The Art of the Forehand

       Believing you’ve already watched my first post on the art of the forehand, we can go ahead and discuss in today’s session, the significant points to note when playing a good forehand.

Forehand swing

        

     The forehand is a very useful skill in tennis. To unlock the full potential of your forehand, you may have to consistently practice the steps listed in today's lesson. The forehand play is essentially about playing the tennis ball with your inner arm, swinging across your shoulder to get the ball across the net. Your wrist and grip also play a very important role in how effective your forehand shots are.

   The READY position

      Before you play any shot, you must be in the “ready” position for the ball. The ready position is, the stance where you are facing the net with the one hand holding your racket and the other supporting the frame in such a way that it the racket face will make right angles with the net. It may seem complicated from this description but, I will send a follow up video which help you understand it much better. The idea behind this is, when in this position, it is easier to take any ball with either your forehand or backhand, depending on where the ball is placed.

The SWING and FOLLOW THROUGH

      To play a forehand shot, you first get into the right footwork position. That is, if you’re right-handed player, you will have to put your left foot forward. Your left foot will have to be parallel to the baseline with your arm stretched towards the ball, open your racket face to an angle of about 60 degrees to the ground, in such a way that the racket is just a little behind you, while all this goes on, keep your eyes fixed on the ball . When the ball is about a foot or two from your racket, swing your arm and the racket across your shoulder.What you want to do at this stage is to  (some coaches term this as the follow through). You should recover soon after your follow through by getting back into the ready position. Congratulations! If you understand the procedures and can keep hitting balls this way over the net, you can be rest assured you are on the right path.

       The essence of getting your footwork right is that it increases your accuracy of landing the ball in the court when you hit a shot. It also puts a lot less pressure on your shoulder when you hit the forehand and ensures a more natural arm swing for the player. Another key point to note about the forehand swing is how the racket makes contact with the ball. A good forehand swing will allow for the player to keep their eye on the tennis ball till it is about a foot or two away from the racket, after which contact s made. There are 2 main ball spins that can occur after contact.

They are; (i) Topspin balls and (ii) Flat balls. For beginner tennis players, there's no rush and the ideal here is to return balls accurately into the opponent’s court, so, most coaches go for flat balls till the players can handle topspin balls. In later posts, you would realize the differences between these two and the importance of going through these steps.

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You should also read this; Get in the Game!

Check out also; My interview with Nam Nha Tho