SpinToWin
Talk Tennis Guru
Nowadays it seems that many people are shying away from the eastern forehand and towards semi-western and western forehands as they produce more spin and are more consistent according to many. On the other hand, the straight arm forehand is called the most efficient technique and is what many strive for. The irony of the matter is that the eastern forehand forces the player to use the straight arm forehand in order to have any good result. You see few top players with straight arm forehands, but all top players with eastern forehands have a straight arm forehand (Federer, Dimitrov, Gasquet and Batista Agut being the most noteworthy names). Once you get the straight arm forehand down with the eastern forehand grip, it is a very reliable stroke which allows both hitting flat and with heavy spin, and it is very solid due to the hand being behind the racquet at contact. Furthermore, the wrist is in a very natural position on this stroke, making it very easy on the arm and easy to execute the technique correctly with a loose wrist.
In stark contrast, the straight arm forehand is quite difficult with a semi-western grip and literally impossible with a western grip, as the wrist is in an unnatural position. The development in tennis where many players use semi-western and western grips therefore explains why we see so few straight arm forehands, as the double bend forehand is much easier with these "modern grips".
What I am trying to say is that people should not shy away from the eastern forehand, despite what is being said about it being an inferior grip in the modern game, as it promotes great technique.
In stark contrast, the straight arm forehand is quite difficult with a semi-western grip and literally impossible with a western grip, as the wrist is in an unnatural position. The development in tennis where many players use semi-western and western grips therefore explains why we see so few straight arm forehands, as the double bend forehand is much easier with these "modern grips".
What I am trying to say is that people should not shy away from the eastern forehand, despite what is being said about it being an inferior grip in the modern game, as it promotes great technique.