some beauties by Tagger in this video:

The one handed backhand is the show stopper, but she showed some strength on the forehand side in those highlights as well. Looks like she has a lot of potential.

 

[Rovesciarete]

Well, I can see the inspirations from Henin.

But Henin was a world class mover. People think Iga takes a million steps, they should have seen Peak Henin fly around the court. Henin was short and had such efficient footwork for her height.

The thing about 1HBH's is they move very efficiently to the point where sometimes it almost looks lazy.

I think Tagger can clean up her 1HBH just a little to get a bit more power even if her physiology is kind of against her.

Elegance makes hard things look effortless, and Henin was a one of the most graceful players I have ever seen.

I think slow hardcourt helps Tagger right now as movement is easiest and she gets more time for her strokes. Due to her height she will reach athletic maturity later than most competitors. Given her age this is one big upside right there.

 

[buscemi]

Tagger wins her third consecutive straight match in her WTA main draw debut, setting up a semifinal with defending champion Golubic in Jiujiang. Should be a good test to see where her game stands going into 2026.

 

[Localfoc]

Tagger wins her third consecutive straight match in her WTA main draw debut, setting up a semifinal with defending champion Golubic in Jiujiang. Should be a good test to see where her game stands going into 2026.

Tagger v Golubic.
OHBH v OHBH
Can't remember the last time I can recall seeing that on the women's tour.

 

[buscemi]

Tagger v Golubic.
OHBH v OHBH
Can't remember the last time I can recall seeing that on the women's tour.

It should be a lot of fun!

 

[ghostofMecir]

Tagger wins her third consecutive straight match in her WTA main draw debut, setting up a semifinal with defending champion Golubic in Jiujiang. Should be a good test to see where her game stands going into 2026.

She has also won these matches rather easily against WTA level competition; winning easily over and over again as a very young player is the #1 sign o a player can be a contender. She’s up to #170 in the rankings and can get near #130 if she wins the tournament, though beating Golubic will be tough.

 

[Move]

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