Analysing ATP Tennis Players' Two-Handed Backhands!

Whilst most of Rafael Nadal's opponents are concerned about his heavy forehand, they also need to be aware that he can dismantle his opponents off his backhand wing as well. Nadal gets so much of his power on this shot from pushing from the ground, turning his right side of the body to start the swing. His arms can then follow and speed up perfectly to a peak at the contact. He creates his angle and spin by bringing his racket from right underneath the ball and then hinging from his elbow soon after contact. This means the racket can travel upwards, finishing over his shoulder. This, done at the speed Nadal delivers, leads to some serious revs on his outgoing ball. If you want to create a space to attack, you'll be looking to open up the court with a wide cross-court shot, pulling your opponent beyond the singles line. Kei Nishikori executes this so well by increasing the speed and flexibility in his left hand around the outside of the ball, finishing with a full rotation of the shoulders and completing the swing until his racket ends up almost hitting his back. This quick release of the hand means the shot fires off at a sharper angle and turns even more when it hits the ground, moving further and further away from his opponent. Although many players strive to consistently be in the perfect position to strike a backhand, it doesn't always work out that way. When Daniel Medvedev can't get behind the ball with his body, he ends up reaching to hit the ball from an awkward position, but he can still find the width cross-court. In these situations, Medvedev pulls his racket through with the right hand rather than driving from behind with the left, meaning the racket gets pulled sharply across his body, sending the ball flat, low and wide. The double-handed backhand can be susceptible to a high bouncing heavy ball as contacting the ball above your shoulders is very difficult to do to any great effect and it could end up pushing you far back behind the baseline. Diego Schwarzman counters this with a jump backhand which maximizes how high his contact can be as well as giving him more angle to play with. Schwarzman generates the power on this shot by jumping high off the ground and kicking his left leg backwards at the same time as his racket going through the shot. This tricky shot is all in the timing and hang time as after driving off the ground you must contact the ball at the peak of your elevation. A contact on the way up or down will most likely go horribly wrong and only perfect timing will get the job done here. David Goffin is well known for his devastating backhand and opponents know that when he decides to go down the line it is often precise and straight as an arrow. To deliver this shot Goffin makes sure he has a wide base stepping down the court with his right leg and taking the ball on the rise. After a compact take back he keeps the contact point a little out in front allowing him the space to send his body weight straight through the back of the ball down the court so everything is moving in the direction he wants the ball to go. If you have the time to line it up this is the ideal way to deliver a backhand down the line as it is precise and repeatable. Variation is a key part of having a great two-handed backhand and a player that keeps his opponents guessing in this way is Benoit Paire. Paire moves from hitting one backhand cross court with little racket head speed and commitment lulling his opponents into a full sense of security before injecting a huge amount of pace with his down the line shot. His ever-changing tempo presents a big problem for his opponents who find it tough to anticipate and get into a rhythm. Paire adds this pace to the ball by increasing his racket head speed just before the contact as he drops his racket down low and fires his left hand through. Paire does not need a big wind-up to deliver this meaning the shot looks effortless as it flies past his opponent for the winner. When Fabio Fanini changes the direction of the ball down the line you are He needs to do a lot of damage with this shot as his body weight tends to fall off to the side making it more difficult to recover and leaving the angle exposed. He doesn't need to worry about recovering though as the strike and power he can generate on this shot is immense often resulting in a winner. It may look like a casual shot but don't be fooled Fanini is playing with a huge amount of precision over the high part of the net and close to the line. To counteract his body weight falling off to the side Fanini needs to make sure he fully extends his swing out and away from him through the back of the ball to keep control of the direction and not drag it into the middle. Oh he's got it this time just getting his sights in just breathtaking and he connects and makes it like this saw a couple of these yesterday against Cioric right out the top draw even more oppressive because it's against Nadal today. It is much easier to be aggressive on the backhand when you are on top of the rally but Alexander Zverev likes to go for big shots when others might try desperately to hang into the point. His opponents think they have done the job of opening up that wing and begin their move forward for the finish but Zverev is able to come up with some screaming passing shots from these positions. He has a particular ability to pick up the ball when it is down low and far away from him using his long levers for reach and his hand skills to get it up and down in time. Not only does Zverev have the ability to create something out of nothing in these situations he is willing to take this shot on even at the most crucial of moments. Many players will look to approach to the backhand and although there are any number of reasons to be cautious about doing this against Andy Murray let's look at one of his signature shots the backhand lob. Murray is comfortable playing this shot moving forwards or falling backwards because most of his skill lies in the use of his left hand and forearm. Murray pulls his left forearm up sharply from underneath the ball to get the height allowing his left hand to get the feel and control resulting in a perfectly weighted lob. Oh yes fabulous feel what a cheeky little drop shot that was I didn't see that one coming at all that's from the business Murray at the lob as well. Novak Djokovic can do it all when it comes to the two-handed backhand but one of the hardest things his opponents have to deal with is how to break him down. There are many solid backhands on the tour but Djokovic can pretty much outlast them all. The movement and flexibility that Djokovic has means his counter-punching ability is relentlessly consistent. His racket is back early as he moves wide to the shot and manages to get his left leg behind the ball on the slide even when it seems implausible and when almost every other player would be reaching for it. With his left leg right behind the ball he has a huge amount of strength and plays this shot just as powerfully as when he stands and delivers. Way to win it victory for Djokovic