Miami Open: Despite Its Decline, Grigor Dimtrov Has Only Good Things to Say About the 1-Handed Backhand Technique

Ranked no. 12  in the world, Grigor Dimitrov managed to scrape past Chilean-Canadian Alejandro Tabilo in the round of 32 at the Miami Open. The 32-year-old Bulgarian, among other things, is also known to be a part of an exclusive group of players who use the much-debated one-handed backhand. Although used effectively in the past by one of the top players in tennis, the technique is becoming increasingly criticized.

But there is always a move that a player is comfortable with. Dimitrov explains how this debacle of the famed one-handed backhand doesn’t dissuade him.

‘Will I always teach that shot? Yes of course yes!’ – Grigor Dimitrov

After his 2nd round win, Dimitrov was featured in an interview with the Tennis Channel where he revealed that the one-handed backhand will always be a part of his arsenal, “You need to be playing from the whole beginning with it. I think that’s the only way to get good at it. I think eventually, with time. But I think other than that, it’s a very difficult shot. Yeah. Will I always teach that shot? Yes of course yes!”

The one-handed backhand has found many retractors with most coaches preferring the double-handed backhand as it is more stable, and quicker because of the smaller arc and generates more power. Dimitrov explains why it is a difficult shot to master difficult shot to master.

“You got to be able to hit the slice. You got to hit the drop shot, you got to stretch out for the return. You got to step in when the ball is high. So a lot of work is going on in that shoulder. So I think you, you, yeah, you got to make it just how it is,” he says hinting at the body mechanics involved.

With no one-handed backhand players in the top 10 and only 10 in the top 150, it seems as if the once-coveted technique is now coming to a slow and eventual death.

How is the one-handed backhand falling short?

Bjorn Borg was instrumental in popularizing the two-handed backhand and introducing a top-spin-heavy approach. Following Borg, players like Stefan Edberg, Roger Federer, and Pete Sampras stepped in. Federer’s influence has undoubtedly inspired many players.

Tennis nowadays is played at a higher speed and has more topspin, making the one-handed backhand less common at the elite level. This stroke demands longer movement and a unique ball distance compared to the two-handed backhand. Matches like Alcaraz versus Shapovalov at the French Open display the difficulty of defending high-topspin shots with a one-handed backhand.

In the top 150 players globally, notable individuals with a one-handed backhand include Lorenzo Musetti, Denis Shapovalov, Grigor Dimitrov, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Christopher Eubanks, Daniel Altmaier, Dusan Lajovic, Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem, and Richard Gasquet, among others.

One of the cleanest one-handed backhands still in the game, Grigor Dimitrov is ready to showcase this rare technique against Yannick Hanfmann in the round of 32 at the Miami Open

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