"The one-handed backhand still has a place in the modern game": Federer talks changes in modern tennis

Roger Federer shared his thoughts on how tennis has evolved beyond being a game of mere technique and commented on the future of the sport he once dominated. The 20-time Grand Slam champion is one of the most respected voices when it comes to analysing the present state of tennis, especially since he faced most of the current top players.

This week, the Swiss legend is leading the Laver Cup, a tournament he helped launch seven years ago, which pits the best players in the world against each other in Team Europe and Team World.

Federer, 43, led the Big-3 era of dominance for two decades, but he believes that the future of tennis will look quite different from the past as the sport becomes more physically demanding: “The best movers are the best players, and you can see that. The mentally fittest, physically strongest and fastest are the best players,” he said.

“The guys and also the ladies are going to start hitting bigger forehands and backhands, be more fearless because they realise the reward is there,” added the 8-time Wimbledon champion.

“It’s not so much about technique anymore. I’ve been fooled enough over the last 10, 15, 20 years where I thought, ‘I’m not sure about this technique,’ but with racquet technology and string technology, you can iron those problems out. As long as you hit hard and clean through the ball, everything is possible in tennis, to be honest.”

One of the many standout features of Federer’s complete game during his career was his iconic one-handed backhand, considered one of the best in history. However, this shot is becoming less common at the top level, with its current main exponents being Grigor Dimitrov, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Federer’s contemporary, Stan Wawrinka.

“Juniors tend to look up to the best players in the world, and if they see the two-handed backhand, they think that’s the way forward, even though it might not be,” Federer added. “I do think the one-handed backhand still has a place in the modern game. Of course, you can fight more with the two-hander on returns and defence, whereas the one-hander can be a lot more challenging.”

The former world No. 1 defended the idea that the one-handed backhand can adapt to modern tennis, but argued that more top-level players need to showcase this shot to inspire future generations. Federer suggested that modern tennis has “perhaps just a lack of variety, but that’s because we have so many double-handers these days, and they don’t use the slice as much.”

On another note, the ‘Swiss Maestro’ shared his high hopes for the future of tennis and said he continues to enjoy watching the game, despite the gradual changes that have occurred since his playing days: “For the most part, I enjoy watching tennis still today, and it’s always going to be in a safe place because tennis is a wonderful sport,” he said. “The game is where it was, but just a step higher. I always feel like it keeps on going up.”