The Best Rackets For One-Handed Backhands

What are the best rackets for a one-handed backhand? I find it quite important to explain this since, for the first time in history, there are no one handed backhands on the ATP Tour. Well, most people will look at the greatest one-handed backhands in tennis history, see what those players play with, and automatically associate those rackets as the greatest for a one-handed backhand. These rackets happen to be the Wilson Pro Staff and the Head Prestige.

Stefan Edberg, one of the greatest one-handers in the history of tennis, played with a Pro Staff. Of course, Roger Federer played with a Pro Staff. On the other hand, the Head Prestige, one of the classic rackets that many people associate as a great racket for a one-handed backhand player, such as Gustavo Kuerten and Tommy Haas, is also popular. These rackets are really nice for a one-handed backhand.

There are going to be all kinds of rackets that great one-handers have played with. For example, Francesca Schiavone, who won the French Open, had a phenomenal one-handed backhand with the Babolat Pure Aero. Stan Wawrinka and Denis Shapovalov, who have amazing one-handed backhands, play with the Yonex racket. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that the racket is not what is going to improve your one handed backhand.

Different Choices

Generally, people always say that the Yonex racket is great for a two-handed backhand, which is also not true. If Stan Wawrinka, arguably one of the greatest one-handed backhands in the history of the game, can use a Yonex racket and hit that one-hander, the Yonex is not just a racket that works for a two-handed backhand.

And how about the greatest WTA one-handed backhand in tennis history? Justine Henin did it with the Wilson Hyper Hammer, not generally a racket that you would associate as being good for a one-handed backhand. Now, why that is, I'm going to get into a little bit later in this article where I'm going to discuss the specs that are going to work really well if you happen to have a one-handed backhand, especially if you are a recreational-level player.

Head Sizes

Before I do that, I want to debunk one of the greatest myths regarding which rackets are best for a one-handed backhand. I have heard so many times that if you have a one-handed backhand, you should try to play with a racket with a smaller head size. When we're talking about racket head sizes, when you go up in head size, your sweet spot is bigger, and you are going to get more power on your serve and your forehand. Why wouldn't that be the case on your backhand? It doesn't make any difference.

Take the example of Roger Federer, who played with a smaller head size and then switched to a larger head size. Everybody knows that Roger Federer's backhand got better. It didn't make that much of a difference, but the backhand improved maybe 2% because now Roger Federer's sweet spot was larger.

You take a look at some other players like Richard Gasquet or the Bryan Brothers. Richard Gasquet plays with a Head Liquidmetal, and the head size is 100 square inches. The Bryan Brothers, later on in their career, played with the Babolat Pure Drive, which also has square inch racket head, and all these players have phenomenal one-handed backhands.

Now, should you go oversized like the Bubba and play with a 137 or even larger racket head? That is going to be a little bit tricky because the optimal racket head size for a tennis racket is square inches. Yes, it can be a little bit smaller, maybe a little bit bigger, but generally, that's the optimal range for racket head size.

When you go too big, now the sweet spot is too large, and you might lose a little bit of control. Now, as I already said, there are going to be some important specs to consider if you have a one-handed backhand.

Weakest Shot

What happens on the one-handed backhand is the following: it is the weakest shot in tennis. Why is that the case? We are hitting it with the weak side of the arm. We also have the hand on top in an Eastern backhand grip. There's nothing underneath the hand, so to speak, except the top of our fingers and the thumb. So, we're in a weak position. There's no other shot in tennis that's like this.

On the forehand, the hand is behind the racket. On the serve, the hand is behind the racket. On the two-handed backhand, we have the non-dominant hand behind the racket, giving a lot more support. Also, if we want to employ a vertical swing path on the groundstrokes, we have the hand more underneath the racket on the forehand. It's easier to go up. On the two-handed backhand, it's easier to go up because we have the non-dominant hand underneath the racket.

However, on the one-handed backhand, there's nothing underneath, and it's more difficult to go up because of it. If you play with a racket that's too head-heavy like a RZR even though it's a light racket, the fact that it is very head-heavy makes it difficult for you to achieve a vertical swing path. Since the racket is so headlight, it was a lot easier to go up because less of the weight is in the racket head, more of the weight is in the handle, and it makes the vertical swing path more intuitive.

Racket Suggestions

A tip for you when you're selecting a racket that's going to suit your one-hander: you want to select a racket that is headlight. Now, let’s say you find the RF too heavy, and you stay in the Pro Staff line of rackets and go down in weight. You're going to notice something interesting. As you go down in weight, the distribution of the weight goes more towards the racket head.

This is not true for every single racket, but it is something that I have noticed, which is that as you stay in the same line of rackets, the lower the weight goes, the more head-heavy the racket becomes. Hence, you're going to have to get some demos. You're going to have to find the weight that suits you.

Remember, I recommend a general weight for recreational players around 300 grams, and novice to intermediates can even go lower to 285 or below. Advanced recreational players and also some intermediates will be able to play with a racket weight just like the pros. This is going to depend on the individual player and also on the muscle memory that they've built, on the genetics, and so on.

Now, another tip that's going to be super important for you when selecting a racket that's going to suit your one-handed backhand is to go down in grip size. If you play with a grip that's too large, you're going to have less support when you try to employ a vertical swing path. By selecting a grip size that's smaller, the tip of your fingers is going to be closer to your palm, and you're going to have more support. The vertical swing path that's so important on the one-hander is also going to be a lot easier to accomplish.

Now, you're probably waiting for me to recommend a specific type of racket, and I can't do that. In the beginning of the article, I told you that a great one-handed backhand is possible with any type of racket, even a racket that's head-heavy. You have to understand that you can even take a frying pan and hit a one-handed backhand.

Final Thoughts

When we're talking about selecting the correct equipment, this is possibly going to improve your backhand 2%. What is the most important thing is your technique. With good technique, the racket is not going to matter so much. You have to learn the fundamentals of the one-handed backhand. You're going to have to work on your footwork, on your fitness, on your flexibility, range of motion, and so on.

Now, on top of that, you're going to play with a racket that's right for you, and that's going to give you that 2% advantage over other rackets. Don't make the mistake and look at what Federer, Tommy Haas, Gustavo Kuerten, or Stefan Edberg are playing with and think that this is the greatest racket in the history for a one-handed backhand. It is a great racket. These rackets have great specs for a one-handed backhand, but remember, it's not the racket. It's your technique that's going to make you a better player.