Carla Suarez Navarro sees one handed backhand made famous by Federer becoming obsolete: "In ten years, it's likely there won't be any more"

Former tennis star Carla Suarez Navarro was one of the few WTA players who employed the one-handed backhand, and the Spaniard recently spoke about the disappearance of the shot, which was popularized by Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer.

Suarez Navarro rose to a career-high ranking of World No.6 during her time on the WTA circuit, eventually retiring in 2021 after the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. She stood out as one of the few female players in her era who used the one-handed backhand, with her aggressive plying style enabling her to win two WTA singles.

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The shot will soon no longer exist, says Suarez Navarro

In an interview with Punto de Break, the Spaniard spoke on various topics, including the disappearance of the one-handed backhand shot, which she attributed to an evolution in playing style.

"On the women's tour, if it hasn't disappeared already, it's disappearing now," analyzed Suarez Navarro. "I remember that when I played there were about 6-7 players with a one-handed backhand, but in ten years it's likely that there won't be any more, it's a shot that will no longer exist. It's what marked the evolution of tennis, before we played with wooden rackets, everything was calmer, more peaceful, but now everything has changed.
"I'm from 1988; when I started to feel comfortable with this shot as a child you still saw a lot of one-handed backhands, but now it's different. Then it happens that one comes out, but that child sees that his teammates play with two hands and, therefore, that they have more structures to hit and defend.

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"That child, when he plays backwards, will have many problems. It's wrong for me to say this, but if you were to play tennis again, you would play with a two-handed backhand. Holding Serena's serves or Sabalenka's shots for two hours is very difficult.
"It's a shame, for me it was one of the most beautiful shots in tennis, if not the most beautiful. We have to accept it, those of us who are romantic, of the old school, will hurt, but the reality is that the one-handed backhand is destined to disappear.
"Right now I think it's very difficult for a tennis school to teach the one-handed backhand. The children who are being born now, when they grow up, will not see that shot on television, they will have no one to imitate, they will have to watch videos of Federer and Henin. But they won't be able to see it live."