2 Wimbledon

10/06/2020

Lefties at Wimbledon
Lefties in a world of righties
"Our world is built for right-handers, but lefties like me have an advantage on the tennis court," says Rusedski, on a special program on the BBC.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Greg Rusedski was Britain's number one tennis player in 1997 and 1999
"As it also happens off the court, most tennis players are right-handed. And they are used to playing with each other," he explains.
"But lefties are different. And that makes us more complicated rivals for right-handed tennis players," adds the former player.
As an example Rusedski offers the blow known in English as forehand, in Spanish generally translated as right.
That blow - generally the player's strongest - crosses in natural flight to the right-handed player's backhand, his flank generally weaker.
Right-handers obviously have a similar advantage with their right hand that falls backwards to the left-hander but, crucially, left-handers have much more practice playing against right-handers (there are more of these) and are better prepared.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Image caption Martina Navratilova dominated the women's game for more than a decade and won her ninth Wimbledon title in 1990.
The same is true in boxing. If both fighters assume a classic defensive stance, with the right foot in front, the boxer's vulnerable part is away from the opponent's most powerful blows.
However, when a left-handed player confronts a right-hander, the body of each boxer is more exposed to powerful hook strikes.
Since right-handed boxers are not used to dealing with many left-handers, they are more likely to be hurt by an opponent's hook. So they run away from the left-hander.