Classic Forehand in Modern Game?

[BU-Tennis]

I have been playing tennis for about six years, and have tried every possible grip and stroke combination out there. I have landed between either an eastern or forehand grip. I like Federer's stroke but can't seem to really grasp it. Another stroke that i love is Sampras's and Davenport's. Both use an eastern forehand, with Sampras' stroke being a little more wristy. I like how clean it feels when hitting the ball and it seems to be more natural to me as I prefer to hit the ball lower than most people.

the problem i have with committing to this style is that I play in college where I am trying desperately to get back onto the team. Now, putting aside my bad physical fitness which i am improving as we speak, I think my forehand is limiting my success. Most of the players are from South America, where they developed clay court games with heavy topspin. I am worried that if I go too traditional with my forehand that i won't be able to handle the high bouncing balls and would be forced to move in and take them on the rise most of the time.

If anyone has any tips on playing an eastern grip in a topspin game they would be appreciated. Or tips on technique to help take the ball on the rise, and general strategy tips for the high-topspin game. Please don't respond with "Play what feels natural to you," i like both types of forehands and each have their drawbacks so there is going to be a learning curve no matter what grip and stroke I chose, (Besides, no one felt comfortable serving with a continental grip the first time they did it, right?)

 

[delphi17]

The best way for a classic grip is definately to take it on the rise as you say.

I think one of the tips that has helped me a lot, is to think that the baseline is 1-2 feet shorter, and force yourself to get closer to the net, so that it is easier for you to hit it on the rise.

Although, I personally use a semi-western,
and I find it the easiest to deal with high bouncing from other's topspin, but i still take my shots from the rise, and closer to the net, because I can increase the width of my shot angels..
and also that the effect of the spin from my opponent's shot would be less.
I would say give semi-western another try, as you said, continental grip isnt comfortable the first time..
with the modern game, semi-western is minimum to counter the south american wester grip players..

 

[lwto]

Ultimatly, you will find you have no problems hitting back those topspin shots. I have and use a "classic" grip and have been quite succsefull.

Seems, that if you hit early, and you make sure you hit THROUGH the ball, you will have hit it good. The reason you need to hit early is simple. These balls bounce high, so if you do not hit early.. your going to be swinging from very low to very high and the natural topspin you impart will just drive the ball generally into the bottom of the net. So, by swinging a moment earlier, you will put more forward motion onto the ball, yet still have some natural topspin to keep the ball in play.

 

[tennisdad65]

I use australian on the forehand and hit it relatively flat on high balls and hit with topspin on lower balls.

I play a lot of young topspin players and have no problem with their topspin. I stand on the baseline or sometimes inside, take balls on the rise, and get to the net. From the baseline you have a nice angle to crush high topspin shots hit to you.

 

[LeeD]

Key to Eastern or Conti forehands is to shorten the points, don't play their attrition game, and go for deep approach's or downright winners ASAP.
When you play the push game, the advantage goes to the W or W-SW grips with heavy top and much margin for error .....
Do you want to grind it out? If so, go their SW or W grips.
Do you want to WIN the point? Instead of not losing it? Then ATTACK.

 

[FH2FH]

Federer seems to be doing just fine and his grip is eastern to semiwestern. He hits the ball early and often uses a straight arm from an open stance. Sampras' grip was similar and he hit the ball later, also with a fairly straight arm, from a closed stance.

The common ground between the two is the reach and ability to hit shots on the run. Might also help with volleying? I'm considering changing my grip/swing for these reasons.

High/heavy balls can be hit on the rise or with a stronger grip. I feel in general that SW to western grips require that you move well and prefer banging balls from the back court. A weaker grip is more versatile, but perhaps requires better timing to play against a heavy hitting topspin opponent.

 

[35ft6]

First off, I would NOT copy Fed's forehand. I would go with a more conventional forehand with a bent elbow.

I had a western forehand during my juniors. I was known for my forehand. I quit playing tennis after my junior year in high school so I could be a bum with my friends, picked up a racket 2 years later. During that time thought I would stop hitting a western and hit it like Pete Sampras, so changed to an eastern grip. For me, that was the biggest mistake ever. But it took a long time for me to realize this. I thought I was simply out of practice but I played 3 years of college tennis with an eastern grip.

When it was on, it was a winner machine. It looked effortless, and I could just hit flat shots into corners. But if I tightened up, it was unpredictable, and I had no confidence in it. Right before the conference tournament at the end of my junior year in college, while practicing at the tournament site, I decided to move my grip over a bit to semi-western. I know this sounds weird, but the adjustment took almost no time to implement, and I had a great tournament.

I think eastern forehands are great if you're just hitting around, the mechanics are more straightforward so after a lay off, it might come back quicker, but under pressure, in a match situation, it's a liability. For me anyways. The problem is that it's not naturally conducive to spin. Semi-western is ideal, you can hit it eastern flat or western spinny, and quite frankly, if I had to choose between the two extremes, western or eastern, I would go with western.

You want to see a pretty classical forehand in the men's game right now, check out the Tsonga videos on Youtube. His forehand is very similar to the kind you see in the women's game, pretty flat, and no windshield wiper on the follow through, the head really goes through the ball.

 

[drake]

First off, I would NOT copy Fed's forehand. I would go with a more conventional forehand with a bent elbow.

I had a western forehand during my juniors. I was known for my forehand. I quit playing tennis after my junior year in high school so I could be a bum with my friends, picked up a racket 2 years later. During that time thought I would stop hitting a western and hit it like Pete Sampras, so changed to an eastern grip. For me, that was the biggest mistake ever. But it took a long time for me to realize this. I thought I was simply out of practice but I played 3 years of college tennis with an eastern grip.

When it was on, it was a winner machine. It looked effortless, and I could just hit flat shots into corners. But if I tightened up, it was unpredictable, and I had no confidence in it. Right before the conference tournament at the end of my junior year in college, while practicing at the tournament site, I decided to move my grip over a bit to semi-western. I know this sounds weird, but the adjustment took almost no time to implement, and I had a great tournament.

I think eastern forehands are great if you're just hitting around, the mechanics are more straightforward so after a lay off, it might come back quicker, but under pressure, in a match situation, it's a liability. For me anyways. The problem is that it's not naturally conducive to spin. Semi-western is ideal, you can hit it eastern flat or western spinny, and quite frankly, if I had to choose between the two extremes, western or eastern, I would go with western.

You want to see a pretty classical forehand in the men's game right now, check out the Tsonga videos on Youtube. His forehand is very similar to the kind you see in the women's game, pretty flat, and no windshield wiper on the follow through, the head really goes through the ball.

Excellent post, 35ft6 sums it up nicely. I see numerous players, good and bad, that don't or won't swing through using their milder grips. It's all about pressure situations that make the difference.

 

[FH2FH]

I think the primary benefit of a [EDIT] WEAK grip is more wrist movement/versatility. If that's something you want to avoid, or struggle with consistency, by all means ...try a stronger grip.

I respect everyone's opinion. I'm just here for fun debate and to offer what advice I can.

Certain techniques will suit some better than others, and of course change is not easy, especially while learning or experimenting.

Personally, I'm all about exploring options. When you get to a certain level though, its probably best to stick to what works. Constantly making changes won't be good for consistency or confidence, which are essential to playing competitively.

The reason I'm behind the OP trying a more neutral grip is because I recently learn to hit an opposite forehand.

I didn't try to make it straight arm/weak grip, it just seemed to be most effective. I like the loose feeling and I actually get more spin than I do with my normal forehand.

 

[FH2FH]

Excellent post, 35ft6 sums it up nicely. I see numerous players, good and bad, that don't or won't swing through using their milder grips. It's all about pressure situations that make the difference.

Good point!

 

[35ft6]

Another thing about eastern and it not being great for spin, you can't hit as many spots on the court (with pace) as you can with a grip better for spin (semi-w and western). I could hit deep into the corners, and maybe if I'm pulled way out side I could hit an extreme angle forehand, but in general, it was great for generating length but I felt like there was so much of the court I really didn't have confidence aiming for with an eastern.

Once I switched to semi-western, it's like the court became bigger and I was allowed to use more of it off the forehand. You want to see an extreme example, watch how Sampras hits his forehand compared to somebody like Nadal, who hits with a lot more spin.

 

[onehandbh]

I took a lesson once, from this guy that teaches an old
school classic style of hitting. His ideas on volleys were
actually pretty good. Really clean crisp volleys with very
little swing.

Hitting flat with an eastern grip was interesting. it was
super effortless. I don't think I can hit as hard vs my
regular swing w/ a SW grip, but I could hit it more
effortlessly b/c more of the energy from the racquet is
going towards forward force. The guy basically advocating
being completely relaxed during the whole swing and
being very light and smooth in footwork as well.

 

[BU-Tennis]

All great advice. I actually just got my new tennis racquets today, the k6.1 tour 90. The combination of the racquet and the strings makes my forehand much better than before. I have decided to stick with the federer-esque forehand, and see what goes. I have a feeling with the additional topspin i can generate with this racquet that i won't have as much trouble getting the ball up and down.

 

[35ft6]

Something I remembered today about the Eastern grip I used to have. If you have really good, sound technique, you should be able to drop the ball at your side from the baseline, or anywhere else on the court, and hit a ball in taking a full swing, all the pace self generated.

I could NOT do this with my former eastern forehand. I could hit it in with some pace but I would have to take something off of it. My college coach showed me a video a kid sent him and I remember being amazed that the kid could take such a huge cut at the balls being fed to him with no pace. At the time, I could drop a ball and crank top spin backhands, that was no problem, and I could also take a full swing off a slice and get it in, but not a forehand, and it struck me as being the symptom of a problem.

 

[BU-Tennis]

^^^^My college coach actually made us do a drill similar to this. You have to self feed a forehand/backhand, and take at least three steps before hitting the ball. It gets you to learn that even thought the ball may be right there, tiny adjustment steps are needed to make good contact and also you learn how to apply power to those floating balls that so many have trouble with. But i played a few sets yesterday using the more modern forehand (straight arm at contact while still using an eastern grip) and it worked really well so hopefully

 

[FH2FH]

I think its all preference in the end. I was watching an old Murray match and his grip is weak to moderate also. Can't argue with the results. Djokovic probably has the strongest grip in the top 10. They're both great players, though Murray has more variety. So... maybe weak grips are for feel players while strong grips are for heavy hitters?

I tried the straight arm/E grip with my right hand again and just cannot do it; left still works great though...? I plan to work on loosening up my right wrist. I lacked touch/feel last year before a shoulder surgery. The stronger grip restricts my movement. That's good for consistency, but I like to have options.

 

[Nellie]

If you are active with your feet and hit while moving foreward into the court, an eastern grip forehand can be extremely effective. that is why it is good for an attacking game.

 

[Power Player]

Some of this stuff you just have to do. I figured out the Western by feel when I was around 13-14 years old. It just felt right to hit the western forehand for me because that was how I swung. I naturally gravitated to the SW and Western grips through practice.

What I am saying is that you can not sit and think about this too much, you just have to grab the racquet and go hit balls.

A lot of people right now watch Nadal and then go buy babolats and try and buggy whip forehands. They are forcing a style instead of doing what works best for their natural swing style.

 

[35ft6]

accidental post

 

[FH2FH]

35ft6, you should have left that information. It was useful. The more points made, the more we can learn.

 

[FH2FH]

I'm just gonna go ahead and hijack your thread at this point, lol. As usual, I have more to add... Of course I don't mind admitting when I'm wrong either.

So I've been hitting more left handed and the weak grip thing (eastern) is working out less, particularly when on the defensive. As posted above, this seems to be a good grip for hitting a hard, flat slapshot, but not the kind of grip that implies, "I prefer to limit my unforced errors."

So its gravitated more toward a SW. If you wanna get all technical, the face closes some 30-45 degrees from the eastern. The swing path is naturally more vertical this way, which is conducive to creating topspin (control & consistency).

I don't like that its limited my reach somewhat, but in the end I'd rather keep the ball safely in the court and move an extra step than leave an impression on the fence instead of my opponent.