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1
Roger Federer
Born
Roger Federer's backhand is the reference point: a compact take-back, a still head and a long, relaxed finish, hit flat, with topspin or sliced with equal ease. For years it was the side rivals targeted, especially Rafael Nadal's high left-handed forehand on clay. Federer answered with a bigger racket from 2014 and by stepping in to take the ball earlier. Twenty Grand Slam singles titles show the stroke could win, but also needed protecting.
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Stan Wawrinka
Born
Stan Wawrinka's backhand is the most powerful one-hander of the modern era: a full shoulder turn, a heavy racket and a swing that drives straight through high balls other one-handers have to block. It won him the 2014 Australian Open, the 2015 French Open and the 2016 US Open, beating Novak Djokovic in two of those finals. He played his last tour match in Basel in October 2026, still hitting it down the line.
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Richard Gasquet
Born
Many coaches name Richard Gasquet's backhand the most elegant of all: a huge, looping take-back and a finish that leaves him almost airborne. It could produce winners from well behind the baseline, but standing so far back cost him time against the very best. He reached a career high of seventh and three Grand Slam semi-finals, two at Wimbledon. He retired at the 2025 French Open, with the stroke still intact.
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Justine Henin
Born
Justine Henin's backhand was the best one-hander the women's game has seen, and John McEnroe called it the best backhand of either sex. At 1.67 metres she generated pace through timing and a full, fluid swing rather than size, and could slice, drive or roll the ball short crosscourt. It carried her to seven Grand Slam singles titles, four of them at Roland Garros, and the world number one ranking.
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Dominic Thiem
Born
Dominic Thiem hit a heavy, topspin one-hander with a long, whipping swing, often from several metres behind the baseline on clay. That position bought him time to swing fully and produced two French Open finals against Rafael Nadal, then the 2020 US Open title. It also left him exposed to short angles and fast courts, and a wrist injury in 2021 effectively ended his peak. He retired in Vienna in 2024.
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Grigor Dimitrov
Born
Grigor Dimitrov's backhand drew early Federer comparisons for its shape, but his best weapon on that side is the low, skidding slice he mixes with topspin drives and lobs. The variety suits grass and fast hard courts. He won the 2017 ATP Finals, reached a career high of third and has played Grand Slam semi-finals at three of the four majors. Watch for how often he changes height and spin within one rally.
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Stefanos Tsitsipas
Born
Stefanos Tsitsipas has a classic, full one-hander that looks wonderful on clay, where he has won Monte Carlo three times and reached the 2021 French Open final. It is also the stroke opponents attack with high balls and fast serves to his backhand, which is why his record against the very best is uneven. He won the 2019 ATP Finals and, in July 2026, his title at Gstaad.
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Lorenzo Musetti
Born
Lorenzo Musetti is the one-hander most worth watching now. He can hit it flat, with heavy topspin, sliced or as a drop shot from the same preparation, which makes it hard to read. On clay and grass that variety has taken him to a Wimbledon semi-final in 2024, Olympic bronze in Paris and a French Open semi-final in 2025, and he reached a career high of fifth in January 2026.
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Gustavo Kuerten
Born
Gustavo Kuerten's backhand was long, loose and full of topspin, hit with a wristy flick that sent the ball down the line on slow clay. Guga won the French Open three times, in 1997, 2000 and 2001, and finished 2000 as world number one after winning the season-ending Masters Cup on an indoor hard court. A hip injury cut his career short, so the stroke is best remembered on red clay.
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Stefan Edberg
Born
Stefan Edberg's backhand was built for attack. A side-on stance, a high finish and a slight slice let him approach the net behind it and then volley with the same smooth action. On grass and the fast courts of the 1980s and early 1990s it brought six Grand Slam singles titles, including two Wimbledons and two US Opens. His backhand volley is as admired as the groundstroke.
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Amélie Mauresmo
Born
Amélie Mauresmo combined a heavy topspin one-hander with a sliced version and a willingness to follow both to the net, a rare all-court mix in the women's game of the 2000s. She became world number one in 2004 and won the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006. Later she coached Andy Murray and became tournament director of the French Open.
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Ken Rosewall
Born
Ken Rosewall's sliced backhand is the classic of the wooden-racket era: low, controlled and almost always aimed deep or at the feet of an incoming volleyer. He won eight Grand Slam singles titles across three decades, taking the 1972 Australian Open at 37, yet never won Wimbledon in four finals. Watch old footage for how little effort the swing seems to need.
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Rod Laver
Born
Rod Laver was one of the first players to hit a topspin backhand as an attacking shot rather than a slice, using a strong left wrist to roll the ball over the net. With it he won the calendar Grand Slam twice, in 1962 and again in 1969, the second time across grass and clay in the Open era. His backhand shows that the one-hander's attacking tradition is older than most fans assume.
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Ivan Lendl
Born
Ivan Lendl's backhand is the opposite of a graceful flourish: a rigid, repeatable drive with topspin, hit hard from the baseline as part of a relentless, physical game. It is on this list because its efficiency has its own beauty. Lendl won eight Grand Slam singles titles and spent 270 weeks at number one, and later coached Andy Murray to his first major titles.
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Francesca Schiavone
Born
Francesca Schiavone hit a heavy, high-bouncing topspin one-hander, closer to a men's clay-court shot than anything else in the women's game of her time. She mixed it with slice and net approaches, and it won her the 2010 French Open, the first Grand Slam singles title by an Italian woman, followed by the final there in 2011. Her matches show how much spin can unsettle flat hitters on clay.
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Carla Suárez Navarro
Born
Carla Suárez Navarro hit one of the most admired one-handers in women's tennis, a full, high-finishing topspin drive that looked too big for a 1.62-metre player. It took her to a career high of sixth in 2016 and six Grand Slam quarter-finals, though never further, which is an honest measure of the stroke's limits against heavy hitters. She returned from Hodgkin lymphoma to play a farewell season in 2021.
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Tommy Haas
Born
Tommy Haas had a textbook one-hander: early preparation, a full shoulder turn and a clean, level finish, equally good on the run or stepping in. Injuries interrupted his career several times, yet he reached world number two in 2002, won Olympic silver in Sydney and kept winning titles into his mid-thirties. Few players show the stroke's mechanics as clearly, which makes him a good model for club players.
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Denis Shapovalov
Born
Denis Shapovalov's left-handed backhand is the most acrobatic on tour: he often leaves the ground and swings with a full whip, cap turned backwards. It produces spectacular winners and also a fair number of errors, which explains a career of brilliant weeks rather than steady ones. He reached the 2021 Wimbledon semi-finals and a career high of tenth, and won titles in Dallas and Belgrade in 2025.
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Nicolás Almagro
Born
Nicolás Almagro hit perhaps the hardest one-hander of the 2000s and 2010s, a violent topspin drive that worked best on clay, where he won most of his 13 titles. He reached a career high of ninth and three French Open quarter-finals. The stroke shows the one-hander as pure power rather than touch, and also its cost: he rarely found the same rhythm on faster courts.
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Pete Sampras
Born
Pete Sampras is here as a useful counterpoint. His one-hander looked lovely, especially the flat drive down the line, but it was the less reliable side of his game, and opponents aimed there in long rallies. He won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, seven at Wimbledon, by building points around his serve, forehand and volleys instead. A beautiful backhand does not need to be a player's best shot to be worth studying.
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