5 revolutionary shots and tactics in modern tennis

#4 Bjorn Borg – two-handed backhand

Bjorn Borg's two-handed backhand

Whilst everyone during the 1970's and 1980's, used the one-handed backhand, Bjorn Borg was developing and implementing a stroke that has become the norm right across the ATP and WTA tour; the two-handed backhand.

When Borg first introduced this shot, critics were quick to dismiss it believing there was no way this could work in matches.

However, the two-handed backhand gave the Swede an advantage, particularly on a clay court, where the two-handed backhand today, can absorb the high bounce from the surface better than the single-handed backhand.

The revolution really started to occur in the 1990's, where players such as Jim Courier and Andre Agassi, started to use this technique. This may have been frowned upon and questioned, but is now a common part of the modern game, used on all surfaces.

Here is a video showing Borg's groundstrokes, including the double-handed backhand: