Greatest ever womens forehand
- Thread starter davey25
- Start date
davey25
Banned
I wasnt sure whether to include Lenglen or Sharapova as the final poll option. I decided upon Sharapova just since Lenglen was mostly know for her amazing all around and all court skills, and the forehand is Maria's best shot even when her serve is 100%.
I included Henin as an option since unlike most I think the forheand is her better side off the ground, not her backhand.
I included Henin as an option since unlike most I think the forheand is her better side off the ground, not her backhand.
Polaris
Hall of Fame
Unlike most people, you have multiple identities to make the opposite argument and clean up the bullshit.
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TomatoSoup
Semi-Pro
Graf.
Unbeatable. Serena,Sharapova,Henin all got nothin' on her.
Unbeatable. Serena,Sharapova,Henin all got nothin' on her.
Tina
Banned
Hello Tomato Soup,
You are pretty famous. I even don't your existence until today. Nice to see you here.
-T
I don't think that Sharapova deserves to make this poll. Her backhand is outstanding of course, but her forehand is anything special.
Even from active players, Clijsters, Kuznetsova and Dementieva all have better forehands than her, despite Kuznetsova being a mess right now.
Ivanovic's forehand was a huge weapon at her peak in 2007-2008, but of course it anywhere near as lethal right now, though she is even more over-reliant on it at the moment with her serve and backhand continually failing her. Still it was ridiculous that people were already comparing her forehand to Graf's so early on in her career.
I actually rated Vaidisova's forehand above Sharapova's when she was having some success on the tour and consistently reaching grand slam semi-finals and quarter-finals.
Even from active players, Clijsters, Kuznetsova and Dementieva all have better forehands than her, despite Kuznetsova being a mess right now.
Ivanovic's forehand was a huge weapon at her peak in 2007-2008, but of course it anywhere near as lethal right now, though she is even more over-reliant on it at the moment with her serve and backhand continually failing her. Still it was ridiculous that people were already comparing her forehand to Graf's so early on in her career.
I actually rated Vaidisova's forehand above Sharapova's when she was having some success on the tour and consistently reaching grand slam semi-finals and quarter-finals.
TomatoSoup
Semi-Pro
Nice to meet you senorita. Judging from your name,you must be a female.
Joe Pike
Banned
boredone3456
G.O.A.T.
I agree, it would be a lot more interesting if it was for second best.Most everyone on here who has offered opinions in the past have said Graf has by far the best female forehand, and one of the best overall forehands, ever. We don't need a poll to tell us this. Its almost a waste of space on the boards.
If I was to pick the 2nd best Forehand, I would be drawn between Davenport, Evert and maybe Wills....it would be a hard choice.
borg number one
Legend
Graf had such a beautiful forehand! Evert had the most consistent forehand ever, in my opinion. Meanwhile, Graf had consistency, while also having the ability to really open up the court and hit lots of winners off the forehand side.
Polaris
Hall of Fame
You lie.
You admitted that you had me on the list for some time. Yet, you are able to read my posts. I suggest:
(a) Update your Ignore List, OR
(b) Admit that you are using multiple IDs to mislead everyone at TW. Tell us what these identities are. That will stop me from calling you out your bullshit.
Option (a) is easier. Option (b) would be braver. Take your pick.
BTW, LOL at the poll. 21 out of 23 vote for the expected answer, indicating that the poll is utterly meaningless.
Warriorroger
Hall of Fame
It will always be Steffi Graf, no matter what era, she could hit winners from all over the places from difficult positions. others maybe had textbook technique or even more power, but the Graf forehand remains a unique weapon.
Joe Pike
Banned
Others played only textbook technique because they couldn't emulate the Graf technique.
More power?
With a racquet comparable to Steffi's?
I don't think so.
Limpinhitter
G.O.A.T.
Like Bueno, King, Goolagong and many continental grip players, Court's forehand was her weaker wing in which she regularly hit under the ball.
It won't always be Steffi Graf someone will come along one day who will have a better forehand.
pc1
G.O.A.T.
It's hard to include all the greats when you talk about a specific category. I did a thread about greatest groundstrokes and I left out Agassi by accident. There are also a lot of contenders in a certain area that are too many to be covered by the number allowed for a poll.
kiki
Banned
Graf and next Davenport for raw power.
But for variety it is Hana´s.Could do everything with it, maybe could do just a bit too much.until Stefi got real she had the best FH of the 80´s according to most male and female peers.
other all time greats are Conchita Martinez,Monica Seles,Virginia Ruzici and Sue Barker,And Court and Bueno were also excellent.
But for variety it is Hana´s.Could do everything with it, maybe could do just a bit too much.until Stefi got real she had the best FH of the 80´s according to most male and female peers.
other all time greats are Conchita Martinez,Monica Seles,Virginia Ruzici and Sue Barker,And Court and Bueno were also excellent.
Yes, Graf's forehand was a little bit one-dimensional.
Always fast, powerful and close to the lines.
Not in your lifetime.
kiki
Banned
I liked the way she ended it up with that torsion and racket head up in the follow through, I haven´t seen anyother player do that.
what is it that you think Mandlikova could do with hers that Graf could not? I think I've seen Graf hit them all including the lob, the slice, angles, drop shots. She developed more variety of spin on that wing to defend against the modern power game, including Pierce, Seles etc. She got her forehand lob around 1989ish. Helped her vs Martina and Sabatini.
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Court also had a solid flat one to pass with and for short balls, and one with a little top for rallying. Most of the forehands I saw her play, did not have underspin, although she did use underspin for some of her approaches and when pulled very wide.
. I
it wasn't as pervasive in her game as it was Goolagong's for example.
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kiki
Banned
Angles and change of pace?
Graf´s was so strong that she probably didn´t need that anyway
You are right, she rarely uses change of pace tactics at all, mostly it was to improve her defensive skills with the big babe tennis, but Graf did use angle forehands very effectively on clay. Of course Seles did this much better with her two-hander forehand and Gabby used her extraordinary topspin to create some soft and dangerous angle shots. I see your point.
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poofytail
Banned
Anyone who thinks it is anyone other than Graf, even those who think Graf is vastly overrated and probably in reality only the 7th or 8th best player all time, needs to see a shrink. Whether you think Graf merits her GOAT position or not (and perhaps she doesnt given how she got there), there is no question she has the best forehand ever.
robow7
Professional
Wish mine would have been so one dimensional
suwanee4712
Professional
Game, set, and match Graf. There is no close second IMO.
For her time, yes. I saw a ton of Gaf matches. Far too many then I care to remember. Is there a WTA player of note now who doesn't hit the forehand as well or better than Graf?
Serena, Sharapova, Vika, Li Na all kill the forehand. It's a different world out there now.
poofytail
Banned
Vika kills the forehand, ROTFL!!! That is news to me. Sharapova and Na kills as many forehands out of play as they do in them, and cant do anything else besides hit it as hard as they can with no thought to what else they are trying to do with it. Serena has a great forehand on a good day, but Ana freaking Ivanovic had ten times the forehand winners in their Australian Open match, something that probably wouldnt even happen to 50 year old Graf.
Sharapova and Li?
You mean those gals who lost to 40-year-old Kimiko Date in 2010?
Yeah, truly impressive forehands.
Graf must be shaking in her boots, you troll ...
I don't care who they lost to. The top of the WTA all hit forehands as hard as Graf did if not more. Graf's FH was revolutionary for it's time. It's time is long past now and many players hit as hard or harder off that wing than she did,
They all hit as hard if not harder than Graf did. The WTA as whole hits harder hit's much harder than the 80's and even the 90's which had some big hitters/
You are really a dimwit.
Only very few hit as hard as prime Steffi did. And they only do this because they have modern racket technology. Steffi with those rackets would hit harder than any of those current hacks. Sharapova, OMG ...
What geniuses like you never understood and never will understand is that Steffi's forehands were so devastating not only due to the power but because
A) of her perfect placement and
B) of her ability to hit them from everywhere (due to her footspeed).
Prime Steffi with a modern racket would really wipe the floor with all of the current players. Only exception is Serena on a good day who could give her a good fight.
Say, do you really think Steffi would need more than an hour to dispatch people like Radwanska, Li, Errani, Kerber, Azarenka, Kvitova??? Franky, i don't see anyone who would have prevented her from winning FO 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 or 2013 for instance. Do you??
Teenage kids like you should be forced to hit with a Dunlop Max 200G for at least one hour before they are allowed to post in FPPT ...
Dedans Penthouse
Legend
Frauline Schnauz.
How could you not see?..
....her nose clearly crossed the net!"
How could you not see?..
....her nose clearly crossed the net!"
chrischris
G.O.A.T.
Graf had the biggest weapon in womens tennis in her blasting heavy and precise forehand..by a mile and a nose.
Hit with it many times. Your point?
