Open stance with the semi western FH.

[Messarger]

Hi all. I'm trying to improve on my forehand in terms of depth and consistency. I'll post videos soon.

Right now i'm trying to take the ball on the rise and my coach says that i need to get low to hit it. I can hit it with a close stance, but its not practical to always do that in a match.

Open stance: The motion of this stance really worries me. As i'm bending my right knee very low and my weight is concentrated mainly on my left leg. Wont this result in injuries espacialy when i play on hard courts? I want to be able to hit my FH in the open close and semi open stances, but at the same time i dont want the footwork to result in injuries.

Advice,thanks a lot.

[Vision84]

I may be wrong but shouldn't the weight be concentrated on the right leg and then as you explode into the ball the weight can shift to the left leg? At least for right-handers.

[habib]

I may be wrong but shouldn't the weight be concentrated on the right leg and then as you explode into the ball the weight can shift to the left leg? At least for right-handers.

Kinda depends on technique. Ideally, you'd probably want the weight distributed evenly so that you can explode into the ball from both legs. Federer is probably the best on-tour example of this, while Blake is a good example of what can be achieved by concentrating your weight on your right leg.

[Messarger]

Sorry people, in case i didnt add i'm a lefty.

[wihamilton]

Messarger,

When you say closed stance, do you mean neutral? Cuz you pretty much should never hit a closed stance forehand (as a lefty, closed stance = you step across your body w/your right foot. Neutral means your feet are parallel w/the sideline).

RE: bending your knees + transferring most of your weight to your left foot, ya that is how you want to hit an open stance forehand. Obv don't do something you think will lead to injuries, but if you watch the pros they often get very low + jump off their outside (in your case, your left) leg. Vic Braden speculated that this could lead to injuries, and (I think) he suggests that is what happened to Gustavo Kuerten and could very likely happen to Nadal, given the physicality of his forehand.

That said, all the top players hit open stance. You HAVE to be able to do it to be a successful high-level player. To be honest, I suppose the possibility of injury is there, but I don't think you are more likely to get hurt hitting open stance. I've hit open stance for years and the only time I hurt myself on the tennis court was when I tried to jump over the net and didn't quite make it...

If your technique is correct and you're in good physical shape, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[Messarger]

Yeah, close stance was suppose to be neutral but i used that term losely. Thanks for clearing this up.