“Actually nice backhand,” Boris Becker cheekily compliments himself as he relives his trademark shot and glory days on court

The former World No. 1 had a self praising comment after seeing a collection of his famous one-handed backhand during his playing days.

“Actually nice backhand,” Boris Becker cheekily compliments himself as he relives his trademark shot and glory days on court

Boris Becker playing the backhand (Image via IMAGO)

Former World No. 1 Boris Becker was a breath of fresh air when he arrived on the Tour. Sporting his famous blonde hair, he shot to fame at the All-England Club in 1985. Playing as an unseeded player at the age of 17 he surprised everyone by winning the singles title.

He became the first German, the first unseeded player, and then the youngest singles Grand Slam title winner. To add to his legend, he successfully defended his Wimbledon title the next year before winning his third and last in 1989.

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Becker’s playing style, particularly his rapid aces followed by delicate volleys earned him the name ‘Boom Boom Becker’. To felicitate his net game, he had an amazing athletic ability that allowed him to stretch, roll, and jump all around the court to win points.

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The ‘Becker dive’ and ‘Becker roll’ quickly became his new names owing to this. But what often gets ignored among this is his ferocious single-handed backhand. The right-handed German was one of the very few players to employ the single-handed backhand.

Following Stefanos Tsitsipas‘ exit from the Top-10, for the first time since the rankings began in 1973, no player with a single-handed backhand is in the Top-10. Reacting to it, a fan page of Becker put out a reel that had the German playing the difficult shot. The reel reached the veteran who then gave his reaction to it. 

Actually nice backhand...
Wrote Becker sharing the reel on his Instagram story.

What makes the single-handed backhand so difficult?

The one-handed backhand is a skill mastered by very few and praised by all due to the complexity that arises with it. The high balls become difficult to get to as all the energy is being used from a single hand. For younger players, it becomes more difficult as their bodies are still not fully grown.

Boris Becker
Boris Becker playing the single-handed backhand (Image via: Becker’s Instagram story)

This increases the chances of injury to their elbow as the muscles are still developing. Seeing these issues, many players use both their hands to play it safe. But the likes of Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Richard Gasquet, Stan Wawrinka, and lately Dominic Thiem and Tsitsipas have still found a way to use that shot.

When executed, it is one of the most elegant and stylish shots out there which still earns praise from fans. However, with fewer players from the current crop using it, many wonder if it is an art that’s on its way to extinction.

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