Tennis
players from the ATP and WTA showcased their skills by playing with a
one-handed backhand on the courts of the Madrid Open. Tour stars took part in a
promotional video for the tournament, including
Jannik Sinner,
Ben Shelton, Ons
Jabeur,
Taylor Fritz, and
Jelena Ostapenko.
The social
media channels of the Mutua Madrid Open shared a training session where players
were asked to play with their one-handed backhand.
Several
players shared their impressions of how their backhands would be: "I have
the best one, Roger called me, you know, last time,"
Ons Jabeur said.
"When he retired he gave me his… no, that was a bad one," she added
after a couple of hits.
"I’ve always wanted to have a single-handed
backhand, but my coach never let me. We’re gonna see why now," Alex De
Minaur told.
In the
video, it is seen that most of the players struggle to achieve a good shot with
the single-handed backhand. Some of those who stood out were Ben Shelton, Demi
Schuurs,
Nicolas Jarry, Ons Jabeur,
Sebastian Korda, and
Mirra Andreeva.
Other
players who participated in the video included
Joao Fonseca, Taylor Fritz,
Jelena Ostapenko, Luisa Stefani,
Beatriz Haddad Maia, among others.
“The
single-handed backhand - how hard can it be?”