it really depends. Roger has a much more effective slice to set up the point. Justine has a more power on her backhand proportionally. What we are really sayin is if Federer had his slice but with a backhand like Justine Henin or a Richard Gasquet, Where will Roger be in the rankings and Grand Slams? BTW both backhand are phenomenal with it's strengths and few weaknesses. Not to mention easy on the eyes unlike some two-handed backhands. I'm rambling so I'll stop there.
Roger has the prettier backhand. Justine has a fantastic backhand but it looks just a bit mechanical compared to Roger's which brings a tear to my eye.
Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I enjoy watching Roger G. and Rafa N. too, but there are a few more examples of men playing great tennis than woman, unfortunately!
@fayskelley I agree about the "great all around player" part. Sam Stouser is a good sports woman also, but Justine was not. She was actually a pretty poor sportsman on several occasions which is really the only blemish on her career. But I do miss watching the beauty of her game.
@wesmartin91 On several occasions? Sorry but I disagree on that part. I hardly see Justine swears at others or throw tantrums on court. If you're referring to the "overblown" 3 main incidents, which are not entirely her faults even though she did in some extents did not handle the situations well and hence called a poor sportsman which is unfair to her.
@cabomba I think it would be wise for us to agree to disagree. I've seen her be unsportsmanlike twice and everyone knows which incidents I'm referring to. I didn't care for that aspect of her personality and that is my opinion. You can disagree with that all you like, but there is no need to debate that any further or highlight the negatives of a great player's name. The point here isn't to judge another player's character on court but to compare two beautiful one handed backhands.
Prior to their peak Henin's backhand was stronger than her forehand where as Federer's backhand was weaker than his forehand. Henin had to improve on her forehand where as Federer's opponents kept on attacking his backhand thereby helped make it better. So I give the edge to Henin!
Almost all women played henin the same way, with no sliced backhand, so it s easy for henin to hit backhand with a closed grip, because 1 the ball has always a good height and plus is always the same and plus she s small. What could henin do facing players like steffi graff, i would be very surprised to see henin hitting a backand in these conditions. Federer is still playing adapting his style through changing conditions, and keep balance during the stroke. He perfectly transfers his energy.
Look at it this way. Henin could not have hit as many winners as she only if she was with the men. Rogers backhand hits he hits the ball beautifully. Federer is the best
henin was the only womens player left i enjoyed watching....... now the women are all a carbon copy of the williams sisters ganes and just all baseline. borriinnnggggg
@AceGuitarR7 Except that none of the other power basliners in the women's game are as good as the Williams sisters. Sharapova, Azarenka, and Safina are all big hitting baseliners who don't have the speed or athleticism of the Williams sisters. They also have no touch or variety in their games and are poor volleyers compared to Serena and Venus. Only Kim Clijsters can match Serena as far as variety goes for baseliners. She is not quite as powerful as Serena but faster, which makes up for it.
Henin was entertaining because she was unique in the women's game. One of the only female players left with a one-handed backhand, having the variety and tactics of Hingis, the speed and defense of Clijsters, the consistency and precision of Davenport and possessing power and athleticism far greater than her small stature would suggest, allowing her to actually compete with the Williams sisters. She also had a mental strength which rivaled Serena's. She never beat herself in a match.
The thing is, Roger's backhand is his weakest shot overall yet its better than Henin's and most players one handed backhands, its certainly the more beautiful looking shot, it can off at times but when its on like at the WTF's vs Nadal or against Blake at the TMC 2006 in Shanghai its almost as good as his forehand.
@TJFederer15 i agree but i still think it's a top notch backhand but not nearly as good as the ones in his prime and i would say his strongest shots are his forehands, volleys, and serves! :P
let's not forget that Henin is playing against women (who have less powerful strokes compared to men). If she was using her backhand in the men's tour God knows how spectacular it would seem. Even if you compare them as they are in their respective leagues, no one can remotely match Federer in elegance.
@jyozeff That's not really a good argument. I could just as easily say that since Federer is a man and therefore stronger, his backhand should be way more effective against his opponents than Henin who is weaker. That's not the case. Her backhand was dominant against even physically stronger opponents like the Williams sisters, Sharapova, Davenport and Clijsters. You have to look at the overall picture - how "effective" the shot is in his/her game.
@wesmartin91 Not a good argument...? Your point that Henin's backhnad would be just as strong in men's tour is ridiculous so I won't even try to rebutt it (your evidence is that she played against Williams and Sharapova but could you imagine her playing against Roddick, Nadal, Gonzo, Monfils etc?) Also, I said that even if you compared them as they are Federer's looks way more elegant. Mine's not much of an argument but you clearly don't have the right to say so.
@jyozeff First of all, I never made that point. I simply said that your point is rendered moot by the fact that just as you can't compare a male player to a female player, you also can't compare success or effectiveness based on that either. Try reducing Federer to the size of a 5'5", 120 woman and see how his backhand compares to Henin's on the women's tour. As far as which one is more "elegant", that's a matter of opinion. You're entitled to yours of course. I haven't given one yet.
@wesmartin91 I do think you can compare a male to a female; otherwise, why did you ask that yourself in the video? And do you mean I can't say Fed is better just because he competes in the men's tour? Who said so? You are simply misrepresenting my point. I also know very well that beauty is ultimately a matter of taste; all I intended was to provide a criterion for fair comparison--that you should be aware that when Roger hits his backhand it takes extra efforts to make it look beautiful.
@jyozeff Look at the actual question again. I never asked which was is more powerful or strong. Aesthetics of a groundstroke has nothing to do with whether or not one is male or female. PAY ATTENTION next time okay. :)
@wesmartin91 You would say that Henin is biologically female and I should count in the fact that she is disadvantaged by her biology. But that IS essentially what we are comparing here--we are basically comparing a male backhand to a female's. At workplace, your boss wouldn't say "you deserve a bonus because I am considering the fact that you did the job as a woman." We are not trying to abstract from the human perspective here; we are just comparing their merits as they are embodied.
Roger's is definitely prettier in its simplicity and ease, as well as very lethal and versatile at the same time. However, henin's sometimes looks to have a bit more safety in that her swing path seems to give it a bit more implicit spin. Granted, it's hard to say who's bunt spin backhand is better as women are less able to punish it, but henin's shot is definitely stronger in relativity to the rest of the women's field. And McEnroe seems to think warinka's backhand is the most technically sound
Federer, hands down. Think about the kind of power Federer has to deal with being in the men's division. I'm sorry, but if you put Henin's backhand up to Nadal's forehand, it's not gonna look pretty compared to Federer's. Not to mention Federer makes it look much easier than Henin does which add to the finesse of the game.
In terms of whose looks the best, I prefer Kohlschreiber's myself. Always looks so freakin awesome.
In terms of effectiveness, I'm just going to throw the fact out there that Henin's backhand doesn't stand a chance to Federer's or Gasquet's. You must be severely ill-informed if you think anyone on the Women's tour can stand up against any male player in the top 500. The pace, the athleticism, the endurance, the shot selection- there's really no comparing women's tennis to men's.
@darthnozo i play in the LTA tennis leagues and believe me the women can go toe to toe with men no problem. To say no women can stack up to anyone in the mens top 500 you good sir are stupid. Serena williams 10 times stronger than someone like davydenko, 10 times more experience and intelligence of shot selection than Bernard Tomic, 10 times better ground strokes than my favourite player Roddick. And Venus Williams average serve is 110mph compared to federers 90mph. TOE TO TOE
@charliepheonix First of all, I would like to thank you for calling me good sir.
Secondly, I believe you are horribly mislead in thinking that Federer's average serve speed is 90 mph. I would like to congratulate you on comparing the lowest value of Federer's average second serve to the highest value of Serena's average first serve.
Lastly, if you in fact aren't serious, I would like to congratulate you on being such an efficient troll. You really had me going.
@darthnozo First of all read what i wrote i said Venus's serve not Serena's. Secondly those are real stats on Unitarium stat blog. BTW those averages are for their whole career. I am not saying for one second that womens tennis is superior i admit i prefer mens tennis but im just demonstrating that women can go toe to toe with men.
I recommend seeing a shrink to cure your narrow minded views.
@charliepheonix Sorry but you should you ignorance when you said Federer's average serve speed is 90mph. Federer's serve has better placement and speed than any women including Serena and Venus. It is a fact. Even Serena said she couldn't beat any man in the top 200. If women and men were equal then they would play against each other. It's unlikely that Serena could beat any man in the top 500. Having said that, she's still better than 99% of men who play tennis including myself.
@zdlore1985 yougood sir are very ignorant to believe that no woman can ever match any bloke in the top 200. im and lta player and my serve can hit the 120-30 mark and the women i practice with not only get it back but hit clean winners. I AM NOT SAYING THAT WOMEN ARE BETTER, IM SAYING ITS NONSENSE TO SAY THEY HAVE NO CHANCE WHAT SO EVER!. Btw saying that if they are equal why dont they play is pointless, female snooker players dont play with guys, or golf, shooting or horse riding etc,
@charliepheonix Exactly, women don't compete with men in any sport because men are generally faster and stronger. There are a lot of incredible female athletes out there. The best female runner could outrun me and most men, but she would be no where near the pace of the elite male runners. The best female basketball player could dominate most men one on one but she still wouldn't be good enough for the NBA. Serena Williams would not qualify for the men's draw at the Grandslams.
@charliepheonix Also, a while back when Serena was talking how she would could take down the men. A German player, Braach ranked 203 played both Williams sisters, one set apiece. He beat one Williams sister 6-1 and the other 6-2. During the change overs he smoked cigarettes and didn't even serve hard. After that the Williams sisters shyed away from an oppurtunity to play old John McEnroe. Also, when you say you serve 130, do you mean kilometers per hour or miles?
@zdlore1985 Tha'ts one guy, and one match that wasn't a two set match and wasn't of any importance like a slam. Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs former world no. 1. in 3 sets. Thas more impressive. If we base everything we know on one event, we wouldn't know half the facts we know today. Also i meant 120 - 30 mph. And did you know Steffi graaff regularly beats her husband the great Agassi?
@charliepheonix I didn't say anything about Venus and Serena. But I know you are definitely in better shape at the age of 16 than when you are 55, so there is no more argument to be made.
Also do you think the top women could beat Tommy Haas (Ranked 294) or Fernando Gonzalez (303).
@sakzt nope thats not true, the body is still developing untill at least 21. at 55 you have experience, plenty of good shots by that time and if they keep fit then no reason why they cant be just as quick as the young ones. And yeh i do.
Umm. So why do athletes usually retire before 35? And yes at the age of 16 you are not yet fully developed, but you are very close to being developed. Nadal at 15 or 16 defeated Agassi. Think Bobby Riggs or even Nadal at 55 could do that? No. It's called old age. However fit or experienced you are you can't avoid it and it will affect your game.
But I actually agree with you in that women have a fair chance against a lot of the men in the top 200.
@sakzt Good im glad someone agrees about women having a fair chance, that's what my whole argument was about. Age is another argument im not assed to get into. :)
@sakzt If you think women have a chance, you're dreaming. Serena and Venus got spanked by some dude ranked 203 back when they were younger but no better looking. It was 6-1 and 6-2. He said he was playing like crap and said they'd have no chance against anyone ranked 500 or higher.
@sultanabran1 They have a chance. I'm not saying they have a huge chance, but there is always a chance. Off days, lack of concentration etc. I am sure the top 300 men would comfortably win against top females, but there is always a chance.
@sakzt Ok, yes there is a chance. I think the women's game still doesn't expose Serena's weakness. Agility! if you move her side to side, it's unsustainable for her to keep up. She's too big and heavy to constantly move that butt of her's around. You see players like del Potro, who's very athletic, get exposed for lack of agility. The girls need to expose Serena's big butt.
@sultanabran1 thats true. u need to remember though that serena hits the ball with alot of weight. when she does that its hard for her opponents to redirect it. the women all know that running her around will get her unsettled but how will they do it when she hits the ball heavy. the men are better at redirecting pace, especially federer who does it to del potro. what i think is the best option for the weaker women in beating serena is cramping her for room like what samantha stosur did.
@sultanabran1 that is why venus struggles more than serena too, cause players cramp her for room. they like hitting the ball on the run. serena is a great mover for her weight. so thats why its harder to beat serena. but i think her opponent has to back themselves in playing the cramp game. because at times she wants to have a short rally and make lots of mistakes. players beat serena off her errors. players dont beat her with winners that much. she beats herself most times
@kemar282008 Other than serving, the only real difference I see between Venus and Serena is mental. Venus has become a headcase in her later years and she can beat anyone in the world and also lose to anyone in the world on any given day. She has the most powerful groundstrokes and yet also the most inconsistent. When she's on, she can hit harder and move better than any other woman. Yet she can still lose to a player ranked outside the top 20 by hitting 15 double faults and 30 unforced errors.
@wesmartin91 thats true. but i think opponents execute a better plan which i was saying, to beat venus. but she and her sister are world class players. they both will beat anybody when they are on top of their games.
@charliepheonix I don't wanna start an argument or anything, but if you serve at 130 mph, haven't you like broken a world record for women? (Venus Williams 129mph US Open 2007).
Looks to me like Henin had more power and grace to her backhand and Federer had better spin and placement. Justine made a career out of her backhand, that was shortened too soon I might add. But, the nice backhand was just one of the tools in Roger's bag of tricks. So, I would have to lean more on the side of Justine Henin. Best 1-hander in tennis ever. She dominated with it. Federer was just dominant, the backhand was just one of many aspects of his game.
In my opinion Federer's backhand is the prettiest out of a single handers. In a set shot, his backhand is as good as anyone's including Gasguet, Youhzny, Wawrinka, Haas.
Henin is unbelievable. One of the shortest girls on tour (was) and dominated the French Open in the mid 00's.
i mean the only way to compare the two is on an aesthetic basis. i mean there's just no other way to compare. federer always hits with more power. i mean hell any man does off the backhand wing. andy roddick probably hits his backhand harder than JH. Winners/UE ratio isn't fair either, since federer deals with more pace and spin and better athletes across the net. Aesthetically, while henin has a prettier wind up, federers always on the front foot and follows through cleanly, jh does not
you're actually 100% wrong. Check the average stroke speed for Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon this year, vs. almost all the male players in the draw. She was consistently and on average almost 10 mph above Djokovic's pace, even.So the idea that women will hit with less pace is flat out wrong and almost preposterous, given stats like that.
@stevos14 What does that conceivably have to do with anything I said? Please re-read and get back to me. I'm comparing men's backhand power to Justine Henin's...and then you compare Djokovic and Kvitova. I'm not sure why you thought your non-sequitur proves anything so please edify me.
I think Henin's technique gets more pure power out of it than Roger's. She hits those backhands just as fast as Fed's. If she had been a male player, her backhand would have a lot more power on it.
That being said, I think Federer's backhand has the most variety in defense, power, slices, angles, etc., which more than makes up for the fact that he doesn't have the most powerful backhand like gasquet, unless he's playing nadal.
one more thing , we have to differentiate between roger federer as a player and his backhand as a shot , federer over all is a great player but his single handed backhand is not as good as some other backhands in men's tour like wawrinka's or gasquet's .
@federerlegend Well, they're just being compared aesthetically, not how effective they are. Plus, Fed's BH in his prime wasn't really a weakness if I remember correctly. At one point it was basically a second forehand....like late '06-early '07ish? I can't remember, but I think that was the time frame where his BH wasn't a liability in the slightest.
Unfortunately that's not the case today. If he could just consistently smack them DTL again like he used to then maybe it wouldn't be though.
@sasook , i wanted to say that the backhand has never been fed's strength - or as agassi said ,the lesser of 2 evens- while henin's backhand alongside her movement are really what won her 7 grand slams , and as regard fed's form at the end of 06( masters cup) and begining of 07(oz open ) ,i think that was the summit of fed's performance so i can't evaluate his BH by looking only at this part of his career, it's just like watching us open 07 and saying that henin's forhand is her best shot.
@federerlegend Hmm, point taken. I suppose that's true. I dunno, I mean I was young during the Fed era but for some reason I don't really remember it being as big a weakness as everybody claims it to be (compared to present day, where it's like...blatantly obvious).
@sasook , i agree with you it's not a big weakness , it's relatively weak compared to his forhand , i mean if you'e coming to the net against roger you'll come on his BH 80% of the time - the same with rafa- , unlike some like djokovic who doesn't have huge weapons like fed's forhand or rafa's forhand but he doesnt have a relative weakness as well . one more thing , i think the main reason that makes people talk about fed's backhand is that it always let him down against rafa
@federerlegend Ah I see what you're saying, that makes sense.
As for Rafa, I think his game is just tailored to counter Fed's. I know a lot of people don't believe in tennis matchups, but I do, and I think that the reason their H2H is so skewed is the matchup (even moreso than the fact that they've mostly met on clay). Fed's offense tactics play directly into Nadal's strengths, and obviously everybody knows about the high topsin to the BH strategy.
@sasook , i totally agree with you , i believe that every part in rafa's game fits so very well with federer's , and i really believe that it's the worse matchup that ever existed in tennis , i don't mean how bad the h2h record might look_because surely there are worse records_ but i mean how misleading it might be reflecting each playe's real level
@loseri123 The majority of the responses on here would seem to indicate that most people disagree with you....not to mention John McEnroe who says that Henin has the best one-handed backhand (male or female). Just saying!
@wesmartin91 Maybe McEnroe was talking about aesthetically. Men hit with way more spin. Justine could not handle that with her 5"5 frame. Nadal's spin would have the ball flying over her head.
@wesmartin91 Roger's is the most graceful backhand of all time in my opinion. There are 'better' ones out there, but technically and aesthetically, it's the best I think. It's the best to look at.
@loseri123 the thing you don't realize is that, pound for pound, justine should not have been able to generate as much diverse power, and speed on both shots, movement, or skill, so imagine if she was as tall, and muscular as roger... Shit, she would rule the world.
They're both spectacular but I prefer Justine's, mainly because it always surprises me that such a tiny woman can deliver such a powerful shot with such lethal precision. Plus she looks like she's fencing which makes it cooler.
@Sambucca I agree with you completely. For Henin to have had such dominant backhand at her size, it HAD to have been an extraordinary shot. Arguably the best one-handed backhand technique of all time. Other one-handers I love are Gasquet's (of course), Wawrinka, and Henrik Sundstrom (from the 80s). Fed's one-hander is a terrific shot (no doubt), but it's not at the top of my list of favorite one-handers.
1:30 :X
marietabulgaria 4 days ago
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marietabulgaria 4 days ago
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marietabulgaria 4 days ago
Feddie's is elegant and beautiful to watch . Henin's is unique and wonderful to behold .
jineu989 1 week ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Finally found out how to describe both these player's brilliant backhands .
Federer's is elegant and beautiful to watch while Henin's is unique and wonderful to behold .
jineu989 1 week ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Finally found out how to describe both these player's brilliant backhands .
Federer's is elegant and beautiful to watch while Henin's is unique and wonderful to behold .
jineu989 1 week ago
Finally found out how to describe both these player's brilliant backhands .
Federer's is elegant and beautiful to watch while Henin's is unique and wonderful to behold .
jineu989 1 week ago
Henin!
brankagod 1 week ago
it really depends. Roger has a much more effective slice to set up the point. Justine has a more power on her backhand proportionally. What we are really sayin is if Federer had his slice but with a backhand like Justine Henin or a Richard Gasquet, Where will Roger be in the rankings and Grand Slams? BTW both backhand are phenomenal with it's strengths and few weaknesses. Not to mention easy on the eyes unlike some two-handed backhands. I'm rambling so I'll stop there.
CptPanda20 1 week ago
henin
alpciklkedi 2 weeks ago
I love you Justine !!!
WielkiHrabia 3 weeks ago
GAUDIOOOOOO... or gasquet :D
ajsingenieria 1 month ago
Roger has the prettier backhand. Justine has a fantastic backhand but it looks just a bit mechanical compared to Roger's which brings a tear to my eye.
registrationannoys 1 month ago
I prefer Richard Gasquet's backhand! He wins matches with that..
supermi 1 month ago
nice collection
kelvinpyaeko 1 month ago
Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I enjoy watching Roger G. and Rafa N. too, but there are a few more examples of men playing great tennis than woman, unfortunately!
fayskelley 1 month ago
I adore Justine Henin, and now I'm liking Sam Stosur. Both great all around players !!!
Including the good sports-personship part of it !
fayskelley 1 month ago
@fayskelley I agree about the "great all around player" part. Sam Stouser is a good sports woman also, but Justine was not. She was actually a pretty poor sportsman on several occasions which is really the only blemish on her career. But I do miss watching the beauty of her game.
wesmartin91 1 month ago
@wesmartin91 On several occasions? Sorry but I disagree on that part. I hardly see Justine swears at others or throw tantrums on court. If you're referring to the "overblown" 3 main incidents, which are not entirely her faults even though she did in some extents did not handle the situations well and hence called a poor sportsman which is unfair to her.
cabomba 1 month ago
@cabomba I think it would be wise for us to agree to disagree. I've seen her be unsportsmanlike twice and everyone knows which incidents I'm referring to. I didn't care for that aspect of her personality and that is my opinion. You can disagree with that all you like, but there is no need to debate that any further or highlight the negatives of a great player's name. The point here isn't to judge another player's character on court but to compare two beautiful one handed backhands.
wesmartin91 1 month ago
@wesmartin91 just wanna inform that Sam Stosur isn't the one-handed backhand player, but two-handed backhand
Konnarak555 3 weeks ago
@Konnarak555 Did I ever say that Sam Stouser had a one handed backhand? The video is comparing FEDERER to HENIN. Stouser is not featured here!
wesmartin91 3 weeks ago
@wesmartin91 haha sorry, misunderstood, but I like them both anyhow
Konnarak555 3 weeks ago
@Konnarak555 No worries!
wesmartin91 3 weeks ago
I love RF's
rfmasato 1 month ago
They all superb
kengtheerasakj 1 month ago
I prefer Federer's, but to each its own. Happy New Year to everyone! =D
TXAZ84 1 month ago
Prior to their peak Henin's backhand was stronger than her forehand where as Federer's backhand was weaker than his forehand. Henin had to improve on her forehand where as Federer's opponents kept on attacking his backhand thereby helped make it better. So I give the edge to Henin!
foresure88 1 month ago 4
damn..henin took this one..sorry roger..
Stewielor13 1 month ago
2 great players, but im a kim clijsters fan heheh
daniolitheone 1 month ago
Federer of course
714momo 2 months ago
Almost all women played henin the same way, with no sliced backhand, so it s easy for henin to hit backhand with a closed grip, because 1 the ball has always a good height and plus is always the same and plus she s small. What could henin do facing players like steffi graff, i would be very surprised to see henin hitting a backand in these conditions. Federer is still playing adapting his style through changing conditions, and keep balance during the stroke. He perfectly transfers his energy.
714momo 2 months ago
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Federer definitely has the most aesthetically pleasing strokes in tennis but Henin uses the extreme eastern backhand which is just plain awesome.
LJ080805 3 months ago
Look at it this way. Henin could not have hit as many winners as she only if she was with the men. Rogers backhand hits he hits the ball beautifully. Federer is the best
vidsnipe09 3 months ago
@vidsnipe09 neither would federer hit as many winners if he was a woman, playing with men. stupid comparison from you
lukat93 2 months ago
henin was the only womens player left i enjoyed watching....... now the women are all a carbon copy of the williams sisters ganes and just all baseline. borriinnnggggg
AceGuitarR7 3 months ago
@AceGuitarR7 Except that none of the other power basliners in the women's game are as good as the Williams sisters. Sharapova, Azarenka, and Safina are all big hitting baseliners who don't have the speed or athleticism of the Williams sisters. They also have no touch or variety in their games and are poor volleyers compared to Serena and Venus. Only Kim Clijsters can match Serena as far as variety goes for baseliners. She is not quite as powerful as Serena but faster, which makes up for it.
wesmartin91 3 months ago 6
Henin was entertaining because she was unique in the women's game. One of the only female players left with a one-handed backhand, having the variety and tactics of Hingis, the speed and defense of Clijsters, the consistency and precision of Davenport and possessing power and athleticism far greater than her small stature would suggest, allowing her to actually compete with the Williams sisters. She also had a mental strength which rivaled Serena's. She never beat herself in a match.
wesmartin91 3 months ago 12
I love both of them
WielkiHrabia 3 months ago
Henin
Antidote002 3 months ago
The thing is, Roger's backhand is his weakest shot overall yet its better than Henin's and most players one handed backhands, its certainly the more beautiful looking shot, it can off at times but when its on like at the WTF's vs Nadal or against Blake at the TMC 2006 in Shanghai its almost as good as his forehand.
TJFederer15 3 months ago
@TJFederer15 i agree but i still think it's a top notch backhand but not nearly as good as the ones in his prime and i would say his strongest shots are his forehands, volleys, and serves! :P
reviseyourdemise 2 months ago
Justine's isn't pretty slowed down... but at regular speed its a beauty! Fed's is so smooth and easy-looking
MBM91UK 3 months ago
Rodgeeeee
locopatadita24 3 months ago
Henin
Dario2622 3 months ago
let's not forget that Henin is playing against women (who have less powerful strokes compared to men). If she was using her backhand in the men's tour God knows how spectacular it would seem. Even if you compare them as they are in their respective leagues, no one can remotely match Federer in elegance.
jyozeff 3 months ago
@jyozeff That's not really a good argument. I could just as easily say that since Federer is a man and therefore stronger, his backhand should be way more effective against his opponents than Henin who is weaker. That's not the case. Her backhand was dominant against even physically stronger opponents like the Williams sisters, Sharapova, Davenport and Clijsters. You have to look at the overall picture - how "effective" the shot is in his/her game.
wesmartin91 3 months ago
@wesmartin91 Not a good argument...? Your point that Henin's backhnad would be just as strong in men's tour is ridiculous so I won't even try to rebutt it (your evidence is that she played against Williams and Sharapova but could you imagine her playing against Roddick, Nadal, Gonzo, Monfils etc?) Also, I said that even if you compared them as they are Federer's looks way more elegant. Mine's not much of an argument but you clearly don't have the right to say so.
jyozeff 3 months ago
@jyozeff First of all, I never made that point. I simply said that your point is rendered moot by the fact that just as you can't compare a male player to a female player, you also can't compare success or effectiveness based on that either. Try reducing Federer to the size of a 5'5", 120 woman and see how his backhand compares to Henin's on the women's tour. As far as which one is more "elegant", that's a matter of opinion. You're entitled to yours of course. I haven't given one yet.
wesmartin91 3 months ago
@wesmartin91 I do think you can compare a male to a female; otherwise, why did you ask that yourself in the video? And do you mean I can't say Fed is better just because he competes in the men's tour? Who said so? You are simply misrepresenting my point. I also know very well that beauty is ultimately a matter of taste; all I intended was to provide a criterion for fair comparison--that you should be aware that when Roger hits his backhand it takes extra efforts to make it look beautiful.
jyozeff 3 months ago
@jyozeff Look at the actual question again. I never asked which was is more powerful or strong. Aesthetics of a groundstroke has nothing to do with whether or not one is male or female. PAY ATTENTION next time okay. :)
wesmartin91 3 months ago
@wesmartin91 ha, you are cute...
jyozeff 3 months ago
@jyozeff Thanks!
wesmartin91 3 months ago
@wesmartin91 You would say that Henin is biologically female and I should count in the fact that she is disadvantaged by her biology. But that IS essentially what we are comparing here--we are basically comparing a male backhand to a female's. At workplace, your boss wouldn't say "you deserve a bonus because I am considering the fact that you did the job as a woman." We are not trying to abstract from the human perspective here; we are just comparing their merits as they are embodied.
jyozeff 3 months ago
Roger's is definitely prettier in its simplicity and ease, as well as very lethal and versatile at the same time. However, henin's sometimes looks to have a bit more safety in that her swing path seems to give it a bit more implicit spin. Granted, it's hard to say who's bunt spin backhand is better as women are less able to punish it, but henin's shot is definitely stronger in relativity to the rest of the women's field. And McEnroe seems to think warinka's backhand is the most technically sound
TheTennisGroove 4 months ago
Federer, hands down. Think about the kind of power Federer has to deal with being in the men's division. I'm sorry, but if you put Henin's backhand up to Nadal's forehand, it's not gonna look pretty compared to Federer's. Not to mention Federer makes it look much easier than Henin does which add to the finesse of the game.
Gzusvictory 4 months ago
its a shame that no woman on tour (other than williams) can produce shots like this consistantly. they need to step up like in the past
realazn10is 4 months ago
@realazn10is Perhaps none of them are capable. There's not much quality in women's tennis these days.
davd1986 4 months ago
Both beautiful backhands. Obviously Justine cannot be compared to Federer in terms of power, but that backhand is beautiful. More so than Federers.
sakzt 4 months ago
I pick Sabatini.
leirbag 4 months ago
In terms of whose looks the best, I prefer Kohlschreiber's myself. Always looks so freakin awesome.
In terms of effectiveness, I'm just going to throw the fact out there that Henin's backhand doesn't stand a chance to Federer's or Gasquet's. You must be severely ill-informed if you think anyone on the Women's tour can stand up against any male player in the top 500. The pace, the athleticism, the endurance, the shot selection- there's really no comparing women's tennis to men's.
darthnozo 5 months ago
@darthnozo i play in the LTA tennis leagues and believe me the women can go toe to toe with men no problem. To say no women can stack up to anyone in the mens top 500 you good sir are stupid. Serena williams 10 times stronger than someone like davydenko, 10 times more experience and intelligence of shot selection than Bernard Tomic, 10 times better ground strokes than my favourite player Roddick. And Venus Williams average serve is 110mph compared to federers 90mph. TOE TO TOE
charliepheonix 5 months ago
@charliepheonix First of all, I would like to thank you for calling me good sir.
Secondly, I believe you are horribly mislead in thinking that Federer's average serve speed is 90 mph. I would like to congratulate you on comparing the lowest value of Federer's average second serve to the highest value of Serena's average first serve.
Lastly, if you in fact aren't serious, I would like to congratulate you on being such an efficient troll. You really had me going.
Peace.
darthnozo 4 months ago
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charliepheonix 4 months ago
@darthnozo First of all read what i wrote i said Venus's serve not Serena's. Secondly those are real stats on Unitarium stat blog. BTW those averages are for their whole career. I am not saying for one second that womens tennis is superior i admit i prefer mens tennis but im just demonstrating that women can go toe to toe with men.
I recommend seeing a shrink to cure your narrow minded views.
Peace.
charliepheonix 4 months ago
@charliepheonix Sorry but you should you ignorance when you said Federer's average serve speed is 90mph. Federer's serve has better placement and speed than any women including Serena and Venus. It is a fact. Even Serena said she couldn't beat any man in the top 200. If women and men were equal then they would play against each other. It's unlikely that Serena could beat any man in the top 500. Having said that, she's still better than 99% of men who play tennis including myself.
zdlore1985 4 months ago
@zdlore1985 yougood sir are very ignorant to believe that no woman can ever match any bloke in the top 200. im and lta player and my serve can hit the 120-30 mark and the women i practice with not only get it back but hit clean winners. I AM NOT SAYING THAT WOMEN ARE BETTER, IM SAYING ITS NONSENSE TO SAY THEY HAVE NO CHANCE WHAT SO EVER!. Btw saying that if they are equal why dont they play is pointless, female snooker players dont play with guys, or golf, shooting or horse riding etc,
charliepheonix 4 months ago
@charliepheonix Exactly, women don't compete with men in any sport because men are generally faster and stronger. There are a lot of incredible female athletes out there. The best female runner could outrun me and most men, but she would be no where near the pace of the elite male runners. The best female basketball player could dominate most men one on one but she still wouldn't be good enough for the NBA. Serena Williams would not qualify for the men's draw at the Grandslams.
zdlore1985 4 months ago
@charliepheonix Also, a while back when Serena was talking how she would could take down the men. A German player, Braach ranked 203 played both Williams sisters, one set apiece. He beat one Williams sister 6-1 and the other 6-2. During the change overs he smoked cigarettes and didn't even serve hard. After that the Williams sisters shyed away from an oppurtunity to play old John McEnroe. Also, when you say you serve 130, do you mean kilometers per hour or miles?
zdlore1985 4 months ago
@zdlore1985 Tha'ts one guy, and one match that wasn't a two set match and wasn't of any importance like a slam. Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs former world no. 1. in 3 sets. Thas more impressive. If we base everything we know on one event, we wouldn't know half the facts we know today. Also i meant 120 - 30 mph. And did you know Steffi graaff regularly beats her husband the great Agassi?
charliepheonix 4 months ago
@charliepheonix You do know Bobby Riggs was 55?
sakzt 4 months ago
@sakzt you know venus and serena were 16 and 17 right?
charliepheonix 4 months ago
@charliepheonix I didn't say anything about Venus and Serena. But I know you are definitely in better shape at the age of 16 than when you are 55, so there is no more argument to be made.
Also do you think the top women could beat Tommy Haas (Ranked 294) or Fernando Gonzalez (303).
sakzt 4 months ago
@sakzt nope thats not true, the body is still developing untill at least 21. at 55 you have experience, plenty of good shots by that time and if they keep fit then no reason why they cant be just as quick as the young ones. And yeh i do.
charliepheonix 4 months ago
@charliepheonix
Umm. So why do athletes usually retire before 35? And yes at the age of 16 you are not yet fully developed, but you are very close to being developed. Nadal at 15 or 16 defeated Agassi. Think Bobby Riggs or even Nadal at 55 could do that? No. It's called old age. However fit or experienced you are you can't avoid it and it will affect your game.
But I actually agree with you in that women have a fair chance against a lot of the men in the top 200.
sakzt 4 months ago
@sakzt Good im glad someone agrees about women having a fair chance, that's what my whole argument was about. Age is another argument im not assed to get into. :)
charliepheonix 4 months ago
@sakzt If you think women have a chance, you're dreaming. Serena and Venus got spanked by some dude ranked 203 back when they were younger but no better looking. It was 6-1 and 6-2. He said he was playing like crap and said they'd have no chance against anyone ranked 500 or higher.
sultanabran1 4 months ago
@sultanabran1 They have a chance. I'm not saying they have a huge chance, but there is always a chance. Off days, lack of concentration etc. I am sure the top 300 men would comfortably win against top females, but there is always a chance.
sakzt 4 months ago
@sakzt Ok, yes there is a chance. I think the women's game still doesn't expose Serena's weakness. Agility! if you move her side to side, it's unsustainable for her to keep up. She's too big and heavy to constantly move that butt of her's around. You see players like del Potro, who's very athletic, get exposed for lack of agility. The girls need to expose Serena's big butt.
sultanabran1 3 months ago
@sultanabran1 Yeah all I meant was that they have a slight chance. Nothing more. But I definitely agree with the part about Serena.
sakzt 3 months ago
@sultanabran1 thats true. u need to remember though that serena hits the ball with alot of weight. when she does that its hard for her opponents to redirect it. the women all know that running her around will get her unsettled but how will they do it when she hits the ball heavy. the men are better at redirecting pace, especially federer who does it to del potro. what i think is the best option for the weaker women in beating serena is cramping her for room like what samantha stosur did.
kemar282008 3 months ago
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kemar282008 3 months ago
@sultanabran1 that is why venus struggles more than serena too, cause players cramp her for room. they like hitting the ball on the run. serena is a great mover for her weight. so thats why its harder to beat serena. but i think her opponent has to back themselves in playing the cramp game. because at times she wants to have a short rally and make lots of mistakes. players beat serena off her errors. players dont beat her with winners that much. she beats herself most times
kemar282008 3 months ago
@kemar282008 Other than serving, the only real difference I see between Venus and Serena is mental. Venus has become a headcase in her later years and she can beat anyone in the world and also lose to anyone in the world on any given day. She has the most powerful groundstrokes and yet also the most inconsistent. When she's on, she can hit harder and move better than any other woman. Yet she can still lose to a player ranked outside the top 20 by hitting 15 double faults and 30 unforced errors.
wesmartin91 3 months ago
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kemar282008 3 months ago
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kemar282008 3 months ago
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kemar282008 3 months ago
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@wesmartin91 thats true. but i think opponents execute a better plan which i was saying, to beat venus. but she and her sister are world class players. they both will beat anybody when they are on top of their games.
kemar282008 3 months ago
@kemar282008 oh ok. well, i think you analyse her game in more depth than i can.
sultanabran1 3 months ago
@charliepheonix I don't wanna start an argument or anything, but if you serve at 130 mph, haven't you like broken a world record for women? (Venus Williams 129mph US Open 2007).
sakzt 4 months ago
@sakzt im a dude
charliepheonix 4 months ago
@charliepheonix Oh Damn. My bad lol
sakzt 4 months ago
i would say to compare Wawrinka back hand and henins...
TheDonOrange 5 months ago
Give Henin credit because Federer still has the best forehand in history.
XizelSF 5 months ago
Looks to me like Henin had more power and grace to her backhand and Federer had better spin and placement. Justine made a career out of her backhand, that was shortened too soon I might add. But, the nice backhand was just one of the tools in Roger's bag of tricks. So, I would have to lean more on the side of Justine Henin. Best 1-hander in tennis ever. She dominated with it. Federer was just dominant, the backhand was just one of many aspects of his game.
polyfetman 5 months ago
McEnroe was right...Henin had the best one-hander regardless of gender. Maybe the best we'll ever see.
bobomber 5 months ago
Roger wins. But I always liked to see Justine play.
darthGavin 5 months ago
Feds looks nicer.
jalanmills 5 months ago
I think Henin is better... it looks easier for her to hit winners off that wing than Federer.
volvariella 5 months ago
I've made a decision: Federer. Henin's no longer playing.
Ou8y2k2 5 months ago
Justine Henin, male or female, she is the best, just watch her videos, and matchs!
Zvonarev2010 5 months ago
In my opinion Federer's backhand is the prettiest out of a single handers. In a set shot, his backhand is as good as anyone's including Gasguet, Youhzny, Wawrinka, Haas.
Henin is unbelievable. One of the shortest girls on tour (was) and dominated the French Open in the mid 00's.
sultanabran1 6 months ago
I prefer Henin's.
AJB3 6 months ago
Gasquet's is better than both of them. His forehands and serves SUCK, but he has the best one handed backhand on tour
explodingpimp 6 months ago
i mean the only way to compare the two is on an aesthetic basis. i mean there's just no other way to compare. federer always hits with more power. i mean hell any man does off the backhand wing. andy roddick probably hits his backhand harder than JH. Winners/UE ratio isn't fair either, since federer deals with more pace and spin and better athletes across the net. Aesthetically, while henin has a prettier wind up, federers always on the front foot and follows through cleanly, jh does not
365to173repubsPWNED 6 months ago
@365to173repubsPWNED
you're actually 100% wrong. Check the average stroke speed for Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon this year, vs. almost all the male players in the draw. She was consistently and on average almost 10 mph above Djokovic's pace, even.So the idea that women will hit with less pace is flat out wrong and almost preposterous, given stats like that.
stevos14 6 months ago
@stevos14 What does that conceivably have to do with anything I said? Please re-read and get back to me. I'm comparing men's backhand power to Justine Henin's...and then you compare Djokovic and Kvitova. I'm not sure why you thought your non-sequitur proves anything so please edify me.
365to173repubsPWNED 6 months ago
I think Henin's technique gets more pure power out of it than Roger's. She hits those backhands just as fast as Fed's. If she had been a male player, her backhand would have a lot more power on it.
That being said, I think Federer's backhand has the most variety in defense, power, slices, angles, etc., which more than makes up for the fact that he doesn't have the most powerful backhand like gasquet, unless he's playing nadal.
tacticalmarine 6 months ago
one more thing , we have to differentiate between roger federer as a player and his backhand as a shot , federer over all is a great player but his single handed backhand is not as good as some other backhands in men's tour like wawrinka's or gasquet's .
federerlegend 6 months ago
i think you can't compare between the men and women in tennis like that ,
but if i have to , i think that henin's backhand is much better than federer's .
i mean at the end of the day , the backhand is henin's strength while it has been -and always will be - federer's weakness-or realtive weakness -.
so for me there is no comparison between the two.
federerlegend 6 months ago
@federerlegend Well, they're just being compared aesthetically, not how effective they are. Plus, Fed's BH in his prime wasn't really a weakness if I remember correctly. At one point it was basically a second forehand....like late '06-early '07ish? I can't remember, but I think that was the time frame where his BH wasn't a liability in the slightest.
Unfortunately that's not the case today. If he could just consistently smack them DTL again like he used to then maybe it wouldn't be though.
sasook 4 months ago
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federerlegend 3 months ago
@sasook , i wanted to say that the backhand has never been fed's strength - or as agassi said ,the lesser of 2 evens- while henin's backhand alongside her movement are really what won her 7 grand slams , and as regard fed's form at the end of 06( masters cup) and begining of 07(oz open ) ,i think that was the summit of fed's performance so i can't evaluate his BH by looking only at this part of his career, it's just like watching us open 07 and saying that henin's forhand is her best shot.
federerlegend 3 months ago
@federerlegend Hmm, point taken. I suppose that's true. I dunno, I mean I was young during the Fed era but for some reason I don't really remember it being as big a weakness as everybody claims it to be (compared to present day, where it's like...blatantly obvious).
sasook 3 months ago
@sasook , i agree with you it's not a big weakness , it's relatively weak compared to his forhand , i mean if you'e coming to the net against roger you'll come on his BH 80% of the time - the same with rafa- , unlike some like djokovic who doesn't have huge weapons like fed's forhand or rafa's forhand but he doesnt have a relative weakness as well . one more thing , i think the main reason that makes people talk about fed's backhand is that it always let him down against rafa
federerlegend 3 months ago
@federerlegend Ah I see what you're saying, that makes sense.
As for Rafa, I think his game is just tailored to counter Fed's. I know a lot of people don't believe in tennis matchups, but I do, and I think that the reason their H2H is so skewed is the matchup (even moreso than the fact that they've mostly met on clay). Fed's offense tactics play directly into Nadal's strengths, and obviously everybody knows about the high topsin to the BH strategy.
sasook 3 months ago
@sasook , i totally agree with you , i believe that every part in rafa's game fits so very well with federer's , and i really believe that it's the worse matchup that ever existed in tennis , i don't mean how bad the h2h record might look_because surely there are worse records_ but i mean how misleading it might be reflecting each playe's real level
federerlegend 3 months ago
roger
lucasansart1 7 months ago
u cant possibly put a womens shot over any of the men pros, let alone the best mens player of all time
loseri123 7 months ago
@loseri123 The majority of the responses on here would seem to indicate that most people disagree with you....not to mention John McEnroe who says that Henin has the best one-handed backhand (male or female). Just saying!
wesmartin91 7 months ago 10
@wesmartin91 Maybe McEnroe was talking about aesthetically. Men hit with way more spin. Justine could not handle that with her 5"5 frame. Nadal's spin would have the ball flying over her head.
zdlore1985 4 months ago
@wesmartin91 Roger's is the most graceful backhand of all time in my opinion. There are 'better' ones out there, but technically and aesthetically, it's the best I think. It's the best to look at.
sultanabran1 4 months ago
@loseri123 one word: McEnroe
DIANAROSS4EVER 6 months ago
@loseri123 the thing you don't realize is that, pound for pound, justine should not have been able to generate as much diverse power, and speed on both shots, movement, or skill, so imagine if she was as tall, and muscular as roger... Shit, she would rule the world.
TheDrowsyMadcap 4 months ago
Roger's ofcourse ! :D
ervan141 7 months ago 13
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ervan141 7 months ago
I love both, but JH for sure ❣
slyintennis 7 months ago
Henin has the prettiest one-hander but Federer has the most effective one-handed backhand in my opinion.
mssheltn1 7 months ago
For me Justine Henin
VictimFate 7 months ago
Oke is it me or does Henin have a BIT more eyecontact when making her backhand? I just whonder any thoughts?
janjan55555 8 months ago
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Easy. Justine every time.
DavidMcCann995 8 months ago
They're both spectacular but I prefer Justine's, mainly because it always surprises me that such a tiny woman can deliver such a powerful shot with such lethal precision. Plus she looks like she's fencing which makes it cooler.
Sambucca 8 months ago 16
@Sambucca I agree with you completely. For Henin to have had such dominant backhand at her size, it HAD to have been an extraordinary shot. Arguably the best one-handed backhand technique of all time. Other one-handers I love are Gasquet's (of course), Wawrinka, and Henrik Sundstrom (from the 80s). Fed's one-hander is a terrific shot (no doubt), but it's not at the top of my list of favorite one-handers.
worldted 8 months ago
@Sambucca It's not about size or big arms that gives power with a single hander. It's about technique and timing.
sultanabran1 4 months ago
Justine's... Fed's lets him down sometimes, especially on clay.
cjcw18 8 months ago
Justine's
cabomba 8 months ago
miss Henin so much... I wish she played more
Vanadium555 8 months ago
i love both players...... too bad henin retired again :(
katherineli 8 months ago
Federer
azasel 8 months ago 2
I would take Henin or Gaudio for prettiest backhand
bobomber 8 months ago