I love myself a cool looking backhand. When I was a kid I watched in awe as some of my hero tennis players executed the shot. I loved the intensity of the Agassi backhand, but was also fond of the style and touch of the McEnroe backhand. This post looks at my favorites, numbers 3-5.

5. Petra Kvitova

I love Kvitova’s backhand. She hits an amazingly smooth and collected backhand, all while pushing forward and providing it some pace. She also seems to do this even when being pushed far on the deuce side of the court.

Check her out doing exactly this and hitting a winner doing it.

4. John McEnroe

The only reason I have McEnroe on this list is because he was my first favorite player as a kid. I’d try to imitate his awesome looking serve, and his volley technique. Everything about his game was so unconventional, but it looked so stylish to my eyes. Also, let’s not forget his incredible touch. He looked a bit flat footed at times, but his strokes were always perfectly placed. Given the fact that I love every stroke he hits, I had to put him here as one of my favorite backhands. Here’s a cool video I found of McEnroe hitting some backhands in a point. He’d switch back and forth from slice to conventional with ease.

3. Steffi Graf

Graf seemed to favor her slice backhand during a rally. However, what she was really doing was setting up that great slice to sling shot a top spin backhand down the line or crosscourt. The thing I liked most about Steffi’s slice backhand was that it looked like some sort of Karate chop. Then, the top spin backhand seemed to appear out of nowhere. It was almost like she was carrying a “concealed backhand.”

Watch her surprise Serena Williams with the slice/top spin backhand combo.