The group’s collective efforts were cheered by one of the modern game’s most famous one-handers, Carla Suárez Navarro.
Reports of the demise of the one-handed backhand have been greatly exaggerated … maybe.
This week at the Mutua Madrid Open, some of the sport’s best two-handed backhands took one hand off, and took on the challenge of executing the ulimate hot shot. But from Mirra Andreeva and Ons Jabeur, to Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner, only one could be No. 1.
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“Don’t laugh, because I’m not good at that,” Australian Open champion Sinner begins after rattling off some of the game’s best one-handers. And after taking his shot (literally), the Italian had a fitting sign-off.
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“What can I do better?”
Others, namely Fritz and his fellow American Ben Shelton, turned the competition into another competition. While Shelton impressed Fritz with a rocket down-the-line, the elder American was confident his consistency would win him the title of best U.S. one-hander.
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“Are you telling me that any two-handed backhand hits oneies better than that?” Fritz challenged in the clip, before taking to the comments to pass the crown of U.S. one-handers to Sebastian Korda, calling his stroke a not-safe-for-work “clean af.”
“I was unfamiliar with your game,” Fritz joked with Korda, who went on to ask Stan Wawrinka if it was time for him to make the switch full time.
The effort might’ve helped in the American’s revelatory week in Madrid in doubles, where he and Aussie Jordan Thompson stormed to the title by toppling four seeded teams, including No. 1 Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna.
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No matter the approach, the group’s collective efforts were cheered by one of the modern game’s most famous one-handers, Carla Suárez Navarro.
“Not bad,” the Spaniard was found writing in the comments.
And it was obvious that Suárez Navarro’s iconic shot is still missed, both by fans and her peers.
“Yours was so good!” Daria Saville replied. “I miss it.”
