Is it possible to learn a semi-western forehand at an advanced age

[bjk]

I've been hitting an eastern forehand my whole life and I used to hit it Ivan Lendl style. Now I take the racket high to low but still hit with the eastern grip. I feel like my forehand is no good because it's half the old style and half the new style. I tried to hit almost semi-western forehand (not quite semi-western) and I can't do it. Is it possible to change grips at this late date? Or does it require a lot more racket head speed than I can generate? I can generate almost no pace using SW grip.

 

[Cashman]

It's possible but it will screw with your timing for a long time. You need to make contact much earlier.

There's nothing really wrong with an Eastern forehand... I mean, Federer has one. Sampras too. If you feel like the shot isn't doing what you want to do, it's probably worth shelling out for a lesson. There may be easier options than rebuilding the stroke.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

I've been hitting an eastern forehand my whole life and I used to hit it Ivan Lendl style. Now I take the racket high to low but still hit with the eastern grip. I feel like my forehand is no good because it's half the old style and half the new style. I tried to hit almost semi-western forehand (not quite semi-western) and I can't do it. Is it possible to change grips at this late date? Or does it require a lot more racket head speed than I can generate? I can generate almost no pace using SW grip.

Unless you're incapable of the movement itself [can you do it in a shadow swing?], I'd say give it a try. Just be prepared to be horrible for a while as your body adjusts to the new stroke.

How about engaging a coach and doing some video to check your form?

 

[bjk]

Yeah, maybe I should hire a coach. I did hire a coach a few years ago and beat him in a practice set, so . . .

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Just how advanced is your age?

I developed a SW Fh at about 50 for higher contact points. It took me all of 10 minutes to feel comfortable & consistent with this change. For my standard Fh, I changed from my classic Eastern Fh grip to an Eastern Plus (Eastern with a mild SW flavor).

Easier topspin potential with SW grips. Easier power (ball speed) potential with Eastern grips. But it is still possible to hit with decent topspin using an Eastern grip . Likewise, one can drive through the ball with somewhat less spin using an SW grip. You will likely need to change your hand/racket face orientation, swing path, and your swing speed to accomplish this.

 

[LeeD]

Depends how good your rotator cuffs are and how fast you can make the racket head accelerate...and how much energy you can use for tennis.
I'm 70 and have a 4.0 sw forehand limited by 2.5 movement.

 

[mightyrick]

I went from Eastern to Semi-Western at 45 years old. Very do-able.

 

[Wise one]

Why? It's not a good grip!

 

[Chas Tennis]

I've been hitting an eastern forehand my whole life and I used to hit it Ivan Lendl style. Now I take the racket high to low but still hit with the eastern grip. I feel like my forehand is no good because it's half the old style and half the new style. I tried to hit almost semi-western forehand (not quite semi-western) and I can't do it. Is it possible to change grips at this late date? Or does it require a lot more racket head speed than I can generate? I can generate almost no pace using SW grip.

The stroke comes first and then the grip. Do some video comparisons and see how your stroke technique compares to a high level stroke.

The high level players use their spines for rotation, it twists. On TV of the French Open and in videos watch the line between the shoulders turn back about 90 d and then quickly turn forward about 90 degrees. Does the head move forward? How do the hips move? ('separation') Compare that to your present stroke. Search TT & Google- forehand separation Chas

This requires a healthy back and often as we age we have had back issues. Your present stroke may have evolved to work around what your body can't do.

See Dan Brown Youtube "I'm on Your Side.............forehand" It shows similar uppermost body rotation with both the 'step forward shift your weight' forehand and the circular body motion forehand. The movement forward is different but the uppermost body rotation is very similar for both forehand techniques. I have watched that video many times and still learn things from it.

If you develop racket head speed without rotating the uppermost body but with shoulder to upper arm motion, like most players at my club, the bad news is it's a big change but the good news is - there might be few muscles memory conflicts in changing to uppermost body rotation.

 

[Smarticus523]

Just how advanced is your age?

I developed a SW Fh at about 50 for higher contact points. It took me all of 10 minutes to feel comfortable & consistent with this change. For my standard Fh, I changed from my classic Eastern Fh grip to an Eastern Plus (Eastern with a mild SW flavor).

Easier topspin potential with SW grips. Easier power (ball speed) potential with Eastern grips. But it is still possible to hit with decent topspin using an Eastern grip . Likewise, one can drive through the ball with somewhat less spin using an SW grip. You will likely need to change your hand/racket face orientation, swing path, and your swing speed to accomplish this.

How exactly do you change your orientation to the ball between the two. This is my constant struggle. Visualizing the correct contact point and distance from me.

 

[aimr75]

I've been hitting an eastern forehand my whole life and I used to hit it Ivan Lendl style. Now I take the racket high to low but still hit with the eastern grip. I feel like my forehand is no good because it's half the old style and half the new style. I tried to hit almost semi-western forehand (not quite semi-western) and I can't do it. Is it possible to change grips at this late date? Or does it require a lot more racket head speed than I can generate? I can generate almost no pace using SW grip.

Stick with your eastern grip and adopt a modern approach to the stroke. Guys like del Potro and Federer have more conservative grips. Del Potro might be ok to look at as it seems simple enough.

 

[aimr75]

Why? It's not a good grip!

Eastern is a great grip and don’t think it limits my ability to hit a decent forehand. Found it too difficult to transition to something as extreme as sw, and figured why bother.

 

[bjk]

Eastern is a great grip and don’t think it limits my ability to hit a decent forehand. Found it too difficult to transition to something as extreme as sw, and figured why bother.

Yeah it's not the grip, I just suck at tennis.

 

[heninfan99]

I've been hitting an eastern forehand my whole life and I used to hit it Ivan Lendl style. Now I take the racket high to low but still hit with the eastern grip. I feel like my forehand is no good because it's half the old style and half the new style. I tried to hit almost semi-western forehand (not quite semi-western) and I can't do it. Is it possible to change grips at this late date? Or does it require a lot more racket head speed than I can generate? I can generate almost no pace using SW grip.

Yes but it takes a ton of reps.

 

[Dragy]

I did switch from modified eastern to SW half a year ago, 1/2 bevel turn. It settled well pretty quickly, however at times I catch myself drifting towards eastern. So needs some control, especially after breaks.
My reason to switch was associated with tendency to contact the ball rather far in front and having slightly open racquet face. So whenever I tried to swing low-to-high fast, I tended to hit (over) the back fence. Options were moving contact point back and to the side, or tweaking the grip. As I tried SW for luls earlier, and even shifted to it unconsciously when experimenting with takebacks - and it felt right just instantly - the choice was simple.

 

[undecided]

I've been hitting an eastern forehand my whole life and I used to hit it Ivan Lendl style. Now I take the racket high to low but still hit with the eastern grip. I feel like my forehand is no good because it's half the old style and half the new style. I tried to hit almost semi-western forehand (not quite semi-western) and I can't do it. Is it possible to change grips at this late date? Or does it require a lot more racket head speed than I can generate? I can generate almost no pace using SW grip.

I don't think it's hard at all. I switch grips all the time. If I want to hit flatter I go more eastern when I want more spin I go SW. I started playing with eastern at 30 and added SW to my repertoire at 40. I've even tried full western but that is a lot harder to adapt to.

 

[John]

Probably you have been overwhelmed by many helpful replies. I changed from 32 years of eastern forehand to semi . Then I switched to full western. The bad news is I can’t switch back without hefty pay. At beginning it’s just for fun and test out why others are playing at semi. Then I saw Thiem or some one else doing big spin. So I tried to switch. It’s not easy. Eastern to semi is easy. The swing is not much different. As earlier post point out, the timing and angle are different and need to adjust. Western is different story. Took me a few months to lift up the ball. I think a lot people may forget the racquet weight and swing speed here. At good old time, even pro don’t swing fast. The racquet is heavy and it will do the work. The weight also forbidden player to swing fast. When one change from the old set up to semi or current era style, I think lower racquet weight and tension is a must. One can level up to drive old racquet. But during practice or learning cycle, one need to switch from few racquets gradually toward perfection. But if you have already passed 65, I say don’t bother. It’s the foot work bothering us not the grip.

 

[TennisDawg]

Changing from EFH was not real difficult for me. I did 100 shadow swings every day using the full western grip. I also did drop feeds using the full western grip. About 500 shadow swings and a couple hundred drop feeds. Then went out did drop feeds using the semi western grip. I found that over correcting with the full western grip and then going to semi- western didn’t seem so radical. I went back to EFH grip though because it’s what I prefer

 

[TNT34]

I tried (sort of) to change from continental to something more modern many times over the years with no success. It takes mental commitment and confidence more than anything, and I didn't have either. Fifty years of muscle memory is hard to break, and when the results don't come easily it's hard to stick with a new motion.

Two years ago, at age 63, I tried again and it started to take. I only made it to strong Eastern, but it was clear that real change was possible. Still the same problem with mental commitment and confidence, but I stuck with it for two years, including match play, and now a continental grip feels alien.

This summer I'm trying to go from Eastern to SW at age 65, and it's much easier. It started when I went to see the coach who got me on the path to change when I worked with him for 4 days while we were in Bradenton on vacation. I hadn't seen him for 2 years, and was all proud to show him that I had stuck with the change, even though it was really only to strong Eastern. He basically called me a pu$$y and said that I should go to SW and quit fooling around. He would not accept my excuses about what I thought I couldn't do. An hour later I was hitting SW with some confidence, although mixed consistency.

Today I'm playing open tournaments and cleaning up with my new stroke. OK, maybe that part is not true, but I'm hitting a SW pretty consistently and having fun with it. I even started wearing black socks.

Good luck.