[Nole Rules]

I fixed it. No need to thank me.

lmao. Sinner probably has top 20 FH. That's already high enough. Don't be too greedy. His FH is not the biggest offensively, nor close to the best defensively. Great consistent average power but top 10 needs more out of world factors in a FH. Great FH but I wouldn't put that high. Certainly not in the top 10.

 

[Nole Rules]

Sinner's FH is around prime Roddick level

Prime Roddick, before turning into a pusher, had a great FH, so this isn't far off. But even that FH isn't really top 10 all-time material. I'm being generous here putting Sinner's FH top 20.

 

[FilipoSVK]

lmao. Sinner probably has top 20 FH. That's already high enough. Don't be too greedy. His FH is not the biggest offensively, nor close to the best defensively. Great consistent average power but top 10 needs more out of world factors in a FH. Great FH but I wouldn't put that high. Certainly not in the top 10.

And bh?

I'm not greedy, but saying Sinner's fh is out of Top 20 is too daring, I would say.

 

[Nole Rules]

And bh?

Top 10 for sure and arguably top 3. Hard to put an order at that level.
Great great topspin and power combo. Great BH ROS, on full stretch and can do DTL frequently.

Nalbandian
Murray
Safin
Sinner
Agassi
Zverev
Djokovic
Can't be bothered to name 3 more.

I personally have Nalbandian's first and then maybe Murray (although he didn't go DTL enough, he has the best slice BH among all these BHs; Nalby's slice comes 2nd). But Sinner fans can feel free to put him top 3 if they want.

 

[FilipoSVK]

Top 10 for sure and arguably top 3. Hard to put an order at that level.
Great great topspin and power combo. Great BH ROS, on full stretch and can do DTL frequently.

Nalbandian
Murray
Safin
Sinner
Agassi
Zverev
Djokovic
Can't be bothered to name 3 more.

I personally have Nalbandian's first and then maybe Murray (although he didn't go DTL enough, he has the best slice BH among all these BHs; Nalby's slice comes 2nd). But Sinner fans can feel free to put him top 3 if they want.

Lol, I'm surprised to see you rating Djokovic's bh this low. I was almost sure that you would put it at the very top of the list. Another thing I'm not certain of is why you put Safin in the top 3? Why do you think it's better than, let's say, the bhs of Djokovic or Agassi? I find this list somewhat strange, haha. Not in a bad way, but weird.

 

[Nole Rules]

Lol, I'm surprised to see you rating Djokovic's bh this low. I was almost sure that you would put it at the very top of the list. Another thing I'm not certain of is why you put Safin in the top 3? Why do you think it's better than, let's say, the bhs of Djokovic or Agassi? I find this list somewhat strange, haha. Not in a bad way, but weird.

I said it's very hard to order. Almost any order is arguably acceptable on that list. Djokovic's BH is a bit overrated to me but probably he had the greatest rally tolerance, defense and the greatest BH ROS. So he has an argument to be higher but personally I feel it does lack consistent power compared to the rest there. Maybe I should have put Agassi's higher tho. In any case, not big differences there. @baggio10 can tell you more perhaps.

I also might put Nadal's BH top 12 all-time. It's quite underrated.

 

[Weakerer]

Top 10 for sure and arguably top 3. Hard to put an order at that level.
Great great topspin and power combo. Great BH ROS, on full stretch and can do DTL frequently.

Nalbandian
Murray
Safin
Sinner
Agassi
Zverev
Djokovic
Can't be bothered to name 3 more.

I personally have Nalbandian's first and then maybe Murray (although he didn't go DTL enough, he has the best slice BH among all these BHs; Nalby's slice comes 2nd). But Sinner fans can feel free to put him top 3 if they want.

Wtf is this? Djokovic is top 1 BH by far and I hate Djokovic lol. And where is Wawrinka?

 

[Nole Rules]

Wtf is this? Djokovic is top 1 BH by far and I hate Djokovic lol. And where is Wawrinka?

It's only 2 hander list. If it's overall, then Stan perhaps top 4.

 

[BurnsTennis]

Sampras is definitely outside top 5, as he played in an era of S&V where baseline rallying shots werent that important.

Agassi, Courier, Lendl, Chang, Bruguera, Kuerten and many other baseliners played in that era. What total nonsense is that.

 

[william_ph]

He is the thing about Djokovic's FH. It's the perfect counterpunching FH, but it clearly lacks a bit when it comes to killing a point from just anywhere. No all-time pace generation there (especially from low balls) so it does have some offensive limits. Simply not big enough (from several positions) basically, but defence-to-offence, consistent depth and changing directions make it a very special shot. It's somewhere in the top 10 perhaps but not top 5. Top 5 should be for big FHs that are flamethrowers at their peak.

That's why Djokovic has a bit of a special place here. Djokovic’s forehand is unique. He could absorb Del Potro’s missiles and redirect them in ways no one else could. It’s not raw power but timing, precision, and anticipation, almost like jiu-jitsu - using an opponent’s strength against him. In that sense, it could be number one, but only when orchestrated with the opponent.

 

[Nole Rules]

That's why Djokovic has a bit of a special place here. Djokovic’s forehand is unique. He could absorb Del Potro’s missiles and redirect them in ways no one else could. It’s not raw power but timing, precision, and anticipation, almost like jiu-jitsu - using an opponent’s strength against him. In that sense, it could be number one, but only when orchestrated with the opponent.

You said it perfectly! It's certainly very special, but needs something to work with for max damage. Really not an easy side to attack for anyone, for that reason. I put "The God Counterpuncher" title in my sig for a reason.

 

[EvilBotovic]

Prime Roddick, before turning into a pusher, had a great FH, so this isn't far off. But even that FH isn't really top 10 all-time material. I'm being generous here putting Sinner's FH top 20.

Prime Roddick is remembered way too fondly here. Outside of the 5 or so highlight reel forehands he would blast per match, the other ones for neutral rallying were just as much of pusher shots as how he hit from 2006 onward.

 

[Kowchi]

Federer
Nadal
Alcaraz
Sampras
Del Potro
Djokovic
Sinner
Gonzales
Soderling

It's very consistent and can be a weapon when he wants it to be.

 

[AntiTardDefenseSystem]

lmao. Sinner probably has top 20 FH. That's already high enough. Don't be too greedy. His FH is not the biggest offensively, nor close to the best defensively. Great consistent average power but top 10 needs more out of world factors in a FH. Great FH but I wouldn't put that high. Certainly not in the top 10.

Technically it's a bit suboptimal (in terms of peak achievement) compared to Fed / Alcaraz / Rafa (? on natural surfaces) / Sampras, however to be clear it doesn't mean his FH technique is actually bad (and compared to the rest of the tour as you say, he could easily be in the Top 30-60 all time; I don't think people realize just how insane being even Top 50 is when considering ALL TIME in open era).

The exception however is Sinner's running forehand. I honestly think it's up there as one of the best running forehands ever.

 

[Red-sparrow]

This conversation like many on this forum is incredibly nuanced and not black and white. Nadals forehand is the single greatest forehand, or weapon period, on a clay court in tennis history; and it ain't close. It however, was more vulnerable for Nadal on a quicker, lower bouncing surface due to his longer take -back in the stroke and less compact mechanics, so could be rushed and rendered less effective though still great. Therefore, the Federer or sampras forehand, is better on grass for example. So it's nuanced. No definitive greatest forehand. Have to factor in surfaces and conditions.

 

[theseth1119]

To say that Chuck's forehand is tied with Rogie's forehand is absurd!!

 

[BauerAlmeida]

1- Federer
2- Nadal
3- del Potro (with better movement could be 1, who knows)
4- Alcaraz (no recency bias, I genuinely think it's becoming an insane shot)
5- Sampras
6- Lendl
7- Borg
8- González
9- Djokovic
10- Sinner

 

[Nole Rules]

Technically it's a bit suboptimal (in terms of peak achievement) compared to Fed / Alcaraz / Rafa (? on natural surfaces) / Sampras, however to be clear it doesn't mean his FH technique is actually bad (and compared to the rest of the tour as you say, he could easily be in the Top 30-60 all time; I don't think people realize just how insane being even Top 50 is when considering ALL TIME in open era).

The exception however is Sinner's running forehand. I honestly think it's up there as one of the best running forehands ever.

Good post. I'm even willing to be ok with Sinner's FH being argued top 15, which is extremely high on such a list. Far from an insult. Happy @FilipoSVK? His FH has a very special swing path (I researched it on YouTube out of curiosity, actually), and his FH almost works like a ball tracker, giving Sinner time for self-correction, which is quite insane at that level (when balls come at you at insane speed). On the other hand, Alcaraz has to actually pinpoint a target with his FH like Federer (less margin for error but insane reward if executed perfectly; that's usually the case with straight-arm FHs like Delpo, Nadal and Verdasco). Sinner has perfect preparation with his FH; the FH fits his game perfectly, too. If he had another type of FH, he might actually be worse off. People need to keep in mind that each FH here also serves a purpose of complementing one's overall game. Agassi needed his FH to be so great at taking the ball early. Same with the BH. Federer might have been worse with a two-hander. Djokovic could easily be worse off if he tried to hit big FHs like Gonzalez (he simply can't consistently anyway, so it's smarter to do what he does best and be a counterpunching demon).

This topic, while based on some objectivity, is also largely subjective. I picked Delpo's FH as the greatest, but that's also somewhat reasonable due to his ridiculous power output from that wing and ability to hit so hard (with spin too) from almost all situations. Few other choices can make sense, too.

Sinner FH doesn't lack much at all and fits his game, but there are some players who have more special and arguably more damaging FHs. You can't be the best at every shot. His BH is arguably top 5 all-time, as I said. So both of Sincaraz have a wing that is arguably top 5 all-time material. And it's not like the gap between a lot of these shots is THAT big. We are comparing super elite shots at the very highest levels (in history) after all. However, there are a few things that are noticeably clear: like Federer having a bigger FH than Djokovic or Agassi.

And yes, extremely good FH on the run.

 

[SetSampras]

He's playing with cheat code Game Genie rackets and strings so you can't really compare

 

[BullGOAT]

Carlos' FH isn't ATG level until he wins AO. Federer FH will always be #1 no matter what.