Justine Henin has one of the best one-handed backhands in today's tennis

The backhand in tennis is a stroke hit by swinging the racquet away from one's body in the direction of where the player wants the ball to go. For a right-handed player, a backhand begins on the left side of his body, continues across his body as contact is made with the ball, and ends on the right side of his body. It can be either a one-handed or a two-handed stroke. Justine Henin Photo by Bill Mitchell[1] File links The following pages link to this file: Justine Henin-Hardenne Categories: Free use images ... Justine Henin Photo by Bill Mitchell[1] File links The following pages link to this file: Justine Henin-Hardenne Categories: Free use images ... Justine Henin; ( ) (born June 1, 1982 in Liège) is a Belgian professional tennis player from the Walloon (French-speaking) region of Belgium. ... There are eight basic shots in the game of tennis: the serve, forehand, backhand, volley, half volley (pick-up ball), overhead smash, drop shot, and lob. ... For information on the forehand of a horse, see forehand (horse) A forehand. ... The Australian Frank Sedgman was one of the great serve-and-volleyers A serve (or, more formally, a service) in tennis is a shot to start a point. ... Arguably the best volleyer in the game now, Tim Henman is well-known around the tennis community for his excellent touch. A volley in tennis is a shot that is hit before the ball bounces on the ground. ... A half volley in tennis is a shot that is hit immediately after the ball bounces. ... A lob in tennis is hitting the ball high and deep into the opponents court. ... An overhead smash in tennis is a shot that is hit above the head with a serve-like motion. ... A drop shot in tennis is tapping the ball just over the net so that the opponent is unable to run fast enough to retrieve it. ... For other uses, see Tennis (disambiguation). ...

The backhand is generally considered more difficult to master than the forehand. Because the dominant hand "pulls" into the shot, instead of pushing, the backhand generally lacks the power and consistency of a forehand. Beginner and club-level players often have difficulty hitting a backhand and junior players often have trouble because they are not strong enough to hit it. Even many advanced players have a significantly better forehand than backhand, and there are many strategies based on exploiting this weakness. For information on the forehand of a horse, see forehand (horse) A forehand. ...

Grips

Main article: Grip (tennis)

For most of the 20th Century the backhand was hit with one hand, using either an eastern or a continental grip. The first notable players to use two hands were the 1930s Australians Vivian McGrath and John Bromwich. Beginning with Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert in the 1970s, many players began to use a two-handed grip for the backhand. Pete Sampras and Stefan Edberg notably switched from the two-handed to the one-handed backhand late in their development. The grip, in tennis, is how the racquet is held in order to hit shots during a match. ... Vivian McGrath (center) in 1934 Vivian Viv McGrath was an Australian tennis champion of the 1930s who, along with another Australian, John Bromwich was one of the first great players to use a two-handed backhand. ... John Bromwich (1918-1999) was an Australian male tennis player. ... James Scott (Jimmy) Connors (born September 2, 1952 in East St. ... Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954) is a former World No. ... Peter “Pete” Sampras (born 12 August 1971), is a former World No. ... Stefan Bengt Edberg (born January 19, 1966 in Västervik, Sweden) is a former World No. ...

With some exceptions, one-handed backhand players move to the net with greater ease than two-handed players because the shot permits greater forward momentum and has greater similarities in muscle memory when hitting backhand volleys and backhand groundstrokes. They also do not develop a common two-handed backhand habit of playing volleys with two hands. However, one-handed backhand players with less extreme grips are prone to slicing or chipping returns when shots bounce too high over their strike zones; and skilled opponents often play into that weakness. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Procedural memory. ...

The two-handed backhand tends to be more stable and accurate but less powerful. Two-handed backhanded players are much more steady from the baseline at lower levels.Two-handed backhands do not offer the same reach that one-handed backhands offer, so two-handed players have to be sharper in their movement when going after hard to reach backhands.

Great backhands

The player long considered to have had the best backhand of all time, amateur and professional champion Don Budge, had a very powerful one-handed stroke in the 1930s and '40s that imparted topspin onto the ball. He used an Eastern grip, and some pictures show his thumb extended along the side of the racquet for greater support. Ken Rosewall, another amateur and professional champion noted for his one-handed backhand, also used a continental grip to hit a deadly accurate slice backhand with underspin throughout the 1950s and '60s. Don Budge hitting a backhand as an amateur in 1935 John Donald (Don or Donnie) Budge (June 13, 1915 – January 26, 2000) was an American tennis champion who was a World No. ... Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad in a 1952 Davis Cup doubles match Ken Robert Rosewall (born November 2, 1934 in Sydney, Australia) is a former champion tennis player with a renowned backhand who enjoyed an exceptionally long career at the highest levels, from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. ...

In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer devotes a page to the best tennis strokes he had ever seen. He writes: "BACKHAND—Budge was best, with Kovacs, Rosewall and Connors in the next rank (although, as I've said, Connors' 'backhand' is really a two-handed forehand). Just in passing, the strangest competitive stroke was the backhand that belonged to Budge Patty. It was a weak shot, a little chip. But suddenly on match point, Patty had a fine, firm backhand. He was a helluva match player." Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Jack Kramer as an amateur in 1947 John Albert Kramer (b. ... Don Budge hitting a backhand as an amateur in 1935 John Donald (Don or Donnie) Budge (June 13, 1915 – January 26, 2000) was an American tennis champion who was a World No. ... Frank Kovacs (1800 - 1855) was a Hungarian vagrant in Israel; he was known as the Dark Lord of Spain for his court antics that resulted in the Spanish Monarchy dissolving in 1807 at the age of seven. ... Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad in a 1952 Davis Cup doubles match Ken Robert Rosewall (born November 2, 1934 in Sydney, Australia) is a former champion tennis player with a renowned backhand who enjoyed an exceptionally long career at the highest levels, from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. ... James Scott (Jimmy) Connors (born September 2, 1952 in East St. ... John Budge Patty (February 11, 1924) was an American male tennis player. ...

Other professional players noted for their exceptional backhand:

Andy Murray in a backhand stroke.

• Jimmy Connors
• Ivan Lendl
• Stefan Edberg
• Nikolay Davydenko
• Rafael Nadal
• Novak Đoković
• Marcos Baghdatis
• Andre Agassi
• Yevgeny Kafelnikov
• Marat Safin
• Gustavo Kuerten
• Chris Evert
• Monica Seles
• Richard Gasquet
• Justine Henin
• Tommy Haas
• Roger Federer
• David Nalbandian
• Venus Williams
• Serena Williams
• Lindsay Davenport
• Amelie Mauresmo
• Maria Sharapova
• Pete Sampras
• Boris Becker
• Andrei Pavel
• Gastón Gaudio
• John McEnroe
• Björn Borg
• Jelena Janković

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 429 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (537 × 750 pixel, file size: 124 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) (All user names refer to en. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 429 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (537 × 750 pixel, file size: 124 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) (All user names refer to en. ... Andrew Andy Murray (born 15 May 1987 in Glasgow), is a British[4] tennis player, who represents both Scotland[5] and Great Britain. ... James Scott (Jimmy) Connors (born September 2, 1952 in East St. ... Ivan Lendl (IPA: ) (born March 7, 1960, in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic)) is a former World No. ... Stefan Bengt Edberg (born January 19, 1966 in Västervik, Sweden) is a former World No. ... Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko (Russian: ; born June 2, 1981 in Severodonezk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union) is currently the top ranked Russian male tennis player, fourth in the world, and the winner of ten ATP singles titles. ... “Nadal” redirects here. ... Novak Đoković (commonly spelled Djokovic in English-language sources,[1],[2],[3] Serbian Cyrillic: Новак Ђоковић[4], pronounced ,  ) is a Serbian tennis player who turned professional in 2003. ... Marcos Baghdatis (Greek: Μάρκος Παγδατής, pronounced ) born 17 June 1985, Limassol, Cyprus) is a Cypriot professional tennis player. ... Andre Kirk Agassi (born April 29, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a former World No. ... Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov (born 18 February 1974; Russian: , yev-GHE-neey KAH-fill-nee-coff) is a former World No. ... Marat Safin (Tatar: Marat Mubin ulı Safin; Russian: Марат Михайлович Сафин ; b. ... Gustavo Kuerten (born September 10, 1976 in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina) is a former World No. ... Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954) is a former World No. ... Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973) is a former world No. ... Richard Gasquet (born 18 June 1986) is a French tennis player. ... Justine Henin; ( ) (born June 1, 1982 in Liège) is a Belgian professional tennis player from the Walloon (French-speaking) region of Belgium. ... Thomas Mario Haas (born April 3, 1978 in Hamburg, Germany) is a German tennis player. ... “Federer” redirects here. ... David Nalbandian (born January 1, 1982, Unquillo, Córdoba, Argentina) is a professional tennis player from Argentina. ... Venus Ebone Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980 in Lynwood, California) is an American professional tennis player. ... Serena Jameka Williams, (born September 26, 1981) is an American former World No. ... Lindsay Ann Davenport (born June 8, 1976 in Palos Verdes, California) is a former World No. ... Am lie Mauresmo (born 5 July 1979) is a French professional tennis player. ... Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (Russian:  ) (born April 19, 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player and a former World No. ... Peter “Pete” Sampras (born 12 August 1971), is a former World No. ... Boris Franz Becker (born November 22, 1967) is a former World No. ... Country: Romania Residence: Borgholzhausen, Germany Height: 6 ft (182. ... Gastón Norberto Gaudio (born December 9, 1978 in Temperley, Buenos Aires), nicknamed El Gato (The Cat in Spanish), is a professional tennis player from Argentina and Galician ancestry. ... John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. ...   (born June 6, 1956, in Stockholm, Sweden) is a former World No. ... Jelena Janković (Serbian Cyrillic: Јелена Јанковић, pronounced ; born on February 28, 1985) is a Serbian professional female tennis player. ...

External links

• Video: Tips for a good backhand