Video Update (Advice needed)

[Cheetah]

elbow and forearm position

[MarinaHighTennis]

Ehhhh help?!!

[Cheetah]

use your body to swing. not your arm.
maintain the hitting structure from takeback to follow through. you don't do that all. if you want a good forehand this is a must. otherwise you'll just have a 3.5 forehand forever and ever.

[BaboFan]

Originally Posted by Cheetah

use your body to swing. not your arm.
maintain the hitting structure from takeback to follow through. you don't do that all. if you want a good forehand this is a must. otherwise you'll just have a 3.5 forehand forever and ever.

That is not a 3.5 forehand. OP is at least a 4.5
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=407676

[Cheetah]

Originally Posted by BaboFan

That is not a 3.5 forehand. OP is at least a 4.5
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=407676

his fh is much better in that older vid for sure. everything looks better actually.
his current fh is not a 4.5 fh.

Originally Posted by MarinaHighTennis

Ehhhh help?!!

Well, I wouldn't try and micromanage your elbow position per se..The cramped look (with your elbow) and swing path is a function of your poor spacing, or lateral position on the ball. Stay more away from the line of the ball in the set up, and you'll start to get that elbow to move up and away from the midline a bit. The swing path will be more inside out, and the swing arc will increase...all good things in your case.

You also have a clear case of arming the ball, as a result of poor sequencing....Look at the stop action photos that Chetah posted of you. Notice the position of your torso at impact in comparison to DJ and Roddick..They are wide open, free wheeling, and have completed a full rotational cycle at this point..You are still relatively closed.. This is a big deal. You need to fix this.

In your case, the corrective measure would be to start the torso rotation, much sooner than you currently are. (thus the sequencing). Watch Roddick,, or DJ, on video, (they have similar grips to you) and notice how EARLY the body starts to rotate forward. In many cases, it begins even as the racquet is being laid down/falls in the backswing. This ensures, the body will "lead" the arm and provide ample time for the torso to complete it's rotational cycle.

[MarinaHighTennis]

Originally Posted by Cheetah

his fh is much better in that older vid for sure. everything looks better actually.
his current fh is not a 4.5 fh.

I dont mind the criticism bc thats how i get better and Cheetah is giving tips to work on it. Is my forehand the only thing you have a problem with? Hows gameplay, etc?

[UCSF2012]

Swings are at 60-70%, which means you're playing careful. Guiding the ball into the court. That works now for HS tennis, until you meet stronger college guys. You're also serving at 60-70% effort, which is why you're getting 60mph serves.

[TheCheese]

Ok, let's clear up some things. There's no way you can use Roddick AND Djokovic as a forehand models. The two of them do the exact opposite motions during their preparation and forward swing. (supination (A-Rod) vs pronation (Djoko))

To me, your forehand stroke looks much more like Rafa's, although you're not getting the same extension he usually does due to poor footwork.



I think your hitting arm structure and torso rotation are not what the problem is. I think you're merely adjusting your contact point and torso rotation in order to compensate for poor footwork. If you're cramped on a ball, there's no way you can rotate your torso or extend your arm if you want to make contact.

Just focus on moving to the ball and finding contact more in front and away from your body and everything should correct itself on its own.

Originally Posted by TheCheese

Ok, let's clear up some things. There's no way you can use Roddick AND Djokovic as a forehand models. The two of them do the exact opposite motions during their preparation and forward swing. (supination (A-Rod) vs pronation (Djoko))

To me, your forehand stroke looks much more like Rafa's, although you're not getting the same extension he usually does due to poor footwork.



I think your hitting arm structure and torso rotation are not what the problem is. I think you're merely adjusting your contact point and torso rotation in order to compensate for poor footwork. If you're cramped on a ball, there's no way you can rotate your torso or extend your arm if you want to make contact.

Just focus on moving to the ball and finding contact more in front and away from your body and everything should correct itself on its own.

yeah, lets use a straight arm forehand as a model. and do you even know what alignment is. And his torso rotation is way off. 0 for 3

And while you're at it, explain the Djoker vs Roddick pronation/supination cycle.

[Cheetah]

Originally Posted by TheCheese

Ok, let's clear up some things. There's no way you can use Roddick AND Djokovic as a forehand models. The two of them do the exact opposite motions during their preparation and forward swing. (supination (A-Rod) vs pronation (Djoko))

Nobody said to model his strokes on Roddick AND Djokovic. I was pointing out that they have the same look at contact..., despite having 'exact opposite motions' as you pointed out. Doesn't that tell you something right there?

To me, your forehand stroke looks much more like Rafa's, although you're not getting the same extension he usually does due to poor footwork.

Rafa has a straight arm. OP has a bent arm. So how does his stroke look like Rafa's? Extension doesn't mean extending the arm so that it's straight. Extension is something else entirely.

Everyone's position at contact (bent arm players) look pretty much the same despite having 'exact opposite motions'

[TheCheese]

It's because Rafa doesn't always have a straight arm. The straight arm only happens when he has perfect positioning on the ball, often times you'll see him bend the arm if he's jammed a little bit. His motion in the takeback and forward swing transition are more similar to Rafa than Roddick, despite having a bend.

[Cheetah]

rafa has a straight arm probably 99% of the time.
show me a video of match play where rafa has a bent arm.

[TheCheese]

Originally Posted by Cheetah

rafa has a straight arm probably 99% of the time.
show me a video of match play where rafa has a bent arm.

Anytime he's not perfectly in position.

[Cheetah]

Originally Posted by TheCheese

Anytime he's not perfectly in position.

in other words you just spent the last hour looking for a vid of it and came up with nothing.

[TheCheese]

Originally Posted by Cheetah

in other words you just spent the last hour looking for a vid of it and came up with nothing.

I'm busy right now, I can't spend time looking through matches at the moment. Federer and Nadal both do this.

Edit: Here you go. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU14bDScU8E

I know what you're going to say. "That's just practice, he's not trying". Yes, that's true, but he also does this during a match if his footwork is off. I mean, obviously he's going to do that rather than force a straight arm and completely miss the ball.

[Cheetah]

Originally Posted by TheCheese

I'm busy right now, I can't spend time looking through matches at the moment. Federer and Nadal both do this.

Edit: Here you go. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU14bDScU8E

I know what you're going to say. "That's just practice, he's not trying". Yes, that's true, but he also does this during a match if his footwork is off. I mean, obviously he's going to do that rather than force a straight arm and completely miss the ball.

That's Federer. We are talking about Nadal. Everyone knows Fed uses a bent arm often. sheesh...

[pvaudio]

Originally Posted by TheCheese

I'm busy right now, I can't spend time looking through matches at the moment. Federer and Nadal both do this.

Edit: Here you go. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU14bDScU8E

I know what you're going to say. "That's just practice, he's not trying". Yes, that's true, but he also does this during a match if his footwork is off. I mean, obviously he's going to do that rather than force a straight arm and completely miss the ball.

You just posted a video of Roger Federer in your discussion about Rafael Nadal. I don't know if I've seen a greater fail.

While their method of power generation is quite different, FEderer and Nadal are the two best examples of the straight arm forehand. During practice, Nadal's is the easiest to see, so had you even posted the right player, you would've still lost terribly.

[TheCheese]

Originally Posted by pvaudio

You just posted a video of Roger Federer in your discussion about Rafael Nadal. I don't know if I've seen a greater fail.

While their method of power generation is quite different, FEderer and Nadal are the two best examples of the straight arm forehand. During practice, Nadal's is the easiest to see, so had you even posted the right player, you would've still lost terribly.

This isn't a competition, nobody here "wins" or "loses", we're all just trying to help the OP improve his game.

Rafa and Fed have very similar forehand mechanics. I'm busy right now, I'm not going to go look for a video. I happened to have a Fed vid in mind that I remembered him hitting with a bent arm in. It's obvious Rafa would do the same thing. Do you think he'd try and force a straight arm and whiff on a shot if it's slightly too close to his body?