High School Player - Hitting Forehands [VIDEO]

[OneLove]

Sup! I'm a high school tennis player and am looking for any advice/tips for my forehand. I have been playing tennis for just over a year now, so I'm trying to improve as quickly as possible.

HD VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIqgFXAC3oo

I take lessons with a private coach and I also analyze my own strokes as often as possible with my video camera.

My coach told me that I tend to break my wrist right before contact with the ball, which reduces power. I still have trouble with fixing this.

However, any other advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[boramiNYC]

What grip are you using?

 

[OneLove]

What grip are you using?

In between eastern and semi-western

 

[NickC]

Your video seems to imply you hit the ball quite flat. Try brushing up on the ball. Also, it seems that when you prep for your shot, you pause for a milisecond. That needs to stop - the more fluidity your stroke has the more power and control you'll get. Loosen up your wrist, drop your racquet a bit lower and really hit up and through the ball.

 

[OneLove]

Your video seems to imply you hit the ball quite flat. Try brushing up on the ball. Also, it seems that when you prep for your shot, you pause for a milisecond. That needs to stop - the more fluidity your stroke has the more power and control you'll get. Loosen up your wrist, drop your racquet a bit lower and really hit up and through the ball.

Yes I do hit quite flat, and in terms of the small pause, great observation! I've always noticed it but haven't really thought anything of it, so I will try to fix that. Thanks for the tips!

 

[boramiNYC]

I don't think your wrist action is too bad. I think you can improve the wrist action and give more pop by prepping the racquet higher and don't lay back the wrist too soon, instead let the forward momentum of the upper arm and elbow lead the quick wrist action.

I would also see how it feels to open up the stance more toward neutral. your stance is suitable when you don't use the wrist much at all but keep it firm, but you seem to like to use the wrist. in that case neutral stance works better, imo.

try these things and see if they help.

I like your high contact point. You should be aggressive in court positioning and stay close to the baseline and move the opponent around the court.

How do you deal with high topspin balls? if your swingspeed is fast enough to handle high topspin balls you are golden.

 

[OneLove]

Thank you for the advice! In this video I did have somewhat of a closed stance, but when I'm actually competing, I do tend to play open stance a lot more.

In regard to high topspin balls, I usually take them on the rise. Sometimes though I can get pushed behind the baseline, in which case I resort to brushing over the ball harder to create more topspin. I find this a little difficult to do because of my grip.

 

[TheCheese]

Yeah, it looks like you're hitting far too flat. Remember, increased topspin means you can control higher ball speeds without losing consistency.

 

[boramiNYC]

Thank you for the advice! In this video I did have somewhat of a closed stance, but when I'm actually competing, I do tend to play open stance a lot more.

In regard to high topspin balls, I usually take them on the rise. Sometimes though I can get pushed behind the baseline, in which case I resort to brushing over the ball harder to create more topspin. I find this a little difficult to do because of my grip.

It's possible to deal with high topspin balls with a flat stroke like yours. But, it needs to be quite refined to be able to do so. As I said higher takeback for you will help in this regard with more wrist 'snap' than lay it back and pull. You gotta try different height and find which one works best for you. Keep in mind versatility. The best takeback will allow you to hit both flat and topspin in a good sized contact zone. Once you understand and get used to the optimal swingpath you can really accelerate more. keep tinkering with the takeback.

And your left arm. during prep it's kinda wrapping around your body and you pull back your elbow near torso at contact. instead try pointing more toward the right net post and pull back a little more aggressively to a point a little past your torso. This should add some swingspeed. For exact amount you should keep tinkering and find out.

 

[luvforty]

45-90 degrees of shoulder turn is not gonna cut it.. turn back more during the backswing, and chase that right shoulder to the target on the forward swing.

pros usually have 135-180 degrees

 

[PhrygianDominant]

All these points seem good. I noticed something different

You load up well on your right leg and turn your shoulders, but you keep your right leg and hip very still afterwards. You could try to drive from your right leg and hip more, and allow your hitting arm to lag a bit to have a longer more fluid and efficient kinetic chain. It will allow you to generate more racquet head speed and use more of your larger muscles, which will pay dividends in later sets and when you are nervous.

Honestly you are doing a lot of things right, so I hesitate to even comment, but that's what I noticed.

 

[arche3]

My main comment is to not listen to anything luv40 says and you will improve just from that. Because his opinions will damage your stroke.

 

[GA-TennisCoach]

Actually luvfourty is right, he needs to rotate his shoulders more and also make sure he drops his hand so it's below the ball. It's not a bad forehand though

 

[luvforty]

Actually luvfourty is right, he needs to rotate his shoulders more and also make sure he drops his hand so it's below the ball. It's not a bad forehand though

in your face arche3

 

[Mike2228]

I'm not really qualified to pass down advise but I will say you look good especially when taking into account that you've only been playing for a year. Keep working. I think you have pretty good upside.

 

[arche3]

in your face arche3

I could of said that without even watching the video. Its a blanket statement right about 90% of the time. What you were about to write which I am warning him about was your instruction to bring some measuring devices on court to make sure he rotates exactly 110 degrees or whatever crazy ideal you have based on your pathetic rec strokes.

 

[boramiNYC]

Actually luvfourty is right, he needs to rotate his shoulders more and also make sure he drops his hand so it's below the ball. It's not a bad forehand though

I'd say for his grip dropping hand won't be good.

 

[thejackal]

I like how much whip you can get on your swing. especially for someone who's only been playing one year.

not sure how old you are, but if you're 15-16 or so, it could be a good time to start working at the gym on engaging more of your core muscles and legs. the arm movement is pretty much there Imo, if you can get more core and leg into your shot, you'll have an atomic-level forehand.

 

[sundaypunch]

Thank you for the advice! In this video I did have somewhat of a closed stance, but when I'm actually competing, I do tend to play open stance a lot more.

With a classic FH, you don't need such a big coil / uncoil. You will generally have a closed stance, and generate power by transferring your weight in a more linear fashion. You will have a longer hitting zone ("hit through 3 balls", etc.) and usually hit a bit flatter.

A modern FH will have you in an open stance, getting a big coil as you load your right leg, then big uncoil as you push off the back leg and swing through the ball.

You don't seem to have committed to either of the above. It's not that it has to be one or the other, but you need to understand how you will generate power. You need a bigger coil / uncoil (load & explode is the popular catch phrase) if you hit open stance in matches as you say. If you are going to be hitting with a closed stance like in much of the video, you need to move forward and get your weight into the ball more. Either way, getting below the ball and brushing up a bit will give you more topspin and control.

Your form looks great for only having played a year so keep at it.

 

[luvforty]

your pathetic rec strokes.

breaking news for arche3 - this place is filled with 99% rec strokes, 0.9% teaching pro strokes, and 0.1% touring pro strokes.

 

[boramiNYC]

With a classic FH, you don't need such a big coil / uncoil. You will generally have a closed stance, and generate power by transferring your weight in a more linear fashion. You will have a longer hitting zone ("hit through 3 balls", etc.) and usually hit a bit flatter.

A modern FH will have you in an open stance, getting a big coil as you load your right leg, then big uncoil as you push off the back leg and swing through the ball.

You don't seem to have committed to either of the above. It's not that it has to be one or the other, but you need to understand how you will generate power. You need a bigger coil / uncoil (load & explode is the popular catch phrase) if you hit open stance in matches as you say. If you are going to be hitting with a closed stance like in much of the video, you need to move forward and get your weight into the ball more. Either way, getting below the ball and brushing up a bit will give you more topspin and control.

Your form looks great for only having played a year so keep at it.

there are more options other than those two. and nowadays classic fh with a firm wrist cannot compete effectively. so that's not even an option. OP should see how Berdych and Janowicz hit their fh. they are not really modern and usually hit super flat trajectory with a ton of wrist pop, which gives enough spin to keep the ball in. their stance is anywhere between neutral and closed but not open.

 

[sundaypunch]

there are more options other than those two. and nowadays classic fh with a firm wrist cannot compete effectively. so that's not even an option. OP should see how Berdych and Janowicz hit their fh. they are not really modern and usually hit super flat trajectory with a ton of wrist pop, which gives enough spin to keep the ball in. their stance is anywhere between neutral and closed but not open.

Yes, there are many options. If the OP is hitting with an open stance in matches as he says, he needs a bigger coil, load the back leg, and push off the back leg and uncoil as he swings. He's not doing that the the few open stance FH's he hits in the video.

It would be much more helpful with a back perspective to see where the shots are going.

 

[rkelley]

Good motion. Good whip of the racquet like thejackal said. Every ball you hit in the video is shoulder high. I'd be curious to see you hit other balls at other positions. Generally if you want more topspin you should set-up more below the ball, but those balls are so high that going flatter is not a bad way to go.

The other thing I'm seeing, which will effect the whole deal with setting up below the ball more and swinging up for more topspin, is that you're setting up neutral or even closed sometimes. Try setting up with a more open stance when you can with the weight on that back/outside leg. Also bend your knees a bit. Using that back/outside leg as your anchor will make it easier to get your core more involved into the shot and to get a more upward trajectory in your swing. Also the bent back/outside leg helps drive your hips around to start the kinetic chain. The increased topspin will allow you to add more pace to your shot and still maintain a good margin of error.

Check out some youtube videos of pros.

Here's a very good instructional vid (Lock and Roll): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMNtq393tvo

This guy uses your same grip. Listen to what he says, but also note how he sets up with his weight on the back/outside leg and how he uses that leg to drive his hips around.

 

[LeeD]

Good basics, but too stiff and non athletic for a rising player. Loosen up, turn, wait, and smack that forehand.
If you plan to top out at 4.0, excellent forehands.

 

[arche3]

breaking news for arche3 - this place is filled with 99% rec strokes, 0.9% teaching pro strokes, and 0.1% touring pro strokes.

So stop trying to teach based on your pathetic tennis skills. The rest of us rec players are not talking like we are the all knowing and bragging about how smart we are.

 

[tennisplayer1993]

Those look identical to my high school courts which are by far the best outdoor courts in my area haha. That's really good forehands for a person who has been playing tennis for just a year. Keep it up

 

[guitarplayer]

Looks great. You would probably beat most of the guys here giving you their technical advice. Just stay smooth through the ball. You are fine.

 

[Fusker]

Lots of advice to sift through here, but I just thought I'd say great job. That you're a relative beginner is surprising based on how fluid your swing is. As a former flat hitter, I would just say that when your coach works with you on hitting more spin, pay attention. It will give you a safer rally ball to hit which will be important when you get tight - and everybody does. Good luck!

 

[psv255]

For a year, this is very impressive! Keep it going!

 

[NLBwell]

Just practice hitting a bunch of balls where you make sure you drop your racket down to knee level in the first part of your swing forward.

 

[WesternCK]

Good basics, but too stiff and non athletic for a rising player. Loosen up, turn, wait, and smack that forehand.
If you plan to top out at 4.0, excellent forehands.

Completely agree with the stiff aspect.

I think your stroke mechanics are fairly solid but your footwork is really what needs the most work.

Some people have been talking about dropping the racket lower and while this would not necessarily be a primary focus of mine on your stroke, you do need to bend your right knee more on your open stance shots. Bending your knee will in turn naturally drop your racket lower and give you the chance to hit more top spin.

As for the stance, squared stance is fine for balls that are hit right at you since you can't be expected to hit an open stance with very much power in such a situation. I would definitely stay away from the closed stance though unless you are on the dead run and hitting down the line.

 

[boramiNYC]

the OP's swingpath is a perfectly workable one. no need to change it to low to hi swingpath. he can improve topspin without deviating too far from his current swingpath. just needs to pronate fast from the contact point and impart topspin from there. dropping hand or racquet is not a good advice while his contact points are so high. only when the contact is low he'll need to drop the racquet head.

 

[WesternCK]

the OP's swingpath is a perfectly workable one. no need to change it to low to hi swingpath. he can improve topspin without deviating too far from his current swingpath. just needs to pronate fast from the contact point and impart topspin from there. dropping hand or racquet is not a good advice while his contact points are so high. only when the contact is low he'll need to drop the racquet head.

Dropping the racket low should not be a primary focus like I said but bending his right knee (on open stance) and left knee (when stepping into the squared stance) and in turn loading more is definitely important. I'm sure you know just as much about the kinetic chain as I do. I don't think he should bend his knees more simply to add more top spin but dropping the racket is a natural byproduct of knee bend. While his contact point is high now, it will naturally be lower with more knee bend. If he were to load more on his open stance shots then his chest high shots would be at a lower trajectory anyway since his whole body would be lower to the ground. They would still be chest high, but lower in general.

I knew I didn't make it clear in my initial post but the knee bend does far more than drop his racket and change the trajectory of his swing. It will allow him to load up more as well as rotate fully through his shots.

All this is to say that I think his forehand mechanics are fundamentally strong right now.

 

[WesternCK]

Also, apologies for the double post but I re-read my initial comment and I can see where the confusion happened. I meant to emphasize more than I did that dropping the racket was actually something that I would not focus my attention on. The way I brought it up made it seem like I was agreeing with those who mentioned it and that wasn't my intention. Footwork is what I would work on.

 

[tennis_balla]

First and foremost, slow down the ball machine a bit so its not spitting out one ball after the other. Work on quality, not quantity. If you wanna set it up where the ball you hit crosses the baseline on the other side and the ball machine spits out another so its like a rally then start moving your feet more. If you wanna work on technique then slow down the interval a bit.

Ok, now first off the thing that I would work on with your forehand if you took a lesson would be to get your feet more wider apart. Your feet are rather close together, at all times. This is one of the causes why you don't and can't utilize your lower body much into your stroke as you could be. You hit some semi-open stance forehands as well but even then the feet should be wider. Wider during the ready position, keep them wide when you move to the ball and a nice wide base as you hit the ball.
Right now from the forehands in the video that I saw you're all arm and it happens because your feet are too close together. You won't be able to really use your core and quads efficiently unless you widen that stance. Tennis is played with your legs and core. You generate power and control from the ground up and that to me is your biggest flaw on your forehand.

Another clue that you do not use your lower body in the stroke is how you sorta lean over to hit your stroke. You gotta line up that right leg with the ball, and push off of it. What you're doing is sorta falling/leaning over to your right as you hit your shot. There is no loading in your legs, or rather as much as there should be. You generate your power from your arm, which is wrong. You can't really load because again your feet are too close together.

Regarding your shoulder turn as mentioned earlier, I don't think its that bad. The angle of the camera makes it look like its less than it really is. However, like I said before everything starts from the ground up and because of your feet being too close together, you cannot get a fuller shoulder turn as it will put you off balance. You in turn compensate this by generating power just with your arm, and your shoulders doing minimal work, your legs almost nothing except a bit of a weight transfer thats it. You mentioned hitting too flat, and this is the reason why.

Watch Hass here how wide his feet are, lower center of gravity and how he uses his legs to start the stroke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NY0ZJbVMTY

Here's Nick B. explaining from the ground up
http://youtu.be/cbS0ycWJJEw?t=6m16s

 

[tennis_balla]

A simple test that you can do at home is, have your feet close together about a foot apart. Without moving them, turn your shoulders as if you were about to hit a forehand. Now do the same thing with your feet a bit wider than your shoulders, don't move them and turn your shoulders again like you're about to hit your forehand. That's essentially whats happening with your stroke.

 

[luvforty]

I agree that the swing path is fine..

 

[arche3]

I agree that the swing path is fine..

Please provide scientific and mathematical proof of your assumptions.

 

[ATP100]

Listen to tennis balla, and, hit the ball a little higher, something tells me you hit the net a lot.

 

[corners]

And your left arm. during prep it's kinda wrapping around your body and you pull back your elbow near torso at contact. instead try pointing more toward the right net post and pull back a little more aggressively to a point a little past your torso. This should add some swingspeed. For exact amount you should keep tinkering and find out.

I second this. I think making your non-hitting arm more active could improve your stroke the most. Watch some vid of the pros and see how they really stretch that arm out and then pull it back in during the forward swing.

 

[sundaypunch]

Listen to tennis balla, and, hit the ball a little higher, something tells me you hit the net a lot.

Agree, but it's probably because he is hitting very flat with little margin for error.

Again, he's doing very well for only having played a year.

 

[Head Pegger]

arming it. Look at your swing as soon as it goes back and then accelerates forward there is almost zero leg or hip movement

 

[OneLove]

Wow, I did not expect so many comments. Thank you everyone for all your advice. I have read through all of them and it seems that many people agree on certain aspects that I need to work on: open stance, more leg power, more topspin, non-hitting arm motion. I know there are many more small details, so I will try my best and get started right away.

I will post a new video in the next week or two. Thanks everyone! VAMOS

 

[gameboy]

Nice swing. I think your arm motions are fine, I would not mess too much with that.

What I do notice is that I don't see a lot of loading/unloading of power. A powerful forehand is generated by your body coiling to store potential energy and then releasing it violently towards the ball.

I am not seeing much loading of the power to your right side and exploding back to the left. Your right foot is not properly planted, and because of that, there is lack of push off and explosion to the left. Go look at the modern forehand videos and watch how they load up.

 

[sundaypunch]

The Lock and Roll guy has excellent vids-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMNtq393tvo

 

[dherring]

That is an impressive forehand for only a year of playing, very solid and basic stroke. Gameboy makes a good point about shoulder turn and really using the kinetic chain, you look like you could be loading/unloading more. Kudos on the progress.

 

[LeeD]

post 24 says the same thing.
all technique and no power.

 

[Vertiz]

Hey OP, I'm probably only a little older than you as I'm a freshman at a D1 University so I think some of these tips may help you as they've helped me . One small thing is that your left arm seems to go straight out laterally and then pull in, try to move it out forward toward your contact point more and pull it laterally a bit more rather than just side to in...if that makes any sense haha. Make sure you don't open up too much as you do this because that will cause you to lose a lot of power & consistency, but if you can get this right your timing will improve and you'll find a lot of added power. Another note, like some others have mentioned, you seem to pause a tiny bit in your backstroke. This is associated a bit with what I see as a "slap" forehand. There isn't much low to high as you are simply driving through the ball by slapping it. On your take back, keep your arm closer to your body, I think you have it way too far out laterally. Your contact point is good as it is, nice and out front, so don't change that.Basically, keep your elbow closer to your body throughout the swing, start your backswing higher, and start your forward swing a bit further below the ball. The swing should be one smooth motion up until the forward swing which is when you should accelerate up and through the ball. I hit my forehand similar to Djokovic so maybe watching some videos of him will shine more light on what I'm trying to say. Don't want to overwhelm you with tips, so try those out . Good luck buddy, my study break is over haha.

 

[TennisCJC]

Load the back leg and rotate into stroke by turning hips into ball. Basically, relax the hands and arm and let the rotation off the R leg and rotation of the R hip forward lead the stroke. Go to lockandroll tennis site to see video example of how he let's core/hip rotation lead the stroke.

But, you have a smooth stroke and can improve fast.

 

[OneLove]

That is an impressive forehand for only a year of playing, very solid and basic stroke. Gameboy makes a good point about shoulder turn and really using the kinetic chain, you look like you could be loading/unloading more. Kudos on the progress.

Hey OP, I'm probably only a little older than you as I'm a freshman at a D1 University so I think some of these tips may help you as they've helped me . One small thing is that your left arm seems to go straight out laterally and then pull in, try to move it out forward toward your contact point more and pull it laterally a bit more rather than just side to in...

I appreciate your help guys! I'll try to improve my left arm and leg power. Thanks again