Greatest Tennis Shots of All Time
Andre Agassi follows through on a return at the U.S. Open in 2006.
All tennis strokes are not created equal.
Since tennis was first played over 150 years ago, many players have perfected great shots, but the best strokes belong to a select group of men and women.
These are the greatest tennis shots in the history of the game and the players who executed them better than anybody.
30. Nick Kyrgios' Underarm Serve
Country: Australia
Born: April 27, 1995
Height: 6-foot-4
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 2013-present
Bottom line: Nick Kyrgios, the current bad boy of tennis, isn’t afraid to annoy opponents with his underarm serve and uses it whenever it seems fit.
The debate over underarm serves falls in line with baseball’s unwritten rules — you can do it, just don’t expect people to like it.
Critics of the serve (and Kyrgios) say it speaks to not having respect for the game. Those who support him say it’s genius to use everything you have available to you, legally, to win points.
29. Harold Solomon's Moonballs
Country: United States
Born: Sept. 17, 1952
Height: 5-foot-6
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1972-86
Bottom line: There was no rhyme or reason to how Harold Solomon found himself playing against the tennis greats of his era. The man who made the French Open finals in 1976 and the U.S. Open semifinals in 1977 was 5-foot-6, not especially fast and didn’t have a lot of power to his game.
But he could hit moonballs for days — long rallies with big, looping shots full of topspin (not lobs) that would force opponents into hitting a shot in the front court.
Solomon would pounce for the winner, usually with incredible crosscourt placement.
28. Juan Martin del Potro’s Inside-In Forehand
Country: Argentina
Born: Sept. 23, 1988
Height: 6-foot-6
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 2005-present
Bottom line: Injuries may have taken their toll on Juan Martin del Potro over the years, but he still has a Grand Slam title to his name (2009 U.S. Open), $25. 8 million in career winnings and a killer inside-in forehand that can’t be touched.
Because he’s so tall, del Potro can easily step around his backhand to get to his forehand. The difficult thing is bringing the ball back down the line (opposed to the inside-out, crosscourt forehand) because you have to contort your shoulders to square with the net.
He does it with ease.
27. Rafael Nadal’s Skyhook
Country: Spain
Born: June 3, 1986
Height: 6-foot-1
Plays: Left-handed
Career: 2001-present
Bottom line: Rafael Nadal wasn’t the first tennis player to employ the skyhook, as fellow lefty Jimmy Connors was fond of the shot in his heyday.
What sets Nadal apart is the uber-violent whipping motion and the pronounced look away when he hits it with the same force most players hit forehands.
It’s a great shot because it takes Nadal from a perceived moment of weakness (chasing a ball over his head) to putting his opponent on their heels — after they just hit that beautiful lob they were admiring.
26. Agnieszka Radwanska’s Forehand Slice
Country: Poland
Born: March 6, 1989
Height: 5-foot-8
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 2005-18
Bottom line: Until Agnieszka Radwanksa, the forehand slice was a shot that seemed like it had been abandoned by time. No one told her, thankfully.
It was a joy to watch her employ the forehand slice and confound some of the best players in the world over a 14-year career in which she made the Wimbledon finals once, Australian Open semifinals twice and banked $27.6 million in career winnings.
Perhaps the reason that the shot is so seldom used is because of how you hit it — Radwanska would be in a crouched position when she made contact with the ball.
25. Roger Federer’s Sneak Attack
Country: Switzerland
Born: Aug. 8, 1981
Height: 6-foot-1
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1998-present
Bottom line: When you’re as good as Roger Federer is, you think up your own shots. You innovate. In 2015, Federer introduced the self-glossed "SABR," which he said stands for "Sneak Attack by Roger."
For this shot, Federer stunts like an NFL defensive end or linebacker, setting up on the baseline like he’s about to return serve, then charging toward the service box to take the serve early.
This sends the ball back so quickly that most opponents don’t know how to react and put the ball back in the net. To pull this off, you have to be able to return a serve over 100 miles per hour from inside the baseline.
24. Alberto Portas’ Drop Shot
Country: Spain
Born: Nov. 15, 1973
Height: 6-foot-2
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1994-2007
Bottom line: Alberto Portas wasn’t a dominant player by any stretch of the imagination. He only won one singles title in his entire career at the 2001 Hamburg Masters, and his career earnings capped out at $2.9 million. But, man, did he have a drop shot.
He was so good at the drop that Patrick McEnroe gave Portas the nickname of "Drop Shot Dragon."
Lleyton Hewitt once remarked after playing Portas: "He sure hits a lot of drop shots ... but hits them as good as anyone I’ve faced."
23. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s Overhead Smash
Country: France
Born: April 17, 1985
Height: 6-foot-2
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 2004-present
Bottom line: What has made Jo Wilfried-Tsonga such a legend for his overhead smash is not necessarily the power with which he hits it, but the accuracy.
According to tennisabstract.com, Tsonga was among the most effective players in tennis history on smash opportunities, winning 80 percent of those points.
Tsonga, unfortunately, came of age in the same era as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, so he’s never won a Grand Slam singles title.
On the other hand, Tsonga has $21.5 million in career earnings.
22. David Nalbandian’s Two-Handed Backhand
Country: Argentina
Born: Jan. 1, 1982
Height: 5-foot-11
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 2000-13
Bottom line: The variety of ways David Nalbandian could hit his two-handed backhand was hard to comprehend for most players.
The Argentinian star could pick opponents apart with the 1-2 punch of a serve that went out wide and the two-hand backhand straight down the line. He could hit it flat or with spin, and at angles that sometimes seemed more like volleys at the net.
The results are in his bank account. He made $11.1 million in career earnings despite never winning a Grand Slam singles title.
21. Marat Safin’s Cross-Court Backhand
Country: Russia
Born: Jan. 27, 1980
Height: 6-foot-4
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1997-2009
Bottom line: Marat Safin climbed to No. 1 in the world and won a pair of Grand Slam singles titles thanks in no small part to his almost unstoppable crosscourt backhand.
Safin hit his backhand with such pace and depth that he could keep opponents deep on the baseline, on their heels, even when they seemed to be in an attacking position.
Against players who relied heavily on playing aggressive, that was an invaluable weapon for the Russian.
20. Roger Federer’s No-Look Fake
Country: Switzerland
Born: Aug. 8, 1981
Height: 6-foot-1
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1998-present
Bottom line: Roger Federer has a lot of shots in his arsenal. If you’re looking to compare him to a player in another sport, think Pedro Martinez, and his mastery of five different pitches.
Federer has made many opponents look silly with his no-look fakes, which seem to have the same effect as an Allen Iverson crossover in his prime.
This might be the one shot all of us amateur tennis rats could emulate that Federer uses on a regular basis.
19. Gael Monfils’ Jump Shot
Country: France
Born: Sept. 1, 1986
Height: 6-foot-4
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 2004-present
Bottom line: It’s not really a technically sound shot, or even safe to try. Every tennis coach you meet probably will tell you to never try it. That doesn’t change the fact that when Gael Monfils leaves his feet to hit a shot, it’s one of the more electrifying moments in tennis.
Monfils is known as a showman, so it’s no surprise when he leaps to hit overhead smashes.
What’s more surprising is when he’s tracking lobs, then jumps and spins. With $16.3 million in career winnings, he might be onto something.
18. Pat Rafter’s Backhand Smash
Country: Australia
Born: Dec. 28, 1972
Height: 6-foot-1
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1991-2002
Bottom line: Pat Rafter was a two-time U.S. Open champion and two-time Wimbledon runner-up who had an ease to his game, using the serve-and-volley technique to perfection.
One shot he had in his arsenal that he did better than almost anyone in history (besides Roger Federer) was a backhand smash — thought by some to be the most difficult shot in tennis.
It’s hard because you have to stretch your body to hit the ball at its high point, and if you do get to it, controlling the shot is even more difficult.
17. Rod Laver’s Topspin Backhand
Country: Australia
Born: Aug. 9, 1938
Height: 5-foot-8
Plays: Left-handed
Career: 1963-79
Bottom line: Legendary New York Times sportswriter Dave Anderson had a hunch about Rod Laver after watching him play for years. Anderson measured the forearms of heavyweight champion boxers Rocky Marciano and Floyd Patterson and compared them to the diminutive Laver, who was only 5-foot-8.
Laver’s forearms were the same size as Marciano's and two inches bigger than Patterson's — strength that allowed him to stay on the baseline and pick opponents off with laser-beam backhands.
Laver won 200 singles titles, more than any other player in tennis history.
16. Chris Evert’s Lob
Country: United States
Born: Dec. 21, 1954
Height: 5-foot-6
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1972-89
Bottom line: No player in tennis history relied on her lob — or used it with such precision — as 18-time Grand Slam singles champion Chris Evert.
Evert wasn’t going to overpower opponents, so she picked them apart with a lob any time they tried to charge the net. Most players only feel comfortable hitting lobs from a certain spot.
Evert could do it from both wings, on offense or defense, in volleys and, perhaps best, with topspin.
The only player who showed she could figure it out consistently was Martina Navratilova, Evert’s biggest rival and best friend.
15. Jimmy Connors’ Flat Forehands
Country: United States
Born: Sept. 2, 1952
Height: 5-foot-10
Plays: Left-handed
Career: 1972-96
Bottom line: Tennis great and eight-time Grand Slam singles champion Jimmy Connors came from another era of tennis — one where you could still win as a pro by hitting the ball flat, low and from the baseline.
He was taught early on by Pancho Segura to hit the ball before it got too high off the ground in order to use his opponents’ power against them.
It’s a style no longer used by serious players, as hitting the ball with topspin on forehands is how it’s taught across the board.
Also, props if you knew Jimmy Connors was only 5-foot-10.
14. Justine Henin’s One-Handed Backhand
Country: Belgium
Born: June 1, 1982
Height: 5-foot-5
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1999-2011
Bottom line: Before Justine Henin hit the scene in the early 2000s, it had been almost a decade since a dominant female player came through the ranks with a one-handed backhand.
The shot embodied Henin’s entire game — no-nonsense and outside the norm. When the backhand was on, it was nuclear and lifted her to 12 Grand Slam singles finals and seven Grand Slam titles in just 12 years as a pro.
Some will tell you Roger Federer has the greatest one-handed backhand. They might be right. But Henin has a great one, too.
13. Don Budge’s Flat Backhand
Country: United States
Born: June 13, 1915
Died: Jan. 26, 2000
Height: 6-foot-1
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1938-55
Bottom line: Six-time Grand Slam singles champion Don Budge played his last match over six decades ago, but his name still comes up in the conversation for best backhand of all time.
Budge’s style on his one-handed backhand, from an era of playing in sweaters and pants, was to give his opponents as little time to react as humanly possible. He attacked the ball and was sending it back before it had much of a chance to bounce.
He was so quick in hitting the ball back that opponents could hardly get off the baseline.
12. Stefan Edberg’s Kick Serve
Country: Sweden
Born: Jan. 19, 1966
Height: 6-foot-2
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1983-96
Bottom line: That Stefan Edberg was able to win six Grand Slam singles titles without an overpowering serve was sort of an anomaly. He was one of the best — if not the best — serve-and-volley player of all time, and that was how he won.
It was all set up with his kick serve, which had two key components. First, he was able to split the middle. If the ball is coming straight at an opponent, they have to make a decision forehand or backhand. Second, the slow delivery gave Edberg time to get to the net.
Then, it was game over.
11. Roger Federer’s Tweener
Country: Switzerland
Born: Aug. 8, 1981
Height: 6-foot-1
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1998-present
Bottom line: Arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, Roger Federer has enough shots in his arsenal that he makes this list several times.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion can do one shot (some might call it a trick shot) better than anyone — hit it between the legs.
If you see the ball go over his head on a lob, there’s a chance you could see the tweener, and he never did it better or in a more clutch situation than against Novak Djokovic in the 2009 U.S. Open semifinal.
10. Monica Seles’ Two-Handed Forehand
Country: Yugoslavia
Born: Dec. 2, 1973
Height: 5-foot-10
Plays: Left-handed
Career: 1989-2003
Bottom line: The two-handed forehand is kind of the white whale of tennis — we don’t see it come around very often, but when we do, it’s remarkable. And no one employed the shot more effectively than tennis legend Monica Seles, a nine-time Grand Slam singles champion.
It’s an unorthodox shot, but if you can perfect it as she did, it offers more stability and, most importantly, can limit arm injuries because both forehand and backhand shots are distributed evenly across both arms.
Since it limits reach, footwork has to always be on point, which Seles’ always was.
9. Andre Agassi’s Return of Serves
Country: United States
Born: April 29, 1970
Height: 5-foot-11
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1986-2006
Bottom line: One of only two people to achieve a Career Golden Slam (Career Grand Slam plus Olympic gold medal), Andre Agassi’s ability to return serve was comparable in sports to the greatest goalies in NHL history turning away shots.
How he developed this ability is the stuff of legend. His father, Mike Agassi, created a dirt court in the family’s backyard in Las Vegas and would ratchet up a serve machine to shoot balls at his son at 80 miles per hour … by the time he was 7 years old.
8. Boris Becker’s Diving Volleys
Country: West Germany/Germany
Born: Nov. 22, 1967
Height: 6-foot-3
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1984-99
Bottom line: Six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker described his most famous shot, "The Becker Dive," with one word: instinct.
In order to properly employ the shot, that makes sense, because at no point would a tennis player want to make themselves so vulnerable — because, of course, you’re laying face-first on the ground.
But that’s how great of an athlete Becker was. He knew the exact moments to stretch out every inch of his 6-foot-3 frame, a feat in itself, while also having the lightning-fast reflexes to gauge which shots required it.
7. Serena Williams’ Slice Serve
Country: United States
Born: Sept. 26, 1981
Height: 5-foot-9
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1995-present
Bottom line: It’s easy to point to Serena Williams' first serve — all power — and say that’s the thing that sets her apart.
That gives little credit to the fact that Williams seems to be able to put the ball wherever she wants on her serve and makes her second serve (usually the slice, sometimes the kick) so dangerous.
Williams, who has 39 career Grand Slam titles between singles, doubles and mixed doubles, puts her slice serve in difficult spots to hit, and off the bounce, it’s moving out so wide that getting a good return is almost impossible.
6. Pete Sampras’ Running Forehands
Country: United States
Born: Aug. 12, 1971
Height: 6-foot-1
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1988-2003
Bottom line: One of the greatest tennis shots of all time flies directly in the face of convention and played a huge part in Pete Sampras winning 15 Grand Slam singles titles.
To pull it off, first, you have to set the bait: Sampras sits on his own backhand side. Then, you, lull your prey out into the open: The opponent tries to put Sampras on the run by hitting away from him. Then you pounce: Sampras darts toward the ball like he’s going to run through it and pulls some voodoo with his upper body and his racket at the last second — should it be more of a floating forehand.
Either way, it usually leads to winners.
5. Martina Navratilova’s Serve and Volleys
Country: Czechoslovakia
Born: October 18, 1956
Height: 5-foot-8
Plays: Left-handed
Career: 1975-2006
Bottom line: There was one key component to Martina Navratilova’s serve-and-volley game that led her to 18 Grand Slam singles titles, and it had nothing to do with the technical aspects of her shots.
It had to do with Navratilova being completely relentless when it came to implementing the tactic. That being said, her serve was always great, and the precision on her volleys is something to behold.
It’s a tactic you won’t see employed in today’s women’s game — the serve-and-volley style has been abandoned over the last decade.
4. Rafael Nadal’s Topspin Forehand
Country: Spain
Born: June 3, 1986
Height: 6-foot-1
Plays: Left-handed
Career: 2001-present
Bottom line: When camera and computer technology advanced to the point of being able to capture and calculate rotations of a tennis ball, we got a concrete answer as to which player could generate the most topsin on his or her shots.
Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi came in around 1,800 revolutions per minute. Roger Federer was at 2,500 rpm.
Eighteen-time Grand Slam singles champion Rafael Nadal clocked in at 3,200 per rpm on average, but topped out at 5,000 rpm. Dizzy yet?
3. John McEnroe’s Volleys
Country: United States
Born: Feb. 16, 1959
Height: 5-foot-11
Plays: Left-handed
Career: 1978-94 (singles), 1978-2006 (doubles)
Bottom line: Here’s one thing you may not have known about John McEnroe. Growing up in Queens, New York, he wasn’t just a standout tennis player, but he was also a pretty damn good point guard.
It’s not hard to imagine between the two sports how he developed into such a genius net player in tennis — soft hands being the key to perfection.
The touch on the seven-time Grand Slam champion’s shots when he pulled the ball out of the air is something we may never see again. And something McEnroe’s opponents probably still see in their nightmares.
2. Steffi Graf’s Inside-Out Forehands
Country: West Germany/Germany
Born: June 14, 1969
Height: 5-foot-10
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1982-99
Bottom line: The reason Steffi Graf was able to develop her inside-out forehand into the most devastating shot in women’s tennis history starts with footwork — running around shots that were hit to her backhand was easy for her.
Graf’s ability to go forehand, cross-court almost any time she wanted to against players with strong forehands and weaker backhands led to 22 Grand Slam singles titles and made her the only tennis player, man or woman, to win a Golden Slam in one calendar year.
1. Pancho Gonzales’ Serve
Country: United States
Born: May 9, 1928
Died: July 3, 1995
Height: 6-foot-3
Plays: Right-handed
Career: 1949-74
Bottom line: Sports Illustrated listed Ricardo "Pancho" Gonzalez at No. 15 when it released the list of the magazine’s "20 Favorite Athletes of the 20th Century" and wrote this about him: "If earth was on the line in a tennis match, the man you want serving to save humankind would be Ricardo Alonso Gonzales."
Gonzales, who won over 100 titles in 25 years as a pro, had a serve that took advantage of his height and was as intimidating as the man himself.
That big serve helped him hold the No. 1 ranking for eight years (1952-60), still a record.