What are the greatest shots in tennis history? We pick out the game’s most fearsome weapons stroke by stroke, concentrating on the Open Era (since 1968).

By Joel Drucker

Part IV: The Backhand

Say hello to the diminutive man dubbed “Muscles,” Australian legend Ken Rosewall.  His was a backhand of incomparable elegance and precision.  The contemporary rap on Rosewall’s backhand is that it was a slice, lacking the dipping topspin of his rival Rod Laver or the penetrating flatness of Jimmy Connors’ superb drive. 

But Rosewall’s backhand was no cut, no chop, no drifting hack like the kind we see at parks and clubs all over the world.  His racket face was opened barely a scintilla, giving him just enough safety and, worst of all for his opponents, an extraordinary degree of bite and accuracy.  So keenly prepared was Rosewall that against the game’s biggest servers he was able to let the ball come well into his hitting zone and then lash the ball sharply enough to compromise both netrushers and baseliners.  Most deadly of all, in the true spirit of what a backhand should do, Rosewall used the shot with transitional genius, knowing that if did his job well, he could smoothly glide forward and further control the point.

A superb counterpuncher, Rosewall deployed his backhand with variety, spreading out his opponents with deadly lobs and pinpoint drop shots.  Connors too had command of these shots, but in talking with dozens of players who competed against each, the general thinking is that while Rosewall’s drive was not as hard as Connors’, his diversity was exceptional. 

Other honorable mentions go to the laser-like simplicity of Andre Agassi and Lindsay Davenport; and, of course, the unteachable élan of Justine Henin.

Joel Drucker is a contributing editor at TENNIS magazine. The author is grateful for the assistance of many experts and former pros, including Brent Abel, John Barrett, Steve Flink, Mary Carillo, Trey Waltke, Chris Lewis, John Newcombe, Owen Davidson, Fred Stolle and Brian Gottfried.