Stefanos Tsitsipas weighs in on future of the one-handed backhand: "I, for sure, don't think it's gone"
Stefanos Tsitsipas has refused to rule out the future of the one-handed backhand in men's tennis.
The ATP Tour rankings currently have no top 10 players who play the shot, as the two-handed backhand has become more popular. The 25-year-old dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in four years, causing all current top 10 players to rely on a variant of the two-handed backhand.
Apart from Tsitsipas, Grigor Dimitrov, Chris Eubanks, Stan Wawrinka, Denis Shapovalov, and Dominic Thiem employ the one-handed backhand. Retired players like Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, Stefan Edberg, and Rod Laver also preferred it over its two-handed counterpart.
Tsitsipas spoke about the future of the shot ahead of the Mexican Open. According to the World No. 12, the lack of players relying on it is not a worrying sign for the future.
"I think it's just a phase. I remain pretty optimistic on the future of the single-handed backhand and I'm pretty sure we're going to see a lot of more champions in the future with that backhand. I, for sure, don't think it's gone." Tsitsipas said (via TennisTV; 05:24).
Roger Federer and Pete Sampras inspired Stefanos Tsitsipas to play the one-handed backhand
At the 2023 US Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas revealed that there was once a time when he would keep switching between the one-handed and two-handed backhands during training.
"I remember the phase that I was in between deciding which one am I going to follow. I remember showing up at practice on Monday, playing the entire practice with a double-handed backhand. Then next day on Tuesday, I just decided, you know what, I want to play single-handed backhand."
The Greek also pointed to Roger Federer and Pete Sampras' inspirational roles in helping him come to a decision.
"He (Federer) definitely gave me a reason to pursue a single-handed backhand. That's definitely a reason why. Also Pete Sampras was my hero growing up. So these two tennis players make this shot for me extra special."
Tsitsipas aims to return to the top 10 of the ATP Tour rankings at the Mexican Open, where he will face Roman Safiullin. Tsitsipas and Safiullin have only met once in the past at the ATP Tour level. It was in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Marseille Open, which the Russian won 6-4, 6-4.