Stan Wawrinka’s backhand is lethal and the forehand effective

Stan Wawrinka’s backhand is lethal and the forehand and serve are quite effective. He has soft hands at the net, and does not lack tactical smarts either. Stan, by his own admission, lacks the mental strength of the big three. But he is quite capable of staying with Roger, Rafa, and Novak.

Stan Wawrinka’s backhand is lethal and generates more power than the double handed ones

Wawrinka is a complete player with a deadly backhand. His single-handed generates more power and push than practically all double handed backhands, and also most forehands!

The mechanics of a single handed backhand

There is a reason why the hardest and the most powerful backhand in the game belongs to Wawarinka and not Djokovic or Murray. The single hander allows for generation of a longer and unrestricted swing path and, if hit right, the contact is ahead of the front foot which helps lengthen the swing even more. All of that translates into increased racket-head momentum, resulting in more power transferred at the point of contact. 

Also read Federer’s and Wawrinka’s game as compared to Djokovic’s and Nadal’s

Stan, while executing the backhand, continues to open his chest to face the opponent. Most, however, stop with the shoulder, of the hitting arm, facing the opponent. His one-hander, therefore, is more powerful, and with a better reach than almost all double handed backhand.

One must be highly talented to pull off the single hander well as a kid

The double handed backhand restricts the forward movement of the hitting arm but provides the stability of the grip and power with lesser racket-head momentum. It allows for late or even behind the body contact! The single handed one, however, does not allow such a luxury. It must be timed well with the contact point ahead of the front foot.

Also read the revival of the single handed backhand by Federer, Wawrinka, and Shapovalov

The single handed backhand requires tremendous timing and, therefore, talent to pull off at a young age. Stan Wawrinka’s backhand is lethal and he, apparently, picked it up quite young.