Forehand right foot forward

[Brian Dearman]

I'm right handed. i took a few lessons a couple of months ago to work on my forhand. The focus was loading on the right leg. I had a bad habit of hitting with no leg bend. Here lies my new problem. If I have to step to the right to get to a forehand my load position has my right foot stepping forward about 6" in front of my left. Way to open. Thoughts on how the right foot should step on the last step?

 

[heninfan99]

why not load laterally and then step forward?
if not, perhaps on a wide ball you can try something like this:

 

[Brian Dearman]

why not load laterally and then step forward?
if not, perhaps on a wide ball you can try something like this:

What I don't do is bring my left foot forward. It stays behind for the whole hit.

 

[Lance L]

Don't worry about where your feet are. If you are getting a good shoulder turn, moving in an athletic way(which if define as keeping your knees bent as you move and recover and wait, etc), and hitting through the ball, your feet will take care of themselves. A better thing to remark on: "Were my knees bent as I moved to and was hitting the ball, and did I hit through the ball?
I can hit a nice drive or slice 1hbh with an open stance, which goes against the grain, but I move well(for me!) to the ball and I get a good shoulder turn, and I use my left to push off and drive through the ball.

Update: I was just doing some shadow swings, and I think I know what you are doing. You are not pushing off/driving with your right foot as you hit. If you drive with your right leg, as your torso rotates CCW, your left let can't help but come off the ground and come forward.

 

[heninfan99]

What I don't do is bring my left foot forward. It stays behind for the whole hit.

so after loading the right, use it to step the left leg forward as you shift weight to it.

 

[zalive]

What I don't do is bring my left foot forward. It stays behind for the whole hit.

I don't understand how this even happens, how do you approach the ball?
Because if you turn your body sideways (to the right) and run to new position, your right foot naturally stays behind when you get there.

 

[Brian Dearman]

I don't understand how this even happens, how do you approach the ball?
Because if you turn your body sideways (to the right) and run to new position, your right foot naturally stays behind when you get there.

I think you might be on to something here. I did a few practice on going to the right.
My last step to the ball is with my right foot towards the net and I load down on the right foot. I don't turn the shoulders very much in this shot compared to a standard rally shot. When I force the turn is naturally pulls the left foot around.
Sounds like I just have bad footwork.

 

[zalive]

You turn your feet (and I suppose body too) position towards the net too early. It should be a part of a swing, it should not happen before it.

Your last step should be your right foot, but you should not change direction of running. Within this last step you turn your right foot at about 45 degrees to the net, not more. It's now behind with your weight transfered on it, while you adjust the other foot in the same direction (45 degrees). Body will naturaly adjust so it's now facing some 45 degrees to the net also. This is the start body position for your swing (while racquet start position should start while you were still running, so when you stop you're completely prepared to take the swing.

Also when you stop you should be in a position enough close to the ball trajectory so you can still punch the ball in front of you.

 

[Mack-2]

I have also caught myself doing this right foot forward on my forehand technique. I do it out of pure laziness when I don't feel to move my feet. I get away with it because it's usually kids I am playing against when I'm coaching.

However, my shot does not have too much mph' s in it, mainly because it limits the amount that I can turn my shoulders and hips. I wouldn't recommend this type of footwork on your forehand if you're looking to hit an effective shot.

I don't think it will affect your shot consistency as I believe consistency is mostly HOW you hit the ball with the racket (swing path).