It is kinda crazy and it's not for everyone. It's deceptive because it's a split microsecond snapshot of an extreme topspin forehand as the racquet is coming forward. It is not a trophy position but a transition phase much like the infamous service backscratch or wrist snap...which btw is still being beaten to death on other threads. I see people using the "point butt cap at the ball" as the trophy position and they hold that pose too long. The results are not pretty in many cases.
A couple things to remember...your old compact forehand works (and works well) because you are hitting the ball on the rise where too big of an upper body turn and too big of a backswing make the shot nearly impossible. You are taking the basic guts of the "on the rise" forehand and pushing to the extreme. Kinda the "how compact can I make the stroke" and still hit it hard philosophy.
I gotta a couple of questions. Are there any forehand shots that you have trouble hitting and how is your running forehand? When it gets right down to it, you're still going to have to hit the forehand the way you are most comfortable with.
Hey, if you're at Zina's place...what do the coaches say about your forehand?
By the way, my old forehand used to look exactly like yours except that my follow throw was much shorter. It was the same swing that I used when I was hitting a forehand smash in table tennis.
I started opening up the swing because the rhythm and timing on my old forehand was different from the rest of my game. My old game used to be super smooth except for the forehand where I would crowd the ball and smack it while it was still on the rise. I would be upsetting my own rhythm on my other shots so I smoothed it out with a classic old school Australian forehand...which was almost always hit on the rise.
On your forehand you seem to be trying to guide the ball to where you want it to go. Your elbow is bent and its almost as if you just put your racquet behind the ball then push it towards its destination. You don't accelerate the racquet from your backswing to the followthrough. The mechanics look alright except for that. Straighten out your elbow and accelerate through the ball.
