&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Meet Teo Davidov - 16-year-old prodigy at US Open with two forehands and no backhand")
The 2026 US Open is drawing to a close, with only a handful of matches remaining in the men's and women's singles events before the winners are decided. There's one player, however, who has stolen the spotlight: Teo Davidov, the 16-year-old US prodigy from Denver, Colorado, who is captivating fans at the US Open Boys' Junior event. What makes him unique is his ability to hit a forehand and serve with both hands, rarely relying on a backhand. He is the only player in the men's, women's, or junior events at this year's US Open who plays almost exclusively with forehands. He can hit a backhand but doesn't bother with it, being the ambidextrous player he is.
Who is Teo Davidov?
Davidov has been on the junior circuit for five years now, and a four-year-old video of him outplaying Carlos Alcaraz's brother Jamie at a tournament in Greece in 2022 is wildly popular on YouTube. Now, the teenager is 5-foot-7 and has become much sharper in his shot-making.
"To be honest, I like the traditional backhand-forehand," he says, as reported by The Guardian. "I like the classiness of it. I like hitting backhands myself just to play around, just for fun."
On deciding which hand to use against particular opponents: "Obviously it depends on who I’m playing, but the general foundation is right hand on the deuce side and left hand on the ad," he says. "I've been mixing it up a lot more, different spins, different looks, just making it as hard as possible." He also serves with both hands and US Open's official X handle shared a video of the same.
"To be honest, I like the traditional backhand-forehand," he says, as reported by The Guardian. "I like the classiness of it. I like hitting backhands myself just to play around, just for fun."
On deciding which hand to use against particular opponents: "Obviously it depends on who I’m playing, but the general foundation is right hand on the deuce side and left hand on the ad," he says. "I've been mixing it up a lot more, different spins, different looks, just making it as hard as possible." He also serves with both hands and US Open's official X handle shared a video of the same.
How has he performed in the 2026 US Open?
Davidov paired up with Tyler Lee for boys' doubles against the Brazilian pair of Chabalgoity and Storck França, winning 6-4, 3-6, [10-7] in the match tie-break. In the second round, the pair lost to Miguel and Sesko 6-2, 6-2. In singles, Davidov couldn't get past the first round, losing to South Africa's Connor Doig 7-6(4), 6-3.
