Shaking hands can be a health hazard in this coronavirus era.
Roger Federer and Grigor Dimitrov are lending helping hands to fans seeking to work on their games while in lockdown due to COVID-19 outbreak.
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The friends and fellow Wilson endorsers each taped tips for perfecting the one-handed backhand that Wilson has posted on its YouTube channel.
Federer, the man Toni Nadal calls the best ball striker he’s ever seen, says footwork, balance and timing are all keys to his brilliant one-hander.
“I think it’s always about consistency,” Federer says. “Good footwork makes you hit a better backhand—you get to the shot faster. So for me, it’s really about consistency. I’m not working on any technical issues at the moment—that’s long-gone. Those are the things you work on when you’re a junior, really.”
The Swiss Maestro reveals that like rival Rafael Nadal, he too once hit with two hands off both wings when he was a young kid not yet strong enough to swing a heavy racquet with one hand.
“I like to use the whole court for [practicing] forehands and backhands and make it like a match situation as much as possible,” Federer says. “Sometimes you work on taking the ball early and then taking the ball late because there’s always that in-between situation where you don’t want to hit the ball, it’s up too high or stuff like that.”
Dimitrov, like Federer, says the key to a good one hander starts with the feet.
“I think to really work on the feet and also to keep your eye on the ball a lot is very important on the backhand side,” Dimitrov says.
The 2017 ATP Finals champion reveals one of his favorite backhand drills is one Hall of Famer Jimmy Connors also preferred—practicing against two opponents simultaneously so the ball comes back faster.