The goal of professional sports has always been to win. Looking good while doing it? That\u2019s just a bonus for the gawkers and connoisseurs of bodily form in motion.<\/p>\n
In professional tennis, the \u201cbeauty factor<\/a>\u201d has zeroed in on one stroke in particular: the one-handed backhand. The vintage stroke, so named because of its reliance on just one hand, is gradually disappearing from the professional game, as coaches, club pros and parents increasingly opt to teach beginners the more effective two-handed backhand.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s because the two-hander is far more suited to the modern game for beginners and professionals alike, experts say.\u00a0<\/p>\n And, when it comes to acquiring the technical skills required of a sport like tennis, it\u2019s a case of: teach them while they\u2019re young. Rui Li<\/a>, associate clinical professor and director of the exercise science program at Northeastern University, says that motor learning and skill acquisition peak during childhood years, which is the best time to pick up a racquet.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Li examined the kinetics of both backhand strokes. She says that the two-handed backhand engages more large muscle groups \u2014 including the core, back, shoulder and triceps \u2014 to provide stability. <\/p>\n \u201cIt takes longer to develop the automation of the kinetic chain, which involves reflexes and complex motor skill development,\u201d she says of the stroke.\u00a0<\/p>\n Joel Drucker<\/a>, a leading tennis writer and historian-at-large, says the two-handed backhand is a more effective stroke, given the range of physical demands modern tennis places on players.<\/p>\n And the reason, he says, is simple: two hands are better than one.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like chopping wood,\u201d Drucker says. \u201cYou have more stability, you have power. Players, when they learn younger, are able to learn a proficient stroke that is incredibly effective the way Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg pioneered starting in the \u201970s.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Evert, Connors and Borg were early adopters of the now ubiquitous stroke \u2014 and the most successful examples before the technique exploded in popularity during the \u201980s and \u201990s.<\/p>\n For a variety of reasons, the two-handed backhand is advantageous in the modern game, which is characterized by baseline rallies, increased spin and greater pace of shot.<\/p>\n Compared to a one-handed backhand, the two-handed backhand also offers greater maneuverability on the return of serve because, among other things, the non-dominant hand provides that added support, reducing some of the challenges faced by single-handed players, Drucker says. (Players with a one-handed backhand often \u201cchip,\u201d or slice, the return of serve on that wing because of the extreme grip change required to strike the ball flat or with topspin, and the time.)<\/p>\n \u201cIt [the two-handed backhand] can generate more power, more leverage, more disguise \u2014 everything,\u201d Drucker says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can be more forceful from the baseline with a two-handed backhand, and because of that, those who learn with a two-handed backhand tend to play more from the baseline compared to net rushers,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Players who grew up using the one-handed backhand \u2014 if they were taught correctly, Drucker says \u2014 would have learned to hit both the backhand drive and the slice. The slice, by generating backspin, can alter the speed of the ball as well as the height with which it bounces, potentially throwing an opponent off their rhythm.<\/p>\n For that reason, those players may be able to slice the ball more effectively compared to their double-handed counterparts, who generally prefer to drive the ball rather than vary spins.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n And, he says, the one-handed backhand, the backhand volley and slice share many of the same technical elements. That can be a boon to beginners who decide to take up the single-hander: the precision and timing required to execute such a complex stroke carry over, to some degree, to other shots.<\/p>\n \u201cThe slice backhand technique is almost a sibling of the backhand volley,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Of course, the one-handed backhand is far from dead: younger generations of players continue to find examples of the stroke in mastered form thanks to social media. And those who manage to break through at the highest level with the old-school technique \u2014 like Lorenzo Musetti in recent years \u2014 inevitably bring renewed attention to it.<\/p>\n But, as players today strike the ball with more spin and speed than ever, Drucker sees the evolution of the modern game progressing \u2014 as it always had \u2014 toward the maximization of \u201cleverage, proficiency and power\u201d by all available means.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about scalability and sustainability,\u201d Drucker says. \u201cThis was as true in the wood racquet era as it is today. That\u2019s the game. It\u2019s about scalability and sustainability. That\u2019s what makes greatness.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Tanner Stening is an assistant news editor at Northeastern Global News. Email him at t.stening@northeastern.edu. Follow him on X\/Twitter @tstening90<\/a>.<\/p>\n