By Chris Oddo | Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Every couple of weeks at Tennis Now we’re going to dig deeper into the subtleties of the game in an attempt to inspire debate and facilitate tennis talk around the water cooler. Today we’re going to choose the top five active ATP backhands, and do our best at explaining our reasoning, before opening up the floor for you to voice your opinion in the comments.

And, away we go...

1. Novak Djokovic

Novak does it all with his backhand, leaving no stone unturned on offense, defense, transition and returns. The Serb can attack with the shot, taking it up the line with uncanny accuracy and depth, or he can use it more conventionally as a crosscourt shot to open up space and wear down his opponents.

Djokovic can gain control in and finish points with the backhand, but he can also pull off crazy Houdini counterpunches with his two-hander. How many times have we seen him go from defense to offense whilst burning rubber on the hard court? How many times has he used the backhand to reset a point and to regain court position, instead of going for too much too soon?

Djokovic’s backhand gets a higher ranking than the next two on the list despite being slightly less ballistic offensively, because the Serb is a master of using the backhand tactically. He weaves his backhand in seamlessly with his whole shotmaking arsenal, using his versatility and tactical awareness to produce the results he needs.

2. Stan Wawrinka



Wawrinka’s backhand is the most impressive offensive backhand that the sport currently has. The sheer girth of the stroke has been making jaws drop ever since he cracked the top 20, but these days Wawrinka is hitting it with more confidence than ever, which has allowed him to attack more but also to be steadier with the shot. Wawrinka still can be prone to overcooking it on occasion but it’s a small price to pay, considering just how much offense he can generate with sheer power, acute angles, wicked topspin and the ability to sear it down the line.

However, Wawrinka’s backhand doesn’t stack up to Djokovic’s on return, and while he can defend well on that side, we don’t think that anybody can hang with Djokovic when it comes to defending on the backhand side.

For what it’s worth, Wawrinka’s backhand gets our nod for most beautiful. If there was ever a swimsuit calendar for backhands, Wawrinka’s gets the cover shoot (maybe that's our next post: Swimsuit backhands).

3. Kei Nishikori



Nishikori’s backhand has been a thing of beauty and a major reason why Japan’s No. 1 is having major success on tour since the beginning of 2014. Nobody in tennis is as adept at cleaning up short balls with the backhand like Nishikori is. He just steps in and grips and rips and, voila, winner! But Nishikori, like Djokovic, is also incredibly versatile with the two-hander. He can take it up the line or crosscourt. He can send an opponent into the stands chasing down one of his wide-angled benders. His timing and footwork are exquisite and the shot rarely—if ever—breaks down.

Right now Kei has the bronze medal backhand, but he’s really not too far from overtaking Djokovic. If he can learn to hit his while doing the splits, we might be having a different discussion in the not too distant future.

4. Andy Murray



Murray is the king of cat and mouse and he uses his backhand to set traps for other players. He is the best at hitting dipping passing shots that curl and meander and force flummoxed opponents into volley flubs. He can lob a giraffe, making said giraffe look as short as Dominika Cibulkova. He can grip it and rip it and break opponents down with depth and pace. He can take it down the line for clean winners.

Murray has a world-class backhand, and his feel on the ball is second to none. He’s not far from being top three.

5. Rafael Nadal



Rafa’s all about the forehand but don’t forget, behind every mind-blowing forehand is a table-setting backhand. Nadal’s aesthetics on the backhand side are not as gorgeous as our top four, but his tactical savvy and his ability to alternate between looping arc balls and flatter, heat-seeking crosscourt drives, make his backhand a constant concern for opponents.

He is most certainly not as aggressive and lethal with the shot as some players who didn’t make this list (Gasquet, Gulbis, Cilic), but Nadal more than makes up for that by integrating his backhand so seamlessly with his tactics. He knows exactly what he wants to do with the shot and how he wants to incorporate it into his gameplan.

And let’s not forget Nadal’s ability to defend on the backhand side. We saw that last weekend in Rio when he made a remarkable pass against Pablo Carreno Busta. Nadal is very good and changing his mechanics when he’s in trouble and blocking the ball with perfect timing. It creates an almost flat shot that has a surprising amount of power.

Ultimately, backhands are judged by how they help a player win matches. Nadal’s backhand helps him extremely, as do all of our top five.

Let us know if you agree or disagree in the comments!