In my last blog post we looked at numbers 3-5 of the “Best and Totally Sick Backhands” of the Open era. It’s time to look at my top 2. Coincidentally, my top 2 includes two bad boys of tennis. Andre was considered a bad boy when he started out, and as he grew older became a statesman for tennis and eventually married Steffi Graf to become tennis royalty.

Nick Kyrgios is still in his bad boy phase. My hope is that he’ll evolve and become an absolute monster on the tour. He sure has the talent to do so. When he shows up fully committed and healthy, he’s a top 3 player. That being said, let’s talk about why their backhands are so great!

2. Nick Kyrgios

Watching Nick Kyrgios the other night reminded how cool a backhand can look. Kyrgios has a very simple swing, and looks very natural as he hits it, whether its ripping it or pushing it back. Check Nick out practicing at Wimbledon a few years back.

He hits his backhand with a stance similar to Agassi, and pushes forward with immense force. I love the intensity of his backhand stroke.

1.Andre Agassi

I think Andre was the first player to come out who had really stylish looking strokes. He not only had stylish looking strokes, but he also looked cool with his Mohawk hairdo and his neon outfits. I especially like the way he prepped for the stroke. His racket head was held pretty high before he’d drop it to meet the ball. This kind of gave you the sense he was measuring it before giving it a good smack. Once he dropped the racket head behind him, he’d rip it either down the line or crosscourt with some pretty good zip. Here’s a slow motion look at Andre’s backhand at the 99 French, which he subsequently won.