Stan Wawrinka's
Backhand

What makes Stan Wawrinka's backhand so great? Let's look at it technically, element by element, but first, some context about the one-hander in general.

Recently the New York Times Magazine published an article announcing the death of the one-handed backhand. The basic point was Roger Federer couldn't exchange backhands with Rafael Nadal's forehand, and therefore the stroke was obsolete.

Now with Stan's success at the last two Australian Opens there is a new conventional wisdom. The one-hander is the greatest backcourt weapon in the game, that is the way Stan hits it.

What wins today in professional tennis is instant world truth. Until the next instant world truth comes along--which will be soon.

Stan's alleged resurrection of the one handed reputation goes against the trend in junior tennis, where the one-hander is actually approaching extinction. For years I have been filming top American junior players. Last year in 2014, I filmed the backhands of 50 national ranked juniors. There were 2 one-handers.

The numbers are undoubtedly similar internationally. A few years ago I got an article proposal from a militant European coach who told me that the one-hander was so inferior it should never be taught. Ever. To anyone.

And yet here is another fact. Currently 6 of the top 20 players in the world hit with one hand.

So is the one hander really inferior? Considering how few players develop it, the statistics may show the opposite, that it's a superior shot. Only a tiny fraction of players hit with one hand, but a much higher percentage of those players make it to the top 20.

But that's not the way American junior coaches think. This is in part because most parents are not in the slightest interested in the kind of long run thinking it takes to develop a one-hander.

Remember Pete Sampras? When he switched to a one-hander at age 14 he immediately started losing matches. At 16 he was ranked 65th in the country. 3 years later, he won the Open.

Years ago a boy who played on my high school team made the opposite switch, from from one hand to two hands. He immediately moved from a top 20 to a top 10 sectional ranking. But he didn't even end up playing college tennis. And he doesn't play now.

20 years later was that type of incremental result improvement worth it? Most two handers don't learn to effectively slice.

They tend to play backcourt style tennis. Their backhand volleys rarely look natural. In playing the sport for life, how important are those aspects? Is it possible that the two handed backhand has had a huge detrimental effect on recreational tennis and the growth and health of the game?

But back to Stan. Why is his backhand so effective? And what are the applications for the rest of us who either have or want to develop one-handers?

Grip

Let's start with his grip. If you look at his index knuckle you can get fooled. It seems to be on bevel 2, or maybe on the edge of the next bevel higher, bevel one, which would be around the same as Federer.

But look at the other key checkpoint, the heel pad. That is rotated well over the top of the frame and squarely behind the handle on bevel 8. (For more on understanding the backhand grips and the relationship between the hand and the racket handle, Click Here.)

That definitely makes Stan's grip is more extreme than Federer's. It falls into the category some coaches call semi-western. But it's not as extreme as some other semi-western players who rotate the knuckle all the way to the top or even slightly behind the handle, like Justine Henin and Gustavo Kuerten.

Still the difference with the classical grips is significant and is the basis for the other technical difference in Stan's stroke. The main consequence is a contact point that is naturally higher and more in front than players like Federer or Tommy Haas..

This is one reason why Stan's backhand appears so fearsome in backcourt exchanges. He can deal with the bounce heights and levels of topspin in the modern game without having to take the ball early or slice. He can truly unleash without having to change his timing.

Preparation

So the grip is the start but the next element is equally critical. This is Stan's impeccable preparation. His backhand begins with one of the strongest, simplest unit turns ever. Watch how he keeps both hands on the racket so that his arms, shoulders, and hips all rotate together.

Stan raises his hands slightly as the turn begins and points the tip of the racket almost directly upward, giving the possible appearance that he is initiating an independent backswing. But in reality there is very little independent movement of the arms as his torso turns.

The rotation continues until his shoulders are basically 90 degrees or square to the net. The arms and racket have moved naturally as a part of this body turn. Now watch as Stan's left hand begins to pull the racket back and his hitting arm straightens out.

Stan reaches the full turn with his shoulders turned another 20 or 30 degrees past perpendicular. Notice how his chin is literally resting on his front shoulder. The racket head has dropped a foot or more and is even with about the top of his head. It's an incredibly powerful position.

Stance

The full turn naturally correlates with the closed stance preferred by Stan and all tour players or both the one-handed (Click Here) and two-handed backhand. (Click Here.)

Look at the alignment. A line across the feet is parallel with a line across the shoulders. The racket shaft is also close to parallel to these two lines.

Although the closed stance generally maximizes the body turn on the one-hander, Stan is equally comfortable hitting from all three stances. He can create a great turn from a neutral or open stance as well.

Many observers have noted that the racket extends back beyond the body in the pro one-hander. But it's important to note that this is a consequence of the full turn and not additional backswing motion.

How does the turn and the stance relate to the grip? One of the advantages of his extreme grip style is the ability to take the ball at shoulder height with the open or even the closed stance and drive it with confidence, power and spin.

Arm Position and Body Rotation

When we look at the mechanics of the forward swing itself, what stands out is Stan's straight arm hitting position and how early he sets this up. Watch how his arm straightens out as it drops to the bottom of the backswing.

This straight arm position remains virtually unchanged as he moves to the contact, and then out to the forward extension of the swing when the wrist reaches eye level. The arm and racket are moving as unit from the shoulder.

But watch the uncoiling of the body as well. The forward swing on all pro one handers is initiated by the uncoiling of the legs and the rotation of the hips and shoulders. On a classic one hander closer to the Federer model, however, the shoulders stop rotating when they reach perpendicular to the net or slightly further.

The rotation on the more extreme backhands, including Stan's is significantly further. Watch how his shoulders open to the net so they are around 45 degrees at contact, and how this rotation continues until it is more like 60 degrees at the extension of the swing. This rotation, in combination with the grip, is what naturally and automatically pushes the contact point further in front than the classic versions.

Now note the opposite arm. In the less extreme backhands, the left or opposite arm tends to oppose much more radically and move directly back, straightening out behind the player.

That stops the body rotation. With the more extreme grips the movement of the back arm is less because the torso is rotating further.

Followthrough

Watching Stan's backhand with the naked eye can be very deceiving. As we've seen many times before, the eye can't resolve the brief critical moments clearly, and often confuses what happens later in the swing when things are moving much slower with what happens around contact.

There is no doubt Stan's body continues to open as the followthrough continues, often finishing parallel to the net. And his arm and racket can also continue until the racket tip is actually be pointing at the back fence.

The key is to understand the sequence of the motion. When his hand reaches eye level, notice that the arm is pointing forward toward the opponent at only a small angle to the baseline.

Also at this same point the torso has opened partially to the net, but not fully. The continuation of these motions are the part of the deceleration and recovery phase.

They result naturally from tremendous swing speed in Stan's stroke. Players who try to stop that motion can risk injury. But this happens on it own, if it happens at all.

Trying to force the "pro" position usually results in late contact and a compressed swing with significant loss of power and consistency. Just let the arm and racket go. Focus on reestablishing your ready position and they will likely take care of themselves.

The Wiper

There is one additional motion to understand in the forward swing. The arm and racket may be moving forward and extending, but they are also rotating as a unit from the shoulder.

You see this rotation naturally even in classic backhands. But with the extreme grips it tends to be greater and can also be more radically manipulated by the player.

As the racket face travels outward, watch also how it is rotating or turning over. Notice how at the end of the swing the racket face is pointing mostly at the other side.

This is the one-handed backhand wiper motion and is created by the unitary rotation from the shoulder joint of the arm and racket. As with the forehand wiper it allows players to increase the vertical racket speed and generate additional spin. (For more on the one-handed wiper, Click Here.)

Implications

So what are the implications for players at all levels? Leaving the grip out of it for the moment, the first big key is the role of the unit turn.

Top players reach the turn at around the bounce of the ball. Check for yourself where you body is when the ball bounces on your backhand side.

The second element we can all take from Stan is his perfect hitting arm position. He gets it straight just as the forward swing begins and it stays that way at contact through extension.

And third, the extension itself. Don't be confused by the deceleration phase. The technical end of the forward swing is when your wrist reaches about eye level with your hitting arm still straight.

Experiment

Whatever your grip, if you are a one-hander you can benefit from studying Stan. Not the least of those benefits is inspiration. And there are the technical elements he shares with all good one-handers.

By the way, before he won a Slam we filmed Stan a few years ago. He had the same backhand and you can study it in detail for yourself in the Stroke Archives--as well as the rest of his game. (Click Here.)

If you feel yourself drawn in Stan's direction, have fun and experiment with your grip. Rotate the hand back a bevel and see what happens. The early contact and extra body rotation are harder to time, but if you play at contact heights at waist level and above, you may find that shifting closer to Stan's creates improvement.

If it seems to be working you can add experimentation with hand and arm rotation and try to create more wiper effect. If you do try some of the extreme elements, let us know your thoughts in the Forum.