High Forehands

[AMD64]

I have trouble hitting high forehands (about head height). My grip is semi-western. Any tips?

[jmjmkim]

That used to be the toughest shot for me, when I had a eastern forehand. Now that I have a strong Western (My forefinger knuckle on the 5 o'clock) the high forehand is a breeze!

[LeeD]

Turn fully, hit sorta flat, use your torso to rotate thru the shot and try to stay balanced (do NOT move back or lean back), aiming about 3' over the netcord. Slightly slower fully thru than normal topspin forehand.

[The_Steak]

I tend to hit a topspin lob right back.

[LeeD]

TO ME.....
Hitting another highbouncing slow moving ball back to the opponent just perpetuates the boring rally with a pusher/topspinner dude, so unless you like to stay on court forever, why not smack that softie high shot for a clean winner or at least a forcing approach?
My game has always been about ENDING the point ASAP, whether that involves volleying, stronger groundies, or WEAKER highly spun groundies, why hog the the court for longer than necessary?

[BlahDow]

my problem is around that level as well..just feels weird and i use a western grip lol..i'm used to lower balls..it's weird when i hit back it has awkward sidespin..one time during a rally the guy was getting in position to hit it back when i did that..then after it bounced he just stopped because he wasn't expecting the ball to bounce the way it did..haha

[albesca]

I have trouble hitting high forehands (about head height). My grip is semi-western. Any tips?

Here justine henin hitting an high ball from baseline ...

She does a low-to-high-to-lowswing path ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuRVg8rg2x8&feature=related

..terrific.

Ciao
Alberto

[LeeD]

Justine swings so fast it's hard to tell, but much flatter than her normal groundies...
But on that eyehigh ball, nothing wrong with pure sidespin or even some underspin, as long as you hit forcefully and with good direction.
You DON'T need to hit every groundie with topspin, unless you want to groove your opponent to your shots.

[mikeler]

I usually hit high forehands with sidespin using a windshield wiper type motion as I drive through the ball. Make sure you get your body weight into the ball to provide you with some more power.

[albesca]

look at the arm positioning at the end of take-back ... very lower in relation to a top spin forehand ..... a little lower in relation to a normal flat forehand.

Maybe the higher is the ball ... the lower the hand, waiting the bounce ?

[Nellie]

Are you talking about short balls that you are taking offensively or balls at the baseline that you are just trying to get back defensively? With short balls, you need to practice the footwork - turn and prepare before you get to the ball so that you can swing properly. With high balls at the baseline, chances are you are trying hit the ball back defensively because that is a pretty hard shot to hit well (your opponent has pinned you back) - swing high and through the ball and aim cross court with a lot of net clearnance. I would think of it as a rally shot (60-80% effort) and expect the shot to be pretty flat due to the height of the ball.

[Leoboomanu]

Try using a 'more forward' motion than your regular groundstroke...
The higher the ball the lesser pace it has left... so you're better off muscling the ball forward than using more topspin...

My opinion...:)

[AMD64]

thank you for your inputs.. I will try some of them out