1 Video View·Apr 7, 2024
How To Hit The Perfect Tennis Forehand In 5 Simple Steps.
In this video, Top Tennis Training coach Simon Konov will help you hit the perfect tennis forehand in five simple to follow steps.
The tennis forehand can be complex as there are so many aspects to focus on. The grip lays the foundation for your swing path and the style of forehand you will be able to hit so it's crucial you find the correct grip to suit your game.
We recommend using the semi-western forehand grip as this allows for good levels of topspin but also the ability to flatten out the tennis forehand shot if you want to attack.
Five Steps To The Perfect Forehand
1. Good Ready Position - Having a good ready position with the racket head higher than the grip level, holding the throat or grip with your non-hitting hand and set up with the racket in the middle of your body will set you up perfectly for the rest of the stroke. Having a poor ready position will cost you valuable time and make the swing more complicated.
2. Unit Turn - As early as possible after you recognize the ball is coming to your forehand side, try to turn your upper body sideways onto the ball/net. This will be your left shoulder if you're a right-handed player. This unit turn will help you prepare the racket into the back position without having to swing as much with your arm alone and also engage the core muscles to help you have the coil - uncoil motion of the trunk later in the stroke.
3. Good Power Position - Reaching a good power or back position with the racket head higher than the grip level will create good leverage in the racket and arm. The non-hitting hand should be across the body helping you balance the upper body but also tracking the oncoming ball.
4. Racket Lag - Creating a good racket lag where the head of the racket lags behind the grip will give you that leverage over the ball that you need for extra power and control. This action should happen naturally without forcing the wrist to bend, it should happen as a result of the stroke mechanics but also by setting up in a good power position, you set the foundation for creating good racket lag on the tennis forehand.
5. Good Follow Through and Finish - A poor follow through and finish can destroy the stroke but also lead to injury. During the contact zone, you want the racket to be accelerating and not slowing down unless you're absorbing power on the shot. For the most part, you want the racket traveling through the contact point with good speed and you want to finish the follow-through at the very end of the maximum swing path. A good finish will help the muscles relax in a natural way and reduce the risk of injury.
Hey everyone Simon here from Top Tennis Training and in this video we're going to take a look at
one of my students. He's struggling with his forehand. We're going to take a look at exactly
what he's doing wrong in the preparation and on the contact point and the follow through and what
exactly he has to change so that he can make his forehand more reliable and more of a weapon.
So let's take a look at his forehand as it is currently and let's see what he's doing
in the preparation during the contact zone and also importantly after contact.
So there you can see two main things that really stick out for me.
The first thing is he holds the left hand a little bit too long in the preparation phase.
So he's quite an athletic player. He's quite fast, he's quite quick around the court and he should
be really dictating play with his forehand more often than not. However on the forehand side when
he is rushed he tends to hit the ball late and he tends to hit it off to the right side off the
court. Now this is because at the start of the swing he's preparing with the left hand and he
isn't letting go when he has that initial unit turn. So it's important to use the left hand.
It's very important to have this left hand working to start this preparation phase but as soon as you
reach the side of the body you should release and this racket should start preparing on its own.
It should be almost like you're using the left hand to initiate the swing but it isn't doing
this and waiting and waiting and waiting which is what he is doing. He's waiting way too long with
his left hand and this is then causing him to be late later in the swing because he's waiting so
long here by the time he actually separates the arms the ball's already bounced and it's coming
up to him and a common thing that I see time and time again that he's doing is he's preparing he's
waiting waiting the ball bounces and then he separates and that's simply too late. So that's
the first thing. Now the second thing he does is sometimes he loses track of the racket behind him
and his forehand ends up with the racket being in that position there. So let's go back to that left
hand now in the preparation phase. Why is it important to allow this left hand to come off?
There's two reasons. The first one is if I hold it too long I'm going to be late. Of course if I'm
holding it like this I'll have no time to reach that power position and then the swing forward.
But also the second thing is this left hand is the balancer. This is going to help me balance the
upper body. When I do release this hand is almost tracking the ball. So it's important that my left
hand is allowed to do its job. If I'm holding too long I'm not going to prepare with the racket head
but I'm also not balanced and I'm not tracking the ball with my non-hitting hand. If I'm facing the
net and that's 12 o'clock the racket head now is facing 12 o'clock. If I take it right behind me
and now it's facing behind the back fence it's six o'clock. So if we imagine that clock face
forwards is now 12 so I'm in 12. I start the preparation one two and now I'm about three o'clock
by three o'clock on that clock face I should already have released that left hand. So 12 o'clock
one two three release three o'clock is the latest. So if you look at most of the pros by two to three
o'clock they've already released that left hand. So they're in the preparation phase there they're
starting that shoulder turn that unit turn and now the release happens. So if you are someone who
uses that left hand be aware of when you're letting go. Are you letting go at one o'clock
two o'clock or three o'clock? Ideally it's between two and three o'clock you're going to be releasing
that racket head from the left hand. So 12 three and I've already released. So the first step for
me was to get him hitting with his left hand behind his back. Now the reason I'm doing this
is simply so that his right hand is now the lead. It's now taking the lead of that swing. It's not
the left hand dictating it's the right hand it's the boss. The right hand is now getting the racket
from the ready position into the power position. So let's take a look at that drill right now.
So now he's felt what it's like to hit forehands without the left hand dictating the swing.
So now his right hand is more engaged it's working more. Now the next step is for him to feel that
power position and for him to get confident in holding that power position. So one of my
favorite drills for players to feel that position. I do this a lot with the junior players who I
coach. I get them in that power position and when they're in that position I try to move the racket
head. I try to move their left hand. I try to move the right hand. So they have to hold that position
in a strong way so that I'm not allowed to move their hands. So let's take a look at that drill
right now. Yes just for now. So now he's felt that position I'm now going to drop feed him
balls on the spot where he's just working from that position. Two things I wanted him to focus on
in this exercise. The first thing was of course reaching that position time and time again
on his own and secondly making sure that he's watching the ball at contact because he has a
habit of lifting up his head prior to contact. So watching the ball rise up off the ground onto his
strings and also feeling that he's generating a bit more spin. So he's dropping the racket head.
So from the power position not just coming on the ball level but dropping under and then brushing
up so that he has a safer shot. Something that he can rely on time and time again in a match.
There we go. A bit more spin now. Last two. Last one. Now the next step of the lesson was me
making him work on that early unit turn. That early preparation. So we use the resistance
band for this and in this exercise all his focus is is just going from the ready position
getting that quick initial shoulder turn and a little bit of the hips turning. So when he does
add the racket he's getting that racket back and on side of his body as quickly as possible. So from
the ready position it's going to look something like that. That quick initial shoulder turn.
That unit turn. The quicker you do this the more time you'll have to set up
into the power position to hit a good shot. There. One. Two. Three. Four. Good. Five. Yes.
Now the next step was him hitting and coming forward with a back leg the right leg and the
right shoulder. He has a habit of sometimes hitting the ball and stopping halfway. So he's
rotated the shoulders but he hasn't fully rotated them and he also hasn't opened up the hips fully
or the legs. So he has a habit of hitting the shot and staying on the spot. So my goal in this drill
with the two lines you'll see now is I want him to feel that he's going from the neutral position
from that power position hitting. Firstly the shoulder comes forward then the hip
and then the back foot. So eventually he's going to go from here to there. So that full rotation
from the right leg and right shoulder being back to the right shoulder and right leg
being forward facing there. The upper body goes first goes there and the leg follows. That's first.
Yes. There we go. Good one. And now the last part of the lesson was me feeding him balls from the
ready position. Him feeling that he's going from the ready position into that unit turn into that
power position and trying to brush the ball a bit more and hopefully he can see a big difference
in his forehand. Now there you have it guys. I've given him some homework. He has to do
quite a lot of shadow swings in front of a mirror. So he's working on that technique.
Main parts for him to carry on working on would be from the ready position releasing with the
left hand not holding too long getting that unit turn reaching a good power position not allowing
the strings to open up like so and then from here feeling that the back shoulder is releasing on the
way forward. I hope you've enjoyed the video. If you have give it a thumbs up. Click that like
button. Also leave a comment. What do you think of this video? Would you like to see more videos
like this in the near future? If you haven't done so already subscribe to the channel and turn on
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Simon from TTT. All the best guys. See you soon.
