Forehand is the first shot that most beginners pick up when they venture into the alluring world of Tennis. One of the easier shots to pick up forehands can be very effective if hit with the right pace, positioning, and spin.
However easy it may sound; it still takes everyone at least six months to correctly pick the shot. Tennis, even with the Roger Federers and the Bjong Borgs, has a lot of room for mistakes, and even after years of drills and training, the pros still make them week in, week out. There’s a reason coaches are hired – to fix these mistakes. Players go that extra mile with right coaching that irons out the flaws.
Let’s take a look at the major errors that players make while hitting a forehand.
Using the wrong tennis grip
In the modern game, standard grips to use on the forehand are the eastern forehand grip and the semi-western forehand grip. Grips, for some players, are a hybrid between the 2. Some professionals still use a full western or a style similar to it.
Eastern forehand grip: used to hit flatter balls and considered a more traditional grip. Players like Roger Federer and Pete Sampras use this.
Semi-western grip
The most popular grip amongst professionals, this one has become more prevalent due to lighter racquets and heavier balls. It is also effective for top-spin. Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are some fine users of this.
Closed Stance Footwork
Keeping the legs closed is a big problem among beginners when they are hitting forehands. They fail to shift their body weight due to this incorrect posture. Keeping them a little wider than shoulder-width is good enough. Some players choose to go wider, like Spain’s Raging Bull (Nadal).
Players must keep in mind their positioning on the court and then, try to keep a gap between their legs while facing the net. It facilitates better movement on the court, helping them reach more balls.
Body Rotation
The right form of body rotation will add to the power, while a wrong or no rotation will weaken its force. The right one also saves the player’s back from pain and discomfort. The proper technique is to rotate the hip for power, and not the lower back, which doesn’t have a hinge.
The more rotation of the body from 90 degrees to 0, the more effective the forehand becomes. If your footwork is right, your body automatically turns. The fitness of the player also plays a pivotal role in this.
No Follow-Through
This one is a major mistake that players don’t seem to realize at the beginning. A forehand is rhythmic, and completing the entire process is important to ensure it is rightly played out.
A right follow-through brings all other components of the game into shape. Once the follow-through is smooth, your relapse position gets better, you’d be looking at the ball earlier, and you’d realize all of this with time.
The going across your chest follow-through is the most common form used by most players, doesn’t matter if they are pros or not. Training is the only way to get it right, and it comes naturally with muscle memory.
Forcing the wrist
Generating power from the wrist can be injurious to players, and most players learn about this mistake on the job. It won’t generate the power a player can generate while using his entire body, and it is a gradual learning curve for most amateurs. The elbows and the arms need to be used for power, and not just wrists or shoulders.
The wrist plays just one role – to get the wrist lag in. It happens automatically if a player forces his elbows to hit the shot and allows his hands to move by the momentum naturally.
Players should check the errors they’re making while trying to hit a forehand shot and need to iron them out gradually. It’s not a one-day process, but constant training does the trick. The right coaching, too, is essential. It is important to understand that different body shapes and different players will have different styles. Every player has his own idiosyncrasies and way of hitting and must understand what works best for him.
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