Ben Shelton‘s dominant victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open initially looked like a routine triumph for the American crowd favorite. However, the Greek star’s disappointing exit officially shattered a staggering 150-year-old tennis streak regarding major championship representation.
Prominent tennis insider Jose Morgado quickly highlighted the massive historical implications of this specific fourth-round result.
“At least one player with a one-handed backhand has reached a major semi-final in men’s singles every year since the inaugural edition of Wimbledon in 1877,” said Morgado on X. “That streak is OVER.”
The incredibly aesthetic one-handed backhand previously dominated the sport for decades, with legends like Rod Laver pioneering its execution. Although superstars like Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors popularized the double-handed alternative during the 1970s, the modern game actively discourages the traditional single-handed approach.
Court speed in recent years has been on the slower side, with event organizers hoping for more baseline rallies rather than serve-and-volley plays. This has made players use the double-handed backhand more, as it is the more reliable defensive option compared to the one-hander. Even grass courts have a higher bounce than before, which makes a one-handed backhand a technical vulnerability.
The issue was evident in the matchup between Shelton and Tsitsipas itself. The Greek struggled to return with his one-handed backhand whenever the American went for his trademark high-paced, wide serves. Even in rallies, the one-handed backhand by Tsitsipas seemed to be sitting up nicely for Shelton, who hit sixteen forehand winners in the match.
With the saturation of double-handed backhands, fans also miss the unique battle between two contrasting styles. The 1980s rivalries of John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, to the contests between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, gave the fans the joy of watching the attacking variation of a one-handed backhand go up against a more reliable two-handed backhand.
The technical variety was there in the 1990s as well, with the Graf-Seles and Sampras-Agassi rivalries, while also making a mark in the modern era, with Roger Federer’s backhand often a vulnerable spot for the Swiss in his battles against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. However, even at the start of the 1990s, several of the top-ranked players in both the men’s and women’s game had the one-handed backhand, which has a few representatives among the top-ranked players in 2026.
As of now, there are no one-handed backhand players in the Top-10 in either men’s or women’s tennis. Within the Top 50, Lorenzo Musetti and Denis Shapovalov are the only one-handers in the men’s game, whereas the duo of Diane Pary and Lilli Tagger are the only one-handed backhand players in the women’s Top 50.
In the men’s game, Musetti has been the flagbearer for the one-handed backhands in recent years, being the only player to reach a Grand Slam semifinal last year while using that shot at the French Open. The Italian had a great opportunity to keep the streak alive this year as well, as he was two-sets-to-love up against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open quarterfinal, but had to withdraw due to injury.
The one-handed backhand was in fashion even in the 1990s, with Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, and Pete Sampras using it in the men’s game, whereas in the women’s game, there was no shortage of one-handed champions in Steffi Graf, Conchita Martinez, and Jana Novotna, among others.
The 2000s had already seen increased use of the double-handed backhand in the sport, but the era still saw the likes of Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Gustavo Kuerten, Justine Henin, and Amelie Mauresmo using the one-handed shot.
However, the use of the two-hander shot and the end of the 150-year-old streak show that the era of tennis is one where physical rallies are the name of the game, which in turn influences tennis schedules and player health and safety as well.
