Shelton's Biggest Tactical Adjustment -- Double Handed Trivia -- Sabalenka Breaking Novak's Record

Australian Open

Ben Shelton’s Biggest Tactical Adjustment

Yesterday, Ben Shelton beat Casper Ruud to book his ticket into the Australian Open quarterfinals for the third time in four years.

When Ben’s Wikipedia page reminded me that this is only his fourth season on tour (and that the 2022 AO was his first time leaving the US), I realized just how crazy of a stat making the quarters 3 times was. To me, it says less about how good he is on hard courts, but something very real: Shelton has gotten significantly better at managing his weakest shot: the backhand.

Technical Difficulties

I’ll try not to put you to sleep here.

Most coaches will agree that Shelton’s backhand isn’t technically sound. When he’s stretched out wide on that side, he struggles to fully uncoil into the shot. The swing gets shorter. Which means he sort of just bunts it back.

Suddenly he’s defending after his BH-bunt, instead of making progress towards his actual goals — laser beaming forehands and moving forward.

Against the very top guys, that’s a problem.

Technical part over. You still awake?

Here’s the important part

Shelton hasn’t tried to rebuild his backhand mid-career. Instead, he’s gotten smarter with it. And that showed up clearly against Ruud.

The first big change is where he hits the shot.

Every junior coach in the world screams the same thing: crosscourt! If you hit down the line on the wrong ball one more time you’ll be running the rest of practice!

Shelton tried that, failed a lot, and said “Nah”

His crosscourt backhand is kinda cheeks. So instead, he’s hitting a ton of backhands through the middle of the court.

That does two crucial things:

• It doesn’t give his opponent an angle to stretch him out wide again

• It reduces how often rallies get steered directly into his weakest position

It’s not flashy. But it’s intentional and smart.

The second adjustment is pace.

If you’re going to hit through the middle, you can’t float it. That’s an invitation for your opponent to step in and attack. Shelton solves this by doing something very Shelton:

He hits it hard af.

By banging the ball through the middle, he forces opponents to take some pace off their reply. That extra half-second is often all he needs to run around the next ball and re-enter the rally on his terms — with his forehand.

There’s also a nice side effect here: the middle of the court is the biggest target. So he can swing big without spraying errors.

The adjustment is really that simple:

• Hit the backhand through the middle

• Hit it as hard as you reasonably can

Which brings us to today

Shelton plays Jannik Sinner for a spot in the semifinals. Sinner is the favorite. He’s elite at applying steady, suffocating pressure to a single wing until it cracks.

The match hinges on one question:

Can Sinner break down the Shelton backhand enough to get something attackable?
Or can Shelton keep neutralizing that side long enough to unleash his forehand, and execute?

Of course, Shelton will need to serve really well, return better than average, and cash in on the forehands he gets. But over 3–5 hours, his ability to manage his backhand — is something I’ll be watching for.

Trivia

It’s extremely rare for top pros to use two hands on both the forehand and backhand. Which of the following double-handed player won the most Grand Slam titles?

A. Monica Seles

B. Fabrice Santoro

C. Marion Bartoli

D. Jan-Michael Gambill

Find out at the bottom!

Crazy Stat

Sabalenka is on a crazy heater. By winning the second set tiebreak against Victoria Mboko on Saturday, the World No. 1 broke Novak’s record for the most consecutive tiebreaks won at the Grand Slams. It was her 20th tiebreak win in a row, which dates back to the 2023 French Open.

Novak’s response:

I love the banter between the GOAT and current No. 1. But I don’t want it to steal the show. Winning 20 breakers in a row in the most important tournaments of your life is just crazy.

Around the Net

Some of the best tennis content I found on the internet this week…

🎤 Love this relatable on-court interview where a wise Jim Courier tells Alex de Minaur he’s about to be a 49% shareholder in a great company (his marriage)

🤔 What Nadal told Zverev he needs to do to win a Grand Slam

📺️ A hilarious break down of how many damn ESPN subscriptions it takes to watch the Australian Open

Answer

A. Monica Seles

Seles is undoubtedly the double-handed GOAT. She won 9 slams, 8 of which while she was a teenager. The only other player on the list to win a slam is Marion Bartoli, who won Wimbledon in 2013.