Do you have to hit a straight arm forehand all the time

[DeepTopspinToBackhand]

So when I practiced today I recorded myself and I felt I never hit the ball better,

I had switched from a double bend to straight arm just a few weeks ago and I was specifically trying to work on being relaxed and improving the straight arm forehand

When I looked at the recording a lot of my hits were straight arm but on some of them, specifically higher balls I hit with a double bend,

I had a great practice but is it ok to hit some with a bend because I know Rafa always hits straight arm at least 95 percent of the time

 

[iChen]

i mean you have to adjust on some hits. why don't you post the vid and maybe people can see what you can work on.

 

[dct693]

There are some great forehands with straight arms. There are some great forehands with double bends. Why not hit what produces the best results for you? The fact that you felt that you "never hit the ball better" and only later realized that you hit with a mixture of the two tells me that it doesn't matter all that much.

 

[beltsman]

So when I practiced today I recorded myself and I felt I never hit the ball better,

I had switched from a double bend to straight arm just a few weeks ago and I was specifically trying to work on being relaxed and improving the straight arm forehand

When I looked at the recording a lot of my hits were straight arm but on some of them, specifically higher balls I hit with a double bend,

I had a great practice but is it ok to hit some with a bend because I know Rafa always hits straight arm at least 95 percent of the time

No, you don't. Hit with whatever works and what is comfortable.

 

[ByakuFubuki]

At impact, your arm is just as bent as needed to have the correct racquet angle, and that depends on a series of factors, such as your grip and where (relatively to your body) you get to hit the ball. I'd call your technique "straight arm" if you hit balls in ideal position in that way, not overly high ones. For them you just have to adapt. As you improve, you'll probably develop a better understanding of where to place yourself in order to hit from ideal position, thus increasing the percentage of your straight arm forehands. So don't worry about it.

 

[ChaelAZ]

If you watch the slow mo videos of the pros there are a lot of 'supposed to' mechanics that don't always happen like they should. Maybe not as much in a controlled practice, but a lot of times in matches because of extreme movement and match timing. At my level I am usually compensating a bit for less-than-perfect footwork and positioning but I still try to hit out more with a straighter arm.

 

[TennisCJC]

I hit mostly straight arm FH and I think even Federer and Nadal have some bend at times.

On high balls, I like to get just a few more inches of spacing between me and the contact point than I would have on a waist high or lower ball. This may help you to extend the arm more on high balls.