Lag and Snap Forehand

[tennis_balla]

The faster you swing the more the lag is pronounced. This is why club players shouldn't try and get close to what the pros do in this regard because it's impossible at their level. Yes the lag can be there but not as much as at the top level.
The same applies to baseball and pitchers how their hand lags back when pitching. Throw a 95mph pitch and you'll get the same effect.

 

[RetroSpin]

John Yandell and tennis_balla,

In an advanced FH, when do you think it is optimal to start the "wiper" motion?

It appears that Fed starts it pretty early:

And balla, I 'm not really seeing much hip rotation to initiate Fed's stroke.

Jack Sock seems to really delay the wipe:

Lot of early hip rotation though, just like balla advocates.

 

[JohnYandell]

TB,
Hell of a good point about swing speed and amount of lag--I am stealing that.

 

[JohnYandell]

Retro,
Great question and again allow me to preach about how if you don't look at very, very many examples on different balls from different places on court in frame by frame you will be studying the elephant's tail and not even know the trunk exists.

The answer is there is no one answer. The racket shaft can be parallel to the court approaching the ball with the hand and arm rotation starting fractionally before contact.

BUT on many to most balls there is some backwards rotation of the hand arm and racket toward the bottom of the backswing/start of the forward swing. On this version the rotation of the so-called wiper starts much earlier and has more total rotation.

This is why it seems the great players can do anything with any ball from anywhere in the court. The amount of wiper, timing of wiper, speed of wiper, combined with extension and lifting from the shoulder make the variations almost infinite.

That doesn't mean you can't identify core elements that underlie all that which all good forehands should have (and 99% of players don't have) which are easy to develop and should precede all the wiper and lag talk.

PS: if one of you guys in this thread will email me and agree to post it I can send you a link with video examples that will make those distinctions I am making above for Shroud et al clearer. videotennis@metricmail.com

 

[Shroud]

The faster you swing the more the lag is pronounced. This is why club players shouldn't try and get close to what the pros do in this regard because it's impossible at their level. Yes the lag can be there but not as much as at the top level.
The same applies to baseball and pitchers how their hand lags back when pitching. Throw a 95mph pitch and you'll get the same effect.

Hey Balla,

I am not disagreeing! Shadow swinging I can feel the lag when I am lose and trying to use the body and get max acceleration. When I do this the swing path is very different. I hit long so much on normal shots and I dont think I would be able to keep the ball in especially with this fast of a swing....UNLESS that different path and speed ups the spin dramatically...it looks like it would.

 

[Fintft]

The only issue I have with the drum comparison is that the arms don't really lag behind the core in a tennis swing and even when you watch the lock and roll video the instructor syncs his arms with his torso and its the racquet that lags behind. So in essence its actually the wrist and racquet that acts as the strings of the drum. That is also apparent when you watch pro strokes in slow mo. The core and hitting arm move in sync and its the wrist that lags .

True and that's why I was telling the OP to do shadow swings without the racket and see if his hand lags behind...

 

[Fintft]

If I do that what happens is I get the flipper action and the wrist breaks. If I lock the wrist in the take back that doesnt happen.

I dont think I can hold much looser.

I'll try today and see. Maybe turning the flipper movement into a wiper will work?

Hi,

Forget about the wiper for now (or maybe even forever for most of us).

I'll refer you again to what John Yandell is telling you, the short answer to you being that yes, ok, lock the wrist on the take back, but lock it laid back (unlike what you are doing in the vidoes, imho- although I read in an earlier post that you do that sometimes and it helps) and don't forget about extension (don't come over the ball so fast) and early preparation:

Pit,

But the huge majority of all pro forehands are hit with the wrist laid back. I believe all the internal motion there is a consequence of the large forces and the positions I talked about above. And that this is inhibited to a greater or lesser amount to create the critical racket face angle at contact--again this from Brian. The problem is so many players are out there thinking they have to "do" something--usually flex the wrist forward when that destroys the natural uncoiling of the motion.

Meanwhile they have serious fundamental problems with the core parts of the swing.

 

[TennisSamurai]

Wow. I didn't think I'd get a barrage of replies. I realized my problem as I was hitting recently. I'm overly concerned and complicating everything in my stroke. I did see my racquet lag back during one of the videos I had taken(doing so without forcing/thinking), but it doesn't change the fact that my forehand is junk. I might post a video and see what you guys think so that you can help correct my mistakes, but first I need to find a camera capable of taking nice footage. Thanks for everyone who's been posting!!!

 

[Shroud]

Retro,
Great question and again allow me to preach about how if you don't look at very, very many examples on different balls from different places on court in frame by frame you will be studying the elephant's tail and not even know the trunk exists.

The answer is there is no one answer. The racket shaft can be parallel to the court approaching the ball with the hand and arm rotation starting fractionally before contact.

BUT on many to most balls there is some backwards rotation of the hand arm and racket toward the bottom of the backswing/start of the forward swing. On this version the rotation of the so-called wiper starts much earlier and has more total rotation.

This is why it seems the great players can do anything with any ball from anywhere in the court. The amount of wiper, timing of wiper, speed of wiper, combined with extension and lifting from the shoulder make the variations almost infinite.

That doesn't mean you can't identify core elements that underlie all that which all good forehands should have (and 99% of players don't have) which are easy to develop and should precede all the wiper and lag talk.

PS: if one of you guys in this thread will email me and agree to post it I can send you a link with video examples that will make those distinctions I am making above for Shroud et al clearer. videotennis@metricmail.com

sent!

 

[LeeD]

It's an illusion.
What really is happening is a relaxed grip and wrist, the hand starts moving forwards, the racket has inertia so doesn't move quite as quickly, seemingly staying in place, while the hand moves farther forward, the wrist hinging hit's a limit and pulls the racket which accelerates forward to match the wrist making it LOOK like the player delayed his racket for the lag and snapped his wrist forward.
Just like the racket drop on the serve, it's a result of what happens when you relax your grip and your forearm.

 

[JohnYandell]

Shroud,
Weird no sign of it...try this one johnyandell@tennisplayer.net. It's not in my junk mail but my isp may have picked it off. Put Ultimate Fundamentals in the subject line...

 

[Shroud]

Here is a vid I stumbled on:

http://www.tennisplayer.net/public/...rehand/Tplayer.JY.UltimateFundamentals.FH.mp4

 

[Shroud]

So what am I screwing up? I seem to get the 3 points though maybe my hand is low?

 

[JohnYandell]

Shroud,
These things are a matter of degree, but if I were working with you I wouldn't say you were making the positions. Your just enough off in all of them to limit the stroke I would guess. The backswing goes substantially behind you. It's not the outside (to your right) position associated with pure ATP backswings.Your stance is fully open which limits the hip turn. Your hand doesn't really reach the extension point. Your body lurches to the left as part of this low across swing. Your foot comes up and around before extension which relates to the open stance and indicates over rotation or rotation too early. I am thinking that maybe you haven't spent a lot of time looking at the pro components (or the components of any good forehand), so (as of yet) all of this isn't obvious to your eye.

 

[Shroud]

Shroud,
These things are a matter of degree, but if I were working with you I wouldn't say you were making the positions. Your just enough off in all of them to limit the stroke I would guess. The backswing goes substantially behind you. It's not the outside (to your right) position associated with pure ATP backswings.Your stance is fully open which limits the hip turn. Your hand doesn't really reach the extension point. Your body lurches to the left as part of this low across swing. Your foot comes up and around before extension which relates to the open stance and indicates over rotation or rotation too early. I am thinking that maybe you haven't spent a lot of time looking at the pro components (or the components of any good forehand), so (as of yet) all of this isn't obvious to your eye.

damn thats alot for.1 mile!!!

Clearly i dont get this stuff and i think I have watched a lot of vids from all kind of different sources and I guess I need something that is not on the vids.

Simple things I know like keeping the racket on the right side seem impossible to actually DO....

Not sure how I can get to the extension point even if I knew where it was . Maybe if I cleaned up the takeback I could have more time to reach it but any further out and isnt it a straight arm?

anyhow apologies to the OP, and thanks John for trying.

 

[JohnYandell]

You should come over to my court. I know the details seem like more than .1 mile. But if you could model the positions better it would all disappear in smooth power forehands.

 

[Cheetah]

Your elbow movement on the takeback is another inhibiting factor. The elbow should be away from the body and stay 'away' during the takeback. The elbow should move in a similar manner to elbowing someone behind you during the takeback. Your elbow stays pretty much in one location, close to your ribcage, during the take back until the final moments when you bring the racquet back behind you. The racquet goes behind your back because of your elbow placement (too close to the body). Then when you swing forward your elbow is scraping your ribs like a rushed and jammed Tsonga. Since your elbow is so close to your torso you are unable get extension through the ball and you pull off the shot because the elbow is locked in with the ribs.

Take a look at the movement of your elbow during the takeback and compare it to any pro.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

John Yandell and tennis_balla,

In an advanced FH, when do you think it is optimal to start the "wiper" motion?

It appears that Fed starts it pretty early:

And balla, I 'm not really seeing much hip rotation to initiate Fed's stroke...

In slow-mo (above) it doesn't really look like he starts the wiper motion early at all. As for the hips, take a look at the orientation of his feet and his knees as he drops the racket prior to the forward swing. This is an indication that he already has an significant offset (separation angle) between hips and torso before starting his fwd swing. Doesn't need as much uncoiling of the hips if he already has this offset, Nonetheless, his hip uncoiling does precede/lead the uncoiling of the torso.

 

[Curious]

What really is happening is a relaxed grip and wrist, the hand starts moving forwards, the racket has inertia so doesn't move quite as quickly, seemingly staying in place, while the hand moves farther forward, the wrist hinging hit's a limit and pulls the racket which accelerates forward to match the wrist making it LOOK like the player delayed his racket for the lag and snapped his wrist forward.
Just like the racket drop on the serve, it's a result of what happens when you relax your grip and your forearm.

I think this is the most critical point. But what makes the hand move forward is the question. You can do it using your arm and get the flip but it won't be proper pro style forehand. Once you move your arm and hand by sudden uncoiling of torso with almost no arm muscles involved, you've nailed it.

 

[JohnYandell]

Systemic,
Agreed but he's warming up here on a basic fh--a good model for basic technique. Others the racket is pointing almost directly at the court and rotates almost 90 degrees to get to where the wiper starts in the one above.

 

[Curious]

damn thats alot for.1 mile!!!

Maybe if I cleaned up the takeback I could have more time to reach it but any further out and isnt it a straight arm?

anyhow apologies to the OP, and thanks John for trying.

Your takeback looks like Fed's up to halfway through then you do something that prevents the flip or lag. Just compare your video with Fed's above and look at the second half of takeback. The difference is you take the racket all the way pointing the racket head to the back fence or even to the left side fence BEFORE you start the forward swing ( typical WTA forehand ) whereas Fed's racket head points to right side fence when he starts the forward swing. When you try to do that you will notice the bloody flip.

 

[tennis_balla]

Hey Balla,

I am not disagreeing! Shadow swinging I can feel the lag when I am lose and trying to use the body and get max acceleration. When I do this the swing path is very different. I hit long so much on normal shots and I dont think I would be able to keep the ball in especially with this fast of a swing....UNLESS that different path and speed ups the spin dramatically...it looks like it would.

I'd have to see your forehand on video or in person to know for sure. There are many causes why people hit long (out), a few of the common mistakes are hitting late, not fully finishing, not bending knees thus not getting enough racket head drop and because of that a lack of spin, being out of position even though they think they are and so on.

 

[ChaelAZ]

Working on all the same things as others and looking at the few videos I see others are struggling like I have with the forward contact point. For me it is timing my rotation to pull through and get the contact point out front I am missing on. Part of it is coming from closed stance to an open stance which has been tough to find timing again. Currently I find myself compensating by opening the racquet head and brushing up a lot more, but at the cost of power.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Systemic,
Agreed but he's warming up here on a basic fh--a good model for basic technique. Others the racket is pointing almost directly at the court and rotates almost 90 degrees to get to where the wiper starts in the one above.

Yup, I noticed that he is warming up in both 2013 Cincy videos. Some elements, like a subdued knee bend, are somewhat different from his "match" strokes. But the basic elements all appear to be present.

I probably dont understand but isnt this pulling the racket through:

It has may have already been addressed -- your arm & racket do not appear to release. There is some offset (separation angle) between hips and torso. The uncoiling of the hips do lead the uncoiling of the torso to some degree. However, your arm doesn't appear to release & accelerate faster than the uncoiling of the torso.

They seem to be rotating at the same rate during the contact and follow-thru phases for the most part. This reminds me of a "forehand loop" swing as executed by table tennis players -- everything appears to uncoil together, as a unit, rather than the segmented/sequential uncoiling that we see in a high level (court) tennis FH.

youtube.com/watch?v=lnvsb4-71BQ&t=42

 

[Fintft]

It's an illusion.
What really is happening is a relaxed grip and wrist, the hand starts moving forwards, the racket has inertia so doesn't move quite as quickly, seemingly staying in place, while the hand moves farther forward, the wrist hinging hit's a limit and pulls the racket which accelerates forward to match the wrist making it LOOK like the player delayed his racket for the lag and snapped his wrist forward.
Just like the racket drop on the serve, it's a result of what happens when you relax your grip and your forearm.

Exactly the point I was trying to get across to Shroud + extension and such like JohnYandell advised him...Not sure that I see that in the videos the OP's posted, can you? B/c I could be wrong, although I did try slow motion ((.25) on youtube and watched Shroud's videos a couple of times....

 

[LeeD]

Doug (Shroud) has a different lag, more like Novak's, because he takes the racket back high, pointed up at the sky. That loop is similar to a serve loop, just as modern as the more direct straight takeback, hand moving forward, lag at the wrist due to racket inertia.
Then again, some guys, like the Asian stocky dude who kept posting his strokes, take the racket back high, DROP the head, then start the hand forwards, which allows the lag to happen.
Different strokes for different folkes, it all works, it's all loose wrist, but the lag is different due to different racket head location.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Doug (Shroud) has a different lag,.. Different strokes for different folkes, it all works, it's all loose wrist, but the lag is different due to different racket head location.

But he doesn't really use that "different" lag. The lag should stretch pectoral (and shoulder) muscles and the forearm flexors. He might be stretching them but he doesn't appear to release the stretches very much to help accelerate the arm and racket forward.

 

[LeeD]

But he doesn't really use that "different" lag. The lag should stretch pectoral (and shoulder) muscles and the forearm flexors. He might be stretching them but he doesn't appear to release the stretches very much to help accelerate the arm and racket forward.

Maybe because his contact point is later than what we're used to, so his hand never really accelerates well ahead of his lagging racket.

 

[Shroud]

But he doesn't really use that "different" lag. The lag should stretch pectoral (and shoulder) muscles and the forearm flexors. He might be stretching them but he doesn't appear to release the stretches very much to help accelerate the arm and racket forward.

I cant describe it but when I do the release when shadow swinging the swing path gets weird. If you are looking at the net the racket travels like a question mark "?" turned about 20 degrees to the left at the contact zone vs. what would look like say a boomerang"

And the contact zone seems much much smaller because of this. Its more "choppy"

I know this doesnt make any sense. I'll try to hit and get the lag and see what happens. I blame mini tennis and the warm up. With that kind of speed to get the lag how can I keep it in the mini court?

Thanks John but even if I could afford to join you on the courts i dont want to be responsible for ruining your tennis career, recking your confidence and making you turn to booze

 

[JohnYandell]

Shroud,
You couldn't wreck my confidence and I turned to booze long ago. Summer is crazy, but in the fall come over and we'll do a session and post the results for fun and edification.

Yeah and don't even look at the picture of that boomerang. Look at the extension point in the link! The racket path curves and goes across but that is the wrong arc!!!

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

... I know this doesnt make any sense. I'll try to hit and get the lag and see what happens. I blame mini tennis and the warm up. With that kind of speed to get the lag how can I keep it in the mini court? ...

Yeah, not quite following. And, yes, it can be quite a challenge for many to get the proper lag and other mechanics with short court (mini) tennis. But it definitely can be done. With mini tennis I tend to use a more compact loop or backswing as I would do for any ball that is deep (and that I might have to take on the rise). For mini tennis, most balls will be deep relative to your position so it make sense to shorten up the backswing a bit for most of it. Still want a pretty full follow-thru tho'. This is quite doable if you are hitting at a fairly low to moderate ball speed.

For short court tennis you should be using a decent amount of topspin but not generating a lot of ball speed. This will require a somewhat slower uncoiling rotation and racket speed. This means your preparation must be very EARLY -- so that you can start your uncoiling and lag early. W/O the early prep you want have time for a full kinetic chain where you incorporate pre-swing uncoiling and lag. If you start that all that early enough, you should have time to swing slower but still release & accelerate.

slower ball speed = slower swing speed = earlier initiation of the forward swing = earlier preparation

 

[Shroud]

Yeah, not quite following. And, yes, it can be quite a challenge for many to get the proper lag and other mechanics with short court (mini) tennis. But it definitely can be done. With mini tennis I tend to use a more compact loop or backswing as I would do for any ball that is deep (and that I might have to take on the rise). For mini tennis, most balls will be deep relative to your position so it make sense to shorten up the backswing a bit for most of it. Still want a pretty full follow-thru tho'. This is quite doable if you are hitting at a fairly low to moderate ball speed.

For short court tennis you should be using a decent amount of topspin but not generating a lot of ball speed. This will require a somewhat slower uncoiling rotation and racket speed. This means your preparation must be very EARLY -- so that you can start your uncoiling and lag early. W/O the early prep you want have time for a full kinetic chain where you incorporate pre-swing uncoiling and lag. If you start that all that early enough, you should have time to swing slower but still release & accelerate.

slower ball speed = slower swing speed = earlier initiation of the forward swing = earlier preparation

Sorry. I dont seem to do well with early prep. Too much time to think about how I will f up the shot. hopefully you dont understand that but the more time I have the more I think of all the things I need to do and viola I screw it up.

And I dont understand. Balla said that you dont get the lag unless you are swinging fast like the pros.

I'll try earlier prep but I dont think my reaction is fast enough at the net or the back court to do it early even if I wanted to. And I guess I dont get the point. you start the swing at the same time so whats the big deal if you are turned an waiting?

Sorry. In college I was a great student and the Profs loved me, but every once in a while there was a concept that I just for the life of me couldnt grasp. It was like Fed not being able to tie his shoe or something. I think this one of those concepts.

 

[Shroud]

Shroud,
You couldn't wreck my confidence and I turned to booze long ago. Summer is crazy, but in the fall come over and we'll do a session and post the results for fun and edification.

Yeah and don't even look at the picture of that boomerang. Look at the extension point in the link! The racket path curves and goes across but that is the wrong arc!!!

Thanks John,

If I am still playing tennis in the fall I will do it. Though hopefully I can get it sorted out before then. It seems like its a side arm baseball pitch or something.

 

[JohnYandell]

Shroud,
The more I read of your posts, I see that you would be a worthy challenge!

 

[LeeD]

McEnroe don't believe in no lag and snap action.

 

[Shroud]

Shroud,
The more I read of your posts, I see that you would be a worthy challenge!

A career wrecking one no doubt!!

I started another thread on this with a new vid and I think I AM making progress on the lag and the points you mention. Let me know what you think.

 

[RetroSpin]

They seem to be rotating at the same rate during the contact and follow-thru phases for the most part. This reminds me of a "forehand loop" swing as executed by table tennis players -- everything appears to uncoil together, as a unit, rather than the segmented/sequential uncoiling that we see in a high level (court) tennis FH.

I think this is a key concept. It's the reason Fed's FH looks so elegant. It flows.

Shroud to me looks like a guy who is stuck between an old school linear FH and a modern ATP FH. His stroke is not terrible by any means. It just has a couple of elements that don't belong, like the too deep backswing and the too early contact. From what I see, he is very close to pulling it together and having a very nice motion.

 

[Shroud]

I think this is a key concept. It's the reason Fed's FH looks so elegant. It flows.

Shroud to me looks like a guy who is stuck between an old school linear FH and a modern ATP FH. His stroke is not terrible by any means. It just has a couple of elements that don't belong, like the too deep backswing and the too early contact. From what I see, he is very close to pulling it together and having a very nice motion.

QFT!!!definitely stuck in the middle.

I will get this I think. Was hitting an occasional good ball today. Big take back is killing me!! It definitely is a different stroke than I am used to!

 

[5263]

Hey all,

One of the techniques I have been focusing on doing this year was making my forehand ground stroke more effective by using lag and Snap with the wrist.
Lately I've felt like I have been forcing the lag and that causes me to strain my wrist. I've been doing this because it seems as if I cannot do it naturally, I never feel it lag or anything. How can I start making this motion a more natural motion so that I don't have to force it? Or could the strain be from not having a lose enough wrist?

don't try to force a certain amount, but instead let the racket lag as it will if you can keep the grip pretty loose.

 

[10isMaestro]

Hi,

Forget about the wiper for now (or maybe even forever for most of us).

I'll refer you again to what John Yandell is telling you, the short answer to you being that yes, ok, lock the wrist on the take back, but lock it laid back (unlike what you are doing in the vidoes, imho- although I read in an earlier post that you do that sometimes and it helps) and don't forget about extension (don't come over the ball so fast) and early preparation:

I do something similar, except it is not locked -- I place the angles right and let my as loose as possible before droping the racket and pulling forward. It makes it easy to get the desire power while keeping myself away from my former big take back problem. And, yes, I hit that forehand with a ww motion -- to vary trajectory, I just change a bit the finish and a bit how low bellow the ball I drop my racket... Nothing complicated in that at all.

As for the amount of lag, I concur I tapped myself once hitting as big a forehand as I could with my former swing. My racket was violently kicking back, to the point that when my arm was moving forward, it almost was touching my butt. I contend they were huge shots, but don't ask me to rally with that!

 

[Limpinhitter]

I haven't read any of the other posts in this thread besides from the OP.

The lag occurs as a result of opening up the hips first. The racket lags behind as a result. No other way to do it naturally without forcing it.
Another way I like to describe it is playing from the ground up.

In my view, there is also a commonly overlooked aspect to this technique. It is essential that, in the load up position at the back of the back-swing, the racquet head should be pointing to the right (for a righty), not back or all the way to the left. And, the racquet head should not drop back and down until, and only as a result of, the kinetic chain initiated opening up the hips, as you say. This is the so called "flip." Without this racquet position in the back of the back swing, the benefit of the lag is squandered, there is no "flip," and you are just dragging the racquet through contact.

 

[Limpinhitter]

TB,
Hell of a good point about swing speed and amount of lag--I am stealing that.

There is a study, the conclusions of which I posted on this board several years ago, that compared the hip rotation speed of World class players vs. top college players, as I recall. The conclusion was that World class players employed significantly faster hip rotation than top college players. I'll try to find it.

 

[JohnYandell]

Limpin,
I'd believe that. And now let's think about going down to the level of regular players who are so diligently working under the belief that the arm actions of pro players, caused by other forces, should be artificially replicated to create their forehands...

 

[kiteboard]

It's only about 10% faster by recollection. The hip opening first, and causing whip lash, is also the reason by back hands and serves are faster.

 

[tennis_balla]

TB,
Hell of a good point about swing speed and amount of lag--I am stealing that.

Only if you give me credit

 

[Shroud]

Limpin,
I'd believe that. And now let's think about going down to the level of regular players who are so diligently working under the belief that the arm actions of pro players, caused by other forces, should be artificially replicated to create their forehands...

OMG! I am RIGHT HERE John!

 

[10isMaestro]

Limpin,
I'd believe that. And now let's think about going down to the level of regular players who are so diligently working under the belief that the arm actions of pro players, caused by other forces, should be artificially replicated to create their forehands...

If you do the same thing, slower, you should get potent results -- bearing consequent adjustments, I suppose. If you start twiching everything to look like them, without actually taking a hint from their game, you probably are hindering your own development, as well as getting less interesting results. Chances are, you could also be risking injuries -- I suppose muscular tension in the right places when performing high speed movements can put some additional stress on tendons or ligaments, for instance.

 

[Curious]

There is a study, the conclusions of which I posted on this board several years ago, that compared the hip rotation speed of World class players vs. top college players, as I recall. The conclusion was that World class players employed significantly faster hip rotation than top college players. I'll try to find it.

I'm wondering if hip rotation is separate from torso rotation and which muscles are involved? Recently I have been trying to use more rotation and getting soreness in both sides of my tummy and just above the hips.

 

[Fintft]

I do something similar, except it is not locked -- I place the angles right and let my as loose as possible before droping the racket and pulling forward. It makes it easy to get the desire power while keeping myself away from my former big take back problem. And, yes, I hit that forehand with a ww motion -- to vary trajectory, I just change a bit the finish and a bit how low bellow the ball I drop my racket... Nothing complicated in that at all.

As for the amount of lag, I concur I tapped myself once hitting as big a forehand as I could with my former swing. My racket was violently kicking back, to the point that when my arm was moving forward, it almost was touching my butt. I contend they were huge shots, but don't ask me to rally with that!

Nice and I do try to rally with lag, matches are a problem though as it is harder for me to hit relaxed etc.

 

[Fintft]

The faster you swing the more the lag is pronounced. This is why club players shouldn't try and get close to what the pros do in this regard because it's impossible at their level. Yes the lag can be there but not as much as at the top level.
The same applies to baseball and pitchers how their hand lags back when pitching. Throw a 95mph pitch and you'll get the same effect.

Yeah but it is fun and some lag is better than none, right?
We also want that effortless power and the lag is actually a good indicator.
What also helps me is if I keep my eyes at contact, through contact, somehow I also hit more relaxed that way (or maybe it's just better contact and stability?).