What's wrong with my forehand?

P

Pio

New User
Pio--you pull your elbow into your ribs ie the infamous "alligator arm" forehand. I suspect you leave a lot of balls short, often contact the inside part of the ball (generating side spin) and have trouble hitting cross court effectively. Full disclosure, I had this issue for years due to pain from tennis elbow. Surgery fixed the elbow, but it took me a long time to retrain myself to get proper extension of my arm to the contact point. If I were coaching you, that would be my initial focus. Otherwise, you have really good racket head speed and follow through.

My 2c. Hope it helps.
 
This kind of forehand where you have the racquet face closed (strings facing the ground) for the majority of the stroke prior to contact is one that is very hard to play consistently. I suggest modifying your stroke to consciously have the racquet face pointing in the direction of the ball earlier in the stroke. This will increase your hitting zone and improve your consistency.
 
I watched your FH in slow-mo. As mentioned by someone above, your elbow is tucked in a bit too close to your body but I think the bigger issue is you don't open the shoulders as much as pros do. You stop the shoulder rotation and your chest is facing a bit to the side at contact and your contact is a little late. Try loading your weight into the back leg and rotating forward with contact being 6 inches or more in front of your shoulders. Go watch side view of ATP forehands and you'll see their chest is typically fully facing the net at contact and you aren't getting this much rotation. You could also shorten the backswing by thinking of keeping the racket head in front of your shoulder line during the take back and transition to forward swing.
 
Pio said:
I have been playing tennis for many years but for some time I have no longer been able to play my forehand. From the video you can see that the racket makes a strange movement when I take it back (it goes behind my back). I don't understand what the problem is. Can you help me?

Hand feeding: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fW-xLSwJ04DiySGitllRDMydFG7iwGM3/view?usp=sharing
Rally (I'm always late): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PDy9D5Ve9fsg439nVbs3KGd2jR_sdrqy/view?usp=sharing
Click to expand...
Easy... Your slot runs downhill instead of up to contact...
 
eah123 said:
This kind of forehand where you have the racquet face closed (strings facing the ground) for the majority of the stroke prior to contact is one that is very hard to play consistently. I suggest modifying your stroke to consciously have the racquet face pointing in the direction of the ball earlier in the stroke. This will increase your hitting zone and improve your consistency.
Click to expand...
Yes. Not worth the risk.

 
What grip are you using, Western? It doesn't look terrible but I think you're brushing up too much and not going through the ball enough.

Karue had a tip where you should imagine hitting through 4 balls instead of one, before you let it wrap around your body. I think it helps to visualise the swing path: either down the line or cross court, slightly from low to high, and you just want to extend through contact along that line. Don't even think about it wrapping around your body, it'll wrap because you run out of arm.
 
Pio said:
What do you mean?
Click to expand...

he meant using gravity instead of arm pulling ur rkt upto the ball............as ur rkt head seems decelerated on the bottom of the swing loop/path n wasted the happy/free gifted gravity g=9.8m/s^2 pull8-B8-B8-B8-B8-B8-B8-B8-B8-B8-B8-B8-B8-B...........
 
Last edited:
Pio said:
I have been playing tennis for many years but for some time I have no longer been able to play my forehand. From the video you can see that the racket makes a strange movement when I take it back (it goes behind my back). I don't understand what the problem is. Can you help me?

Hand feeding: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fW-xLSwJ04DiySGitllRDMydFG7iwGM3/view?usp=sharing
Rally (I'm always late): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PDy9D5Ve9fsg439nVbs3KGd2jR_sdrqy/view?usp=sharing
Click to expand...

Your #1 issue has been correctly diagnosed by @sovertennis and @TennisCJC. An easy fix is to raise the elbow as much as possible when you turn to create the separation - which has multiple benefits - keeps the racket on the hitting side, shorter swing and involves pec muscles more.
Great explanation on take back here to start with the elbow holding a beach ball-

 
Last edited:
AnyPUG said:
Your #1 issue has been correctly diagnosed by @sovertennis and @TennisCJC. An easy fix is to raise the elbow as much as possible when you turn to create the separation - which has multiple benefits - keeps the racket on the hitting side, shorter swing and involves pec muscles more.
Great explanation on take back here to start with the elbow holding a beach ball-

Click to expand...

a video where I try to keep my elbow high but it doesn't change much

video_2024-07-17_21-56-10.mp4

drive.google.com drive.google.com
 
@Pio you're brushing up the ball with a closed racquet face, which is very difficult to time. But more fundamentally, your stroke technique is poor from start to finish, there is no simple adjustment that can fix it. Find a good coach and re-learn the forehand from zero: it will be difficult, but doable.
 
Pio said:
a video where I try to keep my elbow high but it doesn't change much

video_2024-07-17_21-56-10.mp4

drive.google.com drive.google.com
Click to expand...

I see elevated elbow and that's a step in the right direction. Once you are ready to swing, the next step is elbow extension(so the racket head falls down freely). Instead the racket goes behind your back because you aren't extending the elbow (either full arm extension like fed or bent arm like Djoker, but still extension from 90's degrees). After extension with racket head below the CP height, the next step is flip before swinging forward.
So, next 3 steps after elbow elevation are- 1 elbow extension, 2 flip and 3 forward and up swing to contact.

I agree with @Tranqville as well.
 
Pio said:
I have been playing tennis for many years but for some time I have no longer been able to play my forehand. From the video you can see that the racket makes a strange movement when I take it back (it goes behind my back). I don't understand what the problem is. Can you help me?

Hand feeding: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fW-xLSwJ04DiySGitllRDMydFG7iwGM3/view?usp=sharing
Rally (I'm always late): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PDy9D5Ve9fsg439nVbs3KGd2jR_sdrqy/view?usp=sharing
Click to expand...

I was expecting to see dog poo, but your FH looks a million times better than mine. I therefore got nothing to add
 
AnyPUG said:
Your #1 issue has been correctly diagnosed by @sovertennis and @TennisCJC. An easy fix is to raise the elbow as much as possible when you turn to create the separation - which has multiple benefits - keeps the racket on the hitting side, shorter swing and involves pec muscles more.
Great explanation on take back here to start with the elbow holding a beach ball-

Click to expand...
sorry, but this guy butchers the topic... the OP clear issue isn't addressed in this video either.... the OP has horrible "slot entry" just like the guy in this video has bad slot entry.... you can't run a good slot to contact with bad slot entry!
 
Curious said:
Isn’t it typical WTA fh where racket is laid back behind the hand? Maybe the only difference is his racket is much lower than most.
Click to expand...
I meant the racquet head spins weirdly, like the side of the forehand of the racquet face changes places with the backhand side. I don't know if it's wrong, it just seemed weird to me.
 
5263 said:
sorry, but this guy butchers the topic... the OP clear issue isn't addressed in this video either.... the OP has horrible "slot entry" just like the guy in this video has bad slot entry.... you can't run a good slot to contact with bad slot entry!
Click to expand...

Is it horrible slot entry or a different mechanism(drop on edge slot entry)? from what I recall, you advocate "swivel slot entry", isn't it a bit harder to master than straight drop on edge method?
 
kinda reminds me of a goffin or mirza fh...
but with a long linear pull stroke (but with more western grip) that looks initiatied by your step into the neutral stance (what happens when you try to hit your fh from open stance?)

simple fix to me seems to be just to back up and give yourself more time to take that long swing (if the problem you're trying to fix is being 'always' late)

long term change might be to make the swing more compact (eg. preventing racquet from going behind you), which helps against fast balls, balls near the baseline, approach shots, etc... but be prepared to take a few months to make that drastic of a change.
 
Pio said:
a video where I try to keep my elbow high but it doesn't change much

video_2024-07-17_21-56-10.mp4

drive.google.com drive.google.com
Click to expand...


The racket tip from position #1 should go down to #2 and then flip to #3 as your swing forward - that's how ATP forehand works. In your video, the racket tip goes to 98 and 99 from #1.
The arrow mark shows where the racket tip is pointing at.

In 3 dimensions, X is horizontal, Y vertical and Z for depth,
Assuming your right foot is at 0,0,0 L

#1 is at 0, 5, 2
#2 is at -3, 1, 3 (towards the viewer and on hitting side, 3 ft in front your right leg in Z axis and 3 feet behind in X axis )
#3 is at -1.5, 1, -1 (1 foot behind your right leg in Z axis and 1.5 feet behind in X axis)
#98 is at -2, 3, -2.
#99 is at -2, 2, -1

The movement from #1 to 99 via 98 is not really required. it's a lot quicker and efficient (and also achives low to high for great topspin) to move from #1 to 2 to 3 and swing forward to cp.
The movement from #2 to 3 is the flip (racket moves from in front of the right leg to behind the right leg in Z axis and the X position doesn't change that much as it moves along an arc from #2 to 3)
#1 to #2 to #3 to CP is one continuous motion. For emergency, can go to #3 directly skipping #2 .


FH-positions_sgjxtg.png
 
Last edited:
AnyPUG said:
The racket tip from position #1 should go down to #2 and then flip to #3 as your swing forward - that's how ATP forehand works. In your video, the racket tip goes to 98 and 99 from #1.
The arrow mark shows where the racket tip is pointing at.

In 3 dimensions, X is horizontal, Y vertical and Z for depth,
Assuming your right foot is at 0,0,0 L

#1 is at 0, 5, 2
#2 is at -3, 1, 3 (towards the viewer and on hitting side, 3 ft in front your right leg in Z axis and 3 feet behind in X axis )
#3 is at -1.5, 1, -1 (1 foot behind your right leg in Z axis and 1.5 feet behind in X axis)
#98 is at -2, 3, -2.
#99 is at -2, 2, -1

The movement from #1 to 99 via 98 is not really required. it's a lot quicker and efficient (and also achives low to high for great topspin) to move from #1 to 2 to 3 and swing forward to cp.
The movement from #2 to 3 is the flip (racket moves from in front of the right leg to behind the right leg in Z axis and the X position doesn't change that much as it moves along an arc from #2 to 3)
#1 to #2 to #3 to CP is one continuous motion. For emergency, can go to #3 directly skipping #2 .


FH-positions_sgjxtg.png
Click to expand...
Is that you chas?
 
I think that you should try with the wrist in a more neutral position, not hyper extended.
I had that problem before, no matter the grip I used. My contact point was always with the racquet head way below the wrist

Also, keep in mind to stay always in the hitting side.
 
enishi1357 said:
Your FH is better than 90% of the people here. Need match play to make a determination of the rest.
Click to expand...

quite true as 90% ppl here not playing much at most 3 or 4 hrs each wk w/ >70% court time waiting/socialising/ballpickup instead of hitting:?)) lolololololol.............

he'll be perfectly fine n improving gradually along the way if >1000 fh hits every day assuming no wrist/elbow pain at all..............like driving in a desert ala the 4wd ok w/ enough water/food/fuel then just matter of time, sooner or later u'll find way out but if the car's broken down or supply ran out..........bad luck m8


:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D.............
 
TwinCinema said:
This guy seems to be explaining the difference between open stance and closed stance, no?
Click to expand...
My point was that difficulty with slot position, arm cramped close to the body, late contact point and the other issues described by OP and others could mostly be solved by focusing on the main issue of body rotation towards the net. Turn those hips and shoulders, and then the hand, wrist and racquet will find their natural position or vector(s). I believe the video shows this point very well. I think the OP possesses all the tools and skill to solve his issues, as there are so many good things to say about his forehand. Just my .02$.
 
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