Groundstrokes

[krprunitennis2]

I'm really confused! xD

My friend says that when you hit your groundstrokes, you must have full extension of your arm. As in before -------> during --------> after contact. I pretty much believe that too (but my pictures don't xD).

However, the school coach tells us to hit our groundstrokes with elbows near the body before contact while slowly separating away during contact, then moving off on the follow through. Wouldn't this shorten our reach and take away some power? The coach said this is for spin.

Bleah, what is the recommended way of hitting?

 

[krz]

I'm assuming you mean forehand. Since a 1HBH should always be straight at contact.

There are good players who do both. Nadal and Federer both hit with a straight arm sometimes. You will have to make contact earlier though using a straight arm.

The elbow in at the body method also called the double bend b/c both the elbow and wrist are bent. Roddick hits like this i think the double bend is more popular of the two styles.

Something to take into account about the double bend also is that the more towards western your grip is the closer your contact point is in relation to your body.

 

[krprunitennis2]

I'm assuming you mean forehand. Since a 1HBH should always be straight at contact.

There are good players who do both. Nadal and Federer both hit with a straight arm sometimes. You will have to make contact earlier though using a straight arm.

The elbow in at the body method also called the double bend b/c both the elbow and wrist are bent. Roddick hits like this i think the double bend is more popular of the two styles.

Something to take into account about the double bend also is that the more towards western your grip is the closer your contact point is in relation to your body.

Oops. well I was wondering about the forehand too. and I should've specified backhand and 2h. xD

I knew about the 1 hand backhand being straight, but on the two hand backhand, which style is recommended? Roddick's 2h backhand or Nadal's 2hbackhand?

 

[krz]

I don't think you would want to implement anything Roddick does in his backhand into yours lol.

seriously now, on two handed I'm not quite sure. But, personally on my backhand I have a slight bend on it. This is of course assuming I have the contact point I want, getting jammed = more bent

 

[krprunitennis2]

Do you know of any professionals that hit backhands with their elbows tucked into their bodies?

 

[drakulie]

disregard my vote. I thought you were talkng about the forehand.

With the backhand, you want the elbow away from your body, although you will see players on the tour using different methods.

 

[krprunitennis2]

For the forehand, why should it be near your body?

I'm kinda getting off topic, but I'm curious.

 

[drakulie]

^^^ assists with stabilization.

 

[woohoo4green]

UHP COMPACT lol....

 

[The_Punisher]

both your coach and your friend are right. im assuming that your coach wants you to keep your arm closer to your body until you are able to effortlessly add large amounts of topspin as you gradually learn how to extend your arm to combine both power and topspin your forehand.

but for your backhand, if its one-handed, keep your arm straight the whole way through your swing. if you go on youtube and look up how federer and gasquet hit their backhands, you'll notice that when they make contact with the ball, their arms are completely straight all through the swing. i dont hit a two handed backhand, but ive noticed that nadal's and roddick's arms are straight all the way through contact and bend slightly at the end of the follow through.