when should I hit a buggy whip forehand?

[taurussable]

I noticed in some of my footage that occasionally I hit a buggy whip forehand. It seems a subconscious movement, never really learned it.

In general when should I hit a across the body forehand, over the shoulder forehand or buggy whip forehand?

 

[ace_pace]

When you wish to put more topspin on the ball

 

[enishi1357]

a better question is why you shouldn't hit a buggy forehand
I think that forehand requires more energy which would eventually tire me out faster. So far I only used it when I'm pulled wide or a unexpected shot caught me off guard.
over the shoulder only against high balls that has finish rising. I also used it on really flat shot.
across the body is my topspin fh. that one I used on shots I'm comfortable with.
there's also another one you may have not learned or just didn't mention. this one is where you catch the racquet with the other hand. This one I find it very useful against rising shots. perfect for approach

 

[dominikk1985]

If you can do it you can hit them all the time. nadal only hits them and he did pretty well.

I can't hit an effective reverse FH so I only use them when I am jammed on very deep balls or stretched wide. otherwise I use a normal WW FH.

 

[10isfreak]

The idea behind all this work you put into learning strokes and footwork patterns is to reach a very singular objective: you want your racket to go through a certain path, at a certain speed. That's it.

If you feel like you will be slightly late, moving your follow-through upward will allow you to still get the appropriate path and speed to strike a decent forehand; if you run and can't get your hips to face the net, it is also a good way to make sure your racket still moves the right way to make a clean contact. And, obviously, if you want to arc the ball high over the net, it can be warranted to use a steeper racket path -- which is easier if you reverse your follow-through.

With that being said, you have to be careful. The bad habit you can grow out of using them a plenty is to prepare too late for your strokes -- specifically because you can get away with it most of the time if you're good at reversing your forehands. If you lean this way, you might then find it difficult to be offensive since it requires you to attack the ball as early as you are comfortable to do it.

 

[10sGrinder]

I use it a lot against players with one-handed backhands, and come to think about it, against other players too. If you can get it deep in the court, it makes a fantastic approach shot. Come into the net as soon as you see it's going deep and play the percentages. You'll most likely get a weak reply.
Noted: This probably won't work against younger players used to working with that much spin.

 

[GoudX]

I use it when I am worried that I will overhit on a WW forehand, as it has less pace, but the loopy trajectory and heavy spin still makes it hard to attack. This means I use it a lot more when rushed.

It's also great for rallying against players who can't consistently generate pace from shoulder height, as it is a slower loopier ball which kicks.

 

[Tight Lines]

The idea behind all this work you put into learning strokes and footwork patterns is to reach a very singular objective: you want your racket to go through a certain path, at a certain speed. That's it.

If you feel like you will be slightly late, moving your follow-through upward will allow you to still get the appropriate path and speed to strike a decent forehand; if you run and can't get your hips to face the net, it is also a good way to make sure your racket still moves the right way to make a clean contact. And, obviously, if you want to arc the ball high over the net, it can be warranted to use a steeper racket path -- which is easier if you reverse your follow-through.

With that being said, you have to be careful. The bad habit you can grow out of using them a plenty is to prepare too late for your strokes -- specifically because you can get away with it most of the time if you're good at reversing your forehands. If you lean this way, you might then find it difficult to be offensive since it requires you to attack the ball as early as you are comfortable to do it.

+1. I like this answer a lot. IMO, you should only use this shot when you are late to the ball and can't get your outside foot set properly.

Harry

 

[LeeD]

I tend to block the ball instead of buggy whip. But at my 4.0 level, I pay a much lower penalty rate by hitting a soft, barely spinning ball.
In the pros, that shot of mine would be eaten up and disposed of by my opponents.

 

[GoudX]

I tend to block the ball instead of buggy whip. But at my 4.0 level, I pay a much lower penalty rate by hitting a soft, barely spinning ball.
In the pros, that shot of mine would be eaten up and disposed of by my opponents.

Even at the VERY top there is still a time and place for soft barely spinning defence shots https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4BCwWAhFgA

 

[taurussable]

Thanks for all the input:

does the buggy whip help recovery to position faster?

Looks like after the buggy whip the body is facing square to the net while a usual forehand the body is turned more.

 

[GuyClinch]

Jeff Salzenstein is about the only guy teaching it..some stuff for free on youtube if you want to learn it.

I guess in theory you can hit it late and on the run..so that would be the time to use it if you learned it.. Seems fun..

 

[10isfreak]

Thanks for all the input:

does the buggy whip help recovery to position faster?

Looks like after the buggy whip the body is facing square to the net while a usual forehand the body is turned more.

If you were, hypothetically speaking, hitting both a WW forehand and a reverse forehand in the same circumstances where you are neither too far away from the appropriate recovery position on the court, nor out of balance, I would say that both movements offer a very similar ability to recover.

If you were not aware of it (I am teasing you; it's not meant as sarcasm), it has become commonplace in the tennis world to strike most of your forehands with an open stance. As such, even the WW forehand would leave you with your feet in an open stance position, although it might leave your shoulders turned a little further than the reverse forehand would. However, if you picture the game as it played, it means that unless you struck the ball inside-out, this additional shoulder turn is something you needed anyway: you need to turn and move back toward the center of the court -- actually, ideal recovery positions vary depending on your ball placement, but let's keep it simple -- and the shoulder turn already sets you in motion towards the center of the court.

Once you strike the ball, you need to anticipate a response; so you need to move towards your recovery position. You don't just sit there, admiring your strokes because, as you know, it's easy to hit winners when your opponent pushes the bounds of politeness further beyond by not recovering for the whole match. :roll:

 

[10isfreak]

Jeff Salzenstein is about the only guy teaching it.

He is also advocating using this stroke more often. Some of his tips involves using that shot to approach the net. Personally, I do not see where are the gains to be made, especially if you are more acquainted with a WW forehand. You simply use what FYB popularized as a walking step and you swing at the ball without much of a problem.

Moreover, you likely do NOT want to create a big bounce. What you are looking for is to force the opponent to lift the ball and, possibly, to catch him a little late. Even a slice looks like a better idea to me, but then Nadal does seem to get away with it on the tour, so why not little Johnny at the corner court? The typical answer is that Johnny is not Nadal, but then Johnny does not need to force a poor passing shot from Federer; he just needs to force little Billy to send poor passing shot.

 

[dominikk1985]

I think the only real advantage of the reverse FH is on very low balls. the WW FH is better suited for balls above the waist, especially if you have an extreme grip.

djokovic does not deal well with slices for example, while nadal does. fed does too despite his WW FH but he has a very conservative grip and not a frying pan grip like novak.

 

[RajS]

I use the reverse forehand a fair bit. I like it for passing shots and sometimes for really deep balls that I have to half-volley. It is great for hitting defensive shots when pulled wide. Sometimes I hit it even for normal shots if I want a higher trajectory and/or a sharper angle. But overall I think it is a conservative shot that has a more spin than pace, at least at my level. The guys who give me the worst beatings don't use it at all, lol!

 

[r2473]

when should I hit a buggy whip forehand?

When using a racquet with Western Grips