Skip to content

8 July 2026

The backhand consistency gap

A huge consistency gap downstream of backhand technique

Distribution of where Auger-Aliassime's and Djokovic's rally backhands land, from the net to beyond the baseline. Both make contact about 0.7m behind the baseline, but Auger-Aliassime's heavier, higher backhand (2,368 rpm, 0.83m over the net) lands at a median 7.9m against Djokovic's 8.4m, and he misses more into the net (6.3% against 4.6%) and long (6.6% against 4.4%).

Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime make contact on backhands at a similar depth but Auger-Aliassime's backhands:

miss more often into the net
but are higher + spinnier over the net
land shorter
and miss more long

First posted on X