By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
People have said it was a “one in a million” shot but it was more like a “one in a trillion” shot. It was a shot that quite possibly will never be seen again in professional tennis.
And it happened in the first round of doubles at the Miami Open.
American Ben Kittay is starting to receive more and more attention in his rookie year of playing pro tennis as he is the fastest rising player on the ATP Tour in doubles. However, the shot he hit in his first round doubles match against Kevin Krawietz and Neil Oberleitner at the Miami Open has made him a global viral sensation.
Playing with former University of North Carolina teammate Ryan Seggerman, Kittay sprinted wide to retrieve a sharply angled backhand overhead hit by Krawietz and pushed a backhand down the line that was not only around the post, but it ricocheted off the side of the net post and down the alley for a winner, that you can watch here: Hot Shot: Kittay produces around the net post stunner in Miami 2026 | ATP Tour | Tennis
“Forget around the post. How ‘bout off the post?” said Joel Drucker, Tennis Historian At-Large for the International Tennis Hall of Fame and executive editor for TennisPlayer.Net. “Ben Kittay has likely a hit shot that’s never been hit before — and one you’ll likely never see again. Now that’s building a point.”
“I’ve never actually hit an around the net shot before,” said Kittay. “But what was super weird is that it just ricocheted enough that it stayed in the court. My first thought was that it wasn’t legal, but it was because it’s using the doubles court net. Also glad I didn’t fall into the fence because I had to put on the breaks really quick.”
Kittay said he shared the clip with Tommy Paul and U.S. Davis Cup Captain Bob Bryan who both said they had never seen a ball ricochet off the net post for a winner before. (Literally one of the last shots Bob Bryan hit in his professional career was an around-the-post winner in Davis Cup in 2020 as you can see here (6) Instagram
While Kittay and Seggerman won this mega viral and historic point, it was Krawietz and Oberleitner who won the match 6-4, 6-4. The Miami Open marked Kittay’s second career ATP Tour level doubles tournament.
Kittay, 22 and an NCAA doubles finalist in 2024 for the University of Michigan, gave up a potential professional baseball career to pursue pro tennis as he discussed in this interview from the Delray Beach Open (where he and Seggerman finished as doubles runners-up in Kittay’s ATP Tour debut) as you can see here: https://youtu.be/jCFtL_Zym8Q?si=IHsD9VuXfLQUWM9F
