Stan Wawrinka Discusses the Future of One-Handed Backhands After his Imminent Retirement

Stan Wawrinka to play at the ATP 500 Barcelona Open next week.

Stan Wawrinka Discusses the Future of One-Handed Backhands After his Imminent Retirement

Stan Wawrinka (Image via X/Roland Garros)

In Short
  • Stanislas Wawrinka, the last prominent one-handed backhand player, plans to retire at the end of the season.
  • One-handed backhand players like Tsitsipas, Dimitrov, and Musetti are struggling to maintain their rankings.
  • Wawrinka aims to compete in upcoming tournaments, including the Barcelona Open and Italian Open qualifiers.

There’s a growing belief in the men’s circuit that one-handed backhand play is fading away. The only known player who carries the technique to perfection on the court is 41-year-old Stan Wawrinka, who is set to retire at the end of this season. The Swiss legend has revealed that he hopes a new one-handed backhand player will rise after he leaves.

It is not as if there aren’t any one-handed backhand players in the men’s circuit, but they have become few in recent years. One player who made the signature technique popular was Roger Federer, who retired from professional tennis in 2022 after playing his final career match at the Laver Cup in London.

The likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Grigor Dimitrov, and Lorenzo Musetti are known to still carry the signature play on the court, but they are all struggling currently. Tsitsipas has not been able to reach the semi-finals of a match on tour in one year. He crashed out of the ongoing Monte Carlo Masters in the first round for the first time in eight attempts.

In fact, Tsitsipas is bound to drop outside the Top 60 in the ATP rankings following his poor display. On the other hand, Dimitrov is yet to fully recover from the injury he suffered at last year’s Wimbledon Championship. The Bulgarian star has returned to the court, but he has failed to be at his best.

Musetti has not won a match since January on tour. In fact, he recently crashed out of the Monte Carlo Masters after losing to Valentin Vacherot in straight sets. During an interview with Tennis Channel, Stan Wawrinka admitted that even though the one-handed backhand style is about to fade, some players will continue the technique:

There will always be one-handed backhands. Always. Always a minority, that’s for sure, but if you look, you have Musetti, one of the best one-handed backhands in the world right now. I love to watch him play. Of course, the game is really physical now. Players play really hard from both sides now. So, of course, it’s easier to get the two-handed backhand. I think when you start, especially when you’re younger, but you will always see some one-handed backhand at the top of the game.

The last time two one-handed backhand players were in the top 10 of the ATP rankings was in January 2024. The two players were Tsitsipas and Dimitrov, ranked No.7 and No.10, respectively. After that season, both players dropped out of the elite group. Currently, Dimitrov is ranked outside the Top 100 on tour.

Stan Wawrinka reveals his next tournament after Monte Carlo exit

The clay-court season began with the Monte Carlo Masters, after which players will compete in ATP 500 tournaments in Munich or Barcelona. Some players use that week to rest as the Madrid Open has been slated to run for two weeks. After that, a week’s break before the Italian Open in Rome.

Stan Wawrinka
Stan Wawrinka (Image via X/Roland Garros)

Stan Wawrinka, who will retire at the end of this season, opened his clay account at the Monte Carlo Masters, losing 5-7, 5-7 against Argentina star Sebastian Baez. The former World No.3 admitted during the aforementioned interview that he will be competing at the Barcelona Open and then, after that, the Italian Open qualifiers:

I’m going to Barcelona next week. Then hopefully Rome qualies, probably. Geneva, hopefully French [Open] we’ll see. But yeah, I’m trying to play the full year because as I say, it’s my last year, but I’m not playing just to say goodbye to tournaments. I’m a competitor. For me, it’s tough to lose a match and then get something on the court.

Wawrinka will open his account at the Barcelona Open against British star Cameron Norrie. Norrie is the seventh seed at the tournament and has been in good form this season. He reached the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Open in March, before losing to two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets.

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