Serena Williams’ former coach Rick March recently explained why Novak Djokovic’s two-handed backhand is unparalleled.
March coached the Williams sisters during their teenage years. Serena and Venus trained at Macci Academy from 1991 to 1995, before their father Richard Williams took the responsibility on their shoulders.
He founded the Rick March International Tennis Academy in 1985 and has trained the likes of Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova and Jennifer Capriati over the years.
March recently took to social media to break down the science behind Novak Djokovic’s exceptional two-handed backhand. I think the Serbian has mastered the art of maintaining a perfect balance between possession and power.
“The best two-handed backhand of all time is @DjokerNole. The ball hits the strings but it looks like the ball is on the strings because biomechanically he uses a pull/push approach which is Mr. Control’s best friend, And hung out with Mr. Ball a lot,” March wrote on Twitter.
Check out Macci’s tweet below:
“Novak Djokovic has one of the best two-handed backhands in tennis” – Former Serena William coach Patrick Mouratoglou
In an explainer video on social media, Patrick Mouratoglou delves into the details of Novak Djokovic’s two-handed backhand. He collaborated with Serena Williams for ten years from 2012 to 2022.
Mouratoglou began by explaining how the Serb prepared his shot.
“Novak has one of the best two-handed backhands in tennis. He prepares very early, is fast and is very compact. This allows him to counterattack effectively and change direction regardless of the spin of the ball,” Mouratoglou explain.
The Frenchman further explained how the 36-year-old uses his footwork to generate power from the ground before shooting.
“He steps forward on the pitch and has a very large and solid base. This allows him to get maximum energy from the ground. He starts the move by putting his weight on his back foot and then transfers it to his front foot,” the Frenchman coach added.
Mouratoglou then decoded Djokovic’s last few moves before the Serb touched the ball with his racquet.
“When the ball bounced, he started swinging the racquet forward. The racquet head was lower than his wrist height to allow the hand to work. His left arm was fully extended long after contact,” the Frenchman said.
The entire video of Mouratoglou’s assessment is linked below.