The Forehand
The forehand has evolved dramatically over the years. With the tremendous amount of topspin and pace that players can develop, it has become a vital component of offensive shot making. For beginners, it is usually the shot that coaches spend the most time developing. This section will discuss the “modern” forehand, and how you can start off hitting with consistency, speed, and spin from the very first lesson.
Let’s return to the basics discussed on a previous page and apply it to the forehand. First is choice of grip. I prefer starting all of my beginners with a semi-western grip (see images in the basics section) for the forehand, although some players use a full western, eastern, and rarely a continental grip. The semi-western grip is a good choice because it provides a great mix of power and spin without sacrificing your ability to get the racket head under the ball on shots below your knees. Most professional players hit a semi (or full) western grip.
The choice of grip will influence your ideal contact point. By contact point I’m referring to where your strings make contact with the ball in relationship to your body. The ideal contact point is the point at which the racket strings are flush (or parallel) to the net. Swing with different types of grips, and note how it changes the contact point. An eastern grip contact point will be further back (or more towards your back foot) than a semi-western grip, which will be just out in front of your front foot.
Undoubtedly, the most important aspect of hitting a forehand well is positioning. My coach used to say repeatedly, “footwork, footwork, footwork!!!” You cannot hit a great forehand, or for that matter any shot in tennis, without having excellent footwork! Proper positioning consists of both the movements you take to get to the ball, and the stance you assume when you get there. We’ll begin by discussing stance.
Traditionally the forehand was hit from what is referred to as a closed stance position, meaning that the toes of your feet pointed parallel to one another as you hit. With modern racket technology players are now able to generate tremendous power and spin. Because of this, the closed stance has slowly morphed into the “modern”, open stance. Let’s begin very simply. Imagine your feet are in the shoes depicted below, and you’re looking down at your feet. The set of shoes in the top image depicts the traditional closed stance, whereas, the shoes in the bottom image depict the more modern open stance.
The open-stance forehand affords the serious player several important advantages. First, it allows the player to set-up quicker than the traditional closed-stance position. This is crucial since players of all levels are hitting with increased power and spin. The quicker you can “set-up”, the easier it will be for you to handle shots hit with greater pace.
Secondly, the open stance forehand allows the player to coil his/her body weight and transfer that weight through the shot by rotating the hips. This motion was more difficult to accomplish with the closed stance because the front foot obstructed the hip rotation. You can illustrate this at home by putting your feet in the positions above and noting how far your hips can rotate. They are more restricted in the closed-stance position.
From now on we will only discuss the open stance forehand. This is not to say that there aren’t times you will hit a closed stance forehand, it simply means that the open stance, in my opinion, is the more versatile of the two stances and deserves the most attention.
Now that we understand the difference between the open and closed stance forehand we’ll start to get more specific. When a player sets up for a forehand he/she should load their weight on the back foot and "coil" their hips. These two elements will allow him/her to use his/her lower body and trunk muscles to generate power and spin.
The following image depicts the forehand finish. Notice how his right hip has travelled over 90 degrees from the beginning of the stroke to the end. In addition, his body weight transferred from his back foot onto his front foot. Both of these elements convert the potential energy of his weight (ie: the weight stored on his back foot in the preceding image) into kinetic energy. This energy is then transferred into the ball.
During your lessons you can use a very simple mental trick to help you accomplish the same goal. Imagine that the player in the above pictures now has a large Texas belt buckle. Notice at the beginning of the swing that the buckle is pointing towards the side-line fence (or, if you prefer, all the spectators watching you play), and once the swing is finished the buckle is pointed towards his opponent on the opposite end of the court. His hips had to rotate through the shot in order to accomplish this. Imagine yourself wearing a fancy belt buckle. First step is to show it off to all your fans (ie: the sidelines) and then to show it to your opponent as you uncoil your hips through the shot. This is a sure fire way to keep your right hip rotating through the shot.
The other beautiful thing about the open stance forehand is that it enables you to swing smoothly. Many beginners feel they have to swing hard at the ball to generate power. This could not be further from the truth! In fact, swinging faster and harder often results in more errors and can lead to injuries that can sideline your tennis career altogether. The open stance forehand, and the uncoiling motion of the hips, allows your body to generate the power, saving your arm. The result is a smooth controlled swing with sufficient power.
There are several common pitfalls that beginners fall into at this point. First, they do not “load” their weight on the back foot. This is crucial as the transfer of weight is what gives you strength and stability throughout the shot. Second, they load their weight, but stand up during the shot. This causes a “mushy shot” that often falls into the net.
To correct these common errors focus on staying low through the shot. Both knees should still be bent at the end of the swing with your weight shifting from the front to the forward foot. This will help get your weight “through the ball” resulting in a forehand that penetrates your opponents court with maximum power, spin, and control.
The last point I’ll make on an obviously complicated stroke, is the increasing use of taking the ball “on the rise”. This simply means that rather than waiting for the ball to drop before you hit it, you catch it as it is coming up (hence the “on the rise”). This is difficult for beginning players because the ball often gets too high (ie: at shoulder or head height), or out of the batter’s box, too quickly resulting in an awkward shot. It requires superb timing and lots of practice to be done correctly, but once mastered, it is very effective at robbing your opponent of time and allowing you to take the offensive.