footwork: inside-out forehand

[aphex]

so, lately i've been practicing my inside-out forehand.

i need to improve on timing issues but this is how i do it--am i missing something?

1. i'm facing the net and i decide that my next shot will be an i.o. fh--
i put my right leg behind the left one so now i'm pretty much vertical to the net.

2. i take back my racquet at the same time as starting to take backwards steps.

3. at the moment i hit the ball, i want to have my right leg to the right of my left leg i.e. towards the deuce court (this is the point where i'm having some timing issues)

4. transfer my weight on the left leg and hit.


am i doing it right? am i missing something?

[fruitytennis1]

Seems like your over-complicating it. The timing issue is tough but just keep practicing it.

[LeeD]

I think footwork is less important than concentrating on fully turning the shoulders. With the shoulders fully turned, you can hit oft angle forehands with topspin and short angles.]
As in groundies, lots of shots are hit with different footwork, but the shoulder turn remains the same.

[Mahboob Khan]

Inside-out forehand for the right handed player: If we may use an analogy of the clock you are sending the ball from 7 to 1 o'clock or 8 to 2 o'clock line.

Depending on the situation it is possible to use open stance: left leg at 9, right leg at 3 o'clock positions. The important thing is the upper body turn which is more effective with open stance.

It is also possible, and in certain cases preferred, to use square stance when your left foot is at 1 o'clock and the right foot is at 7 o'clock positions.

And to cut reaction time of your opponent try to take the ball on the rise.

Drill:

Have a practice partner feed you a decent short ball in the mid-court (more toward your ad side), you execute an inside-out FH aiming your ball in the opposite ad court corner; ask your partner to return the same ball back if possible (live ball), and you volley it in the deuce corner.

[fuzz nation]

The unit turn is as important with this shot as with any other stroke. The cool thing with the inside-out forehand is that you can disguise it rather easily. As long as you give the ball enough room, you can go either way. Just move far enough to your left (with early deliberate footwork) that you can start your swing from more inside and send it out to your right toward your opponent's ad court. If the ball is crowding you too much, you can really only take it crosscourt (to your opponent's deuce court).

Keep in mind that your forehand stroke requires taking the racquet through an arc around your body. To hit that inside-out ball using your same basic stroke, you need to delay your release just slightly and catch the ball a little farther back in that arc to send it off to the right. Where your regular forehand drive to the opponent's deuce court might feel like you're extending out through contact, the inside-out stroke might feel slightly more like an uppercut.

If this is all a bit too foreign, just concentrate on a more deliberate first move to set up early on the ball. Instead of using any disguise or a different swing path, you only need to orient yourself in time that you can use your regular stroke. Slightly more closed and you'll be set to hit toward the ad court, slightly more opened and you're set up to hit cross court to the opponent's deuce side.

[Netspirit]

+1 to proper unit turn.

Normally you do not have enough time to step into the shot. You are running/strafing laterally, so all the power comes from your body uncoiling.

The second important thing is to transfer your weight onto your left foot and push up/unwind. It really does not matter where your right foot is at this point, as long as it helps you stay balanced. Often the right foot jerks across and behind the left foot during the stroke to counter-balance it (similar to what the left arm does during a 1-handed backhand).

Just go to youtube and type "inside-out forehand" to see some examples. Federer, for example, often hits it after landing on his left foot alone with his right foot in the air - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_CuXqNBr2c (despite what the title says there's nothing uber-cool that he does there except the balance).

[wihamilton]

Originally Posted by aphex

so, lately i've been practicing my inside-out forehand.

i need to improve on timing issues but this is how i do it--am i missing something?

1. i'm facing the net and i decide that my next shot will be an i.o. fh--
i put my right leg behind the left one so now i'm pretty much vertical to the net.

2. i take back my racquet at the same time as starting to take backwards steps.

3. at the moment i hit the ball, i want to have my right leg to the right of my left leg i.e. towards the deuce court (this is the point where i'm having some timing issues)

4. transfer my weight on the left leg and hit.


am i doing it right? am i missing something?

Originally Posted by LeeD

I think footwork is less important than concentrating on fully turning the shoulders. With the shoulders fully turned, you can hit oft angle forehands with topspin and short angles.]
As in groundies, lots of shots are hit with different footwork, but the shoulder turn remains the same.

Footwork is UNBELIEVABLY important on the IO forehand. It's the first thing I talk about / focus on when teaching the shot. If you watch Federer hit it, he uses two basic footwork patterns:

1. Shuffle steps. Feet don't cross as he sets up. Essentially he "side shuffles" to the ball.
2. Drop step. Right foot drops behind the left foot and he backpedals into position.

The link posted above has plenty of examples of both patterns.

If you watch Federer closely, the footwork pattern he chooses influences how fast he gets sideways -- in other words, it affects the speed of his unit turn.

When Fed shuffles around the ball, he gradually gets sideways. It doesn't happen immediately (like it normally should). Right after his split step, he's facing the net and it takes him a few shuffle steps to get sideways. However, when Fed takes a drop steps his shoulders turn immediately. It's basically a traditional unit turn.

My suggestion is to put the racket down and simply practice moving properly. If you can master that then you'll be in good shape.

Will

[W Cats]

Not sure if this is right but when I researched the subject awhile ago I found that shuffle steps side ways with even the occasional crossover is used when you need to cover a substantial amount of distance on the baseline. Drop step with adjustment steps when you don't need to cover as much distance.

My problem when I was learning the drop step footwork was that a big step combined with my usual lazy footwork of not taking the little adjustment steps led to a significantly closed stance and if I was in the corner of the ad court and tried to hit DTL, I looked and felt like a stupid pretzel at follow through.? Live and learn

[wihamilton]

Originally Posted by W Cats

Not sure if this is right but when I researched the subject awhile ago I found that shuffle steps side ways with even the occasional crossover is used when you need to cover a substantial amount of distance on the baseline. Drop step with adjustment steps when you don't need to cover as much distance.

My problem when I was learning the drop step footwork was that a big step combined with my usual lazy footwork of not taking the little adjustment steps led to a significantly closed stance and if I was in the corner of the ad court and tried to hit DTL, I looked and felt like a stupid pretzel at follow through.? Live and learn

It's more time-related. The drop step / backpedal lets you move faster. Side shuffling allows you to be more precise and facilitates better balance.

Typically, if you have to move a great distance to get around the ball you should use the drop step / backpedal footwork. Nadal uses this pattern all the time when he gets around a backhand near the sideline.

[phoenicks]

Originally Posted by wihamilton

It's more time-related. The drop step / backpedal lets you move faster. Side shuffling allows you to be more precise and facilitates better balance.

Typically, if you have to move a great distance to get around the ball you should use the drop step / backpedal footwork. Nadal uses this pattern all the time when he gets around a backhand near the sideline.

Great advice, Will, you just clear up some confusion I have regarding the IO FH footwork.

[aphex]

Thanks will and everyone else- sorry for not using the proper terms...
So from what i understand, drop-step is when you place your right foot behind your left and are facing the side of the court- right?
So i'm guessing i have the right idea ( as i described it in my first post)...

Can you also comment on the timing of the takeback?
Should it be done at about the same time as the dropstep?
Should the backpedalling happen with tha racquet taken back?

[wihamilton]

Originally Posted by aphex

Thanks will and everyone else- sorry for not using the proper terms...
So from what i understand, drop-step is when you place your right foot behind your left and are facing the side of the court- right?
So i'm guessing i have the right idea ( as i described it in my first post)...

Can you also comment on the timing of the takeback?
Should it be done at about the same time as the dropstep?
Should the backpedalling happen with tha racquet taken back?

Yes, you're correct RE: the drop step.

When you start your backswing doesn't have anything to do with your footwork. Here are two posts I wrote that should help w/your question --

http://www.fuzzyyellowballs.com/earl...tion-forehand/

http://www.fuzzyyellowballs.com/timi...d-preparation/

[Nellie]

It is very useful to look at soccer to feel the stepup motion - try setting up (or have someone roll) a few tennis balls to your left side that you need to kick (with your right foot) at the right netpost.

The key to the inside out forehand is to explode out sideways well before the ball arrives to that you are moving forward to hit an offensive ball.

[W Cats]

Will, Interesting post on the Monfil vid clip about timing and early preparation with the difference between the two on coming shots. But there seems to be less of a time difference in take back from not whne his opponent hit the shot but when the ball bounces. Is this a better cue for the beginning of the take back?

[wihamilton]

Originally Posted by W Cats

Will, Interesting post on the Monfil vid clip about timing and early preparation with the difference between the two on coming shots. But there seems to be less of a time difference in take back from not whne his opponent hit the shot but when the ball bounces. Is this a better cue for the beginning of the take back?

Thanks. I'm not a big fan of "cues" like when the ball bounces. They can work but also lead to timing mistakes.

Your backswing / forward swing should take roughly the same amount of time for each forehand. That time interval often isn't going to match up very well w/the amount of time it takes the ball to bounce and get to you.

It's preferable to work on your ball judgment so that you can accurate gauge a variety of shots and, ultimately, you'll intuitively know when to release the racket w/your non-hitting hand and continue backswing.

[featherlight]

any video of you playing