Most Ineffectual and Worst Backhand

Who has the most ineffectual and worst backhand on the tour?

Out of those, Marc Rosset, although Ivo Karlovic might be a good one too.

Coo, you know being the Rosset fan that I am, I was going to give it to Lopez or Karlovic, but I thought I will vote honestly.

I am just waiting for the people to have a go at me about including Moya. The funny thing is apart from Roddick and Spadea, Lopez to a lesser extent I actually don't mind these guys.

u forgot to include Greg the Gorilla Rusedski

now he'd be right up there in the stakes for this title

all he can do is block it back.

I knew there was someone I forgot, but I think if I had the worst groundstrokes poll it would be him, Arthurs and Karlovic for sure.

In his waning days, Rafter's backhand deteriorated such that his slice was a mere chip. It was rather sad, because he had such a lovely one hander.

However, those problems were all injury related....

Speaking of shit backhands I am so Beautiful Lopez managed to make a final.

I remember Mantilla said something along the lines about Rafter's slice backhand was so slow, it was like my mothers backhand.

Younes.......the guy would be top 10 with a proper backhand

Feliciano backand is not the best but he is working hard on this shot and we can see it!

Younes doesnt have a bad backhand, its just a slice which can be quite effective. Sometimes he uses it to good effect by slicing offensively and coming in behind it. I wouldnt call it bad at all.

Out of those in the poll, I'd say Karlovic's is the worst. Its a slice, but he doesnt really use it to good effect that much, and most of the time when he gets a BH he hits it out.

Younes's slice is weak, doesn't have enough bite and seems to have poor placement

I haven't seen enough of Spadea and Vinciguerra to compare, but Karlovic's hit me immediately as sooo bad, probably the second thing I noticed after his serve.

Why on earth is Spadea in this poll? His backhand ain't spectacular but it's a perfectly solid rallying shot, a little better than his forehand and difficult to attack - like most consistent counterpunchers, his backhand is the less error-prone wing. Vinciguerra has a very poor junked slice which he plays because he can't do anything else, so my vote could go to him.

Of course George, the phrase "I am so beautiful but I don't have a backhand" could be applied equally to Zabaleta as well as Lopez...

Roddick's is terrible, and a downright funny shot to look at. Dont see it that much because he ALWAYS runs around it. Of course Karlovic cant hit 3 balls in play, so any of his groundstrokes should be on the 'worst' list. Roddick's and Karlovic are the worst.

I just want to say that I saw Andy hit about 92457029476204692746 backhands yesterday and he managed just fine. He does mishit a lot and he does make errors with them. but his slice was effective against both Bogomolov and Gambill and he hit some nice winners in both matches. His BH is definitely improving.

I agree with Sjengster, Spadea shouldnt be on the list.

I vote for Lopez.


Moya, Zabaleta and Roddick have equally sucking backhands imo.

I saw Spadea play twice in the past couple days. His backhand isn't bad at all.

I so hate Feliciano Lopez for his vanity.. ugh! But he plays well on grass, so I should like him.

Coo, you know being the Rosset fan that I am, I was going to give it to Lopez or Karlovic, but I thought I will vote honestly.

Saw Marc in Rotterdam in the qualifying tournament, where he had to withdraw. He looked so old and unfit for the Tour really..

But lets see how Roddick's BH holds up when he actually plays good players ;)

Roddick's backhand is poor for a Top Ten player. But there are a number of lower ranked players on tour whose backhands are as bad or worse.

Roddick's backhand used to be the worst in the Top Ten, now it's Moya who clearly scoops the honour - OK, so when you're playing badly it's inevitable that your shots will be worse than usual, but in that TMC match against Coria he was framing routine cross-court backhands into the stands, it was ridiculous. El Aynaoui and Lopez's slice can be effective if they get it right, but Zabaleta's normal backhand is horrible at times, when he played Coria at RG (same opponent, same terrible shots) there was a nasty dull thudding sound whenever he hit a shot on that side.

There is nothing wrong with players that have weaknesses ;) It makes them vulnerable and therefore likeable. They are more human.

Roddick's backhand is poor for a Top Ten player. But there are a number of lower ranked players on tour whose backhands are as bad or worse.

I agree with that MisterQ. Roddick's backhand is very poor for a Top 10 player, but it's not the most ineffectual and worst on the whole tour. I voted for Karlovic, though Mr. Beautiful Lopez came a very close second. Btw - am I the only woman here who actually doesn't think Lopez is that stunning? Thinks too much of himself for my own taste - can't bear the thought of a man who probably takes longer getting ready to go out than I do!

There are all forehand players with decent backhands, Calleri, Robredo, Squillari for example.

Moya's???? No Roddicks bh is still the worst in the top 10 and will most likely be(Unless Karlovic enters the top 10) for a long time. Roddicks BH will never be a weapon. That's like saying Lleyton Hewitt will gain talent overnight, or at all!! :eek:

Moya has the worst backhand in thetop 10, true.

Moya has a great backhand! Its just his forehand is the best in tennis pretty much so its hard to compare the two.

Younes El Ayanoui

Lurker, I thought Calleri's backhand was his major weapon? I certainly remember that shot doing all the damage when he got to the Hamburg final last year. And I've only seen a couple of Squillari's matches, but it was hard to tell what his backhand was like considering how little he used it - it's like speculating on how he plays inside the baseline, because he's never there.

Fedex, you are spouting stupid hater cliches again. Roddick's backhand is undeniably shaky at the best of times, but at least he doesn't dump attempted backhand passes into the bottom of the net like he was doing in 2002 - Moya still does, and sometimes on safe down the line shots as well.

No one should really take Sjengster seriously! He is the one after all, that said Schalken had the best single-hander out there. I'm sorry but Rogi's & Guga's are far better!!!

Moya has a great backhand! Its just his forehand is the best in tennis pretty much so its hard to compare the two.
I'll take Ferrero's forehand over Moya's.

And Rosie... no, you are not the only one who doesn't drool over Lopez. He's too too pretty, for even me.

No one should really take Sjengster seriously! He is the one after all, that said Schalken had the best single-hander out there. I'm sorry but Rogi's & Guga's are far better!!!

I never said that. Or if I did, it should have been fairly obvious I wasn't being serious. I might have said that it was one of the better single-handers out there, which certainly is true.

Rusedskis is awfull, its a push block that takes him into net so he can get passed with ease and karlovic has an error strewn backhand which finds the tramlines or the net more often than not.

As for why I included Spadea it was actually a mistake, and as I am not a moderator Wayne Arthurs should have been included.

Originally Posted by Sjengster
Of course George, the phrase "I am so beautiful but I don't have a backhand" could be applied equally to Zabaleta as well as Lopez...

Well Zabaleta doesn't actually spend that much time in front of the mirror as Lopez, so that's why I would never call Zabaleta than name, though he doesn't have a great backhand either.

And Rosie... no, you are not the only one who doesn't drool over Lopez. He's too too pretty, for even me.

Since I can't say I second that, I third that ;)

When I first saw Lopez's pic, he's stunning to me, but it worn out really really fast.

Roddick's is definitely not up there with the best... probably one of the worst in the game although it is gradually improving.

What some people don't seem to realize is that El Ayanoui and Lopez have very effective SLICE backhands. At the Madrid Masters Series last year, Moya was all over Lopez's backhand, but Lopez was able to hold his own and consistently keep the ball low so that Moya couldn't attack the ball. El Ayanoui is the same if you can remember his ability to use that slice to nullify Roddick's power last year at the Aus Open. What Roddick lacks, is a very effective slice to throw into the mix.

if lopez is a gal...she would be one beautiful woman....but too bad he isn't...otherwise he is good but not as good as some others!!!

anyway his backhand is okie in my opinion...from the list i would pick moya!! cos the others i haven seen them play.

Moya's BH only looks bad bc his forehand is so good. Its actually better than a lot of players' BHs.

How about Fernando Gonzo's backhand :shrug: It looks more "tame" than his forehand :eek:

yeah, there's no way Vince Spadea deserves consideration for worst backhand. he's doing quite a bit of damage off that wing against Kiefer.

Vinci has the worst backhand out of that lot. It's just a push into the court and doesn't have much behind it, he has an ordinary slice but that's better than his 2 hander.

His forehand is very good in the way that it's heavy, go down the line, inside out, flatten it out and he is very quick and always running around his backhand, so that backhand never gets better, though Karlovic is a contender for sure.

Igor Andreev.

indeed moya must not be on this list. When they shows a match from moya on television, the reporter is always telling " moya his forhand is fabulous but don't underestimate his backhand because that one is killing too, especially the one along the line!!!!!! and his passing crosscourt backhand. But sometimes he has troubles with it, but his backhand is good, very good, so said all the reporters on every match!!!!!! ajnd sometimes the reporters are senoir tenisplayers and they know!!!!!

Vinci, Moya, Younes, Zabaleta; they all have something in common. They've all been W or RUP at Båstad. I guess that makes Båstad heaven of bad backhands :lol: .
My vote goes to Vinci. His backhand is really weak.
Karlovic, does he have groundstrokes at all? I thought he was a Serve & Serve player? So how can his backhand be bad if it doesn't exist? :confused:

Vinci, Moya, Younes, Zabaleta; they all have something in common. They've all been W or RUP at Båstad. I guess that makes Båstad heaven of bad backhands :lol: .
My vote goes to Vinci. His backhand is really weak.
Karlovic, does he have groundstrokes at all? I thought he was a Serve & Serve player? So how can his backhand be bad if it doesn't exist? :confused:

It's the ladies in Båstad that make them forget about their backhands.

Karlovic well he can't serve volley on the return of serve, that is when he can get the ball over the net.

sooner or later his opponents will figure out how to get his returns over the net and that is a virtual winner against Karlovic.......once that happens he will be struggling to win a set

ive gotta agree with majority, Andy Roddick

roddicks backhand is definetly not the worst of the people on the list, arguably the best of them

Roddick's backhand is no where near a Hewitt, Safin,AA or Fed but, in by no means is a bad shot like it used to be. It's consistant. When Roddick does his slice backhand, that underspin peice of crap, then I would call that a bad shot. It sits right up for his opponets and it's never quite deep enough. Get rid of that shot!! That's gotta top the list. Roddick's flat/topspin backhand, not that bad on a whole...

u forgot to include Greg the Gorilla Rusedski

now he'd be right up there in the stakes for this title

all he can do is block it back.
true. i was going to suggest it, then I saw your post.

why the hell is spadea there, he has a good backhand, and can win good points from it,

Felilie Mauresmo

I just want to say that I saw Andy hit about 92457029476204692746 backhands yesterday and he managed just fine. He does mishit a lot and he does make errors with them. but his slice was effective against both Bogomolov and Gambill and he hit some nice winners in both matches. His BH is definitely improving.

Being an Andy fan I voted for him;)...His forehand is amazing, his serve (you know), he´s fast, but his volleys and backhand are terrible, though he keeps improving a lot, you could see it during his last matches. But to be true: Everytime he has to go backhand I always hope that the ball gets over the net...Gilbert will teach him to use his bh more efficiently.

Bastad the heaven of bad backhands, lol.

All forehand players always do well there.

Being an Andy fan I voted for him;)...His forehand is amazing, his serve (you know), he´s fast, but his volleys and backhand are terrible, though he keeps improving a lot, you could see it during his last matches. But to be true: Everytime he has to go backhand I always hope that the ball gets over the net...Gilbert will teach him to use his bh more efficiently.
don't compare his backhand to his best weapons (ie. forehand, serve), you gotta compare his backhand to the others' backhands in the list :wavey:

Now I wonder what the results would be if a new poll was used with the same players. Ah who am I kidding, the majority of people vote out of hatred in these types of polls, so it would be the same:D

I don´t hate Andy...

Roddick's backhand is no where near a Hewitt, Safin,AA or Fed but, in by no means is a bad shot like it used to be.

Hewitt does not have a good backhand

I'd say it's a consistent backhand.

I'd say it's a consistent backhand.

lately it is not even that.
not consistent, not powerful, goes crosscourt. real good stroke.

That's lately. It used to be decent, and used to be better than Roddicks. I think Hewitt had the best bh passing shot in the business for awhile. Roddick hasn't quite achieved that level yet (at all).

That's lately. It used to be decent, and used to be better than Roddicks. I think Hewitt had the best bh passing shot in the business for awhile. Roddick hasn't quite achieved that level yet (at all).

If Roddick was able to bring his backhand up to the level of Hewitt then it would be significant progress, though Hewitt's backhand hasn't improved recently.

Naldo, I dislike Roddick and voted honestly.

That's lately. It used to be decent, and used to be better than Roddicks. I think Hewitt had the best bh passing shot in the business for awhile.

It would be a sad day for tennis if Hewitt's bh passing shot was ever the best, his backhand was always a liability.

And people should lay of the Karlovic backhand, I remmember him out ralying Hewitt backhand to backhand quite a few times at last years Wimbledon :haha: :haha:

El Aynaoui's backhand isn't powerful but it works fine. He produces a wonderful slice.

Worst? Clement.

It would be a sad day for tennis if Hewitt's bh passing shot was ever the best, his backhand was always a liability.

Well it must have been a sad whole year at the time. Still his backhand was (is?) better than Roddick's.

I don´t hate Andy...
I know:wavey: but I just wanted to point out to you that this poll was comparing these players backhands to eachothers backhands. thats all I wanted to say;)

and FryslanBoppe note how I said majority, not all:D I know some people here vote properly;)

Look at ME .. DA BUCKHAN ..

All these guys should wear a bandana with their names .. :lol:

I voted other for Rusedski, though Karlovic and Rosset would be very close in this as well.

Roddick has improved his backhand and while it's very ordinary it's still better than some of these players listed on the poll.

oi do u's rekon hewitts backhand has improved? i rekon it kinda has :wavey:

Rusedski, Gimelstob and Arthurs.

Karlovic and Younes from that list would have to be close though.

Paradorn's backhand is hit or miss/50-50 on a good day. But on days that it is off, its hard to watch. His wind up is to lengthy, which makes it inconsistent.

Greg Rusedski :o

I don't know about ineffective but I've always thought that Jimmy Connors' backhand was the ugliest. He had the two hander wind up with the one hand follow through. It's a good thing that faded away in the 90's. Patrick McEnroe also had that ugly ass swing. Come to think of it, Borg also had that swing. It's just plain UGULY.

Rusedski/Sruchapen

He had the two hander wind up with the one hand follow through. It's a good thing that faded away in the 90's.


:p Mikhail Youhzny Does that

oi do u's rekon hewitts backhand has improved? i rekon it kinda has :wavey:

It wasn't good enough agaisnt Andre at Cincy. Andre punished LLeyton backhand really hard

Rusedski

Karlovic, maybe

It would be a sad day for tennis if Hewitt's bh passing shot was ever the best, his backhand was always a liability.

It is obviously held in very high regard by his opponents:

" When Todd Martin retired at the U.S. Open, he was asked to identify the best stroke he faced in his career. Martin's career overlapped with John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, etc. His answer? Hewitt's backhand passing shot. Agassi made a similar assessment a few days later."

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=cnnsi-defendinglleyto&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns

I so hate Feliciano Lopez for his vanity..

He really cleans up for his matches

Lopez...definitely. He has a piece of shit for a backhand.

I like Moyà very much, but I must to recognize that he has a bad BH...it's too defensive...slice and slice....it make me sick :mad:

Younes only has slice and Vinci has a club backhand, though he used to be so quick that he always hit his vicious heavy forehand. I remember seeing a match where Vinci crushed a guy in 3 sets at the Aus Open and didn't hit a backhand winner.

Roddick's backhand is improving - slowly :p
He can only rarely hit winners off it though

Lopez's backhand reminds me Dementieva's serve :o
El Ayanoui's backhand has nice slice but is poor when he hits it normally :rolleyes:

Karlovic's normal backhand is terrible :help: but he has a nice slice :(
Moya's backhand's like Roddick's ;)

Rusedski's backhand's not great either :sad:

Spadea shouldn't be on the list :cool:

Rusedski is about to play Karlovic. The magical wonders of the backhand shot will be on show in that match.

Rusedski is about to play Karlovic. The magical wonders of the backhand shot will be on show in that match.

:haha: