Why Does Alcaraz, the Master of Versatility, Underutilize the Backhand Slice?

One of the big reasons why he's able to beat his main rival Yannick Sinner is that Carlos Alcaraz is one of the most versatile players in the history of tennis. But one interesting thing about Carlos's versatility is that it doesn't include the backhand slice. Don't get me wrong Carlos does slice more specifically when he's in defensive situations but even there he has one of the strongest defensive two-handed backhands of all time and he will occasionally use the backhand slice as an approach shot but comparatively to his two-handed backhand he doesn't utilize the slice that much. So how does that fit in within his versatility as a player? Because ultimately the slice one-handed backhand is the ultimate versatility shot. But one thing that separates Carlos Alcaraz from other players who are versatile is that his versatility is always accompanied with aggression. And a backhand slice is certainly a great tactic to utilize but it's seldomly going to be a shot that you're going to hit a winner with. It is the slowest ground strokes right behind the drop shot. But how does a drop shot compared to a slice backhand it happens to be slower than a slice? Well that particular shot especially when it's hit by Carlos Alcaraz is a far more aggressive shot compared to the slice backhand. So Carlos Alcaraz will hit winners with his drop shots but he will not hit winners and not put his opponents under that much pressure with a backhand slice. Now when we talk about power this of course doesn't include the drop shot or when Carlos comes to the net but that certainly is a very aggressive play style. So back to the slice Carlos does utilize it here and there. He does more so on grass. It was a very interesting rally with Lahechka at Queens. In the Wimbledon final against Sinner he also utilized some slices. He does it occasionally on clay but like I said the reason why Yannick Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz don't hit that many slices because even when they get a low ball they're so athletic they can get down to the low ball and execute aggressive topspin two-handed backhands. They don't rely so much on the defensive slice and even as an approach shot they can manipulate the two-handed backhand so well that it's almost a waste to hit a slice when you can hit a very aggressive shot. So it comes down to Carlos Alcaraz changing up the pace and the height of the ball and occasionally on grass he will utilize slices to keep the ball low. Now here's the interesting thing. Carlos Alcaraz does have a very clean slice technique but sometimes there are some unorthodox elements on his slice backhand. So let's take a look at the clean slice backhand of Carlos Alcaraz which happens to be a U-shaped slice backhand. If you want to know in more detail what the differences are between a J slice and a U slice you can check out this video right here. So in any case Carlos Alcaraz starts high with his racket and he has a circular swing path like any other slice backhand at the high level. Now he will make contact around the tip of his front foot and he will go across the body. This is a fundamental element of the slice backhand and when it comes to the finish on the slice backhand this is where we're going to see some stylistic differences. So when Carlos Alcaraz hits his slice backhand very clean he will start high, hit across the body and stop somewhere around here with the tip of the racket pointing straight forward and the strings parallel to the ground. This is the slice technique that I teach. It's the cleanest way to finish on the slice backhand. However sometimes especially in that match against Lehecka in Queens Carlos Alcaraz displayed some unorthodoxies on his one-handed backhand slice finish. He would go across like on all his other slices and the racket would go out as if he's hitting a one-handed backhand. So the finish was very awkward. Now Carlos Alcaraz is an absolute genius when it comes to the feel around the ball. However at the recreational level the finish is important and what I find with a lot of my students is that if they're wild on the finish if the racket is flailing and the wrist starts getting activated and the racket is going all over the place on the finish this actually can have an effect on the contact itself and if the contact is too sloppy too unstable a good way to fix it is to control your finish because you're not going to be able to influence the contact that much because the contact on the slice just like any other shot in tennis that's hit with some good acceleration is over a millisecond. So by you intending to finish a certain way you can influence the contact and by intending to have the tip of the racket pointing forward and the strings parallel to the ground you're going to have a better chance to hit the ball cleanly right at the moment of contact. Will Carlos Alcaraz start utilizing more slice backhands as he continues to improve his game? I highly doubt it because again Carlos Alcaraz is the ultimate aggressor on the court even with his versatility. The versatility is there not to confuse the opponent and draw errors as much as it is there for him to win the points outright i.e his drop shots or his net attacks so when it comes to the slice backhand even when he plays center it's a low efficacy shot because center just like Alcaraz is so good at bending down to that two-handed backhand and he can spin the ball so well when it's low it is a shot that's rarely going to result in an advantage on the court unless we're talking about an opponent that has trouble with the low ball that can potentially pop the ball up or an opponent that's going to make an error off a slice that certainly happens a lot at the lower levels but modern tennis is all about top spin and powerful ground stroke and athleticism so as tennis evolves we're going to see far less one-handed slice backhands now we're not going to necessarily see less drop shots and less versatility because those are aggressive shots but when it comes to shots that are purely designed to change the tempo of a match and to draw errors from the opponent we're gonna see less and less of that because players generally are better at handling slices and when we're talking about the number one and two player on the ATP rankings those guys are so exceptional at handling low balls so it's for that reason that both Janik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz hit relatively few one-handed backhand slices what does this mean for you at the recreational level well it means that you shouldn't listen to what i just said and you should practice your one-handed backhand slice because there is a family of shots in the game of tennis and these shots include the one-handed slice backhand the one-handed backhand drop shot and the one-handed backhand volley all these shots are similar in a way where they have the same continental grip they have a very similar high to low swing path and the overall feel of these shots is very similar of course there are important differences as well and you have to practice these three shots individually but one thing is true that if you get good at the one-handed backhand slice your development of the one-handed backhand volley and the one-handed backhand drop shot might improve with the improvements on your one-handed backhand slice so i highly encourage you to practice your one-handed backhand slice because it can help your game overall and make you a more versatile player