My student has been struggling with her forehand consistency and power. So I stood behind her and watched her rallying with her teammates.
Awesome Forehand Tips To Generate More Spin and Power
My Student’s Forehand Mistake
I noticed something about her lower body. She was not using the legs effectively when she executed her forehand shots.
Let me show you how she hits as demonstrated below in the image. When I am doing a demonstration pay more attention to the legs.
Can you point out the mistake with the forehand shot?
Demonstration of My Student Hitting Her Forehand Without Using Her Lower Body Effectively.
Did you notice that when I demonstrated how she hits the forehand shot, my legs are pretty straight and stiff? So, this is the mistake that I want to share with you today and how to correct it.
Explanation of the mistake:
This might be a common mistake among tennis players that I want to address this today. The downside of hitting with this kind technique is you are not utilizing the kinetic chain of the forehand efficiently.
If you keep your lower body stiff and straight you will find most of the time you are hitting the forehand just purely with the arm power.
So, when it comes to the quality of your forehand you will find that you are unable to generate enough topspin and that leads to a lot of inconsistencies in your forehand.
Simple Drills To Improve Your Forehand
To hit a better forehand shot it is always better to incorporate your lower body. And know when to execute the forehand swing. If you do not have a habit of doing so, do this simple exercise.
I am going to show you how you can feel using legs together with your forehand swing.
To do this exercise I need you to grab a few balls and do self-feeding.
When you drop the ball in front of you for the forehand shot, feel that the knees are bent. The timing should be such that- as you drop the ball the keens are bent. And as you swing forward to contact the ball your legs are coming up.
So, get this rhythm of down which means, “when the ball is dropped” and up which means, “you bring the racket forward to contact the ball.”
You can do it in a neutral stance.
You can also do it for open stance.
With this timing, the legs are going down as you swing forward. The legs coming up as you contact the ball.
Timing And Rhythm When Rallying
Next, go to a rallying mode with your friend.
Use this timing and rhythm. When the ball is coming down towards your court this is the part when you load your legs (bend the knees slightly). When the ball bounces up, this is the part when you unload your legs. Execute your forehand swing as you unload the legs.
By having this timing and rhythm you should be able to use the lower body more efficiently and thus generate more spin and more power onto your forehand shot.
Let me know if the tips work for you. I look forward to hearing from you.
If you have any problem or challenge in your tennis, feel free to email me at joel@unleashyourtennis.com and share with me, I will personally look into it and help you to tackle your challenges.
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