Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Lorenzo Musetti’s Spectacular One-Handed Backhand – Italian Ace Reveals Where It All Began!

Musetti makes his second quarter-final at the Grand Slam stage!

Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Italian number 8 seed at this year’s Roland Garros, Lorenzo Musetti, has been enthralling us with his fluent style of play ever since he turned pro in 2019. However, after his fine display in the third round against Holger Rune, Musetti shared how the one-handed backhand came into play for him.

The Conception of the Musetti Backhand

Following Musetti’s match against the number 10 seed, Holger Rune, the Italian gave a brief insight during his on-court interview regarding his backhand, which is the most mesmerizing shot in his arsenal.

When asked if he played with the same style back when he was younger, the 23-year-old explained how he first started playing at the age of 4 with a very small racket, following which he began taking tennis lessons, where the one-handed backhand came to him naturally.

“Yeah, it started when I was four. First time, for my birthday, my dad, for my fourth birthday, he brought me a mini racket and I started to play. I started to play one-handed backhand from a really young age. And then, in the summer, I started to take lessons, and I was pretty natural, and I never changed. And, I’m really happy to be sticking with one-handed (backhand).”

Musetti d. Rune 7-5 3-6 6-3 6-2

Lorenzo reaches his 2nd Slam QF.

Time and time again this year, he keeps proving that he belongs at the very top, competing for the biggest titles.

His hard work these last few years is no longer just hard work.

That hard work has manifested… pic.twitter.com/npT3UKXKaq
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 1, 2025

Musetti Mantra To Think More and Complain Less Worked Wonders

Talking about his match and how he felt after earning his first win over Rune as well as making his first quarter-final at Roland Garros, Musetti described the feeling as ‘Incredible’ and that the night before he dreamt of playing a good match needing to raise his level against the Norwegian, and that he was happy with his performance.

“It’s incredible, yesterday night I was dreaming about playing like this. I had to raise the level because Holgar is a fantastic player, really solid. I was never giving up the match, even in the last set, last game. He was always there, so I had to raise the level and I’ve done it and I’m really really proud of myself.”

Also Read: Jack Draper vs. Alexander Bublik Head-to-Head, Preview and Prediction for the French Open 2025 Round of 16

The Italian went on to talk about how he changed the mental aspect of the game while playing. He felt that he was complaining more, and instead, he decided to concentrate his efforts on thinking about the game. Musetti also felt that his previous match against Mariano Navone was an important one as he used a similar approach which helped him over the hump against Rune.

“I think I put some more order in what I do in the court. I started to complain a little bit less and try to think a little bit more, and that’s what I’ve done tonight. Also, last match I was a little bit too much nervous, so I think (it) was better that against Navon, last match I was like that made me come back with another mentality, another attitude, and definitely (it) is this kind of attitude that made me improve into the court.”

"I was dreaming about playing like this" 💭

Lorenzo Musetti speaks after his fourth round victory over Holger Rune🔥#RolandGarros #Tennis #RG25 pic.twitter.com/SXXElLUfqm
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) June 1, 2025

Musetti’s Performance This Year

The Italian is now very close to matching his best result at a major. Currently, his best performance has come at last year’s Wimbledon when he reached the semi-finals. Having said that, his victory over Rune was special since it was his first win over a top ten opponent at any Grand Slam.

This year, although he started out slowly, Musetti has been on a roll since the start of the clay season. He made it to the final of the Monte Carlo Masters, defeating the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alex de Minaur. He then reached the semi-final in Madrid, where he once again defeated Tsitsipas and de Minaur.

Finally, prior to Roland Garros, Musetti once again made it to the semi-final in Rome with a huge win over Alexander Zverev in the quarters, with the Italian crowd firmly behind him. Now, in the quarters in Paris, Musetti will take on Frances Tiafoe for a place in the semi-finals.

2025 French Open

2025 Roland Garros

Lorenzo Musetti

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!