jumping forehand??

B

bboy_beez

New User
well, I've heard a lot of people saying you should always stay on the ground or keep your foot on the ground when striking the ball.

I JUST LOVE TO CRANK MY FOREHANDS!! I've also notice that when I do this, my strokes are full swings and I get good pace. I also hear that power comes from your legs and racket speed. I feel really comfortable with them, but is it nessary to not leave ground? Any comments would help. :)
 
USERNAME

USERNAME

Professional
U can jump if u like, u just need great timing and stamina. Takes a lot of energy to jump again and again and again. Me personally only leave the ground on a few shots (mainly short balls and approach shots.)
 
Jay_The_Nomad

Jay_The_Nomad

Professional
It's highly unlikely that you are able to maintain consistency in a tennis match.

And consistency is fundamental to winning matches.
 
mikeler

mikeler

Moderator
My jumping forehand almost always lands the ball in the net but I've seen others do it with success.
 
B

bboy_beez

New User
Jay_The_Nomad said:
It's highly unlikely that you are able to maintain consistency in a tennis match.

And consistency is fundamental to winning matches.
Click to expand...

True, I agree consistency will outplay any style. I've been playing thoughout my high school years, propablying 12+ years now and kind of started developing that jumping forehand because I needed more power. I'm actually consistent with it. I just wonder why coachs and other player my level says I need to stay on the ground?:confused:
 
B

bboy_beez

New User
USERNAME said:
U can jump if u like, u just need great timing and stamina. Takes a lot of energy to jump again and again and again. Me personally only leave the ground on a few shots (mainly short balls and approach shots.)
Click to expand...

I'd have to agree, it takes a lot energy. I do find myself breathing harder sooner too, but I also find I play better when I'm really working out too
 
JRstriker12

JRstriker12

Hall of Fame
bboy_beez said:
well, I've heard a lot of people saying you should always stay on the ground or keep your foot on the ground when striking the ball.

I JUST LOVE TO CRANK MY FOREHANDS!! I've also notice that when I do this, my strokes are full swings and I get good pace. I also hear that power comes from your legs and racket speed. I feel really comfortable with them, but is it nessary to not leave ground? Any comments would help. :)
Click to expand...

Leaving the ground during a shot should be the result of uncoiling rapidly into the shot - you shouldn't actually "jump" or intend to jump during your stroke as it will lead to inconsistent play.
 
N

Nellie

Hall of Fame
In pros, you will see them leaving the ground on high shots to get the racquet up.

However, if you want to hit the ball hard, you need to push off with your legs during contact, and jumping takes this away.

A better way to think of the shot, is to squat, extend up and through contact, and continue to rise so that you get into the air (after contact) because you have put so much force that you left up your body.
 
user92626

user92626

G.O.A.T.
My understanding of this is that you don't intentionally jump. If you squat and rise into the contact point and you hit with so much speed and upper body strength, example turning shoulder really fast, your lowerbody get pulled along and feet move from their places.
 
BajeDuane

BajeDuane

New User
^+1 exactly what he said. Jumping should be more of a result of how you hit the ball, rather than jumping and trying to hit in the air.
 
X

xFullCourtTenniSx

Hall of Fame
bboy_beez said:
well, I've heard a lot of people saying you should always stay on the ground or keep your foot on the ground when striking the ball.

I JUST LOVE TO CRANK MY FOREHANDS!! I've also notice that when I do this, my strokes are full swings and I get good pace. I also hear that power comes from your legs and racket speed. I feel really comfortable with them, but is it nessary to not leave ground? Any comments would help. :)
Click to expand...

Cranking forehands results in inconsistency or poor shot selection. End result: many unforced errors and few to moderate amounts of winners.

My take - stay grounded.

bboy_beez said:
True, I agree consistency will outplay any style. I've been playing thoughout my high school years, propablying 12+ years now and kind of started developing that jumping forehand because I needed more power. I'm actually consistent with it. I just wonder why coachs and other player my level says I need to stay on the ground?:confused:
Click to expand...

Jumping forehands do not give you more power. They take it away but give you higher angular velocities. This means that when pushed back, you can still put in a decent shot with plenty of topspin if you know how to do it.

The purpose(s) of actually leaving the ground on contact are as follows:
-Lower contact point relative to the body (makes high balls easier to handle)
-Helps put in added topspin when pushed back by a deep ball you don't have time to back up properly for
-Increased angular velocity (which also means greater racket head speed) at the cost of stability

Nellie said:
In pros, you will see them leaving the ground on high shots to get the racquet up.

However, if you want to hit the ball hard, you need to push off with your legs during contact[/b[, and jumping takes this away.

A better way to think of the shot, is to squat, extend up and through contact, and continue to rise so that you get into the air (after contact) because you have put so much force that you left up your body.
Click to expand...


Well said.

When you're in a heated rally of balls coming in fast and deep, you can't jump because that results in lack of stroke consistency, weight of shot, and ability to really handle the shot effectively.

You'll realize when you play with a guy who hits a ridiculously heavy ball (especially if he hits flat) that you can't jump because you'll either mistime it or you just can't get power on the ball. You'll be swinging as hard as you can, but all you can produce at best is a topspin sitter. And since you probably didn't aim for height, it's probably short and asking to be attacked.

When you stay down, you can effectively fight against the pace and weight of incoming shots.

Now, when YOU have a sitter to whack on, you can use a rapid uncoil that has your feet off the floor to get extra racket head speed on it and still be effective. Why? Because the ball isn't pushing you back.

Think of it from a physics perspective. When the ball comes in at high velocities and you're in the air, you have nothing to really keep you from being pushed back (albeit the difference in mass means you moved maybe a millimeter at most), but when you're on the floor, you have the force of friction with the ground creating a reaction force that counteracts the pace of the incoming ball, generating a force equivalent to what the ball exerted on your racket in the opposite direction that the ball came in. This is why it's always easier to hit the ball back the same way it came - because you have the force of friction and action/reaction forces working in your favor to add a little extra free pop onto your shots (or at the very least, neutralize the incoming pace).

Yesterday I saw a guy crank forehands with a ball machine. And he always stayed grounded, had a little knee bend, and leaned forward into the ball slightly. He got his weight into every shot he hit and used friction and the ground to help fight the pace of the incoming ball. (His ball machine wasn't exactly in the slow speed setting) From there he just hit his shot and the ball explodes off his racket. And he doesn't even break a sweat cause all he has to do is plant, lean in, and swing.
 
maxpotapov

maxpotapov

Hall of Fame
user92626 said:
My understanding of this is that you don't intentionally jump. If you squat and rise into the contact point and you hit with so much speed and upper body strength, example turning shoulder really fast, your lowerbody get pulled along and feet move from their places.
Click to expand...

The problem is synchronization -- you've got to have certain starting point. For me pushing the right foot starts the forehand sequence. So, I have to approach the ball in the way I can redistribute weight properly and then push-turn-release-land

But you can not "set off the explosion" with shoulder turn -- you've got to "grab power from ground and transfer it through your stroke".
 
Drago

Drago

New User
Yes, the jumping forehand is energy consuming shot, but I still use it occasionally. I try to take big advantage on those high balls, I use it for winners so I prefer to jump and to finish the rally instead of prolong the rally with a weak response of a high ball.
It is interesting to note that I have never seen a jumping forehands in WTA, may be Serena is capable but I don't remember.
 
X

xFullCourtTenniSx

Hall of Fame
Drago said:
Yes, the jumping forehand is energy consuming shot, but I still use it occasionally. I try to take big advantage on those high balls, I use it for winners so I prefer to jump and to finish the rally instead of prolong the rally with a weak response of a high ball.
It is interesting to note that I have never seen a jumping forehands in WTA, may be Serena is capable but I don't remember.
Click to expand...

That's because the average WTA player hits flat. As such, the only time you will see their feet off the floor is when they hit a dip drive. Even then, it might not happen (but it occasionally does).
 
G

GuyClinch

Legend
I thought that the jumping was simply a result of loading up on your outside foot on the forehand. When you load up and release sometimes you might airborne. You don't have to really think about it..
 
S

split-step

Professional
Drago said:
It is interesting to note that I have never seen a jumping forehands in WTA, may be Serena is capable but I don't remember.
Click to expand...

Weird. They all do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx_tDPc-4WY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-nrO036T-g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yQ_S8CzawY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJQ3TyEQS-Q&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wHLf9yB-cc

Note they are not jumping but coming off the ground due to the forward-and-up momentum
 
aimr75

aimr75

Hall of Fame
Nellie said:
In pros, you will see them leaving the ground on high shots to get the racquet up.

However, if you want to hit the ball hard, you need to push off with your legs during contact, and jumping takes this away.

A better way to think of the shot, is to squat, extend up and through contact, and continue to rise so that you get into the air (after contact) because you have put so much force that you left up your body.
Click to expand...

so, in effect, something like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTEsGt3gVu8

:)
 
R

Ripper014

Hall of Fame
I know for myself I hit the ball much harder when grounded... when I get a sitter... I will measure my shot step in and get a full weigh transfer with full racket head speed behind the ball. When I jump I don't feel I get nearly the same about of power on my shots, but then I am old school and still hit the ball with a closed stance when possible.
 
B

bboy_beez

New User
JRstriker12 said:
Leaving the ground during a shot should be the result of uncoiling rapidly into the shot - you shouldn't actually "jump" or intend to jump during your stroke as it will lead to inconsistent play.
Click to expand...

very good. I guess that's what I was trying to explain. It's the uncoil of the swing or follow through. That makes a lot of sense now.
 
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