If you’ve watched enough tennis, you probably think you have a pretty good handle on the rules. Keep the ball in play, don’t touch the net and make your opponent question every life choice that led them to that baseline. Simple enough, right? Well, there’s one U.S. Open rule that might make even longtime fans do a double take.
With the 2026 U.S. Open currently underway in New York until Sept. 13, we’re taking a closer look at one of the sport’s most surprising rules, and the players who have actually taken advantage of it. Yes, it’s completely legal. Yes, it can happen in a Grand Slam match. And yes, you may have been watching tennis for years without realizing it.
So which stars have pulled off this head-turning move? We’re looking at some of the biggest names on the 2026 U.S. Open courts, including Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic, so you’ll know exactly who to watch for. And Serena Williams fans, you may recognize this unusual bit of tennis expertise too.
Read on to find out about the U.S. Open rule that sounds like it shouldn’t be allowed … but absolutely is.
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What is the tennis rule that is surprisingly allowed?
It’s known as an around-the-post shot, or ATP shot, and you may also hear it called a “banana shot” because of the way the tennis ball curves back toward the court. Instead of clearing the net, the ball travels completely around the outside of the net post. As long as it lands inside the opponent’s court, it’s legal.
On TikTok, French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou puts it more simply: “It’s a passing shot that goes down the line that looks like it’s gonna go out, but thanks to side spin finally gets in.” That side spin is what gives the shot its signature bend, sending the ball on a path that looks wide before bringing it back toward the lines.
Mouratoglou compares the motion to something tennis fans may recognize from a slice serve—and even to other sports like soccer, where players use spin to make a free kick curl through the air. On a tennis court, though, that same idea can produce a shot that looks completely impossible until it lands in. Plus, let’s not forget that the ball is temporarily going outside the bounds of the court!
Why is this such a brilliant shot?
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Pulling off a banana shot takes a ridiculous combination of speed, timing and sheer tennis wizardry. And a little luck certainly doesn’t hurt. The funny thing is, you can’t exactly draw up this shot in your pre-match strategy meeting. Your opponent has to hit a particularly nasty angle that pulls you way, way off the court. You then have to get there in time, run around the net post and somehow make clean contact from an angle that feels completely wrong.
So while you can try it, it’s not exactly a high-percentage play. There’s a reason you don’t see players casually taking the scenic route around the net every few games.
When has this happened?
It happened at this year’s U.S. Open! During the final round of 2026 U.S. Open qualifying, Qinwen Zheng pulled off an around-the-net forehand against Elina Pridankina (seen in the video above), giving fans another excellent reminder that this completely wild-looking shot is actually legal.
And Zheng is far from the only player to have tried it. Novak Djokovic pulled off the shot at the 2023 U.S. Open and again at the 2026 Australian Open. Carlos Alcaraz had his own around-the-post moment at the 2024 Australian Open, while Ben Shelton has become particularly known for the spectacular banana shot, hitting one at both the 2024 and 2025 U.S. Opens. So if you’re watching any of those players at this year’s tournament, it’s worth keeping an eye on what happens when they get dragged way outside the court.
And then there’s Rafael Nadal, whose relationship with the banana shot is a little different. For most players, an around-the-post shot is a once-in-a-blue-moon moment. Nadal, however, practically made the banana shot part of his vocabulary. His trademark running forehand, powered by his famous lasso-style follow-through, generated huge amounts of topspin and sidespin, allowing him to bend the ball back into the court from seemingly impossible positions.
Why are even die-hard tennis fans so surprised by this?
On TikTok, some tennis fans have described the banana shot as “my favorite shot to see during a match,” and it’s easy to see why. An around-the-post winner is one of tennis’ most unusual shots because it’s so difficult to execute.
Part of the challenge comes from the spin required to make the tennis ball curve back into the court. According to Mouratoglou, “the banana shot is hit with both topspin” as the racket moves “from down to up” and also “from left to right.” As he explains, “In order to achieve it, you would have to hit the ball both from down to high and to the side of it.”
Then there’s the setup. A player has to be dragged well outside the court, arrive at the ball at exactly the right moment and generate enough spin to bring it back inside the lines. Miss any one of those elements, and the shot doesn’t happen.
What other obscure tennis rules should be on your radar?
Oh, there are plenty. Tennis gets surprisingly weird once you start poking around in the rulebook. Here are some other rules you should know.
- The serve can hit the net and still get a do-over. If the tennis ball clips the net but lands in the correct service box, it’s called a “let” and the server simply tries again.
- A ball that hits the net during a rally isn’t automatically dead. If the tennis ball makes it over and lands in, you can keep playing.
- Touch the net and you’re in trouble. A player loses the point if they touch the net with their body, racket or clothing while the ball is still in play—even accidentally.
- You’ve got 25 seconds. In tennis, players have only 25 seconds to serve the ball and start the next point after the previous one ends. If the player takes too long, they get a time violation.
Sources:
- TikTok: “@patrickmouratoglou
- YouTube: “Alcaraz Goes Around The Net! | Australian Open 2024”
- Instagram: @usopen
- USTA: “When & Where to Serve in Tennis”
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