Jannik Sinner had the highest average forehand speed as well as highest average backhand speed at Miami Open 2021
Many believe Jannik Sinner possesses some of the most powerful and heavy groundstrokes on tour right now. There is now statistical proof of that; charted data from the recently concluded 2021 Miami Open shows that Sinner is currently hitting bigger - off both forehand and backhand - than all other players.
Jannik Sinner, who reached a career-high ATP ranking of No. 23 this week, has turned a lot of heads recently with his aggressive playing style. The 19-year-old's fluid-yet-bruising game has impressed everyone, and his ability to hit groundstroke winners from any part of the court makes him stand out among all the youngsters.
A commentator working for SuperTennis TV recently divulged the statistics for the average forehand and backhand speeds of players who competed in Miami this year. Jannik Sinner unsurprisingly topped the list in both categories, which serves as clear evidence of the Italian's explosive game.
Sinner recorded the highest average forehand speed at Miami, clocking a mean of 130.3 km/hr on his forehands across the six matches he played during the week. The fast-rising Sebastian Korda came a close second in that aspect, recording an average forehand speed of 129.0 km/hr during his campaign at the Masters 1000 tournament.
Milos Raonic, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev rounded out the top 6 in the average forehand speed category.
Jannik Sinner leads the pack by some distance when it came to average backhand speed
While Jannik Sinner is capable of wrecking the ball from both sides, he plays with a slightly larger margin on his backhand than his forehand. The 19-year-old imparts more spin on his backhand, thereby making it his more consistent wing.
It was precisely that combination of power and spin on his backhand that helped Sinner reach the first big final of his career at Miami. So it comes as little surprise that the Italian was the leader of the pack in the average backhand speed last week, and that too by some distance.
Sinner clocked an average speed of 118.3 km/hr on his backhand during his Miami campaign. Korda joined him among the top 2 in this category as well, clocking an average backhand speed of 112.5 km/hr.
Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev were third and fourth on the list, recording average backhand speeds of 107.8 km/hr and 107.7 km/hr respectively. 2021 Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz came in fifth in this category, clocking an average backhand speed of 105.7 km/hr during his title-winning run.