Wimbledon Update: FAA Back in the Quarters

shaved backhands — bounce height — slice setups and outcomes

Felix Auger Aliassime came through a rollercoaster five-setter against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6/7(4) 7/6(6) 6/3 6/7(2) 6/1 to reach his first quarterfinal at Wimbledon since 2021.

The serve and forehand have been firing for the Canadian — the usual backbone of his game — and so far he has only been broken once the entire tournament: when serving for the match at 5-3 in the fourth-set yesterday.

But I’ve also liked the backhand setup adjustment FAA has made in recent months, lowering the takeback that is better suited to handling faster, lower incoming shots. Compare his Indian Wells set up to the grass season:

FAA's backhand setup has yo-yo'd several times throughout his career. I'd prefer the hands closer/the takeback longer, but I think this setup on the right works better for grass' lower bounce and necessarily more aggressive court position, given how much drop Felix gets on his backhand .

And recall this little note from February after FAA’s title in Montpellier:

And square that with the stark difference in bounce height that players must confront only days after leaving la terre battue of Paris:

Tennis Insights@tennis_insights

The grass-court bounce is real 📉🌱 Transitioning from clay to grass forces players to completely lower their strike zones. Notice how shots at shoulder-height plummet on the turf, replaced by a massive spike in thigh-height shots! #TennisInsights | @atptour

3:19 PM · Jun 10, 2026 · 14.5K Views

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2 Replies · 17 Reposts · 82 Likes

It’s still the weaker wing for the Canadian, but at times it held up quite well against ADF’s flat and compact left-side. Recall the crucial set point in the second set tie-breaker:

On grass, however, players with a weaker topspin backhand often navigate Wimbledon by possessing an elite slice. Berrettini, Dimitrov, Musetti and even Federer all leaned heavily on it.

But in this department I think there is room for improvement with the Canadian.

FAA’s typical slice backswing is low and abbreviated. It works for low and short balls, but it lacks the racquet head speed and high-to-low swing path necessary to tame more difficult incoming balls with any real authority. Compare FAA with the slice backhand speed and spin leaders in Dimitrov and Evans:

these screengrabs are at maximum backswing length. Evans is exaggerated slightly here because he's out of position and therefore creating more length in his swing.

Notice how Dimitrov and Evans get the hitting hand pulled higher. They create a much better stretch in the hitting arm/shoulder muscles, and have more length to accelerate the racquet head, as well as the option to still hit down on higher and rising balls. Musetti and Federer also have this higher setup:

Fed had an absolutely GOATing slice. Musetti is also a backhand slice speed and spin leader.

Oh, and let’s not forget Carlos:

Getting the hitting hand above the ball and leaning over it creates something akin to “compression” (if you are a golfer), as all great slicers do. I think FAA is often lacking these elements, resulting in his slice floating. The best ones flirt with the net tape before knifing low into your opponent’s ankles.

See that second floater especially. The deep ball from Majchrzak means the ball is rising into FAA’s contact point. This necessitates a more closed racquet head, made easier by starting higher, making contact later (delpo/murray style), and swinging more high-to-low. I also think he could lean over the ball more to help cover these rising/higher balls.

And this is fleshed out in the data. Compare Dimitrov and FAA backhand slice averages:

Average speed and net clearance data are last 52-weeks. Spin data is from 2024. Data courtesy of TennisViz and Courtside Advantage.

A higher speed, lower net clearance, and more spin. You can see why Dimitrov excels on the lawns of SW19. From the 2025 notes:

You can see how that initial slice from Grigor helps him get a high forehand on the fifth ball. Sinner has to dedicate a lot of racquet head speed to lifting the ball, rather than driving it, and that plays into Grigor’s forehand-hungry game-style, buying him time and more forehands. If FAA had this shot he’d be grassmaxxing.

Like most shots in the modern game, the players with the most intent, revealed through racquet speed, possess the most dangerous versions. The slice is no different. 2024 Data:

Gold = Dimitrov, white = Berrettini, purple = Musetti, aqua = Evans, red = Fucsovics, green = FAA. Source @tennisinsights

Against Djokovic — a player who relentlessly probes weaknesses — FAA's improved topspin backhand may hold up. Whether the slice does could prove just as important. Keep an eye on that come Tuesday.

I’ll be back with more field notes later in the week. See you in the comments. HC.