The Swan Song of the One-Handed Backhand: Elegant Craftsmanship at the Twilight of Professional Tennis

Italian rising star Musetti, currently competing in Athens and the highest-ranked player still using the one-handed backhand, recently stated bluntly: “I do not recommend beginners practice the one-handed backhand. In modern tennis, this stroke is very difficult to master, especially given the fast pace of matches and the disadvantage it creates when returning shots.” This skill, once a symbol of tennis elegance and artistry, now faces an unprecedented survival crisis on the professional circuit. His warning reflects the harsh reality of modern tennis’s technical evolution: in rapid baseline exchanges, the instability of the one-handed backhand is magnified to an extreme degree.

The rise of the new generation underscores this technical transformation. Players like Mensek, Fonseca, Lerna Chen, and Shang Juncheng—all shining young talents—have unanimously chosen the two-handed backhand. Their success confirms the modern tennis truth: in an era focused on maximum spin, power, and shot tolerance, the two-handed backhand offers more solid defense, better preparation for returns, and a more consistent net clearance.

The dilemma facing the one-handed backhand stems from changes in tennis physics. Heavier rackets, faster ball speeds, and stronger topspin have put one-handed players at a disadvantage during serves and rallies. The one-handed backhand demands extremely precise footwork and must be struck at the perfect contact point to be effective, but in today’s high-speed confrontations, such ideal timing is becoming increasingly rare.

Tennis coaches have already voted with their actions. More and more trainers are steering young players away from the one-handed backhand—not as a betrayal of tradition, but as a pragmatic acceptance of reality. On a professional path growing increasingly competitive at younger ages and more results-driven, choosing the one-handed backhand means facing higher technical barriers and longer development periods, risks that are nearly unbearable today.

Grip habits are formed early and become difficult to change once established. As the entire training system shifts toward the two-handed backhand, the pipeline of one-handed players is drying up. Musetti’s advice comes from a practitioner deeply aware of the technical trends shaping the sport.

However, the decline of the one-handed backhand is not just about technical obsolescence. Wawrinka’s thunderous and powerful one-hander, Federer’s fluid and graceful strokes—these are not merely scoring tools but the ultimate expressions of tennis aesthetics. The one-handed backhand can produce angles and variations that the two-hander struggles to reach; its extension and smoothness remain some of the most captivating sights on the court.

Perhaps, as Musetti suggests, the one-handed backhand in the future will not vanish entirely like serve-and-volley but will survive as a tactical option used occasionally. Yet this shift from mainstream to niche itself marks the end of an era.

We are witnessing a technological era in transition. The one-handed backhand will not disappear immediately from the tour—players like Dimitrov and Tsitsipas still persist—but its golden age is undoubtedly behind us. When the last master of the one-handed backhand retires, tennis will lose one of its most brilliant chapters of diversity.

One day in the future, when fans yearn to admire that elegant swing, those exquisite angles, and the perfect harmony between player and racket, they may have to turn to classic replays, searching in aged footage for tennis’s other possibilities. The twilight of the one-handed backhand is a triumph of efficiency over beauty and an inevitable cost of professional sports evolution. We have gained a more powerful game, but perhaps at the expense of that unique elegance.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Mei)