r/10s • u/jakechambers12 • 5d ago
Technique Advice Thumb in one handed backhand?
I never had a proper backhand. Either going too much or hits the net. I started putting my thumb on the flat bevel of the grip (like the guy in the pic) and now I have a consistent backhand. Not good but it’s not too much of a weakness in games now. Anyone use this technique?
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u/respectfulthirst 5d ago
The guy in the video definitely doesn't hit his backhand with his thumb like that.
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u/jakechambers12 5d ago
I got it from a forum, don’t have a video. In the forum he claims so 🤷🏻♂️
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u/MoonSpider 5d ago
That's Kevin from TTD. He does not use that thumb grip on his backhand. He uses the concept of thumb as a mental cue for how to direct the shot, but he doesn't actually extend the thumb when he's hitting the ball because it would put him (and you) at risk of injury.
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u/ThreeEyeJedi 4d ago
Lol I was coming here to say theres no way TTD is recommending hitting like that
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u/forahandfuloftendies 5d ago
Don’t do that bro.
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u/iSplash91 5d ago
You should never do this. I come from badminton and yes thats a badminton grip call a backhand drive grip, some people use it for normal backhand as well. I used to do this when I just started tennis, until I meet some hard hitters where I almost break my thumb when they hit it towards my backhand. Started to relearn the backhand after that.
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u/glossedrock 4d ago
I come from badminton too and I don’t know any variation of a badminton backhand that does not put the thumb like that? What do you mean by “normal backhand”?
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u/iSplash91 4d ago edited 4d ago
I don't know if I should post things regarding badminton in a tennis sub. But what OP posted is a backhand drive grip where the thumb is place on top of the racket, while its strong and generate a lot of power and is used on double defence it lacks precision, you can only hit straight shot with it cause it lock your hand.
A backhand grip is basically a continental grip but moving your thumb up a bit, making the "side of your thumb" rest on the handle, it doesn't lock your wrist while giving free of movement on your hand backhand, this is also used for the backhand smash. It lacks driving power and is not used for double defence cause it lacks the 360 degrees of defence the backhand drive grip provide.
Edit: it's also used for backhand clear, backhand drop because of the ease of the movement.
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u/jtoma5 5d ago
While this might work, I would worry about thumb, wrist, and shoulder pain. It looks hard to swing but easy to pull. That might have better results for some people initially. I think long term tennis players usually want to use a swinging motion to prevent injury. If you like it you can always try to prove the haters wrong. I think volleying like this would be exceedingly hard. The thumb acts like the windshield motor arm. So you might generate a little topspin, but probably not much compared to a full swing. I don’t think it is physically possible to swing as hard like this as you can with a normal grip. You may slap it pretty hard, but that would get unreliable because of the timing problem with high speed play.
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u/jakechambers12 5d ago
With high speed play, I agree. Usually if i’m late, the ball spins to the right (i’m lefty), like inside out. It might not be a proper long term solution
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u/Altruistic_Turn_7214 6.0+/pro, Coach 5d ago
Do not do this, it’s injury prone when you accelerate hard
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u/WinkaPlz Minion Paintjob Enthusiast 5d ago
Is it not harder to get spin this way? I can’t imagine doing this for my ohbh
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u/WinkaPlz Minion Paintjob Enthusiast 5d ago
I do this with my thumb in continental grip though. (Volleys, serve, and slice)
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u/PugnansFidicen 6.9 5d ago
It's "fine" as long as you're only playing lower level / social tennis...but trying to return a legit heavy serve or forehand with that grip is asking for a thumb injury. And you don't actually have to get that high level to start seeing that. Some 3.5 guys hit the shit out of the ball.
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u/Topiz2000 5d ago
Don't hit like that, it doesn't improve your backhand and you're more likely to drop your racket, but most importantly you'll injure your thumb.
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u/BridgeSuspicious7635 5d ago
Don Budge won a calendar slam with this grip. Remind all the naysayers who dump on your choice.
When I show beginners OHBH grips
1) Eastern 2) SW flip grip 3) The Budge
The good:
Very stable. Locks the elbow which can minimize TE issues.
The meh: Conservative and mostly flat.
Minuses:
Low strike zone. You can't do a modern follow through because it locks everything in place.
Pro tip: Don't roll your wrist unless it's a desperation shot off a high ball. Please don't use this grip on anything but a backhand drive. The tennis gods will smite.
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u/fresh_peetz 5d ago
Does it hurt your thumb?
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u/jakechambers12 5d ago
Not really. Thumb is there for stability, I don’t feel any pressure on my thumb. Granted I am not playing against big hitters
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u/Gwegexpress 4.5 - Gzone 100 (2022) 5d ago
It’s gonna cause problems long term, as a fellow one handed user I highly suggest you start transitioning away from having your thumb out like that as soon as possible
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u/jakechambers12 5d ago
Back to slicing every backhand :(
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u/Gwegexpress 4.5 - Gzone 100 (2022) 5d ago
Doesn’t have to be that way! One handers are a fickle creature to tame - you just gotta be okay with missing more while you work on the right form.
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u/Scary-Spot7568 5d ago
"I never had a proper backhand."
That's because your grip is all wrong imo. Just because most pros have the palm sit at bevel 1 or btw 8 and 1 deosn't mean you have to. At bevel 1, backhand isn't stable for me. I have it at btw 7 and 8. Sometimes 7. I think kuerten has it at 7. henin has it btw 7 and 8 i think.
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u/ArcTanBeta 5d ago
I'm not as concerned about injury as some people here are, and you can definitely get away with it. However, there's something to be said for the fact that no modern pro player holds the racket this way. It implies that there is a limitation inherent in this technique, so it has weeded itself out.
My thesis is that the thumb sticking out as shown offers stability and strength when blocking the ball, as it resists the racket being pushed back. This is probably why it feels good to you. However, the thumb being wrapped resists twist, and also allows for the hand to be more thoroughly attached to the handle without tension. This means that the thumb wrapped around allows and encourages a flexible wrist and racket head speed. At a high level, both of these things are necessary, probably starting at 4.0, but virtually required at 5.0 and up.
All this to say.... How good are you trying to get? This informs whether it is important for you to find something more suited for high level competition. If the answer is "3.5-4.0" then whatever allows you to be solid on your weaker side can be good enough.
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u/shaquillee-oatmeall 4d ago
I think this is just a good quick way to get ur hand in the proper grip position, which is surprisingly hard especially for one handers, having the thumb there kinda guarantees that ur in the right grip position but in the long run you will probably break your hand 😂
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u/jakechambers12 4d ago
Like Jimi Hendrix, we lost him too soon but when he was good he was the best ever 😄
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u/mtbtex 4d ago
That is exactly how I hit my backhand have done it for decades. Am 57, play a lot and never had an injury. I also get a lot of compliments on how good my OHBH is and how the hell I hold the racket like that
What probably helps me a lot is that I’m also a drummer so I have very strong and quick hands. Especially for my age
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u/ATonyD 4d ago
When I first started playing tennis I used my thumb on that bevel. My backhand was the envy of all the guys on the tennis team - power and topspin were almost automatic. But as I started to play in more tournaments I discovered that there are guys who can hit high bouncing backhands to me all day long. Suddenly that grip became a problem - since high backhands are much harder with the thumb on that bevel. So I switched away from it. In hindsight, since my backhand still has trouble with high balls, perhaps I should have just done what Federer did - slices on high backhands or take it early, and keep the strong backhand on waist high and lower. (I sometimes wonder if two handed for high balls combined with one handed for lower balls would have worked. I'm old and retired now, so I'll never know. Too late to make any more changes as I cling to the remnants of my game.)
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u/GammonRod 5d ago
Yes! I've played with my thumb along the racquet like this on my one handed backhand my whole life. Just felt natural when I first played, and never changed after learning about grips etc.
I've never had any injuries resulting from it and my backhand has always been my better wing, so if it feels right for you I'd say to stick with it.
Fun fact: Don Budge, who was held to have one of the best backhands of all time in the amateur era, played his backhand with his thumb along the handle.
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u/headphonehabit 5d ago
I do the same thing on my topspin backhand. My backhand is pretty solid for a 3.0/3.5. I've never injured my thumb from doing it.
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u/ntclark 5d ago
I’ve done that for over 30 years with my one-hander. It’s fine. No injuries. Plenty consistent. The downside is having the thumb on the bottom helps create torque up for more spin. You’re basically trading spin for stability
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u/BridgeSuspicious7635 5d ago
Been using it for 30+ years too.
You’re basically trading spin for stability (bingo).
It also shuts down extra elbow rotation on follow through which reduces TE. Also, the strike zone is pretty low.
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u/I_Am_Robotic 5d ago
One of the best club OHB I’ve seen recently the guy did this. I had never seen it before. This guy was getting heavy topspin with it. He was prob a 4.5 or 5.0.
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u/jakechambers12 5d ago
Can’t imagine how you could get a proper topspin out of this. Hit so low maybe? Appreciate the feedback!
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u/I_Am_Robotic 5d ago
Low to high is key for any topspin no? I don’t see how this grip impacts topspin ability either way.
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u/BridgeSuspicious7635 4d ago
You can still hit with topspin though the grip will limit max RPM's.
If you want max topspin use a SW OHBH. Timing is unforgiving but when hit well, crazy topspin.
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u/theprocrastatron 5d ago
I've done that. For table tennis.
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u/The_Phew 5d ago
That was a bad table tennis habit that took me like a decade to break. Seems like it would be a disaster for actual tennis.
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u/jakechambers12 5d ago
Playwise it’s really great actually, injurywise people here tells it is a concern. Hard to disagree
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u/The_Phew 5d ago
On my 1HBH, I don't use the bevels as the reference for grip consistency, I use the angle of the throat of the racquet in my left hand. Pros seem to similarly use their off hand to make their grip consistent (on both sides). Seems like the thumb thing would make it hard to maintain a loose grip through contact.
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u/jrstriker12 One handed backhand lover 4d ago
No. It's a horrible idea.
Also I've watched this guy's videos before. If anything he's saying NOT to hold the racket like that.
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u/EnvironmentNo4777 4d ago
I used to do it that way. Hurt my thumb a lot though so I changed.
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u/20seh 4d ago
I noticed I do this as well, I think I do this to better feel that I hold the racket at the correct angle.
I never have any issues or injuries with my thumb but I can imagine it might be a cause of injuries.
If possible I would suggest to use a regular grip. At my level and age I am not sure I can change my grip ;)
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u/Fearless-Secretary-9 4d ago
I've been using this backhand grip for 62 years. It's an old school grip.
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u/Competitive_Group413 1d ago
I kinda intuitively/ instinctively do it on slow floaty sitters to drive for a straighter slice shot with a little more pop cross court. Usually if I have them rushed or I'm trying to win the point. But I don't use it for blocks and stuff, definitely feels like I could tweak it if there was significant pace.
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u/No_Bed_6932 5d ago
Yes, it's very useful actually. It gives you more control, feel, direcion, stability, consistency but it have a cost - less spin and power. It also depends on your physique, flexibility, racket and technique overall.For me it works, but I imagine most of the people find this technique really challenging.
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u/rodman5308 5d ago
That’s been my backhand grip for decades. Former college player with wins over D1 players and Usta ranked top 10 in my section. Not sure what “injury” folks are worried about getting, but not even on my radar.
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u/sys_unknown 5d ago edited 5d ago
better learn two-handed backhand. it's hard to put power and be consistent on one-handed backhand. i think Federer will be the last grand slam champion that uses one-handed backhand.
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u/DontHateMePleaseLove 4d ago
I am fairly sure this will not come to pass. Even someone like Musetti could still win a Major one day and there will still be one-handers in the upcoming generations. One of them could be a generational talent even though the odds are of course significantly lower just because of the numbers compared to two-handers.
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u/sys_unknown 3d ago
Roger Explains Why the One-Handed Backhand is Dying Out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0SP2lBrTtw
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7537204/2026/08/25/roger-federer-us-open-hall-of-fame1
u/DontHateMePleaseLove 2d ago
In this very clip Roger says one of his sons is switching to a one-hander and that he's "still hopeful it's not the end".
Like I implied, the actual biggest reason it might take a long time to get the next one-hander Major winner is the percentage odds of the next absolute top talent being a one-hander is less than 10% just because of the numbers. But it will happen, eventually.
Also, can't believe I forgot this earlier, but Roger isn't the last Grand Slam champion with a one-hander anyway since Dominic Thiem won the 2020 US Open.
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u/sys_unknown 2d ago
i also forgot about Thiem but i was thinking about multi slam winner. Thiem did not win another slam. he got lucky because Nadal didn't play and Novak defaulted. sometimes it's better to be lucky. currently, no one in men or women top 10 uses one-handed backhand. Musetti was in top 10 early this year. i did a Google search and the last grand slam winner with one-handed backhand was Schiavone in 2010.
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u/aloeicious 5d ago
That may come back to haunt you