forehand degeneration

[vinouspleasure]

From the time I was 14, I've had a strong, accurate forehand. I could hit the ball harder than a lot of teaching pros (though not as consistently). Any ball left hanging in the middle of the court was put away.

About five years ago, the pro at our club started talking to me about "modernizing" my strokes. He suggested moving to open stance, semi-western and changing the swing path to the millennium forehand. I started watching how he hit it, watched some video on the web and started practicing the new stroke. After about 6 months, I went to a tennis camp and grooved the stroke for a weekend.

The next six months were magic. I was able to hit the ball much harder. with more spin and consistency than ever before. I literally didn't drop a set for 6 months. But I noticed some stiffness in my neck after matches and it got so bad that I had to take 3 weeks off. Once I got back on the court, the new fh was gone. And the old fh was gone. I was left with a weak, topspin fh that doesn't penetrate the court.

So now about 2 years have passed and my fh is getting weaker and weaker. Last night I could barely get the ball over the net. People that look at the stroke tell me that I'm not hitting through the ball...I brush up too fast and don't extend through the ball. When I try to correct this, the ball flies long and I feel awkward in the stroke. The good news, if there is good news, is that I've had to improve my bh to put balls away. This has led to the odd practice of occasionally running around my fh to hit a bh.

So I've got to do something. I'm thinking about starting with a completely different stroke pattern to break down my muscle memory...maybe something fairly flat, small or no loop, maybe go back to a plain fh grip. Or I could take some lessons and see if I can salvage what's there now.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[Ripper014]

Depends what you want... but I would go back to what is most natural to you... probably what you started with.

 

[ajjlaaks]

I'm no pro but if I were you, i'd go back to the original flat forehand for a while. It should come pretty easy since that's what you started out with. After you feel like that's going well, you could start altering it again to a more topspinny stroke (just like you did earlier) but this time trying to figure out what is causing you neck problems and adjusting accordingly.

 

[LeeD]

Post vids.
Why listen to a coach/instructor if your forehand was already working good?
You can adopt either your old forehand, your coach's new forehand, or a completeley new forehand, but you gotta P R A C T I C E it lots.
With any forehand, consider shoulder turn, hip rotation, leg drive, and WATCH THE BALL....:shock:
Early prep.

 

[Racer41c]

From the time I was 14, I've had a strong, accurate forehand. I could hit the ball harder than a lot of teaching pros (though not as consistently). Any ball left hanging in the middle of the court was put away.

About five years ago, the pro at our club started talking to me about "modernizing" my strokes. He suggested moving to open stance, semi-western and changing the swing path to the millennium forehand. I started watching how he hit it, watched some video on the web and started practicing the new stroke. After about 6 months, I went to a tennis camp and grooved the stroke for a weekend.

The next six months were magic. I was able to hit the ball much harder. with more spin and consistency than ever before. I literally didn't drop a set for 6 months. But I noticed some stiffness in my neck after matches and it got so bad that I had to take 3 weeks off. Once I got back on the court, the new fh was gone. And the old fh was gone. I was left with a weak, topspin fh that doesn't penetrate the court.

So now about 2 years have passed and my fh is getting weaker and weaker. Last night I could barely get the ball over the net. People that look at the stroke tell me that I'm not hitting through the ball...I brush up too fast and don't extend through the ball. When I try to correct this, the ball flies long and I feel awkward in the stroke. The good news, if there is good news, is that I've had to improve my bh to put balls away. This has led to the odd practice of occasionally running around my fh to hit a bh.

So I've got to do something. I'm thinking about starting with a completely different stroke pattern to break down my muscle memory...maybe something fairly flat, small or no loop, maybe go back to a plain fh grip. Or I could take some lessons and see if I can salvage what's there now.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

How old are you?

Do you still have the pain?

Have you seen a doctor, chiropractor, PT or kinesiologist?

There are a whole lot of nerves and muscles involved in the neck and shoulder. If you have any kind of nerve pinching or muscle imbalance it can lead to weakness. For me, I would start with the chiro (this is a very controversial topic for many), then go to a kinesiologist. As luck has it, I have a kinesiologist at my gym who does personal training. She's incredible.

 

[trix123]

get on to the practice court as often as possible

 

[vinouspleasure]

Depends what you want... but I would go back to what is most natural to you... probably what you started with.

"And the old fh was gone." I can't go back to what I started with, would if I could, but I don't know how....it gone.

Post vids.
Why listen to a coach/instructor if your forehand was already working good?
You can adopt either your old forehand, your coach's new forehand, or a completeley new forehand. (clipped pablum)

One listens to a pro to improve and it worked...for months. I can't adopt my coaches new fh, its gone.

Racer41c, I don't have any current pain. I had pain two years ago.

ajjlaaks, thanks, that's what I'm thinking about too.

So here's an update, I played on Thursday and during the warm-up, worked out the beginnings of a new stroke. I decided to put more of my hand behind the racquet and moved from semi-western to eastern fh, used a short, compact backswing, almost no loop, kept my wrist laid back through the stroke.

Pretty good results, good pace, not as much topspin as I'd like but at least I'm driving the ball again. I have to think more about where I want to finish as I had some awkwardness there. A promising first step, this weekend I'm going to try to make some more progress, perhaps I'll post a video. Thanks to all for their posts.

 

[vinouspleasure]

Depends what you want... but I would go back to what is most natural to you... probably what you started with.

"And the old fh was gone." I can't go back to what I started with, would if I could, but I don't know how....it gone.

Post vids.
Why listen to a coach/instructor if your forehand was already working good?
You can adopt either your old forehand, your coach's new forehand, or a completeley new forehand. (clipped your generic advice)

One listens to a pro to improve and it worked. I can't adopt my coaches new fh, its gone.

Racer41c, I don't have any current pain. I had pain two years ago.

ajjlaaks, thanks, that's what I'm thinking about too.

So here's an update, I played on Thursday and during the warm-up, worked out the beginnings of a new stroke. I decided to put more of my hand behind the racquet and moved from semi-western to eastern fh, used a short, compact back swing, almost no loop, kept my wrist laid back through the stroke.

Pretty good results, good pace, not as much topspin as I'd like but at least I'm driving the ball again. I have to think more about where I want to finish as I had some awkwardness there. A promising first step, this weekend I'm going to try to make some more progress, perhaps I'll post a video.