Musetti's One-Handed Backhand Starts With His Left Hand (Yours Should Too)
Musetti's One-Handed Backhand Starts With His Left Hand (Yours Should Too)
Lorenzo Musetti has what many call the most beautiful one-hander on tour. Asked to break it down, he didn't start with the swing. He started with the grip, and then with the hand that never hits the ball. Here's his backhand in six stages, translated for club players.
Breakdown based on Ashley (The Tennis Mentor)'s backhand lesson with Lorenzo Musetti, plus our self-check and drills. ~10 min read.
BREAK IT DOWNThe short version
Eastern backhand: index knuckle on the top bevel. A touch more continental down the line.
It changes the grip and pulls the racket back. The hitting hand just goes along.
Closed when you have time. Open, low and wide when the ball is fast.
Arm extended in front, weight moving through, open up but not too much.
A backhand nobody tried to fix
Musetti started playing at four and hit a one-hander from day one. None of his coaches ever changed it. Ashley, who runs The Tennis Mentor, points out that plenty of coaches would have switched him to two hands and "probably ruined the most beautiful shot in the game."
The good news for club one-handers: the lesson isn't about talent. It's six stages you can check one at a time. And the most useful one isn't the swing at all.
"The left hand is the one that is pulling you behind the racket." That one sentence fixes more club backhands than any swing tip.
An eastern backhand that shifts a little with the target
As a kid, Musetti sliced a lot and used something close to a continental grip. To find the short cross-court angle, he had to turn it. Today he's on an eastern backhand: index knuckle on the top bevel. Ashley describes it as the balance between ripping heavy topspin and going flatter. Richard Gasquet's grip, by comparison, sits further round for even heavier spin.
He also feels he shifts it slightly by target: a bit more open for cross-court, a bit closer to continental when he goes down the line for a winner.
The bit club players miss: in a match, he says, he doesn't think about grip at all. Technique gets built in practice, with baskets and hand feeds. Even Stan Wawrinka, per his former coach Magnus Norman, has days when the one-hander needs work. So fix the grip on the practice court, then trust it.
The left hand does the work before the swing
Stages two and three, straight from Musetti, with our cues for club players.
He never waits on a backhand grip. He stays in a neutral position and changes grip quickly once he reads the ball, using his left hand on the throat to steer the racket round.
Our cue: the left hand turns the racket, the right hand relaxes and lets it happen.
Grip changed, then the shoulder comes round in front of you. The left hand pulls the racket back, "not the right hand." The feet move together with the shoulder and arm, and you settle onto the right leg for balance and stability.
He says the left hand gives you an advantage on timing, and he uses it the same way on his forehand.
Musetti’s finish on clay, 2023: weight through, chest open but not flying. Photo: LHC88, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped by RocketGrip.
Musetti calls the open stance the main disadvantage of the one-hander: two-handers get more control and power from it. He had to learn it anyway, because the pace was too high to always step in, and slicing every rushed ball cost him court. His version: low and wide, then transfer the weight forward. Without that transfer, there's no power and no stability.
His contact point is out in front with the arm extended. A good backhand, he says, is when you feel the stability in your legs and stance transfer all your body weight into the shot.
For heavy spin, go down then up through the ball. Let the chest open as you finish, but open too far and you lose control and send your weight the wrong way.
The one-hander self-check
Our troubleshooting guide. Find what your backhand keeps doing, then go to that stage.
Our drills for a Musetti-style one-hander
RocketGrip drills built on the six stages. As Musetti says, this is practice-court work, not something to think about in a match.
From neutral, switch grip and take the racket back using only the left hand to move it. 20 reps. The right hand should feel lazy.
A partner calls "forehand" or "backhand" as they feed. Switch grip from neutral and hit. 3 sets of 12. Late switches are the thing to count.
Drop-feed to yourself and hit with the arm fully extended in front. Alternate down the line and cross-court. 20 balls.
He worked on the open stance on the return. Have a partner serve second serves to your backhand. Low, wide, open, weight forward. 15 returns.
Gear note: a one-hander lives on grip changes
Every backhand starts with a grip change done by feel, with the left hand turning the racket in a fraction of a second. You're feeling for one bevel under your knuckle. That's technique and reps first. But the handle under your fingers decides how easy that bevel is to find.
That's why we built the Octopus Tennis Undergrip. It goes under your usual overgrip and is designed to give a more secure, tacky feel and a customisable handle shape, so you can set up a handle that suits your hand. Musetti and The Tennis Mentor have nothing to do with it.
★ 4.7/5 from 50,000+ RocketGrip customers · 60-day money-back guarantee
Frequently asked questions
What grip does Lorenzo Musetti use on his backhand?
An eastern backhand grip, with the index knuckle on the top bevel. He feels it shifts slightly: a bit more open for cross-court, a bit closer to continental for down the line.
Why use the left hand on a one-handed backhand?
The non-hitting hand turns the racket into the backhand grip and pulls it back during preparation. Musetti says this helps his timing and gets him behind the racket early.
Can you hit a one-handed backhand from an open stance?
Yes, but it's harder than with two hands. Musetti keeps it low and wide and transfers his weight forward. He worked on it especially on the return.
Where is the contact point on a one-handed backhand?
Out in front of the body with the hitting arm extended, so your body weight can transfer through the ball.
Should I switch from a two-handed to a one-handed backhand?
Only if you're ready for a long learning curve. Both work at club level. If you do switch, build it in practice with drills like the ones above, not in matches.
Watch Musetti's full backhand lesson
Watch his left hand during the grip change at 5:15. Once you see it, you can't unsee it.
Video won't play? Watch on YouTube →
Left hand turns it. Left hand takes it back.
Then the one-hander gets simple. Eastern grip, early takeback, low and wide when it's fast, contact in front, open up but not too much. And enjoy it, as Musetti says. There's no better feeling than the down-the-line winner.
Give your hand a handle where that bevel is easy to find.
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Source: "Lorenzo Musetti's 5-Step Backhand Lesson" by Ashley, The Tennis Mentor (YouTube), October 2026. RocketGrip is not affiliated with The Tennis Mentor or Lorenzo Musetti. This article summarises and builds on their publicly available video; the cues labelled as ours, the self-check table, drills and gear notes are RocketGrip's. No endorsement implied. Photos of Musetti are credited and used under their Creative Commons licences; other images are AI illustrations. This article is general coaching information, not medical advice.