One Handed Backhand making a comeback?

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
monologuist said:
I don't think the 1hhbh is making a comeback necessarily, but it is true that often, players with 1hhbh's take longer to mature. Federer is an example of this. His ATP career began in 1998, but it wasn't until 2004 that he finally reached a year-end ranking of no.1. It is a more difficult shot for most people to master than the 2hhbh, but if a player is able to develop it over time, the rewards are great. Of course for most young and up and coming players, the 2hhbh is the way to go, as it is easier for yougsters to wield, and is easier to develop consistency with. That is why so many of the young "prodigies" of tennis possess 2handers. But perhaps what we are seeing is the arrival of a wave of 1hhbh players that are finally coming into their own this year. Thre players with 1hhbh's have broken into the top 10 this past year for the first time : Blake, Ljubicic, and Robredo. Their ATP careers began in 1999, 1998, and 1999 respectively. Interestingly enough, Gonzo and Acasuso both have reached their peak rankings as of yet this year, and both also began their careers in 1999. Tommy Haas began his career in 1996, and reached a career high ranking of no.2 in 2002. Gaston Gaudio began his career in 1996 as well, and reached a career high ranking of no.5 in 2005. Perhaps, 7-9 years is around how long it takes for players with 1hhbh's to reach maturity on the ATP tour?

In contrast, this past year, we have seen the likes of Roddick, Hewitt, Safin, and Coria, all with 2-handers, take nosedives in the rankings (in the case of Safin, you could argue that injury was the prevailing factor). Roddick began his career in 2000, and was no.1 in the world by 2003, but has dropped to 11 now. Hewitt turned pro in 1998 and found himself atop the ATP at no.1 in 2001, and is currently 12. Safin turned pro in 1997, and reached no.1 in 2000; currently he is 77. Coria began in 2000, and reached a career-high no.3 by 2004, but has plummeted to 42 this year. Nadal, Baghdatis, Berdych, Djokovic, Murray, and Monfils are all 21 or younger prodigies with 2-handers that skyrocketed in the ATP rankings from day 1, reaching the top 20 or 30 in anywhere between 1-3 years...will be interesting to see where their careers go compared to Gasquet and Almagro for instance.

This is a great point. It would be interesting to look at this stat for all top-20 players over the last 20 years.
 

BreakPoint

Bionic Poster
Rickson said:
According to the video he posted, he uses the opposite side during forehands and backhands.

Which video? Where's the link?

I find it very hard to believe it's possible to hit a one-handed backhand with the opposite face of the racquet using a western forehand grip. Hardly any of your hand would be behind the handle. It would be more of a "pulling" action than a "pushing" action.
 

TennsDog

Hall of Fame
Rickson said:
According to the video he posted, he uses the opposite side during forehands and backhands.
When I refer to my grips and strokes, I'm referring to ideal rally strokes. In this case, I do use the same side of the racket for both forehands and backhands. If you're referring to my recent video of a slice backhand and forehand winner, I used the opposite side because it was a slice backhand and I would have changed grips before the next shot anyway.
 

BreakPoint

Bionic Poster
TennsDog said:
When I refer to my grips and strokes, I'm referring to ideal rally strokes. In this case, I do use the same side of the racket for both forehands and backhands. If you're referring to my recent video of a slice backhand and forehand winner, I used the opposite side because it was a slice backhand and I would have changed grips before the next shot anyway.

Well, that must look pretty strange and I think most teaching pros will tell you that you're doing it wrong if you're using the same side of the racquet for both your forehand and your backhand. But, hey, what do I know. I even think full western forehands are weird. ;) LOL.

Whatever works for you, I guess. I learned tennis when just about everyone had classic strokes, so anything else just looks weird to me. :eek:
 

TennsDog

Hall of Fame
I don't think it looks that weird. Some forehand stills near contact can show a somewhat awkward, contorted right arm, but in full speed it looks fine; and my backhand looks great.
 

BreakPoint

Bionic Poster
TennsDog said:
I don't think it looks that weird. Some forehand stills near contact can show a somewhat awkward, contorted right arm, but in full speed it looks fine; and my backhand looks great.

In order to hit a 1HBH with a full western forehand grip using the same side of the racquet face, your elbow must stick way out in front of you on the takeback on the backhand. Believe me, that looks weird. Perhaps not to you because you're used to it. Compare that to Federer's or Haas' backhand motion. I also think you may injure your wrist doing that over the long term.
 

AngeloDS

Hall of Fame
Well TennsDog did have elbow problems in the past. I however, hate the eastern grip where all the knuckles are aligned; the stroke produces a lot of topspin but is only effective against medium paced balls. Not to mention the stroke is ugly =p.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlEoxhlyvuM just ugly and poor stroke mechanics lol.

The one handed backhand with a western grip is odd; but it works but too many people when using it shift their weight on their back foot. But Justine-Henin Hardenne while it looks like she puts weight on the back foot, she isn't. I don't think it has as much variety i.e. short angles, wrist flicks or good blocking (which in a post TennsDog had problems with). It's consistent though.

Though, I do find it odd that you modeled your forehand stroke like Federers with a western grip. The western is best utilized when your elbow is tucked in (I don't see how you could have your arm straight and what-not.), and using your body in the shot. The western forehand and backhands require hips and rotation; it's basically using your body. And the shot depends on how flexible, powerful and explosive your body is.

Compared to my grips where the shot depends on perfect timing, clean hitting and being balanced; the western is a choice for many because it gives you a large margin for error. The body comes last for mine, technique comes first. The other way pretty much goes for the western grips; they require more body and less technique.
 

TennsDog

Hall of Fame
I don't put my elbow in front on my backhand. I'll see about posting some backhand videos. I have a couple that show backhands, but they aren't ideal. I'm not stepping into the shot, but I think my arm still looks about the same.

Also, my elbow problems arose from the combination of my serve and forehand a year and a half ago. I recently switched to the one-handed backhand and it has never hurt it at all.
 

framebreaker

Semi-Pro
monologuist said:
I don't think the 1hhbh is making a comeback necessarily, but it is true that often, players with 1hhbh's take longer to mature. Federer is an example of this. His ATP career began in 1998, but it wasn't until 2004 that he finally reached a year-end ranking of no.1. It is a more difficult shot for most people to master than the 2hhbh, but if a player is able to develop it over time, the rewards are great. Of course for most young and up and coming players, the 2hhbh is the way to go, as it is easier for yougsters to wield, and is easier to develop consistency with. That is why so many of the young "prodigies" of tennis possess 2handers. But perhaps what we are seeing is the arrival of a wave of 1hhbh players that are finally coming into their own this year. Thre players with 1hhbh's have broken into the top 10 this past year for the first time : Blake, Ljubicic, and Robredo. Their ATP careers began in 1999, 1998, and 1999 respectively. Interestingly enough, Gonzo and Acasuso both have reached their peak rankings as of yet this year, and both also began their careers in 1999. Tommy Haas began his career in 1996, and reached a career high ranking of no.2 in 2002. Gaston Gaudio began his career in 1996 as well, and reached a career high ranking of no.5 in 2005. Perhaps, 7-9 years is around how long it takes for players with 1hhbh's to reach maturity on the ATP tour?

In contrast, this past year, we have seen the likes of Roddick, Hewitt, Safin, and Coria, all with 2-handers, take nosedives in the rankings (in the case of Safin, you could argue that injury was the prevailing factor). Roddick began his career in 2000, and was no.1 in the world by 2003, but has dropped to 11 now. Hewitt turned pro in 1998 and found himself atop the ATP at no.1 in 2001, and is currently 12. Safin turned pro in 1997, and reached no.1 in 2000; currently he is 77. Coria began in 2000, and reached a career-high no.3 by 2004, but has plummeted to 42 this year. Nadal, Baghdatis, Berdych, Djokovic, Murray, and Monfils are all 21 or younger prodigies with 2-handers that skyrocketed in the ATP rankings from day 1, reaching the top 20 or 30 in anywhere between 1-3 years...will be interesting to see where their careers go compared to Gasquet and Almagro for instance.

On a second thought, this doesn't make sense to me. Some players are just better at hitting a one handed back hand and some just don't like it.
If your 1hbh is good enough for the atp tour then you'r simply good. you don't need years to develop a stroke if you have lots of talend. why should the back hand of federer at 19 be worse than at the age of 23? doesn't make sense.
 
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