Roger Federer on the dying art of the one-handed backhand with none in current Top 10 - ‘That one was personal’

Updated 15/03/2024 at 18:47 GMT

Roger Federer said it felt like a "dagger" when Stefanos Tsitsipas dropped to 11th in the ATP Tour rankings, leaving the top 10 without a player who deploys a one-handed backhand. The Swiss was renowned for the elegance with which he played, with his single-hander a big part of that, but it has slowly been replaced by the more popular double-handed backhand.

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In an interview with GQ, Roger Federer bemoaned the seemingly slow demise of the one-handed backhand at the top of the men’s game.

Stefanos Tsitsipas’ dip in form has left the top 10 of the ATP Tour rankings without a player who deploys the single-hander on the backhand wing, a shot the Swiss superstar battled in the early part of his career before turning it into a potent weapon.

He used it to devastating effect on his iconic run to the 2017 Australian Open title and throughout that season as he returned to the tour from injury with renewed aggression.

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However, it is a dying art, with the 20-time Grand Slam champion admitting it is a big loss to the game.

“That’s a dagger right there,” the 42-year-old said when reminded of the lack of one-handers in the top 10. “I felt that one. That one was personal. I didn’t like that.

“But at the same time, how do you say, it makes the one-handers – [Pete] Sampras, Rod Laver, me – it makes us special as well that we’ve carried the torch, or the flag or whatever, for as long as we did.

“So I love seeing players with one-handers like Stan [Wawrinka] and [Richard] Gasquet and Tsitsipas. Dominic Thiem has a wonderful one. Grigor [Dimitrov], good friend.

“So I love that. And then I like to see characters, and I like to see explosive athletic players.”

With the ever-increasing importance of baseline rallying, the more solid double-handed backhand has become far more popular with both established and up-and-comers. Such is its prominence and effectiveness, Federer has even steered his kids in that direction.

What was once a game dominated by serve and volley, the best players in the world now tend to assert their dominance from the back of the court.

And while that can and has helped create some incredible moments in matches between some of the sport’s biggest names, Federer hopes there will be more of a premium on having an all-round skillset in the future.

“What we get more and more nowadays is that I wish that sometimes we had a little bit more variety, and also back and forth coming to the net a little bit more, not just side to side,” he added. “We’ll see where the game will go.

“But obviously the problem is when you have a lot of similar players playing against each other, a lot of the points end up being played in a similar fashion. And my goal on the tour was always… playing every point in a similar way against my opponent is what he wants. What he doesn’t want is if I mix it up and have variety.

“So for me, seeing two guys play against each other and have 20 same points back to back to back, come on. It can be very interesting. It’s like an arm wrestle.

“But I like to say, ‘Let’s not enter the arm wrestle. Let’s enter another game.’”

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