Tips for my forehand. (video)

[babolat141]

Hello i think it would be helpful to get some sort of critique of my forehand.

Please don't be to harsh.

Also please watch the video all the way through as one camera angle shows the kind of ball i am

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

 

[plowmanjoe]

link is broken. remove "hitting" from the end of the url.

 

[ryangoring]

Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OytnCljIUFA

 

[35ft6]

Not bad. Just keep playing and it will become smoother by itself.

One thing I can nitpick on is that I think you are preparing too early sometimes. Without sound on the video, watching you hit, I almost instinctively count "`1, 2... 1, 2" on your forehand, the backswing and forward swing are so distinctive, there's a break in the stroke especially on the higher balls you're hitting at the beginning.

You should time the loop of the backswing so that there's no break in the swing, and that might mean slowing it down a bit, make the forehand more of one continuous motion instead of taking it back so fast that the racket is motionless, sitting there waiting.

I guess the other thing would be you hit on the rise when the ball lands deep, but when it's shorter, instead of stepping into it, you let it drop. Maybe the ball machine was spitting out the balls too fast for you to step into the court and take the ball earlier, but you should work on that.

 

[babolat141]

thank you.

i will work on taking it back a little slower.

 

[StuckInMalibu]

Try to incorporate movement in your practice.

FYB's video is a good example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPCY1PNAYqE

Biggest difference between practice and match forehand is the footwork.

 

[babolat141]

Ok well I was just trying to get some of me hitting on video. That was my friends ball machine but i usually practice with people.

 

[35ft6]

thank you.

i will work on taking it back a little slower.

Cool. Yeah, I know conventional wisdom is that it can't be early enough, but with today's looping strokes, being too early on the backswing disrupts the stroke, throws off timing, and in my case, and I've had major problems with being ready too early this past year, it causes me to flatten out my strokes. I see you doing what I do sometimes, you take it back too early, the racket is motionless waiting, then you do this flapping/cocking of the wrist to get the arm moving again, instinctively trying to make up for the momentum you lose with the racket head by disrupting the loop.

On the lower forehands, you don't really seem to have this problem. Another thing I would try to work on is getting the most pop on your ball with the minimal amount of effort. Really try to "feel" your shot. I find I hit my biggest shots when I'm relaxed, and instead of going for extra racket speed, I hit it a bit earlier, hit the sweet spot a bit cleaner, and really plow through the ball with a relaxed swing. When I really go all out, a lot of the times I get less power.

The way you're jumping into the ball, going all out, there are risks involved with practicing that way. In a way, it's almost like practicing shots from half court in basketball. At best, you're practicing a shot you're rarely going to hit and even if you do, a shot you shouldn't go after so aggressively, and at worst, it can mess your game up. You should practice the way you're going to play, that's so true. And swinging that hard, it's almost worse if you make a lot of them in practice because it's going to give you a false confidence. You might go for too much in matches remembering how you got 4 or 5 of those shots in in a row during practice.

But I could be going on about nothing. Anyway, you're only going to get better. Have fun.

 

[tricky]

Stroke production looked pretty good.

1) Normal contact point seemed a little high to me. You may want to try moving a little closer to the baseline and taking the ball earlier.

2) Your torso rotates early. It looks like you rely on a bigger backswing to time your torso rotation. See if you can hit the ball at the same contact point with almost no backswing. If not, look at the feet.

3) Try separating your hand from the racquet by moving the hand toward the incoming ball. (Rather than lifting the racquet to separate.) You'll get a tighter backswing (less loop, more shoulder turn) and more wiping action.

Have the camera still; it's kind of a pain trying to retrack your focus.

 

[heretoserve]

I think your stroke looks great. A little to much motion during contact. Try to be loose and let the impact of the ball cause any rollover. As opposed to using musculature to turn over the ball. You want to have a big hitting zone. I would assume that your forehand struggles under pressure. Passing shots etc.......correct? But you look like your doing a good job of trying to ignore who ever is telling you to cover or come over the ball. Keep not listening to them and your gonna be a superstar. Fact is the racquet is vertical at contact and topspin does not come from any last split second motion turning over. Extend, exted, extend!

P.S. Don't let any one tell you your preparing too early.

 

[FH2FH]

I like tricky's first point. The stroke looks consistent to me, but I'd work on moving into the court instead of waiting on the ball. That's the key to the next level. Speed up the ball machine too. This will help with your movement.

Also agree that the chest opens a little early. Racquet gets behind a little. Try keeping it out in front. Chest/shoulders opening too soon may cause some timing issues.

 

[LeeD]

Good fast swing, solid contact, athletic, good movement.
Try to focus on moving forward on slow incoming balls, or stay stable and static on faster or deeper incoming balls.
Your forehand is probably good enough for now, so start working on the backhand, serves, volleys, overheads, and general match play.

 

[Nellie]

It looks to me that your timing breaks down when you are trying to swing hard at the higher balls - like your hips and torso finish rotation, and then you end up arming the ball. Also, a couple of times, you tried to push the ball by leaning in with your right shoulder to add more force - don't. I liked your rally ball form a lot more.

Also, when you flattened up the stroke, your ball got low and short. Practice on keeping your depth over pace, and you will have better consistency and results.

 

[babolat141]

Well thanks for the comments but one thing i noticed when i first saw myself on video is how wristy and floppy my takeback is.

should i probably try and make it more straight back and shorter so it will make the stroke less complicated?

 

[35ft6]

meh.... on second look, I still think your loop is disrupted sometimes, but not as bad as I originally thought.

 

[babolat141]

Stroke production looked pretty good.

1) Normal contact point seemed a little high to me. You may want to try moving a little closer to the baseline and taking the ball earlier.

2) Your torso rotates early. It looks like you rely on a bigger backswing to time your torso rotation. See if you can hit the ball at the same contact point with almost no backswing. If not, look at the feet.

3) Try separating your hand from the racquet by moving the hand toward the incoming ball. (Rather than lifting the racquet to separate.) You'll get a tighter backswing (less loop, more shoulder turn) and more wiping action.

Have the camera still; it's kind of a pain trying to retrack your focus.

Is there a way to make sure I'm not rotating to early into the ball?

Also I'm a little confused on #3 about the hand toward the ball

 

[babolat141]

Stroke production looked pretty good.

1) Normal contact point seemed a little high to me. You may want to try moving a little closer to the baseline and taking the ball earlier.

2) Your torso rotates early. It looks like you rely on a bigger backswing to time your torso rotation. See if you can hit the ball at the same contact point with almost no backswing. If not, look at the feet.

3) Try separating your hand from the racquet by moving the hand toward the incoming ball. (Rather than lifting the racquet to separate.) You'll get a tighter backswing (less loop, more shoulder turn) and more wiping action.

Have the camera still; it's kind of a pain trying to retrack your focus.

Is there a way to make sure I'm not rotating to early into the ball?

Also I'm a little confused on #3 about the hand toward the ball

 

[tricky]

Is there a way to make sure I'm not rotating to early into the ball?

That's solved by correcting the footwork. What I usually recommend is to eliminate or severely limit the takeback and see whether you can hit the ball at the same contact point as you would with a normal takeback. If not, then there's a footwork issue.

As soon as you split step, you want to track the path of the incoming ball with the foot closest to the estimated strike point between you and the ball. This will dictate your movement, and it will help you set up the unit turn where you're probably loaded with the lower body and where your torso rotates into the line of the shot rather than away.

This will also solve the "early backswing" issue. You should always prepare early, but it should be integrated with your lower body (note how your lower body kinda becomes still as you take the racquet back. That means your kinetic chain is not really connected to the lower body) And this goes back to footwork. Footwork (specifically step patterns and shot recognition) is the basis for groundstroke production.

Again. I would continue practicing with almost no takeback until your feet are good.

Also I'm a little confused on #3 about the hand toward the ball

People tend to separate racquet from hand in two different ways. Some separate by kinda lifting the racquet upwards with the hand. This leads to a big loop. Some separate by moving their hand forward. Their hand traces the line of their intended shot or the path of the incoming ball. This leads to a flatter backswing, more reliant on shoulder turn than loop.

The difference is subtle, but it reflects that your non-hitting hand influences the takeback of your hitting arm. If you want a more technical explanation, let me know.

 

[ttbrowne]

Hey, On those high bouncing forehands where your going for the kill shot, try to think more the "timing" of the shot rather than hitting it with all you got. Plus it is a leg killer to try and practice those 10-15 in a row. You lose the essential jump because your legs will wear out. But remember to keep your racket takeback high and keep it high thru the swing. Any drop will throw you off.