Michael Bulley on physical and aesthetic objections to the two-handed backhand, and Jennifer Henley on the injuries caused by tennis
Wendy Owen says that pivoting and twisting in tennis can produce injuries to the hip and lower leg (Letters, 20 May). I wonder whether the two-handed shot may also be a contributory factor, as one arm will be pushing the bones in a slightly different direction from the other. If only for aesthetic reasons, I wish the tennis authorities had outlawed it. Iga Swiatek’s backhand may be devastating, but it can never match the beauty of Carla Suárez Navarro’s one-handed version.
Michael Bulley
Chalon-sur-Saône, France
• I have an abiding memory of witnessing, in 1977, former Wimbledon singles champions receiving medals celebrating the centenary of the first gentlemen’s singles event. I realised then that playing sport was something to be avoided. So many of the former tennis players limped, used sticks and seemed quite decrepit as they walked on to Centre Court.
Jennifer Henley
London