Just no backhand! Video by Teodor Davidov amazes the tennis world
Young player Teodor Davidov amazes the tennis world with a very special technique: He does not need a backhand.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Apr 03, 2021, 09:17 am
Teodor Davidov lives the dream of (almost) every club player: tennis without backhand - life could be so good for many recreational players!
Davidov's video, which the US tennis journalist Colette Lewis (" ZooTennis") filmed and posted on the Internet, has been the eye-catcher in the past few days - it has now been viewed almost half a million times on Twitter alone. The 10-year-old Davidov cheerfully switches the club back and forth between right and left hand, so he can avoid any backhand, even without legwork à la Steffi Graf.
This is of course not completely new: One part of the Jensen-Brother, Luke, also changed hands, but only when serving, he was named "Dual-Hand-Luke" (in 1993 the Jensen Brothers won the French Open in doubles) . In the 2000s, Evgenia Kulikovskaya also made it into the top 100 in the world. And Beverly Baker Fleitz even played her way through to the Wimbledon final in 1955 with this technique. The US player Coy Simon also only plays with two forehand, he was already in the top 10 of the US Juniors.
The envisaged advantages are clear: on the right a forehand like Juan Martin del Portro or Roger Federer, on the left a forehand like Rafael Nadal - who should beat this player? In the case of Teodor Davidov at the Adidas Easter Bowl, however, it was Jack Kennedy in the quarterfinals.
Teodor Davidov: Tennis experts disagree
In the last few days there has of course been a discussion among tennis experts about how far this technique can be used in today's tennis.
Ex-Sharapova coach Sven Groeneveld does not believe that you can get used to the pace in current men's tennis: Returns, the first ball after the service and the change of direction are the greatest challenges, he wrote on Twitter.
Brad Gilbert sees it differently: Being able to open with two arms offers so many possibilities. In addition, Davidov has great footwork, with the return, well, you might actually have to decide on a side.
Who is right? It will show in the years to come.