Ambidexterity is the ability to use both the right and left hand equally well. When referring to objects, the term indicates that the object is equally suitable for right-handed and left-handed people. When referring to humans, it indicates that a person has no marked preference for the use of the right or left hand. Only about one percent of people are naturally ambidextrous, which equates to about 70,000,000 people in the world. In modern times, it is common to find some people considered ambidextrous who were originally left-handed and who learned to be ambidextrous, either deliberately or as a result of training in schools or in jobs where right-handed habits are often emphasized or required. Since many everyday devices (such as

can opener A can opener (in North American English and Australian English) or tin opener (used in British English) is a mechanical device used to open tin cans (metal cans). Although preservation of food using tin cans had been practiced since at leas ...

s and scissors) are asymmetrical and designed for right-handed people, many left-handers learn to use them right-handedly due to the rarity or lack of left-handed models. Thus, left-handed people are more likely to develop

motor skill A motor skill is a function that involves specific movements of the body's muscles to perform a certain task. These tasks could include walking, running, or riding a bike. In order to perform this skill, the body's nervous system, muscles, and br ...

s in their non-dominant hand than right-handed people.

Etymology

The word "ambidextrous" is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

roots '' ambi-'', meaning "both", and '' dexter'', meaning "right" or "favorable". Thus, ''ambidextrous'' is literally "both right" or "both favorable". The term '' ambidexter'' in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

was originally used in a

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

sense of jurors who accepted bribes from both parties for their

verdict In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding. In England and Wales ...

Writing

Some people can write with both hands. Famous examples include

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

. In India's

Singrauli district Singrauli district is one of the districts in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. History It was previously ruled by the Maharajas of Singrauli State till 1971, after which the monarchy was abolished. Singrauli district has its headquarters at ...

there is a unique ambidextrous school named Veena Vandini School in Budhela village, where students are taught to write simultaneously with both hands.

Sports

Baseball

Ambidexterity is highly prized in the sport of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. " Switch hitting" is the most common phenomenon, and is highly prized because a batter usually has a higher statistical chance of successfully hitting the baseball when it is thrown by an opposite-handed pitcher. Therefore, an ambidextrous hitter can bat from whichever side is more advantageous to them in that situation.

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...

, who had more hits than anyone else in the history of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, was a switch hitter. Switch pitchers, comparatively rare in contrast to switch hitters, also exist.

Tony Mullane Anthony John Mullane (January 30, 1859 – April 25, 1944), nicknamed "Count" and "The Apollo of the Box", was an Irish Major League Baseball player who pitched for seven teams during his 13-season career. He is best known as an ambidextrous pi ...

won 284 games in the 19th century.

Elton Chamberlain Elton P. "Ice Box" Chamberlain (November 5, 1867September 22, 1929) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from to . In several seasons, Chamberlain finished in his league's to ...

and

Larry Corcoran Lawrence J. Corcoran (August 10, 1859 – October 14, 1891) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. Corcoran debuted in the 1880 season, where he won 43 games and led the Chicago team to the National ...

were also notable ambidextrous pitchers. In the 20th century, Greg A. Harris was the only major league pitcher to pitch with both his left and his right arm. A natural right-hander, by 1986 he could throw well enough with his left hand that he felt capable of pitching with either hand in a game. Harris was not allowed to throw left-handed in a regular-season game until September 1995 in the penultimate game of his career. Against the Cincinnati Reds in the ninth inning, Harris (then a member of the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

) retired

Reggie Sanders Reginald Laverne Sanders (born December 1, 1967) is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed. He played professionally with the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, San ...

pitching right-handed, then switched to his left hand for the next two hitters,

Hal Morris William Harold Morris III (born April 9, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who played for several teams from 1988 to 2000, including an eight-year stint with the Cincinnati Reds. From until 2016, he was the di ...

and

Ed Taubensee Edward Kenneth Taubensee (born October 31, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball catcher. Taubensee played for three different ballclubs during his career: the Cleveland Indians (, ), Houston Astros (-), and Cincinnati Reds (-). He made his ...

, who both batted left-handed. Harris walked Morris but got Taubensee to ground out. He then went back to his right hand to retire

Bret Boone Bret Robert Boone (born April 6, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. During his career Boone was a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He is a third generation professio ...

to end the inning. In the 21st century there is only one major league pitcher, Pat Venditte of the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

, who regularly pitches with both arms. Venditte became the 21st century's first switch pitcher in the major leagues with his debut on June 5, 2015, against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

, pitching two innings, allowing only one hit and recording five outs right-handed and one out left-handed. During his career, an eponymous "Venditte Rule" was created restricting the ability of a pitcher to change arms in the middle of an at-bat.

Billy Wagner William Edward Wagner (born July 25, 1971), nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He pitched for the Houston Astros (1995–2003), Philadelphia Ph ...

was a natural right-handed pitcher in his youth, but after breaking his throwing arm twice, he taught himself how to use his left arm by throwing nothing but fastballs against a barn wall. He became a dominant left-handed relief pitcher, most known for his 100+ mph fastball. In his 1999 season, Wagner captured the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

Relief Man of the Year Award as a Houston Astro.

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

pitcher

Brett Cecil Brett Aarion Cecil (born July 2, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals. Cecil was drafted as the 38th overall pick in the 2007 MLB dra ...

is naturally right-handed, but starting from a very early age, threw with his left. As such, he writes and performs most tasks with the right side of his body, but throws with his left.

Basketball

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

a player may choose to make a pass or shot with the weaker hand. NBA stars

Kyrie Irving Kyrie Andrew Irving (; lkt, Ȟéla, italic=no, ; born March 23, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named the Rookie of the Year after being selected ...

Carlos Boozer Carlos Austin Boozer Jr. (born November 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. The two-time NBA All-Star played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers, and then spent his last seas ...

, David Lee,

John Wall Johnathan Hildred Wall Jr. (born September 6, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A Raleigh, North Carolina native, Wall was chosen with the first overa ...

, Derrick Rose,

Chandler Parsons Chandler Evan Parsons (born October 25, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Florida and was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the 38th overall pick in the 2011 NBA dra ...

Andrew Bogut Andrew Michael Bogut (born 28 November 1984) is an Australian former basketball player who spent the majority of his professional career playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The tall center was selected by the Milwaukee Buck ...

, John Henson,

Michael Beasley Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Univers ...

, and

Jerryd Bayless Jerryd Andrew Bayless (born August 20, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played a year of college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats after playing high school basketball at St. Mary's High School in Phoenix. He was ...

are ambidextrous players, as was Kobe Bryant. Bogut and Henson are both stronger in the post with their left-handed hook shot than they are with their natural right hands. Brothers

Marc Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

and

Pau Gasol Pau Gasol Sáez (, ; born July 6, 1980) is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He was a six-time NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA team selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. Gasol won two NBA champion ...

can make hook shots with either hand while the right hand is dominant for each.

Bob Cousy Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time NBA ...

, a Boston Celtics legend was forced to play with his left hand in high school when he injured his right hand, thus making him effectively ambidextrous. Mike Conley shoots left-handed, but has preferred to shoot floaters right handed, as he does everything else right-handed off the court. Ben Simmons and Luke Kennard are also natural right-handers shooting left-handed.

Tristan Thompson Tristan Trevor James Thompson (born March 13, 1991) is a Canadian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won the 2016 NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavali ...

is a natural left-hander, and was a left-handed shooter, but has shot right-handed since the 2013–2014 season. He does perform left-handed hook shots more often. Los Angeles Lakers center

DeAndre Jordan Hyland DeAndre Jordan Jr. (born July 21, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the Texas A&M Aggies. Jordan was se ...

who is left-handed, shoots with his left hand but has been known to dunk with his right hand, spin clockwise in his 360 dunks, and shoot right handed hook shots more accurately and from further out. Charlotte Hornets small forward

Miles Bridges Miles Emmanuel Bridges Sr. (born March 21, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. ...

is a left-handed shooter; however, he dunks the ball and blocks shots more frequently with his right hand. Former Los Angeles Lakers center

Roy Hibbert Roy Denzil Hibbert (born December 11, 1986) is a Jamaican-American former professional basketball player. He is a two-time NBA All-Star, and earned NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors in 2014. Hibbert was the runner-up for the NBA Defensive Play ...

shoots his hook shots equally well with either hand. Former

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

left-handed point guard

Derek Fisher Derek Lamar Fisher (born August 9, 1974) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. Fisher played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 18 seasons, spending the majority of his career with the Los A ...

used to dunk with his right hand in his early years.

Candace Parker Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Ang ...

, forward for the

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2 ...

, also has equal dominance with either hand. Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant shot with either hand, although his right hand was dominant: due to an injury to the right hand, he was forced to shoot with his left.

Paul George Paul Clifton Anthony George (born May 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "PG-13", he is a seven-time NBA All-Star and six-time member of th ...

Tracy McGrady Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, two- ...

and

Vince Carter Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. (born January 26, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who serves as a basketball analyst for ESPN. He primarily played the shooting guard and small forward positions, but occasionally played Powe ...

are all noted to be right-handed, but rotates clockwise for dunks, but Carter is able to also spin counterclockwise, as he did during high school. McGrady also spins anti-clockwise for his baseline dunks.

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...

Paul Millsap Paul Millsap (born February 10, 1985) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A power forward from Louisiana Tech University, Millsap was selected by t ...

Russell Westbrook Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, he is a nine-time NBA All-Star and ...

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and former professional baseball player who serves as an executive for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-s ...

and

Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played the point guard position. Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best known for his 13-year tenure with ...

shoot right-handed, but do almost everything left-handed off the courts, but Bird once had a game in which he only shot left-handed running hook shots, cross passes and layups.

Ronnie Price Ronald D'Wayne Price (born June 21, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player and current scout for the Phoenix Suns. Price grew up in Friendswood, Texas and played college basketball for one year at Nicholls State and three year ...

, however has a tendency to dunk with his left hand, but he is a right-handed shooter.

Josh McRoberts Joshua Scott McRoberts (born February 28, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player who played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). McRoberts, a power forward, played college basketball for the Duke Blue ...

is known to be a left handed shooter but does everything with his right hand such as his famous dunks.

Ivica Zubac Ivica Zubac (; ; born 18 March 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round in the 2016 NBA draft. He ...

is a right handed shooter, but can shoot hook shots with both hands, and is more accurate with his left handed hooks.

Trevor Booker Trevor Fitzgerald Booker (born November 25, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player who played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted 23rd overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2010 NB ...

is left handed for shooting a basketball but writes with his right hand. Ben Simmons shoots jumpers and free throws left-handed, but does everything else right-handed, including dunking, throwing long passes and writing. He also shoots more right-handed non-jumpers (layups, floaters and hook shots).

Board sports

In skateboarding, being able to skate successfully with not only one's dominant foot forward but also the less dominant one is called "switch skating" and is a prized ability. Notable switch skateboarders include Rodney Mullen,

Eric Koston Eric Koston (born April 29, 1975) is an American professional skateboarder and company owner. He has been featured in the '' Tony Hawk's'' video game series and the Electronic Arts (EA) video games ''Skate 2'' and ''Skate 3''. Koston co-owns bot ...

Guy Mariano Guy Mariano (born March 31, 1976) is an American professional skateboarder. Mariano first gained recognition at the age of 14 for his video part in the Blind Skateboards video '' Video Days'' (1991). Early life Mariano attended John Burrough ...

, Paul Rodriguez Jr.,

Mike Mo Capaldi Michael Capaldi (born March 27, 1990), popularly known as Mike Mo Capaldi, is a professional regular-footed skateboarder who gained popularity following his video part in ''Forecast'', a video produced by professional skateboarder Paul Rodriguez. ...

, and

Bob Burnquist Robert Dean Silva Burnquist (; born 10 October 1976) is a Brazilian-American professional skateboarder who competed for Brazil throughout his career. In 2010, he became the first skateboarder to land a "fakie 900" (900-degree reverse-natural r ...

. Similarly,

surfers Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...

who ride equally well in either stance are said to be surfing "switch”. Also, snowboarding at the advanced level requires the ability to ride equally well in either.

Combat sports

combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opp ...

fighters may choose to face their opponent with either the left shoulder forward in a right-handed stance ("orthodox") or the right shoulder forward in a left-handed stance ("south-paw"), thus a degree of cross dominance is useful. In

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Phil ...

has a southpaw stance in the ring even though he is really ambidextrous outside the ring. Also, in mixed martial arts, many naturally left-handed strikers like

Lyoto Machida (born 30 May 1978), is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and karateka, who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a former UFC Light ...

and

Anderson Silva Anderson da Silva (; born 14 April 1975) is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and boxer. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 an ...

will switch stances in order to counter opponent's strikes or takedown attempts to stay standing. Additionally, some fighters actually choose to fight in a southpaw stance despite their dominant hand being their right, one such fighter being Vasyl Lomachenko. This is done as it gives access to a strong and precise jab from the lead hand, which is arguably the most important strike in boxing for setting up combos and interrupting your opponent during their attacks. Bruce Lee also practiced this same method of fighting with his dominant hand forward.

Cricket

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

, it is also beneficial to be able to use both arms. Ambidextrous fielders can make one-handed catches or throws with either hand.

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-sco ...

uses his left hand for writing, but bats and bowls with his right hand, it is the same with Kane Williamson. There are many players who are naturally right-handed but bat left and vice versa.

Sourav Ganguly Sourav Chandidas Ganguly (; natively spelled as Gangopadhyay; born 8 July 1972), affectionately known as Dada (meaning ''"elder brother"'' in Bengali), is an Indian cricket administrator, commentator and former national cricket team captain w ...

uses his right hand for writing and bowls with the right hand, too, but bats with his left hand. Players due to injuries may also switch arms for fielding.

Zaheer Khan Zaheer Khan (born 8 October 1978) is an Indian former professional cricketer who played all forms of the game for the Indian national team from 2000 till 2014. He is a fast-medium left-arm bowler. He was the second-most successful Indian pace ...

bowls left-arm

fast-medium Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. T ...

but bats right handed.

Phillip Hughes Phillip Joel Hughes (30 November 1988 – 27 November 2014) was an Australian Test and One Day International (ODI) cricketer who played domestic cricket for South Australia and Worcestershire. He was a left-handed opening batsman who play ...

batted, bowled, and fielded left-handed before a shoulder injury. Australian batsman George Bailey also due to sustaining an injury, taught himself to throw with his weaker left arm. He is now often seen throughout matches switching between arms as he throws the ball. See also

reverse sweep In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

and switch hitting.

David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to: Sports * Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor * David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier * David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer Oth ...

has batted right-handed in high school, and has practiced right-handed as well, when he is normally a left-handed switch-hitter.

Alastair Cook Sir Alastair Nathan Cook (born 25 December 1984) is an English cricketer who plays for Essex County Cricket Club, and played for England in all international formats from 2006 to 2018. A former captain of the England Test and One-Day Intern ...

, Jimmy Anderson,

Stuart Broad Stuart may refer to: Names *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile * Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...

Ben Dunk Ben Robert Dunk (born 11 March 1987) is an Australian professional cricketer who is currently playing and is the power hitting coach for the Lahore Qalandars. Previously, he has played for Melbourne Stars in the BBL, and he has also played for ...

, Ben Stokes,

Adam Gilchrist Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-ke ...

, Eoin Morgan and

Kagiso Rabada Kagiso Rabada (born 25 May 1995) is a South African international cricketer who plays all formats of the game. He is a right arm fast bowler. He made his international debut in November 2014 in limited-overs cricket before going on to make his ...

are natural right-handers, but bat left-handed. Akshay Karnewar is an ambidextrous bowler. Originally, he only bowled with his right hand, but since he does everything else with his left hand, he was taught to bowl left-handed as well but needs to signal to the umpire when he switches hands when bowling to allow for the field to change. He is a left-handed batsman. As an off-spinner and left-arm orthodox spin, the ball will always spin towards the batsman (OB vs. RHB; SLO vs. LHB), or away from opposite-handed batsmen, which is the predominant role of switch-handed spinners. Sri Lankan

Kusal Perera Mathurage Don Kusal Janith Perera ( si, කුසල් පෙරේරා) (born 17 August 1990), more commonly known as Kusal Perera, is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer and a former limited overs Captain of Sri Lanka national cricket team. ...

started his cricket as a right hand batsman, until he changed to left hand to mimic his favourite cricketer

Sanath Jayasuriya Deshabandu Sanath Teran Jayasuriya ( si, සනත් ජයසූරිය, ta, சனத் ஜெயசூர்யா; born 30 June 1969), is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and a captain. He is credited for having revolutionized one-day in ...

. Another Sri Lankan Kamindu Mendis is also a handy ambidextrous bowler. He can bowl orthodox left-arm spin and he can bowl right-arm

offspin Off spin is a type of finger spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners are right-handed spin bowlers who use their fingers to spin the ball. Their normal delivery is an off break, which spi ...

as well. Yasir Jan, however is a fast bowler both right and left handed and tops over 140 km/h with both hands, with his right arm being faster.

Jofra Archer Jofra Chioke Archer (born 1 April 1995) is a Barbadian-born English cricketer representing England and Sussex. He is a right-arm fast bowler. In April 2019, Archer was selected to play for the England team in limited overs fixtures against Irel ...

warms up with slow orthodox left-arm spin, and

Jos Buttler Joseph Charles Buttler (born 8 September 1990) is an English cricketer who captains the England cricket team in limited overs cricket, and plays for the England Test team. In domestic cricket he represents Lancashire, having previously played ...

practiced left-handed as a club cricketer.

Cue sports

cue sports Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions o ...

, players can reach farther across the table if they are able to play with either hand, since the cue must either be placed on the left or the right side of the body. English snooker player

Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...

Ronnie O'Sullivan, "The Rocket"
, Snookerclub.com. Retrieved on 21 April 2007. is a rarity amongst the current ranks of top snooker professionals, in that he is able to play to world standard with either hand. While he lacks power in his left arm, his ability to alternate hands allows him to take shots that would otherwise require awkward cueing or the use of a

rest Rest or REST may refer to: Relief from activity * Sleep ** Bed rest * Kneeling * Lying (position) * Sitting * Squatting position Structural support * Structural support ** Rest (cue sports) ** Armrest ** Headrest ** Footrest Arts and enter ...

. When he first displayed this ability in the 1996 World Championship against the Canadian player Alain Robidoux, Robidoux accused him of disrespect. O'Sullivan responded that he played better with his left hand than Robidoux could with his right. O'Sullivan was summoned to a disciplinary hearing in response to Robidoux's formal complaint, where he had to prove that he could play to a high level with his left hand. Many people think O'Sullivan had to play a match against former professional

Rex Williams Desmond Rex Williams (born 20 July 1933) is a retired English professional snooker and billiards player. He was the second player to make an official maximum break, achieving this in an exhibition match in December 1965. Williams won the Wo ...

, but this never took place. On

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territories, ...

's coverage of the 2014 International Championships, commentator David Hendon confirmed that O'Sullivan never played the match against Rex Williams.

Figure skating

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are m ...

, most skaters who are right-handed spin and jump to the left, and vice versa for left-handed individuals, but it also down to habit for ballerinas. Olympic Champion figure skater

John Curry John Anthony Curry, (9 September 1949 – 15 April 1994) was a British figure skater. He was the 1976 European, Olympic and World Champion. He was noted for combining ballet and modern dance influences into his skating. Early life Curry was ...

notably performed his jumps in one direction (anti-clockwise) while spinning predominantly in the other. Very few skaters have such an ability to perform jumps and spins in both directions, and it is now considered a "difficult variation" in spins under the

ISU Judging System The ISU Judging System (or the International Judging System (IJS)), occasionally referred to as the Code of Points (COP) system, is the scoring system that has been used since 2004 to judge the figure skating disciplines of men's and ladies' sin ...

to rotate in the non-dominant direction.

Michelle Kwan Michelle Wingshan Kwan (born July 7, 1980) is a retired competitive figure skater and diplomat serving as United States Ambassador to Belize. In figure skating Kwan is a two-time Olympic medalist (silver in 1998, bronze in 2002), a five-time ...

used an opposite-rotating

camel spin The camel spin (also called the parallel spin) is one of the three basic figure skating spin positions. British figure skater Cecilia Colledge was the first to perform it. The camel spin, for the first ten years after it was created, was perform ...

in some of her programs as a signature move. No point bonus exists for opposite direction jumps or bi-directional combination jumps, despite their being much harder to perfect. Nobody can perform a jump sequence (because it requires change of edge, whereas a combo is maintained on the same edge) from clockwise to anti-clockwise, or vice versa.

Football codes

Association football

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, being able to kick with either foot provides more options for both passing and scoring, as well as the ability to play on either side of the pitch. Therefore, players with the ability to use their weaker foot with proficiency are valuable in any team. Examples of ambidextrous footballers include

Andreas Brehme Andreas "Andy" Brehme (; born 9 November 1960) is a German football coach and former football defender. At international level, he is best known for scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final against Argentina from a ...

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...

Obafemi Martins Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins (born 28 October 1984) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is known for his speed on the ball. After leaving Nigeria for Italy at age 16, he has since played for a number of top-d ...

Santi Cazorla Santiago "Santi" Cazorla González (; born 13 December 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer. A former Spanish international, Cazorla operated primarily as an attacking midfielder, but also played as a winger, central midfielder or as a ...

, Ivan Perisic,

Adam Lallana Adam David Lallana ( ; born 10 May 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Brighton & Hove Albion. Lallana began his youth career with AFC Bournemouth before transferring to Southampton in 200 ...

Diogo Jota Diogo José Teixeira da Silva (born 4 December 1996), known as Diogo Jota (), is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward or a winger for Premier League club Liverpool and the Portugal national team. Jota started his car ...

, Adriano Correia, Pedro Rodriguez,

Diego Forlán Diego Martín Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation, Forlán is a two-time winner of both the Pichichi ...

Glenn Hoddle Glenn Hoddle (born 27 October 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He currently works as a television pundit and commentator for ITV Sport and BT Sport. He played as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco, Chelsea and ...

Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Fil ...

Sócrates Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira (19 February 1954 – 4 December 2011), simply known as Sócrates, was a Brazilian footballer who played as a midfielder. His medical degree and his political awareness, combined with sty ...

Paolo Maldini Paolo Cesare Maldini (; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left back and centre back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of a ...

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest p ...

Michael Laudrup Michael Laudrup (, born 15 June 1964) is a Danish professional football coach and former player. He is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. He is the older brother of fellow retired footballer Brian Laudrup. During his p ...

, Pelé,

Marc Overmars Marc Overmars (; born 29 March 1973) is a Dutch former professional footballer and director of football at Belgian Pro League side Royal Antwerp FC. He was previously director of football at Ajax. During his football career, he played as a win ...

Michel Platini Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, a ...

, Roberto Baggio,

Carlos Valderrama Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio (Colombian Spanish: ; born 2 September 1961), also known as ''El Pibe'' ("The Kid"), is a Colombian former professional footballer and sports commentator for Fútbol de Primera, who played as an attacking mid ...

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...

, Zico,

Tom Finney Sir Thomas Finney (5 April 1922 – 14 February 2014) was an English international footballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as a winger or centre forward for Preston North End and England. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of the s ...

John Barnes John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. He currently works as an author, commentator and pundit for ESPN and SuperSport. Initially a quick, skilful left winger, he moved to ce ...

John Charles William John Charles (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh footballer who played as a centre-forward or as a centre-back. Best known for his first stint at Leeds United and Juventus, he was rated by many as the greatest all-ro ...

Ousmane Dembélé Masour Ousmane Dembélé (born 15 May 1997) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Barcelona and the France national team. Dembélé began his career at Rennes before joining Borussia Dortmund in 2016. He ...

, Mason Greenwood, Ronaldo Nazário,

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the mos ...

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while ...

Kevin De Bruyne Kevin De Bruyne (born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester City and the Belgium national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world. Pundits have often des ...

Most of them were actually left-footed or right-footed, but have developed proficiency on both feet.Jones dialnet Unirioj
Laterality and sports performance/Lateralidad y Rendimiento Deportivo
Retrieved 9 November 2012.

Gianluca Pagliuca Gianluca Pagliuca (; born 18 December 1966) is an Italian football coach and former professional goalkeeper. He is regarded by pundits as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, and one of Italy's best keepers ever. Throughout his c ...

is cross-dominant. He punches and throws with his right, but kicks with his left.

American football

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

, it is especially advantageous to be able to use either arm to perform various tasks. Ambidextrous receivers can make one-handed catches with either hand; linemen can hold their shoulders square and produce an equal amount of power with both arms; and punters can handle a bad snap and roll out and punt with either leg, limiting the chance of a block. Naturally right-handed quarterbacks may have to perform left-handed passes to avoid sacks. Chris Jones is cross-dominant. Although he is a left-footed punter, he throws with his right. Chris Hanson was dual-footed, able to punt with either foot.

Golf

Some players find cross-dominance advantageous in

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

, especially if a left-handed player utilizes right-handed clubs. Having more precise coordination with the left hand is believed to allow better-controlled, and stronger drives. Mac O'Grady was a touring pro who played right-handed, yet could play "scratch" (no handicap) golf left-handed. He lobbied the USGA for years to be certified as an amateur "lefty" and a pro "righty" to no avail. Although not ambidextrous,

Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970), nicknamed Lefty, is an American professional golfer who plays for LIV Golf. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six major championships: three Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010), two ...

and

Mike Weir Michael Richard Weir, (born May 12, 1970) is a Canadian professional golfer. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He spent over 110 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 2001 and 2005. He plays golf left-handed ...

are both right-handers who golf left-handed;

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory an ...

was the opposite, being a natural left-hander who played golf right-handed, as is Cristie Kerr. This is known as

cross-dominance Cross-dominance, also known as mixed- handedness, hand confusion, or mixed dominance, is a motor skill manifestation in which a person favors one hand for some tasks and the other hand for others, or a hand and the contralateral leg. For example ...

or mixed- handedness.

Hockey

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

players may shoot from the left or right side of the body. For the most part, right-handed players shoot left and, likewise, most left-handed players shoot right as the player will often wield the stick one-handed. The dominant hand is typically placed on the top of the stick to allow for better stickhandling and control of the puck.

Gordie Howe Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...

was one of few players capable of doing both, although this was at a time when the blade of the stick was not curved. Another ice hockey goaltender

Bill Durnan William Ronald Durnan (January 22, 1916 – October 31, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played seven seasons with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). During his career he was one of the most domin ...

, had the ability to catch the puck with either hand. He won the

Vezina Trophy The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two NHL general managers vote to determine the winner. It is named in ...

, then for the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

's goalie with the fewest goals allowed six times out of only seven seasons. He had developed this ability playing for church-league teams in Toronto and Montreal to make up for his poor lateral movement. He wore custom gloves that permitted him to hold his stick with either hand. Most goaltenders nowadays choose to catch with their non-dominant hand.

Field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

players are forced to play right-handed. The rules of the game denote that the ball can only be struck with the flat side of the stick. Only one player Laeeq Ahmed on Pakistan National Hockey team, played with unorthodox left hand below and right hand up side of stick grip with full command. He played from 1991 to 1992 for the national team. Perhaps to avoid confusing referees, there are no left-handed sticks. In floorball, like ice hockey, right-handed players shoot left and, likewise, most left-handed players shoot right as the player will often wield the stick one-handed. Floorball goalkeepers do not use a stick, so they have two glove hands, and act much like a soccer goalkeeper, but with an ice hockey helmet. When they venture out of the goal box, they act just like an outfield soccer player.

Lacrosse

field lacrosse Field lacrosse is a full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867. ...

, which is more popular in the United States, it is extremely advantageous to be able to use both hands, as players can play on both sides of the field and are harder to defend against. Usually in field lacrosse, all players except goalies, but especially offensive players, are expected to be able to catch and throw with their weak hand. However, in

box lacrosse Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's officia ...

, which is more popular in Canada, players often only use their dominant hand, like in hockey.

Martial arts

The traditional martial arts tend to feature a larger number of practitioners who have intentionally developed ambidexterity to a high degree, compared to athletes in combat sports. This is because unlike sports, which have structured rules and common player preferences, traditional martial arts are intended for situations such as self-defense, in which a wider array of physical challenges may occur. Some arts and schools practice all or most techniques and movements with both sides, while others emphasize that some techniques should only be trained on the right or the left (though both sides tend to eventually receive nearly equal attention). This may be for a number of reasons. Some of these arts rely on the tendency of right-handed people to move differently with the left side than with the right, and attempt to take advantage of this. Similarly, certain weapons are more often carried on one side. For instance, most weapons in ancient China were wielded primarily with the right hand and on the right side; this habit has carried on to the practice of those weapons in modern times. As an example, in

Xing Yi Quan Xing Yi Quan is classified as one of the internal styles of Chinese martial arts. The name of the art translates approximately to "Form-Intention Fist", or "Shape-Will Fist". Xing Yi is characterized by aggressive, seemingly linear movements ...

, most schools that teach spear-fighting only practice on the right side, although much of the rest of the art is ambidextrous in practice.

Professional wrestling

Shawn Michaels is ambidextrous. He typically kicks with his right leg in Sweet Chin Music, but uses either arm for his signature elbow drop, depending on the position.

Racing

In professional

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...

, drivers who participate in various events in both the United States and Europe will sometimes encounter machines with the steering wheel mounted on different sides of the car. While steering ability is largely unaffected, the hand used for shifting changes is . due to the fact that the shift pattern relative to the driver changes, e.g. a gear change that requires moving the lever toward the driver in a left-hand-drive vehicle becomes a movement away from the driver in a right-hand-drive vehicle. A driver skilled in shifting with the opposite hand is at an advantage.

Racket sports

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

, a player may be able to reach balls on the backhand side more easily if they're able to use the weaker hand. An example of a player who is ambidextrous is

Luke Jensen Luke Jensen (born June 18, 1966) is an American former professional tennis player and Grand Slam doubles champion. Jensen won the 1993 French Open Doubles title with his younger brother Murphy Jensen. He attended the University of Southern C ...

. Due to a physical advantage on the space of time needed when matching the ball with the racket simultaneously with tagging the opponent's movement, being laterality-crossed on eyedness with handedness may be a decisive factor for outstanding performance, since the hand which strikes the ball can do it while the overriding eye, matching with this hand, can be tagging the opponent's movement-decisions. Such have the case of

Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...

who uses his right hand for writing, but plays tennis with left. There are many players who are naturally right handed but play lefty and vice versa.

Evgenia Kulikovskaya Evgenia Kulikovskaya (Russian: Евгения Куликовская; born 21 December 1978) is a former professional tennis player from Russia. She reached her highest singles ranking of No. 91 in June 2003. She had more success in doubles, win ...

is also an ambidextrous player, Kulikovskaya played with two forehands and no backhand, switching her racket hand depending on where the ball was coming.

Jan-Michael Gambill Jan-Michael Charles Gambill (born June 3, 1977) is an American former professional tennis player who made his professional debut in 1996. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 14, which he achieved on June 18, 2001. Best known for his unu ...

is the opposite case of Kulikovskaya, since he played with a two handed forehand and backhand, although he served with his right hand. Other famous examples of a two handed forehand are

Fabrice Santoro Fabrice Vetea Santoro (born 9 December 1972) is a French retired tennis player. Successful in both singles and doubles, he had an unusually long professional career, with many of his accomplishments coming toward the end of his career, and he is ...

and

Monica Seles Monica Seles (; hu, Széles Mónika, ; sr, Моника Селеш, Monika Seleš; born December 2, 1973) is a retired professional tennis player who represented Yugoslavia and the United States. A former world No. 1, she won nine Grand Sla ...

. Seles' playing style was unusual in that she hit with two hands on both sides and, at the same time, always kept her (dominant) left hand at the base of her racket. This meant that she hit her forehand cross-handed. Currently,

Maria Sharapova Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ( , ; rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова, p=mɐˈrʲijə ʂɐˈrapəvə, a=Maria_sharapova.ogg; born 19 April 1987) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. She competed on the WTA Tour from 2 ...

is also known to be ambidextrous. Cheong-eui Kim is a truly ambidextrous player with no backhand, and can serve left-handed as well as right-handed. Some

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

players have used their ability to hit with their non-dominant hand to return balls out of reach of their dominant hand's backhand, most notably

Timo Boll Timo Boll (, ; born 8 March 1981) is a German professional table tennis player, who currently plays for Borussia Düsseldorf. He is ranked second in the German Table Tennis National League, and fifteen in the ITTF world rankings as of October 20 ...

, a former world #1 player. Although it is quite uncommon, in

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

, ambidextrous players are able to switch the racquet between their hands, often to get to the awkward backhand corner quickly. As badminton can be a very fast sport, at professional levels of play, players might not have time to switch the racquet, as this disrupts their reaction time.

Rugby

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

being ambidextrous is an advantage when it comes to passing the ball between teammates as well as being able to use both feet by the halves is an advantage in gaining field position by kicking the ball ahead.

Jonny Wilkinson Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, CBE (born 25 May 1979) is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and Toulon and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He is particularly known for scoring the w ...

is a prime example of a union player who is good at kicking with both feet, he is left handed and normally place kicks using his left, but he dropped the goal that won the Rugby World Cup in 2003 with his right.

Dan Carter Daniel William Carter (born 5 March 1982) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Carter played for Crusaders (Super Rugby) in New Zealand and played for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. He is the highest point scorer in ...

is actually right handed, but kicks predominantly with his left, sometimes with his right.

Volleyball

A volleyball player has to be ambidextrous to control the ball to either direction and performing basic digs. On the other hand, the setter has to be proficient in performing dump sets with either hand to throw off blockers. Wing spikers that can spike with either hand can alter trajectories to throw off receivers' timing.

In art

Although most artists have a favored hand, some artists use both of their hands for arts such as drawing and

sculpting Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. It is believed that

utilized both of his hands after an injury to his right hand during his early childhood. A contemporary artist, Gur Keren, can draw with both his hands and even feet. Thea Alba was a well-known German who could write with all ten fingers. Tribalogy is the artistic study of creating abstract lines and shapes on a surface using both hands at the same time. An artist who studies tribalogy is referred to as a tribalogist.

In music

In drum and bugle corps (modern), drum and bugle corps (and drum and bell corps), snare drummers, quads (tenors), and bass drummers need to be somewhat ambidextrous. Since they have to abide by what the composer/arranger has written, they have to learn to play evenly in terms of dynamics and speed with their right and left hands. Former Beatles member Paul McCartney is left-handed (guitar and bass guitar) and played left-handed when performing (as can be seen in many photos and videos throughout his musical career). The drummer of The Beatles, Ringo Starr, is left-handed as well, but he plays a right-handed drum kit. American instrumental guitarist Michael Angelo Batio is known for being able to play both right-handed and left-handed guitar proficiently. Irish guitar player Niall Horan, from boyband One Direction, applies on this case. He writes with the left hand but plays the guitar with the right one. The ambidexterity of Jimi Hendrix has been explored in a psychology, but he was known for playing a standard right-handed guitar with his left hand. The guitarist Duane Allman was the reverse of Hendrix, playing right-handed but left-handed in all other tasks. Shara Lin is naturally left-handed, but plays the violin and guitar right handed. She can also play the piano with her left hand while playing the zither with her right. Also, naturally left-handed musicians have to play with right-handed-only instruments (violin, viola, cello). Kurt Cobain, frontman of Nirvana (band), Nirvana, was naturally ambidextrous. He grew up having a slight preference for his left-hand (as can be seen in many of his childhood photographies), but as an adult he wrote right-handed. He played guitar exclusively left-handed.

Tools

With respect to tools, ambidextrous may be used to mean that the tool may be used equally well with either hand; an "ambidextrous knife" refers to the opening mechanism and locking mechanism on a folding knife. It can also mean that the tool can be interchanged between left and right in some other way, such as an "ambidextrous headset," which can be worn on either the left or right ear. As an opposite example, some scissors are made specifically for use in one hand, and will not cut properly if used in the other hand. Scissors#Right-handed and left-handed scissors, Left-handed as well as ambidextrous scissors are nowadays available.

Medicine and surgery

A degree of ambidexterity is required in surgery because surgeons must be able to tie with their left and right hands in either single or double knots. This is usually due to factors like the positioning of the surgeon, whether they have an assistant and the angle required to throw and secure the knot. Ambidexterity is also useful after surgery on a dominant hand or arm, as it allows the patient to use their non-dominant hand with equal facility as the limb which is recovering from surgery.