Interactive Forum September 2025: Adrian Mannarino: Point Sequence

[giancarlo]

Adrian Mannarino, the 37-year-old French left-hander standing 5’11” (180 cm), has quietly built a r?sum? full of surprising wins. He owns ATP titles in Hertogenbosch, Winston-Salem, and Newport, and along the way has defeated top players such as Marin Čilić, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, and Stefanos Tsitsipas on grass. At the Slams, he has upset Hubert Hurkacz at the Australian Open, Ga?l Monfils at Wimbledon, and most recently, Ben Shelton at the US Open. His flat, disruptive game has made him a perennial danger to seeded players who underestimate him.

The sequence below illustrates his effortless style across his full stroke repertoire. His serve is reminiscent of Marcelo R?os. His forehand grip is as extreme as Wawrinka’s, yet the unit turn sets up perhaps the most compact forehand on tour, with exemplary extension through contact—showing that great extension is both possible and necessary with a more extreme grip. His backhand is a case study in a minimalist backswing, initiated with the classic unit turn, and featuring a grip combination of what appears to be a continental bottom hand with an eastern top hand. At the completion of his backswing, the racquet tip sits above his hands and points diagonally outward. At contact, he typically uses the bent-straight hitting-arm structure, which allows him to redirect the ball at will with minimal topspin, often taking it on the rise. His backhand slice variation provides another tool to disrupt rhythm. His footwork is a masterclass in efficiency and grace, and is likely one of the key factors behind his longevity on tour.

In studying Mannarino’s game, he seems to have developed his style as an antidote to the modern approach, where more topspin is considered better. Instead, he absorbs and redirects the incoming ball at will. So, how much spin and velocity is Mannarino actually producing, and how does it compare to the rest of the tour? According to statistics from Tennis Insights (based on Hawk-Eye data), here is how he stacks up against the field:

Mannarino vs. Tour Averages
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Statistic | Mannarino | Tour Average | Diff
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Forehand Speed | 70 mph | 76 mph | -6 mph
Forehand Topspin | 1,847 rpm | 2,844 rpm | -997 rpm
Backhand Speed | 67 mph | 70 mph | -3 mph
Backhand Topspin | 1,211 rpm | 1,839 rpm | -628 rpm
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And what about his equipment?
He strings at just 10–11 kg (22–24 lbs, depending on conditions)—the lowest tension on tour (Tennis.com)—with Luxilon Alu Power. The result? A trampoline effect that adds free power and depth (with increased dwell time, as Paul Hamori noted here), perfectly suited to his flatter strokes and razor-sharp timing.

Let’s hear your thoughts: what have you noticed when watching Mannarino play? Is anyone tempted to try his string setup?

[stroke]

Mannarino is the epitome of a thinking man's game out there. Tomic was a lot like that also. Going back to the 80's, Misolav Mercir, the big cat.

[jimlosaltos]

Great that there is still room for variety of technique in pro tennis.

As I recall, Mannarino changed his strokes because of wrist surgery.

Another very flat hitter was Italian Andreas Seppi. You could make a good case for Seppi kick starting the modern Italian tennis surge. Seppi was the first Italian to win titles on all three surfaces -- And he beat both Nadal and Fed.

I remember that Fed match. Fed played late the night before at the Australian Open, then had to play early the next morning {thanks a lot Craig Tiley. You'd never do that to Novak.}

It was Fed's first day session. He'd had no practice during the day. It was hot, the courts were fast and Fed never caught up to Seppi' early, flat strokes.

But I'm not bitter. Much

[stotty]

I watched him play Valentin Royer this year at Wimbledon on an outside court. Royer is very much the modern tennis player while Mannarino is one of the few anomalies left on the tour. Mannarino won is 4 sets but it was tight. He spent the fourth set hanging on to his serve by the skin of his teeth but eventually made it to the tiebreak where he pulled off an amazing string of shots to win the set and the match. You felt he had to somehow win that fourth set or he would have been overrun in the fifth.

It’s the dead flat backhands that caused the most problems for Royer. It’s really effective on grass because it stays so low. And despite his extreme forehand grip, he only hits moderate topspin on wing side much of time. You would think his forehand would be heavily spun by default with that grip yet it isn’t. He’s underpowered compared to many players on the tour but makes up for it by playing smart. He’s interesting and I really enjoyed watching him play.

[giancarlo]

Mannarino is the epitome of a thinking man's game out there. Tomic was a lot like that also. Going back to the 80's, Misolav Mercir, the big cat.

And his protege: Karol Kucera.