Vital Tips on How to Hit a FH

[lordmanji]

feel free to add any or correct any of mine:

a good knee bend
contact out in front of hip
proper distance from racket and body
shoulder rotation
low to high swing
depending on racket, a fast swing speed
head still
eyes on ball until contact
push through ball as if through 3 balls
adjust racket swing path depending on height of contact point on ball. e.g. if ball is waist-level, can drive through the ball more by deemphasizing low to high
elbow slightly bent
weight transfer from right to left foot
midcourt balls square stance

 

[JCo872]

feel free to add any or correct any of mine:

a good knee bend
contact out in front of hip
proper distance from racket and body
shoulder rotation
low to high swing
depending on racket, a fast swing speed
head still
eyes on ball until contact
push through ball as if through 3 balls
adjust racket swing path depending on height of contact point on ball. e.g. if ball is waist-level, can drive through the ball more by deemphasizing low to high
elbow slightly bent
weight transfer from right to left foot
midcourt balls square stance

Excellent list. Just add "pull the racket to the ball".

One caveat about this line: "depending on racket, a fast swing speed"

To hit a top forehand, you have to have your shoulder, hand, and racket all aligned properly on contact. Top hitters do this by PULLING the racket to the ball. What I find over and over again is that when people to try "swing fast" and generate "racket head speed" into the ball, they lose the pull, and on contact things aren't properly aligned.

So I encourage people to work on properly aligning the hand, shoulder, and racket on the ball by pulling the racket to the ball. Then accelerarte with the big windshield wiper motion.

You can learn more about this at my site (hi-techtennis) or Clint's great program Tennis Guru, whe re he highlights the pull to the ball and the big wiper finish.

Jeff

 

[Venetian]

Vital Tip: Hit the dumb ball and put topspin on it. You really don't need a 12 part list.

 

[Venetian]

Why do people over analyze this game so much? Just tell someone to swing low to high and show them a few forehands and they'll pick it up in no time. Your body learns how to do things like this on it's own. Sports are not that complicated people.

 

[dima]

Why do people over analyze this game so much? Just tell someone to swing low to high and show them a few forehands and they'll pick it up in no time. Your body learns how to do things like this on it's own. Sports are not that complicated people.

Lol! I was about to post the same thing. This is getting ridiculous, who the hell remembers all that stuff before hitting a forehand? Just swing high to low with a windshield wiper motion and you're all set, trust me!

 

[kimizz]

ppl overanalyze because they love tennis so much that it becomes an obsession

But its not enough to tell peeps to hit low to high and show a few shots. I think some coaches dont even know how to explain their own forehands, they just explain how to hit it according to some crappy instruction books. To me my coach just sayd step into the ball and hit low to high. The thing is its not just about swinging low to high. Many beginners that I see hit low to high with a straight hand and naturally all of their strokes end up wide, their racquets are open in the point of contact. I had this problem too. Of course if someone have a lot of time to play he automatically starts to correct hes strokes but those with limited amount of time ends up swinging wide and wondering "whats wrong, I did it like the coach told me to."

 

[kimizz]

Lol! I was about to post the same thing. This is getting ridiculous, who the hell remembers all that stuff before hitting a forehand? Just swing high to low with a windshield wiper motion and you're all set, trust me!

Well I doubt theres ppl that goes through a list of what to do before a stroke Its about bringing new components to your existing technique, and this happens in a long period of time. Example: During last decemeber I learned to make my forehand more like a leverage, last week I learned more about using my abs to get more power to my shots.

You can always look ways to improve your game and you can always find new things to focus on in your next practise session.

 

[Mountain Ghost]

How to USE a List

Whenever you are making a list, always try to list things in the actual order of real-time occurrence . . . as best you can. Once you have the list, you need to learn how (and when) to use it?

You obviously don’t want to walk (or run) around the court thinking of 20 things at once. During training, I usually don’t advise focusing on more than one or two (max three) aspects of any single stroke at a time. You also don’t want to go searching through the list for a “solution” every time you make a mistake. The goal is to turn everything on the list into an “automatic” response.

Here’s how:

--- KNOW THE LIST – Keep a copy of the list in your pocket and pull it out and look at it from time to time throughout your non-tennis day and night.

--- VISUALIZE THE LIST – When you read the list, go slow and be sure to really “see” each detail in your mind before you move on to the next one.

--- DO THE LIST – As I said, you don’t want to fill your mind with too many details. So when you’re on the court during a long hitting session (with a sympathetic partner), go through the list (in order) and practice focusing on every SINGLE detail for 5 minutes each, until you’ve INDIVIDUALLY worked on all of them. Even if you’re not having a problem with a particular aspect, do it anyway.

--- FORGET THE LIST – When you play a match, do your best to not think of ANYTHING on the list.

--- REPEAT . . .

It’s funny, some people find a short layoff from tennis screws up their game. I find the exact opposite to be the case. When I’m off the court I am not able to practice mistakes and the only visualizations I have of my strokes are good ones, so I return to the court more mindful of “perfection”.

MG

 

[JCo872]

feel free to add any or correct any of mine:

a good knee bend
contact out in front of hip
proper distance from racket and body
shoulder rotation
low to high swing
depending on racket, a fast swing speed
head still
eyes on ball until contact
push through ball as if through 3 balls
adjust racket swing path depending on height of contact point on ball. e.g. if ball is waist-level, can drive through the ball more by deemphasizing low to high
elbow slightly bent
weight transfer from right to left foot
midcourt balls square stance

Another one to this great list:

Get your opposite arm pointed straight across your body in the beginning. It gets your shoulders fully coiled.