Dominating Tennis

How to hit a one-handed backhand, and handle the high ball

Take the one-hander early. Refuse the high ball.

Traced from real footage

See it, eight instants at a time.

Every frame is traced from real match footage, so you see the shape of the stroke, not a drawing of an idea.

Dimitrov's one-hander, instant 1 of 8
FIG. 20 · DIMITROV'S ONE-HANDER
Dimitrov's one-hander: eight instants traced from the footage, frame for frame. Hover or tap to flip.

Key facts

  1. 1

    In lab testing, one- and two-handed backhands showed no significant difference in ball speed or accuracy. The one-hander used more forearm speed, the two-hander more trunk rotation.

    Kinematics study of one- and two-handed backhands (PMC3588639)

  2. 2

    For a stretch in February and March 2024, no player in the ATP top 10 hit a one-handed backhand, the first time in 50 years.

    Berkeley Sports Analytics Group; Tennis Abstract

  3. 3

    Around 8 of the ATP top 100 still hit a one-handed backhand in 2024.

    Berkeley Sports Analytics Group; Tennis Abstract

  4. 4

    About 16 of the 32 Roland Garros third-rounders are reported to have hit one-handed backhands in 2000 and 2002, a figure still being checked against its source.

  5. 5

    The one-hander's comfortable strike zone runs from hip to chest, and it's usually hit with an eastern backhand grip, base knuckle on bevel 1.

Why it works

One arm is a long, light lever with no second hand to brace the face. So the one-hander needs two things the two-hander can skip: a deeper turn, and contact well ahead of the front foot, where the arm is straight and the racquet is still speeding up.

Your forehand's out-front isn't far enough. The one-hander's contact is further forward again, because the hitting arm is on the far side of your body. The two-hander meets the ball later and higher, with bent elbows.

The off arm pulls back as the hitting arm extends. That keeps your chest closed. Open early and the ball goes cross-court whether you meant it to or not.

Above the shoulder, the one-hander runs out of leverage. The topspin era produces that high ball on demand, which is why the stroke is disappearing, not because it's slower or less accurate.

The line to say on court

“A stride in front, chest closed.”

Drill: The early-contact ladder

15 min · with a partner
  1. Place a cone a stride ahead of your front foot. Have your partner drop-feed ten balls at waist height, and make contact level with the cone, arm straight.
  2. Take ten feeds at chest height, meeting them at the same cone.
  3. Take ten feeds that will bounce above your shoulder. Call "rise" or "slice" before the bounce. Score only the calls made in time and hit as called.
Number to beat7 of 10 shoulder-high balls called before the bounce and hit as called

More drills like this: backhand

Faults and fixes

Flying open
The off arm stops pulling and the shoulders lead.
FixThrow your off hand toward the back fence.
Late contact
The turn started too late for a stroke that needs the ball further in front.
FixTurn on the split step, and cone a stride ahead.
Floating the high ball
You're wristing up at a ball outside your strike zone.
FixTake it on the rise or slice it, and decide before the bounce.
Wristy racquet face
You're looking for power in the hand.
FixKeep the wrist firm. The turn and the arm extension are the power.

Questions players ask

Is a one-handed backhand worse than a two-handed backhand?

Not in the lab. A kinematics study found no significant difference in ball speed or accuracy. Its real weakness is the high ball above the shoulder.

How do you hit a high ball with a one-handed backhand?

Decide before the bounce. Take it on the rise at chest height if you're set, or slice it if you're not. A block is what happens when you decide late.

Where should the contact point be on a one-handed backhand?

About a stride in front of your front foot, further forward than your forehand, with the hitting arm straight.

Why are fewer pros hitting one-handed backhands?

Heavy topspin makes the one-hander's single weakness, the ball above the shoulder, on demand. In early 2024 the ATP top 10 had no one-hander for the first time in 50 years.

What this doesn't cover

The comfort curve for contact height is a model, not a measurement. The decline figures come from different sources and each should be read on its own. This page doesn't settle whether a junior should learn a one-hander. That's a question for a coach who knows the player.

Sources

Read next

StrikeHow to hit a two-handed backhand: which hand does the workHit a two-handed backhand like a forehand with your other hand. Take both hands back together, turn your body, and let the top hand drive through the ball while the bottom hand braces. The two arms form a triangle, so the face isn't pushed back on a high ball, and the short takeback suits the return. About 92 of the ATP top 100 hit with two hands.StrikeWhich tennis grip to use for your forehandThere's no single best forehand grip, but semi-western, with the base knuckle on bevel 4, is the compromise the tour settled on: more spin than eastern, better on low balls than western. The bevel sets your strike zone, from waist to shoulder at eastern to above the shoulder at western. Pick the grip for the balls you get, and change grips in the split step.StrikeHow to hit a backhand slice in tennisTo hit a backhand slice, use a continental grip, start with the racquet head above your hand and the face open, and swing high to low and forward, carrying the ball toward the target. Don't chop down. Backspin makes the ball hang in the air and land deep, then skid low after the bounce, so your opponent has to hit up.StrikeWhy you hit the ball late in tennis, and how to fix itYou usually hit the ball late because you arrived in the wrong place, not because of your swing. The ball stays on the strings for about 4 to 5 milliseconds, too short to feel or correct. Everything you do at contact was decided before the ball arrived. Fix your spacing with your feet so contact lands in front of the lead hip.