Wrist motion on forehand

[Undrayon]

As I start the downswing on my forehand my wrist is very relaxed so that when I strike the ball it naturally comes up and brings my racquet up the ball. I want to make it clear that I am NOT snapping my wrist. This is like when you keep your wrist relaxed on the serve it'll snap on its own if you hit the ball correctly.

This natural wrist motion gives me a great deal of spin but I don't see many people doing it. Is it just preference or is there a reason for it?

 

[Bagumbawalla]

I prefer to keep my wrist relatively stiff, however, in effect, I am hitting the ball exactly like you.

Stiff wrist or loose wrist-- there is going to be some wrist movement for everybody. A good player likes to conserve energy/momentum and uses every bit of racket motion to help generate power/speed/spin.

I have a bit stiffer wrist, but still I find that same place where the energy seems the greatest to strike the ball-- just as you do, just as most good players do.

 

[tricky]

This natural wrist motion gives me a great deal of spin but I don't see many people doing it. Is it just preference or is there a reason for it?

Yeah, that's something many people eventually evolve into, so that their FHs get whippier. Wrist is in neutral position, and then establish the laid-back naturally during transition from backswing to forward swing. This is usually coordinated with forearm supination or closing-then-opening of racquet face in the backswing, and it resembles throwing the ball sidearm.

Most people are not taught to do this because the initial focus of the FH is on properly executing the forward swing. That is, to really hit through the ball with the double-bend structure (i.e. laid-back wrist.)

Adapting the wrist this early may encourage people to slap at the ball rather than drive through it with the legs and finishing with full rotation.

Good contrast can be found between Agassi and Safin. Agassi keeps his wrist relatively stable through the backswing. Safin who has overall similar motion to Agassi relaxes his wrist.

 

[dave333]

Stiff at contact. Otherwise keep it loose.

 

[JCo872]

Yeah, that's something many people eventually evolve into, so that their FHs get whippier. Wrist is in neutral position, and then establish the laid-back naturally during transition from backswing to forward swing. This is usually coordinated with forearm supination or closing-then-opening of racquet face in the backswing, and it resembles throwing the ball sidearm.

Most people are not taught to do this because the initial focus of the FH is on properly executing the forward swing. That is, to really hit through the ball with the double-bend structure (i.e. laid-back wrist.)

Adapting the wrist this early may encourage people to slap at the ball rather than drive through it with the legs and finishing with full rotation.

Good contrast can be found between Agassi and Safin. Agassi keeps his wrist relatively stable through the backswing. Safin who has overall similar motion to Agassi relaxes his wrist.

Great answer!

 

[whatsgood4u]

as soon as I start to pull the racquet with my torso I relax my wrist so that it is naturally laid back by the force of the swing. it remains laid back until making cotact with the ball then the force of the swing causes the wrist to snap forward wrapping the racquet around my body just under the shoulder.

 

[tricky]

as soon as I start to pull the racquet with my torso I relax my wrist so that it is naturally laid back by the force of the swing. it remains laid back until making cotact with the ball then the force of the swing causes the wrist to snap forward wrapping the racquet around my body just under the shoulder.

Yeah, that's the basic idea with the neutral wrist position. The wrist acts as a hinge and at no time does it "actively" snap back or forward. All of that comes from the torque of the racquet.

Once a person has mastered a "shoulder-centric", abbreviated swing, this is usually the next step toward increasing the whippiness of the FH stroke. Both racquet speed and topspin goes up.

The problem is when somebody uses this a lot without really getting down shoulder rotation and really hitting through the ball with the legs. It makes harder to evaluate how well you're really hitting the ball, when you're starting out.