Lag Forehand

[Shroud]

This is really a continuation from the post by Tennisamuri called "Lag and Snap Forehand". That was his thread and out of respect I thought I should start my own.

here is a vid of me trying the advice in that thread at least as I understood it.

I think I was really getting the lag. But something was wrong.

Pros:
- It was effortless in that it was fluid and I wasnt tense or straining
- Pretty arm friendly
- Most spin I think I have ever hit it seemed like

Cons
-No power
-Ball wasnt heavy, just spinny and weak
-felt slappy and hard to time

You can also see how much better I was hitting when he was at the net and I had less time to think. Please let me know what I screwed up. I was trying to get the lag mostly and the left arm extension and keep the right hand on the right side of the body. On Vimeo if you pause the vid and then press "shift" and the right arrow, you can go frame by frame:

 

[Curious]

It looks more ATP-like now. I think there's huge improvement. You're not taking the racket all the way back before the forward swing and that fixed it. Really nice.

 

[Shroud]

It looks more ATP-like now. I think there's huge improvement. You're not taking the racket all the way back before the forward swing and that fixed it. Really nice.

Thanks! Yeah I think so. Was shocked in the vid that I wasnt going WTA. But why the lack of power and it felt like I was hitting with a pillow?

 

[Easy Rider]

Aaaa nice FH, m8, very nice

 

[Shroud]

Aaaa nice FH, m8, very nice

Thanks! maybe its finally clicking but why does it feel so soft and wimpy. Will the power come in time as the timing improves? Or is it just an illusion because i am so relaxed an engaging more of the kinetic chain?

 

[kiteboard]

Not extending out. Not using your left hip to load. Not using your weight into the shot. Not loading backwards with weight. Not flying into the shot. Not U turning into the shot with acceleration. Not dynamically stretching your left arm out to load, rather than for looks.

 

[Easy Rider]

Cuz

Thanks! maybe its finally clicking but why does it feel so soft and wimpy. Will the power come in time as the timing improves? Or is it just an illusion because i am so relaxed an engaging more of the kinetic chain?

Cuz U r relaxed, it feels soft.
When you feel that you "hit" the ball, it means U armed it.
Power will come from the ground up.
Considering ur racket specs, U should feel like the ball found itself on path of the racket head

 

[Easy Rider]

If you ask for more : More left arm extention when loading. More loading on right leg and hip extention to generate power. More core involment. More extention after contact

 

[Curious]

Not extending out. Not using your left hip to load. Not using your weight into the shot. Not loading backwards with weight. Not flying into the shot. Not U turning into the shot with acceleration. Not dynamically stretching your left arm out to load, rather than for looks.

I wonder what you think about the change between the previous video and the new one rather than saying he's doing everything wrong.

 

[Shroud]

If you ask for more : More left arm extention when loading. More loading on right leg and hip extention to generate power. More core involment. More extention after contact

Its like a positive translation of Kiteboards post!

Lots to work on. Does it make sense to focus on one thing like the left arm or loading the right leg as I am learning this?

 

[Cheetah]

Stance is way too open. It's limiting and forcing your arm to go to the left. Wrist / forearm is too locked in position. It looks like you are kind of forcing the flip. That flip should happen naturally as the hand moves forward.

 

[Shroud]

Stance is way too open. It's limiting and forcing your arm to go to the left. Wrist / forearm is too locked in position. It looks like you are kind of forcing the flip. That flip should happen naturally as the hand moves forward.

Tips on not being so open?

 

[Cheetah]

your hand should follow a path that's slight going away from your body and to the right towards the right net post. That way the racquet will move in a STRAIGHT path to the ball even though your torso is rotating. You should swing OUT slightly to the RIGHT. Look at a pro's hand path. it goes out and away. This also allows you to hit through while still applying wipe and better ensures/allows a flush correctly facing racquet head on the ball at contact because the racquet is moving straight to the ball even though you are rotating.
... as opposed to super open stance and swing across your body right to left. Just go look at nadal or fed or djoko... hand goes out and away from the body during the swing.

 

[Cheetah]

Tips on not being so open?

Shadow swing practice in your home. And when you do setup correctly and think about how your whole body is positioned not just practice moving your arm.

 

[Easy Rider]

Its like a positive translation of Kiteboards post!

Lots to work on. Does it make sense to focus on one thing like the left arm or loading the right leg as I am learning this?

Yeah, Ive seen it a minute a go.
Pchycological thing. Pointing out negative things will get a player thinking everything is wrong. Pointing out areas for improvement in positive manner will get a player willing to open up asking fir more

I use non linear method, so I would say left arm extention first. Then right arm extention after contact. The core involvment shoud come unnoticed, then leg/hip ...

 

[Cheetah]

Look at the path of djoko's hand here. It goes OUT to the right. Same w/ all the other pros.

Goffin

 

[FluidTennis]

Shroud, I followed the discussion in previous thread and now this one. Very helpful for my forehand too.

Just wanted to congratulate you on the improvement, well done.

(As others have said you could try a semi open stance to encourage more weight transfer forward into the ball and maybe a more deliberate knee bend, pushing against the ground as you swing forward.... but also I think that the more you ingrain this improved stroke shape, the power will come.)

 

[Limpinhitter]

This is really a continuation from the post by Tennisamuri called "Lag and Snap Forehand". That was his thread and out of respect I thought I should start my own.

here is a vid of me trying the advice in that thread at least as I understood it.

I think I was really getting the lag. But something was wrong.

Pros:
- It was effortless in that it was fluid and I wasnt tense or straining
- Pretty arm friendly
- Most spin I think I have ever hit it seemed like

Cons
-No power
-Ball wasnt heavy, just spinny and weak
-felt slappy and hard to time

You can also see how much better I was hitting when he was at the net and I had less time to think. Please let me know what I screwed up. I was trying to get the lag mostly and the left arm extension and keep the right hand on the right side of the body. On Vimeo if you pause the vid and then press "shift" and the right arrow, you can go frame by frame:

This is a noticeable improvement! Your backswing could be a little shorter (you're going all the way to 6 O'Clock, stop at 5), and your load up position could be a little lower which will enable more consistent unit turn back and forth and cleaner ball contact. The most important missing element here is the quality of your shot preparation. Your footwork is still a bit lazy and you are planting your feet too soon before loading up.

 

[LeeD]

Looser the wrist, the more the lag shows.

 

[donquijote]

You give yourself very little time to prepare. Take one step back and prepare from there. After the hit you need to hop and recover back to ready position.

To create power you need to move body forward (hit in front), have a leg drive and hip/shoulder rotation before a racquet head lag.

 

[bitcoinoperated]

You look like you are arming the ball which may be why you say it doesn't have much power. Legs and hips starting to drive should flip the racquet and start the lag.

 

[10isMaestro]

I wonder what you think about the change between the previous video and the new one rather than saying he's doing everything wrong.

This is TT. A solid groundstroke that looks just a tad less good than Federer's is deemed 3.0 garbage by at least one person every time.

 

[10isMaestro]

If you want a tip, you're still taking that racket quite far back, although it is a definite improvement from your other videos. You really do not need to go that far to hit big forehands, so long as this racket head is the very last thing to come through.

Clay Ballard has a nice video (recent post) on yt about how to make your strokes look and play more like those of ATP pros. The key is that sort of inside-out swing: you start closer to your body with the racket lagging and pull away and forward. If you combine this with an appropriate contact point (in front of you so you actually are behind your arm and not striking to your side too much), you will feel powerful -- and the results will agree as well.

 

[10isMaestro]

You look like you are arming the ball which may be why you say it doesn't have much power. Legs and hips starting to drive should flip the racquet and start the lag.

Yes, this is why it's called a lag.

 

[JohnYandell]

Shroud,
Backswing much more compact! The extension point is insufficient and agree on the open stance comments above. You are mostly fully open not semi.

 

[Bender]

Starting to look beautiful, Shroud!

You probably feel the ball is light and spinny and not heavy, but that can be addressed with better use of your legs and hip, which I don't think you're involving too much of (yet).

The net clearance and parabola are a beauty (or maybe I'm biased because I've got an irrational love for the ball trajectories on Fedal's groundstrokes).

 

[LeeD]

"Lack" of power is due to mostly open stance and moderate speed swing.
Closing the stance, or NEUTRAL, allows more push off the backfoot, pushing the shoulder's forwards, for more drive.
Lots of forehands are hit open stance AND body moving back slightly, reducing power.

 

[Shroud]

Yeah, Ive seen it a minute a go.
Pchycological thing. Pointing out negative things will get a player thinking everything is wrong. Pointing out areas for improvement in positive manner will get a player willing to open up asking fir more

I use non linear method, so I would say left arm extention first. Then right arm extention after contact. The core involvment shoud come unnoticed, then leg/hip ...

Yeah, you can tell your a good coach. Guessing from taking lessons that a big part is the psych part.

I think the left arm is low hanging fruit so I will work on that next.

Thanks.

 

[Shroud]

Look at the path of djoko's hand here. It goes OUT to the right. Same w/ all the other pros.

Goffin

I noticed how much HIGHER their rackets are than mine. Should I try to hit those positions?

 

[Shroud]

Shroud, I followed the discussion in previous thread and now this one. Very helpful for my forehand too.

Just wanted to congratulate you on the improvement, well done.

(As others have said you could try a semi open stance to encourage more weight transfer forward into the ball and maybe a more deliberate knee bend, pushing against the ground as you swing forward.... but also I think that the more you ingrain this improved stroke shape, the power will come.)

Hey Fluid! Glad my struggle could help SOMEONE! Thanks for the tips. I think the stance is going to be a challenge. But I will see what I can do about that!!

Hopefully you are improving faster than I am!! Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[Shroud]

This is a noticeable improvement! Your backswing could be a little shorter (you're going all the way to 6 O'Clock, stop at 5), and your load up position could be a little lower which will enable more consistent unit turn back and forth and cleaner ball contact. The most important missing element here is the quality of your shot preparation. Your footwork is still a bit lazy and you are planting your feet too soon before loading up.

Hey LH. Thanks for the kind words.

The prep and take back is a problem for sure. It used to be like 10pm so getting to 6 is an accomplishment. I will shoot for 5 though.

Also I dont get the footwork comment. Lazy would imply late but here you are saying its lazy because its too soon?? I dont get that. can you explain it like I am 5?

 

[Shroud]

You look like you are arming the ball which may be why you say it doesn't have much power. Legs and hips starting to drive should flip the racquet and start the lag.

True. I bet I am. Just trying to get the lag idea down. Will try to work on the lower body. Some of it too is as Easy Rider described in that I am looser so the impact shock is less...

 

[Shroud]

If you want a tip, you're still taking that racket quite far back, although it is a definite improvement from your other videos. You really do not need to go that far to hit big forehands, so long as this racket head is the very last thing to come through.

Clay Ballard has a nice video (recent post) on yt about how to make your strokes look and play more like those of ATP pros. The key is that sort of inside-out swing: you start closer to your body with the racket lagging and pull away and forward. If you combine this with an appropriate contact point (in front of you so you actually are behind your arm and not striking to your side too much), you will feel powerful -- and the results will agree as well.

Awesome Ill check it out and see. That take back has plagued me for years so I will try to fix AGAIN. Thanks!!

 

[Shroud]

Shroud,
Backswing much more compact! The extension point is insufficient and agree on the open stance comments above. You are mostly fully open not semi.

Hard to tell but are you saying its more compact than before or it needs to be even more compact? Probably both.

I need to look at those diagrams and work on the stance...

 

[Shroud]

Starting to look beautiful, Shroud!

You probably feel the ball is light and spinny and not heavy, but that can be addressed with better use of your legs and hip, which I don't think you're involving too much of (yet).

The net clearance and parabola are a beauty (or maybe I'm biased because I've got an irrational love for the ball trajectories on Fedal's groundstrokes).

Thanks a bunch.

Its a great point about the trajectory. Its definitely higher I think! Maybe that has to do somewhat with the feeling of lack of power? Same power but higher trajectory probably feels like less power.

 

[Shroud]

"Lack" of power is due to mostly open stance and moderate speed swing.
Closing the stance, or NEUTRAL, allows more push off the backfoot, pushing the shoulder's forwards, for more drive.
Lots of forehands are hit open stance AND body moving back slightly, reducing power.

Thanks D. got to get that stance nailed down.

 

[Limpinhitter]

Hey LH. Thanks for the kind words.

The prep and take back is a problem for sure. It used to be like 10pm so getting to 6 is an accomplishment. I will shoot for 5 though.

Also I dont get the footwork comment. Lazy would imply late but here you are saying its lazy because its too soon?? I dont get that. can you explain it like I am 5?

You aren't putting enough focus and effort into your shot preparation and achieving optimal set-up on every shot. You tend to stop moving your feet too soon and end up in less than optimal position in relation to the oncoming ball. You should be taking those last second adjustment steps to make your set up as perfect as possible every time. Picture a batter in a batter's box ready to swing at a strike ball. You want the oncoming tennis ball to be in your strike zone every time, if possible. Once you are automatic with your swing technique, your set-up is everything. Poor set up is the #1 cause of errors. Once competent stroke production is learned, quality and consistency of shot preparation is the biggest difference between different levels of play.

 

[10isMaestro]

Awesome Ill check it out and see. That take back has plagued me for years so I will try to fix AGAIN. Thanks!!

Did you ever come across Macci's forehand tutorial on youtube? It is a bit lengthy (20min), but he proceeds to fix the forehand of a junior player who has your big takeback issue. One key point he keeps pounding is where your arm should be and its relationship to the racket just before you drop and pull forward. Consider a player viewed from a bird's view. He proceeds to do his unit turn, then he extends his non hitting arm forward and takes his racket back because he is about to hit. If you drew a line with his shoulders, with your takeback, his hand would cross that line and go behind him. With a proper takeback, his arm would be at about 45 degree from that line (in between being in line with his shoulders and being perpendicular to them). That's one point Macci makes. The other is to get your racket above your hand when you get at that furthest point of your takeback and to make sure this racket is angled slightly outward (not fully straight up and not having the tip pointing toward your body). From there, if you just drop the racket and pull, you get a chance to swing hard (in part because of that lag you're looking to get) and your racket head should stay closed throughout the entire swing (so you can swing aggressively upward without sending balls right in the back fence).

Here's the video in question:

Personally, I combine this advice with one given by Salzenstein (pointing your hitting side of the string bed to the back fence) and I keep the loopy part of the takeback to a bare minimum. It feels like I just get my arm and hand as I need them at contact, drop it and swing forward -- but it does move a little, obviously. I used to have your problem (huge backswing, which you reduced significantly, by the way) and once I started just turning my shoulders and hitting those appropriate angles with my arm, forearm and hand everything fell into place almost by magic. Taking some of it to my backhand side, I also improved my two handed backhand.

Yesterday, I even played a big hitter without problem. He's a lefty with a big forehand. He can hit that thing hard, with lots of spin and that thing really routinely kicks up to my head. Normally, it's a stroll down shank lane, but not yesterday. I was even going for balls on the rise off both wings made it work with alarming regularity. He did force me to reverse my follow-through more often than I would have liked, but he does play that ball so hard it's hard for me to keep up all the time -- plus those angled inside-out forehands he kept hitting meant I had to run for my life. Between not being to hit two good shots in a row and smacking back hefty forehands on the rise, I didn't grew suddenly into a super athlete. I actually spent september through may indoor, studying and not participating in any sport or exercising (really bad, I know). I did one major change on my forehand (my takeback) and traded my one handed backhand for a two handed backhand -- and we're talking about 50 hours of tennis to make that sort of change in my case (except I did play a few weeks two handed the previous year).


It's a very simple tip Macci gives -- keep your takeback short and simple. He then details how to do it and gives you an example. But that can make a huge difference because of how much time you can spare and the much simpler preparation you go through.

 

[Mareqnyc]

I noticed how much HIGHER their rackets are than mine. Should I try to hit those positions?

That high take back creates more leverage, but not everyone hits that way and still hit big (Murray or Ferrer). I like the higher take back because it makes things more fluid and helps with timing. I think your issue with "weak ball" comes from the fact that you use primarily your arm. When I want to hit bigger forehands I always think of building it from the ground, bending the right leg, coiling and when I uncoil into the ball the racquet just flies through it. It is a whole body motion. There is a video on youtube where Djokovic explains how spin comes from legs. If you "supplement" your strokes with bigger coiling-uncoiling and bend your legs you will see a big difference.

 

[10isMaestro]

There is a video on youtube where Djokovic explains how spin comes from legs. If you "supplement" your strokes with bigger coiling-uncoiling and bend your legs you will see a big difference.

Here it is:

 

[Mareqnyc]

Here it is:

Yeah this one

 

[kiteboard]

That high take back creates more leverage, but not everyone hits that way and still hit big (Murray or Ferrer). I like the higher take back because it makes things more fluid and helps with timing. I think your issue with "weak ball" comes from the fact that you use primarily your arm. When I want to hit bigger forehands I always think of building it from the ground, bending the right leg, coiling and when I uncoil into the ball the racquet just flies through it. It is a whole body motion. There is a video on youtube where Djokovic explains how spin comes from legs. If you "supplement" your strokes with bigger coiling-uncoiling and bend your legs you will see a big difference.

Listen to this guy.

 

[Shroud]

Did you ever come across Macci's forehand tutorial on youtube? It is a bit lengthy (20min), but he proceeds to fix the forehand of a junior player who has your big takeback issue. One key point he keeps pounding is where your arm should be and its relationship to the racket just before you drop and pull forward. Consider a player viewed from a bird's view. He proceeds to do his unit turn, then he extends his non hitting arm forward and takes his racket back because he is about to hit. If you drew a line with his shoulders, with your takeback, his hand would cross that line and go behind him. With a proper takeback, his arm would be at about 45 degree from that line (in between being in line with his shoulders and being perpendicular to them). That's one point Macci makes. The other is to get your racket above your hand when you get at that furthest point of your takeback and to make sure this racket is angled slightly outward (not fully straight up and not having the tip pointing toward your body). From there, if you just drop the racket and pull, you get a chance to swing hard (in part because of that lag you're looking to get) and your racket head should stay closed throughout the entire swing (so you can swing aggressively upward without sending balls right in the back fence).

Here's the video in question:

Personally, I combine this advice with one given by Salzenstein (pointing your hitting side of the string bed to the back fence) and I keep the loopy part of the takeback to a bare minimum. It feels like I just get my arm and hand as I need them at contact, drop it and swing forward -- but it does move a little, obviously. I used to have your problem (huge backswing, which you reduced significantly, by the way) and once I started just turning my shoulders and hitting those appropriate angles with my arm, forearm and hand everything fell into place almost by magic. Taking some of it to my backhand side, I also improved my two handed backhand.

Yesterday, I even played a big hitter without problem. He's a lefty with a big forehand. He can hit that thing hard, with lots of spin and that thing really routinely kicks up to my head. Normally, it's a stroll down shank lane, but not yesterday. I was even going for balls on the rise off both wings made it work with alarming regularity. He did force me to reverse my follow-through more often than I would have liked, but he does play that ball so hard it's hard for me to keep up all the time -- plus those angled inside-out forehands he kept hitting meant I had to run for my life. Between not being to hit two good shots in a row and smacking back hefty forehands on the rise, I didn't grew suddenly into a super athlete. I actually spent september through may indoor, studying and not participating in any sport or exercising (really bad, I know). I did one major change on my forehand (my takeback) and traded my one handed backhand for a two handed backhand -- and we're talking about 50 hours of tennis to make that sort of change in my case (except I did play a few weeks two handed the previous year).


It's a very simple tip Macci gives -- keep your takeback short and simple. He then details how to do it and gives you an example. But that can make a huge difference because of how much time you can spare and the much simpler preparation you go through.

Seen it. But will watch again. I cant seem to get the simpler takeback to happen.

Thanks for trying to help.

 

[Shroud]

That high take back creates more leverage, but not everyone hits that way and still hit big (Murray or Ferrer). I like the higher take back because it makes things more fluid and helps with timing. I think your issue with "weak ball" comes from the fact that you use primarily your arm. When I want to hit bigger forehands I always think of building it from the ground, bending the right leg, coiling and when I uncoil into the ball the racquet just flies through it. It is a whole body motion. There is a video on youtube where Djokovic explains how spin comes from legs. If you "supplement" your strokes with bigger coiling-uncoiling and bend your legs you will see a big difference.

Thanks and I watched the joker vid. Will watch again. Tried the higher takeback...ugh.

 

[Shroud]

Thanks everyone for trying to help!!!

I tried to hit against the wall tonight and try some of the tips and well it was a major disaster. How you guys and leave the left arm out that long and far back is beyond me. And the different stance and the arm just messed everything up like crazy. Balls sailing over the wall, shanks hitting the ball WAY to the left. Still no power. Intermittent lag.

Maybe its the wall but it just didnt work at all. Contact seemed to be too close and my golfers elbow didnt like what was going on...though that may just be the new job and 12 hour laptop surfing making the muscles tight and me not stretching.

Any how this is a big let down and its doubtful I can solve this. I tried the old forehand and viola- power.

Lots of "do this" but no pointers on HOW. Simple things like how do you shorten the takeback, find the right stance, how do you get the left arm to not feel friggen WRONG just hanging out there and from messing up the timing? Where is the contact point? I was hitting what seemed like light years in front and still no power.

You guys have been great but i can't seem to do the simple things...

 

[Cheetah]

Imo it's your attitude that's wrong. Or maybe attitude is the wrong word.. How about resolve? Or fortitude. Or belief in self.. Or fear.

You're changing many things. Do you think that it's all going to click after 2 sessions? You know this is a sport of skills right? Man up. Change one thing, shadow it, wall out on it. For weeks. Get feedback from here on that one thing. Fix. Pick next element to work on. Repeat. Make progress.

It doesn't happen over night. A half knuckle change in a grip for example takes most serious players months. Quick fixes are rare in tennis.

 

[Mareqnyc]

Imo it's your attitude that's wrong. Or maybe attitude is the wrong word.. How about resolve? Or fortitude. Or belief in self.. Or fear.

You're changing many things. Do you think that it's all going to click after 2 sessions? You know this is a sport of skills right? Man up. Change one thing, shadow it, wall out on it. For weeks. Get feedback from here on that one thing. Fix. Pick next element to work on. Repeat. Make progress.

It doesn't happen over night. A half knuckle change in a grip for example takes most serious players months. Quick fixes are rare in tennis.

Agree with ⬆️ Change takes time. One element at the time of deliberate practice and after many hours it will happen. It is good that you actually video yourself, a lot of times we think we do one thing buy reality is completely different.

Another thing is that I find there are certain things that wall is not the best to practice, if your goal is power the ball will cone back unnaturaly fast and there is no time for full coil. Ball machine or slow feeds are best to start with.
I strive to coil/uncoil on every shot but in reality when someone is a good attacker and stretches me from one side to another you just do whatever you can (slaps, underspins, reverse finish ooen stance forehands etc.)

Dont get discouraged and keep working on it Id say. I like the "down with the ball" drill - you bent your legs as the ball drops down and uncoil. If you look at Kohl's forehands in the video thats what he does, down/coil -up. It looks like you are missing that element completely

 

[kiteboard]

Anyone with a big belly and bad knees will pass on that one!

 

[Yaz]

Ha! I was at this practice session, standing right next to the guy that was filming. Hey Shroud, watch how they get the racquet in hitting position, then the lag happens naturally when they start the hand forward. You seem to be forcing the lag by whipping the racquet around at the last minute. Watch your forehand in your old "6 months of changes" video. That one was simpler and more repeatable. As Cheetah said you need to keep drilling it; of course it will break down from time to time and you'll get frustrated but you need to stick with it no matter what, especially in a competitive situation even if you lose. No change you make will make your forehand instantly and consistently better. As others have noted learning a tennis stroke doesn't work that way. It's all about repetition, and we're talking hundreds of hours to really burn it in.

Hope to see you soon bud.

 

[10isMaestro]

Seen it. But will watch again. I cant seem to get the simpler takeback to happen. Thanks for trying to help.

Just to demonstrate what is a proper swing path and how hard you can actually hit when you get your wrist and elbow in the right position and the right angles for a forehand, I tried just putting my racket in the drop position (strings facing down, wrist laid back, ready to pull -- some people call it petting the dog or setting the racket on a table top) and just swung that thing with my arm and a tad of body rotation (I tried to limit my habit of using the entire sequence of movements, but it's hard). I can hit a decent forehand with that small shortened swing, no take back and virtually no lower or upperbody rotation.

If you do a few of those shortened forehands with self-fed balls, you will see that you can hit hard without a huge takeback -- you have to convince yourself and get the feel for it. Then, you can do a few where your racket is already taken back, adding a bit of body rotation into it. The point isn't to hit hard, but to feel that lagging action happen and see that it allows you to hit hard -- harder than you used to -- despite the smaller range of motion.

If you want an actual drill, I'd say pick up many tennis balls and go to a court. Hit 50 forehands already in the drop position, hit 50 more in the full taken back position and, finally, hit 60 forehands in this order: drop position, then fully taken back, then all the way from the ready position. Forehands are not complicated: you set your arm right, drop the racket and pull hard, then it's just a matter of doing a few things to ensure your string bed doesn't open up and getting a feel for a proper rhythm.

Of course, doing the aforementionned drills breaks down your forehand stroke and, although it makes it way easier to work on small bits of it, that means it also breaks down your rhythm and fluidity. To get back that fluidity, I suggest doing what I'd call continuous forehand shadow swings once you mastered the details of it. You go through the whole motion and ,at the end of the follow-through, you let the racket kick back up and down again to reach your unit turn position and start it all over again -- it's like tracing a sideways figure 8, like the infinity symbol.