bent arm /straight arm fh?
- Thread starter zoobears
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West Coast Ace
G.O.A.T.
Exactly. Straight is the gameplan (can get the most power); but sometimes Reality gets in the way and 'whatever it takes'.
Say Chi Sin Lo
G.O.A.T.
I hit my forehand like a forehand.
Say Chi Sin Lo
G.O.A.T.
I hit my forehand like a forehand.
SpinToWin
Talk Tennis Guru
This. Mostly straight, but the resulting shot is the priority, not the form.
10isMaestro
Semi-Pro
Even if I think I struck with more of a bent arm, videos usually show I tend to extend my arm on forehands. It just happens.
Bender
G.O.A.T.
Exactly.
You should be adjusting and fixing a stroke around the results, not aesthetics or largely theoretical differences.
Federer, Nadal, Verdasco all have straight arm FHs and they're some of the greatest FHs in the game. However, Donald Young, Dimitrov, and Mardy Fish hit with straight arm FHs too and their FHs aren't particularly noteworthy. Sampras, Agassi, Djokovic, and Kyrgios hit with a double bend.
Unless you're like me and run into wrist and forearm issues when hitting the double bend for extended periods, just go with what feels more natural to you.
For most people, that's going to be double bend.
Edit: also, the straight arm FH in no way requires an active wrist whip as you seem to suggest. The technique is pretty much identical except for how much bend you have at the elbow.
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5263
G.O.A.T.
all the fastest recorded Fhs have been bent arms to my knowledge....
Bender
G.O.A.T.
Blake, Murray, Monfils...all have double bend.
But I would asterisk that since it's questionable whether it is causation as being suggested here or merely correlation--straight arm FHs aren't very common, and Fedal don't hit big forehands often because they don't need to. Verdasco is a different animal however.
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Fedinkum
Legend
What is double bend? Any pic to illustrate?
5263
G.O.A.T.
Right, and I'm not trying to say the double bend for sure means a bigger Fh, but that clearly a double bend allows for the biggest Fhs we see in tennis history. My main point is that the DB doesn't inhibit available power.
Bender
G.O.A.T.
It's just another way of saying "bent arm forehand". It's when your elbow is a little bent at contact.
There is some disagreement over whether all forehands are actually double bend forehands with almost / nearly zero degree bends, but that's mostly semantics in my opinion.
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Limpinhitter
G.O.A.T.
I've seen quite a few players play live. Del Potro has the biggest forehand I've ever seen. Straight or bent?
5263
G.O.A.T.
Big Fh no doubt, but no bigger than the fastest recorded DB Fhs and Imo he sort of mixes the 2 types a bit. He doesn't seem to go straight quite as early or stay straight quite as long with his Fh Imo.
dlam
Semi-Pro
I have basically two FH which I call a snap FH. Snap FH I play when I have a pusher little pace ball that I can walk into and little backswing and very western grip style and I think a bent elblow but I don't think about it the control is from my wrist.
The only FH I call a loop FH for faster pace balls that I can drive more bigger backswing and follow thru and the grip is a bit more eastern , my arm loops almost like a figure eight motion to meet the ball
The only FH I call a loop FH for faster pace balls that I can drive more bigger backswing and follow thru and the grip is a bit more eastern , my arm loops almost like a figure eight motion to meet the ball
ace_pace
Rookie
Each type has their own advantages/disadvantages. do what you're most comfortable with.
IMO straight arm fh can produce more top spin (Nadal, Federer, Brugruera) but in turn harder to hit successfully due to the need for exceptional footwork. Unfortunately, straight arms are much more rare, so hard to evaluate and compare to double bend for now.
IMO straight arm fh can produce more top spin (Nadal, Federer, Brugruera) but in turn harder to hit successfully due to the need for exceptional footwork. Unfortunately, straight arms are much more rare, so hard to evaluate and compare to double bend for now.
WildVolley
Legend
After witnessing the success of Federer and Nadal, I experimented with the straight arm forehand. It never clicked for me and it exacerbated some shoulder issues I had. So today I use a double-bend fh.
I believe that there isn't enough evidence or even theory to state that one technique is superior to another. I don't think there's any harm in experimenting with different forehands, but it seems that the double-bend is a more natural technique for most players. It would be interesting to read how the Federer, Nadal, and Verdasco fhs developed.
There are some fairly extreme forehands on the tour today. For example, I'm intrigued by Jack Sock's extreme forehand. It doesn't look like it should work, but it is a potent weapon at the highest levels.
I believe that there isn't enough evidence or even theory to state that one technique is superior to another. I don't think there's any harm in experimenting with different forehands, but it seems that the double-bend is a more natural technique for most players. It would be interesting to read how the Federer, Nadal, and Verdasco fhs developed.
There are some fairly extreme forehands on the tour today. For example, I'm intrigued by Jack Sock's extreme forehand. It doesn't look like it should work, but it is a potent weapon at the highest levels.
WildVolley
Legend
I'd class him as part of the straight forehand camp (my arm still looks slightly bent when fully straight, and I don't think my arm ever looked as straight at contact as DelPo's does), though the racket-face on the takeback doesn't look like Federer or Nadal. I didn't realize how old-school eastern fh his grip is, wow!
5263
G.O.A.T.
My question related to him being a SA (not saying he is not, but) it gets close to straight later Imo and doesn't stay straight that long because he seems start bending pretty early. Do you see it that way at all?
Moveforwardalways
Hall of Fame
Exactly. Hit the way that helps you make clean contact and watch the ball hit the racquet. The straight arm vs bent arm stuff is nonsense.
WildVolley
Legend
Yes, I'd agree there's something very different about his shot and I wouldn't have classed it as a straight-arm shot if someone else hadn't mentioned it and I hadn't watched it in slow motion. He's one of those guys with a very distinctive forehand.
The other thing that really stands out about his stroke is how he has the short takeback we associate with the ATP forehand, but he doesn't close the racket face down toward the court like the other players. You can't miss that Verdasco prefers to hit with his arm straight, but I think it is easy to miss it with Del Potro.
Minion
Hall of Fame
I wanted to revive this thread a bit. Playing in a tournament over the weekend, I saw a fairly skinny woman in her mid 20's play in the women's single finals. She played a gorgeous straight-arm FH. Seriously, it was beautiful to watch. Besides the assthetics of it all, the easy power and topspin she generated almost matched the top men playing. Needless to say she hit her opponent off the court.
Also, one of my team members in our league also plays with a straight-arm FH. Again, the pace and spin is much more than a bent-arm FH, without a doubt - when comparing player on sort of the same level. The only downside I could see with the straight-arm FH, is timing. Unless your timing is very good, you're going to spray balls everywhere. If I could buy a straight-arm FH, I would, damn, it just looks so nice to me
Also, one of my team members in our league also plays with a straight-arm FH. Again, the pace and spin is much more than a bent-arm FH, without a doubt - when comparing player on sort of the same level. The only downside I could see with the straight-arm FH, is timing. Unless your timing is very good, you're going to spray balls everywhere. If I could buy a straight-arm FH, I would, damn, it just looks so nice to me
Fintft
G.O.A.T.
I hit straight and use bent arm only when I'm jammed (I think).
