Stan Wawrinka's backhand
Traced frame by frame from real footage.
Wawrinka's one-handed backhand is a big, looping drive with a high takeback and a long lift through the ball, heavy enough that its spin matched his forehand's. It won him the 2015 Roland-Garros final against Djokovic. On returns he often chips a low slice instead.
- 1Topspin: the takeback starts high, with the racquet above his head, then drops well below the ball before contact.
- 2He lifts through the shot with a long extension and a high finish, the body rising with it.
- 3Slice return: a low crouch, an open face and a short, firm action that finishes low and forward, a block rather than a swing.
Our own observations from the traced frames. Flip through the plate above to check them.
By the numbers
His backhand spin, about 2,500 rpm, was higher than his forehand's, about 2,490, in a chart compiled around 2021.
Yandell / Fawcette, TennisplayerIn charted matches to 2015, he sliced 68 % of backhand returns against first serves and 40 % against second serves. Murray's figures were 41 % and 3 %.
Jeff Sackmann, Tennis Abstract, 2015
2015 Roland-Garros final
He beat Djokovic 4–6 6–4 6–3 6–4 with 60 winners, overpowering him with backhands from all over the court. It was Djokovic's only Grand Slam loss of 2015.
Roland-Garros.com; BBC SportWhat you can copy
His coach Magnus Norman's tips to an amateur: prepare earlier, hold the grip looser, and flick the wrist as if throwing a frisbee. That's advice for club players, not a description of Wawrinka's own stroke.
The Telegraph, Jun 2017
What we don't claim
- His grip appears only on low-authority sites, so we don't give one.