Grigor Dimitrov & Co. bid farewell to the one-handed backhand in their own unique way as he remembers the ‘maestro’ Roger Federer; video goes viral

ATP has released a satirical video about the death of the single-handed backhand featuring players who use it best.

Grigor Dimitrov & Co. bid farewell to the one-handed backhand in their own unique way as he remembers the ‘maestro’ Roger Federer; video goes viral

Grigor Dimitrov (via Imago)

Talk about the extinction of the most elegant shot in tennis, the single-handed backhand, has been happening for a good part of the last two decades. Earlier this year, following Stefanos Tsitsipas’ exit from the ATP top 10, there was no player with a one-handed backhand in the world’s top 10 for the first time.

This cemented the belief that the shot was indeed a lost art form. However, Grigor Dimitrov showed that it is not dead with his exceptional performances that propelled him back onto the scene. The ATP released a parody video, which was narrated and anchored by Dimitrov and featured a few other players with single-handed backhands – Stan Wawrinka, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Dominic Thiem, Lorenzo Musetti, Denis Shapovalov, Dan Evans, Chris Eubanks, and Richard Gasquet.

The players can be seen trying out various things in life using both hands. They took a satirical dig at people who say that the old way of hitting a backhand is dead.

FS Video

In the end, Dimitrov seemingly makes a call to a legend who possessed a single-hander, Roger Federer.  This is in line with other satirical videos that the organization has had the players participate in previously. The first one they made featured Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic as the main characters of a short movie that mocked haters who felt that the ATP matches are scripted.

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The state of the single-hander in the world of men’s tennis

Just a decade or two ago, there was an almost even split in the tour between players who used a single-handed backhand and those with a two-hander. 

Roger Federer
Roger Federer’s iconic backhand was recreated by top tennis stars (Via Imago/X)

Even earlier, in the 1900s, there were almost no two-handed backhand players. However, with changing times and the advancement of racket technology, double-handers far outweigh the players who weaponize the more graceful shot of the two.

As of August 2024, there are only eight players, including Grigor Dimitrov, in the top 100 who do not use their non-dominant hand for anything but service tosses. The others are Stefanos Tsitsipas, Lorenzo Musetti, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Dusan Lajovic, Aleksander Kovacevic, Christopher O’Connell, and Daniel Altmaier. Although the shot is still present, its influence seems to have faded away with Roger Federer’s retirement in 2022.

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