Forehand problem

[Blake0]

Recently, my forehand has become inconsistent and basically, horrible. My coach said that im turning my wrist over the ball like turning a doorknob, which is leading to inconsistency and can lead to injuries. I already know that but the problem is that i'm not consciously trying to turn my wrist over, so i can't fix it.

I haven't had this problem before and have good technique except for this wrist thing now.

I'm wondering how to fix this to get my forehand back on the right track again.

 

[Nellie]

You cannot get topspin by rolling over the ball. The topspin comes from the low-to-high racqet path and not the wrist. Focus on hitting through the ball and following over your shoulder in the low to high swing path, with your elbow pointed in the desired direction of the ball. You can adjust that follow-through later, but finishing low will encourage that wristy stroke. Try to get really high net clearance with loopy shots.

 

[jb193]

In my experience, a lot of what your wrist does is the product of what you do before hand. Carefully observe your stroke by video or by whatever means and really take note of your swing path. I thought once that my forehand was "normal" when feeling it and after video analysis, I was opening up my racquet face way too much prior to contact and in essence, not hitting the ball clean enough which was bringing in too much wrist action. Good luck...

 

[Jay_The_Nomad]

when your stroke starts to break down, go back to basics.

You probably tried to incorporate something new into your stroke you picked up from somewhere & your form has changed & you now need to unlearn that.

Go back to basics... shorten your backswing, hit some slower paced balls, remove some unnecessary motions.. try to work out what's going on... than go back to full swing and see if the problem is gone.

 

[user92626]

You cannot get topspin by rolling over the ball. The topspin comes from the low-to-high racqet path and not the wrist. Focus on hitting through the ball and following over your shoulder in the low to high swing path, with your elbow pointed in the desired direction of the ball. You can adjust that follow-through later, but finishing low will encourage that wristy stroke. Try to get really high net clearance with loopy shots.

This is good advice. Occasionally I try "lifting" a low ball by doing turning a knob, it's sufficient for saving a shot but not really a standard rally type topsping shot. I was going to tell you to try moving your grip toward Western. Doesn't have to be full western but into that direction and it may allow you to hit up stronger instead of relying on the wristy knob turning motion. If you go toward Western grip, just remember to hit more out in front. By nature it would give you the natural rolling over the ball effect.

 

[Blake0]

This is good advice. Occasionally I try "lifting" a low ball by doing turning a knob, it's sufficient for saving a shot but not really a standard rally type topsping shot. I was going to tell you to try moving your grip toward Western. Doesn't have to be full western but into that direction and it may allow you to hit up stronger instead of relying on the wristy knob turning motion. If you go toward Western grip, just remember to hit more out in front. By nature it would give you the natural rolling over the ball effect.

I can't switch to western..not suitable for my wrist :neutral:. I hit with a eastern grip. i already hit the ball well out in front of my body, almost with a straight arm. I know the problem now i think, it's because I have a WW forehand and now instead of rotating my arm throughout the stroke i sort of twist my wrist and follow through.

 

[Blake0]

In my experience, a lot of what your wrist does is the product of what you do before hand. Carefully observe your stroke by video or by whatever means and really take note of your swing path. I thought once that my forehand was "normal" when feeling it and after video analysis, I was opening up my racquet face way too much prior to contact and in essence, not hitting the ball clean enough which was bringing in too much wrist action. Good luck...

Thanks for the help, i now know what i do wrong..i twist my wrist like turning a doorknob at contact now then follow through now for some odd reason. I think i'm also opening up my racket face too much before contact. Haven't taken a video, just shadowed hitting a ball in front of the mirror .

 

[ho]

You cannot get topspin by rolling over the ball. The topspin comes from the low-to-high racqet path and not the wrist.

there is several ways to create topspin:
1. hit from low to high, let gravity bring the ball down, as rainbow spin: in a most cases, you hit too hard and not enough gravity to bring it down. particular in short ball. An exagerated from low to high will be too hard to execute.
2. Hit with a closed racket face: combination of tilted racket face and from low to high will bring ball in. Taught by Tom Wilkilson (Sampras coach). The more you tilt racket down, the harder it is to time, the easier it net.
3. Pronate your forearm to spin the ball at contact. it called windshield wiper. look like you use the wrist but it not. racket face rool over the ball to spin it. ball travel fast but it drop down fast and the end. called water fall spin. to all, this is the pretty modern way to spin the ball in most of cases regarless of position.
4. Combination of all of them.
among all, the from low to high is a basic taught by the time of the wood racket. Now, most advanced player use 2 and 3 or a combination of all.

 

[ho]

Recently, my forehand has become inconsistent and basically, horrible. I'm wondering how to fix this to get my forehand back on the right track again.

you got to know the principle of UNCONSISTANCY:
Fisrt: In designing machinery, engineer try to do it with as little as moving parts possible. The more part moving, the more problem will wait down the road. You sure have too much moving part on your hitting mechanism.
Second: When ball hit the string bed, it deformed and the surface of contact will be like a circle between spring bed and the ball, the larger the circle, the more control the ball will bounce out.
Understand this two elements of UNCONSISTANCY, you will find what to be fixed naturally, no need to remind yourselt have to hit thru the ball, use no wrist... and so on.

 

[FH2FH]

Blake0, something that may help you is to try to keep your wrist above the racquet head slightly longer. Your shots may go higher at first. I suspect now they're going into the net?

 

[user92626]

Second: When ball hit the string bed, it deformed and the surface of contact will be like a circle between spring bed and the ball, the larger the circle, the more control the ball will bounce out.

ho,
This is more than one time you wrote about how the ball comes into contact w/ the racket (in previous post you said something like two soft objects, etc).

I'd like to know how you would make the ball dwells longer on the stringbed, ie make the circle larger, more control. I mean, we basically swing into the ball at relatively constant speed, right? Unless at the point of contact you press a bit harder!!! I dunno.

 

[Blake0]

Blake0, something that may help you is to try to keep your wrist above the racquet head slightly longer. Your shots may go higher at first. I suspect now they're going into the net?

Er no, quite opposite, high percentage of them flying long :shock:

 

[Blake0]

Today i went out and hit, and some of a lot of my forehands had sidespin with topspin on them, so when it bounced it would kick up spinning sideways. Think topspin-slice serve but on your forehand :shock:.

 

[FH2FH]

Er no, quite opposite, high percentage of them flying long :shock:

Is your elbow getting more bent than usual? If your shots are consistently high/long, why not just use a slightly stronger grip?

 

[Blake0]

Is your elbow getting more bent than usual? If your shots are consistently high/long, why not just use a slightly stronger grip?

I might have done that, but it feels weird to go down to semiwestern and play..ofcourse it will the first time. But the main reason is because i used to be able to hit with this grip and it went in consistently with good amount of topspin and i liked my forehand. I hit with almost a straight arm, so the elbow thing can't be it.

I've noticed my wrist knob turning thing especially a lot on high balls (shoulder height and above). Maybe i should make a video of me hitting soon, if possible..

 

[ho]

ho,
This is more than one time you wrote about how the ball comes into contact w/ the racket (in previous post you said something like two soft objects, etc).

I'd like to know how you would make the ball dwells longer on the stringbed, ie make the circle larger, more control. I mean, we basically swing into the ball at relatively constant speed, right? Unless at the point of contact you press a bit harder!!! I dunno.

to keep the ball on the string bed longer, the ball have to compressed deformed more on the string bed. few way to do that: hit thru the ball is one, means in your swing, at least at contact, the racket have to go on the straight line about 6". you do not hit the ball, you sweep the ball in some sence.
Another way to do it is to make yourseft and the racket one unit, strong and stiff at contact, therefore ball will compress more and stay longer.
IMHO that is the key point of hitting a tennis ball.

 

[ho]

Today i went out and hit, and some of a lot of my forehands had sidespin with topspin on them, so when it bounced it would kick up spinning sideways. Think topspin-slice serve but on your forehand :shock:.

it means you have 2 moving mechanic at the same time, topspin and side spin. try to reduce to only one moving mechanic.

 

[FH2FH]

Blake0, try not to manipulate your swing so much with the wrist. It should be passive if everything else is done correctly. If this is only a problem with higher points of contact, and the balls continue to go long, I'd really think seriously about using a stronger grip (SW) if only for these shots. Your normal grip can be still used for lower contact.

 

[ho]

Is your elbow getting more bent than usual? If your shots are consistently high/long, why not just use a slightly stronger grip?

we have a serious problem with mr blake here. not just a stronger grip, got to be a stronger non flexible arm. the double bend is in a fixed firm mode until the ball is struck. Reduce your motion with very few activity: no jump, no bend back... do not copy Federer (yet) at this stage, you may try to emulate Agassi stroke, that probably the most simple stroke on the tour. Remember: DISS is the rule of success (Do It Simple Stupid)

 

[Ajtat411]

My rule of success is KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid)

I'm a lover not a hater. haha j/k

 

[Ajtat411]

I find on balls that I'm hitting long that I'm not fully swinging through the ball and am a bit tentative because I don't want to hit the ball long.

It's funny because it is so counter intuitive. The softer/slower swing will keep the ball in. Wrong, it causes problems because it can either make you net the ball or cause balls to go long since you are essentially stopping or pulling back your racket and the timing from this need to be so precise that you usually make an error.

Keeping swing speed up and through the contact zone is good.
This also applies to your 2nd serve. I previously thought that in order to get my 2nd serve in I should lower my swing speed. The balls went in, but they were like lollipops. I kept my swing speed up but hit up on the ball instead and my 2nd serve is acceptable now. Wierd but it works.

 

[Blake0]

we have a serious problem with mr blake here. not just a stronger grip, got to be a stronger non flexible arm. the double bend is in a fixed firm mode until the ball is struck. Reduce your motion with very few activity: no jump, no bend back... do not copy Federer (yet) at this stage, you may try to emulate Agassi stroke, that probably the most simple stroke on the tour. Remember: DISS is the rule of success (Do It Simple Stupid)

I can't hit with a double bend..the most bend i get at the elbow is a slight bend..mainly because i haven't learned the double bend..but i've hit this way for months now..since december of last year, and it's worked fine until now.
The past month or so i guess when i started having this problem.

 

[ho]

I can't hit with a double bend..the most bend i get at the elbow is a slight bend..mainly because i haven't learned the double bend..but i've hit this way for months now..since december of last year, and it's worked fine until now.
The past month or so i guess when i started having this problem.

mr Blake, there is nothing wrong with slight bend, as long as it keep that way thoughout the forward swing. the angle between forearm and upper arm, forearm and hand have to be the same all the way thru the hitting zone. there is not soever change anything if you want consitancy. the more you eliminate moving parts, the better the consistancy.
by the way, what he doing, your coach ?

 

[ho]

My rule of success is KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid)

I'm a lover not a hater. haha j/k

I agree, but DO IT is more enjoyable than KISS IT

 

[ho]

Keeping swing speed up and through the contact zone is good.

very good rookie, when you hit hard, the ball compress more on the string bed, therefore it stay longer with the string, the contact circle get bigger, you get more control and power.
at this stage of your game, but you already reckonize it, that brillant. I bet you even some coach on this site do not know that: "hit from low to high, 30 degree angle feel the strain in your body, lift you leg, bark at whover disagree with it...." that all Vic Baden teach years ago and still teach today (!!!).

 

[Blake0]

mr Blake, there is nothing wrong with slight bend, as long as it keep that way thoughout the forward swing. the angle between forearm and upper arm, forearm and hand have to be the same all the way thru the hitting zone. there is not soever change anything if you want consitancy. the more you eliminate moving parts, the better the consistancy.
by the way, what he doing, your coach ?

Alright, thanks. My coach is away for a tournament, and his assistant coaches are like just graduated seniors from high school, which i know.

I think i notice a slight bend and straightens somewhere around contact, not sure, so this is bad for anyone? I'll try today to keep my arm in the same position throughout my shots today, and my wrist thing ofcourse.

 

[ho]

Alright, thanks. My coach is away for a tournament, and his assistant coaches are like just graduated seniors from high school, which i know.

I think i notice a slight bend and straightens somewhere around contact, not sure, so this is bad for anyone?

this is bad for you mr blake, but it is good for mr Federer. Straight out the arm at contact is a way to keep the ball on the string more. and as you know it's good, but only for genius like Federer. Some coach take Federer stroke and set an example to teach new commer. that is more than funny, it's stupid. Student will never hit as Federer, not even close just because Federer hit 4 hours a day. Talent do not even count. No wonder they are out of work in a hurry.

 

[Blake0]

My coaches haven't worked technically on my forehand yet..just my backhand. Except for the basics and all. My backhands been getting a lot better recently (1hbh) and as well as my slice. Hopefully when i go out and hit today my forehand does better..and maybe i should make a video of myself sometime in the near future .