Many natural right-handers have decided to play out their professional tennis careers with the racket in their left hand.
Jack Draper, Angelique Kerber and Cameron Norrie are just a few examples of left-handed players who actually do everything else with their right.
But none have been more successful than 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, undoubtedly the greatest left-handed player in men’s tennis history.
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Nadal’s hit with two hands on both sides up until the age of ten, when he then started to play a one-handed forehand with his left hand.
That decision certainly paid off, with the King of Clay going on to record one of the most iconic careers, not just in tennis history, but all of sports.
Steve Johnson and John Isner discuss Rafael Nadal
Many consider being a left-hander in tennis to be an advantage, and it was certainly the case for Nadal when he played his biggest rival, Roger Federer.
Nadal attacked Federer’s weaker backhand side with the ferocious spin he was able to generate on his lefty forehand, and that played a big role in his winning record against the Swiss.
Which begs the question: how successful would Nadal have been if he had played with his right hand?
“It’s such a hard one,” began former American player Steve Johnson when answering that question in an episode of the Nothing Major podcast.
“Because he is such an animal on clay, I don’t know if there is any difference on the clay.
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“The serve is maybe not as important, but maybe on hard and the grass he would not have had the same type of success.
“But I think on clay he is still winning double-digit French Opens, even if he was right-handed.”
Fellow American and former Wimbledon semifinalist John Isner replied: “No! There is a massive difference.
“He wins a lot of French Opens, yeah. But this changes everything about his career.
“He is then not hitting against his main rivals, especially Federer, whom he had a great record against, because he was hitting that cross-court forehand to Fed’s backhand.
“He does not have that if he’s right-handed. It changes everything. He’s not nearly as good if he’s right-handed, in my mind.”
What Toni Nadal said about Rafael Nadal’s decision to play left-handed
It has been a persistent myth in the tennis world that Nadal’s uncle and longtime coach, Toni Nadal, got his nephew to play left-handed.
In a 2020 interview with Swiss outlet Blick, Toni explained why the legend played with his left hand.
He said: “It is a legend that persists. [It] would be nice if I had so much foresight! In truth, Rafael Nadal played forehand and backhand [with two hands] until he was about 10 years old.
“When we started playing the forehand one-handed, he did so with the left. And that’s how it turned out. It is still astonishing, because otherwise he is an outspoken right-hander.”
Toni, who guided Nadal to 14 major titles, ultimately split with him in 2017.
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