Players with a single handed backhand are a dying breed in men’s tennis and are nearly non-existent in the women’s game but in my opinion, a well hit one handed backhand is still one of the most beautiful shots to watch in tennis.
This article will look at the players with the best one-handed backhands in tennis such as Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, and Dominic Thiem.
Top 10 One Handed Backhand Players
1. Roger Federer
There may be still some debate as to who is the GOAT but in terms of players who hit a backhand with one hand, with his 20 grand slam titles and 103 ATP tiles overall, there is no doubt that Roger Federer is one of the greatest of all time.
2. Stan Wawrinka
Stan Wawrinka’s backhand is a thing of beauty and has helped him win three grand slams in the Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal era which is no mean feat.
Stan Wawrinka has also had good success on clay courts, which traditionally favor players who use two hands on their backhand.
3. Dominic Thiem
With his win at the 2020 US Open in 5 sets over Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem showed that one-handed backhand players can still win grand slam titles despite the top of the ATP ranking being dominated by players who use two hands for their backhands.
4. Stefanos Tsitsipas
Many fans believe that Stefanos Tsitsipas is the most likely one-handed backhand player to win multiple grand slam titles during the course of his career.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has already shown great promise by making the French Open final in 2021 and by winning the Year-end Championships in 2019.
5. Denis Shapovalov
Denis Shapovalov has one of the most deadly backhands on the tour which has helped him get into the top 20 of the ATP Ranking.
In 2021, Denis Shapovalov started to show signs that he could be a future grand slam winner with a semi-final run at the Wimbledon Championships.
6. Grigor Dimitrov
Grigor Dimitrov has often said that his favorite shot to hit is his backhand and by watching the video above you can easily see why he thinks this.
Early in his career, Grigor Dimitrov was nicknamed “Baby Fed” due to the similarities between himself and Roger Federer in terms of style and technique.
However, he hasn’t quite lived up to the early promise he showed with his only major titles coming in 2017 when he won Cincinnati Masters and the ATP Finals in London that year.
7. Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet’s best years on tour may be behind him but his backhand is still one of the best on the ATP tour and a thing to behold.
8. Daniel Evans
Unlike many of the other players on this list, Daniel Evans prefers to hit a slice on his backhand rather than hitting a topspin backhand.
However, this hasn’t stopped Daniel Evans from becoming a top 25 ranked player in the ATP ranking.
9. Dusan Lajovic
Dusan Lajovic is one of the few one handed backhand players that excel on the clay courts with his only ATP title to date being the 2019 Croatia Open.
Dusan Lajovic has also found great success playing for the Serbian Davis Cup team.
10. Lorenzo Musetti
Lorenzo Musetti is one of the few next gen players that play with their backhand with one rather than two hands.
Lorenzo Musetti has already shown great promise with wins over top players such as Stan Wawrinka, Grigor Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori, and David Goffin.