Myths about Low to High in The
Modern Forehand

John Yandell

There is no more sacred belief about the forehand than "swing low to high for topspin." Sacred, yes. But what does "low to high" really mean?

You hear experts advise that the forward swing should start one or two feet or even further below the ball. What does the high speed video show?

That the idea of starting two feet below the ball is a myth. And that in the new era of the windshield wiper forehand, the actual height can vary slightly but in a startlingly way.

The two key reference points for understanding the height of the swing are the racket hand and the racket head. The definition of high to low can be very different depending on which one you look at.

Most people think of the "low to high" path as something that is controlled by the hand. But the reality is, as we have seen in past articles, the hand itself is at most a few inches below the ball at the start the forward swing..

The High Speed Archives show this, with many, many forehand examples with the hand slightly below the ball. But that's not all when you start to look closely. There are also numerous examples where the hand can start forward at what appears to be the same height as the ball. Stranger still, the hand can also start at a height slightly above the ball--and still produce a heavy topspin forehand. Yes, above!

How could any player hit topspin, especially the stratospheric levels of players like Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic, with the hand above the ball? There is an answer. Let's take a close look at the action of the hitting arm at the start of the forward swing, and specifically the rotation of the hand, arm, and racket before, during and after the hit.

Start of the Wiper

The key to understanding this apparent paradox is understanding both parts of the windshield wiper, a technical element that has become ubiquitous in the modern game, especially the part of the wiper that happens before the contact.

Most explanations of the windshield wiper focus on the path of the racket from the contact to the followthrough. In this part of the swing, the racket tip can turn over as much as 180 degrees.

Think of the racket tip pointing at one sideline at contact and then in about a tenth of a second, turning all the way over til it points at the other sideline, basically tracing a half circle. That's the wiper finish.

But the amount of wiper rotation in the followthrough can also be less. Or can happen a fraction of a second later so that the hand is already moving backward when the wiper completes. The motion is tremendously variable, which is one factor that accounts for the range of spin the top players produce.

I've called this wiper action "hand and arm rotation," (Click Here) because it stems from the upper arm and the shoulder. The wiper is not from the wrist or the forearm, despite what you might have heard.

You will see how the motion is initiated at the shoulder joint and driven by that upper arm rotation. The hand arm and racket are basically rotating as a unit.

But the arm and racket can also rotate backwards before the forward swing as the player completes the backswing. When the hand arm and racket rotate backward in this way the racket head also rotates backward and down.

This part wiper is the key to understanding the path of the forward swing and what really constitutes low to high. This is because the racket arm does not simply or only rotate forward from contact.

This backward rotation places the racket head below the ball regardless of the actual height of the hand. Most pro forehands in the modern era have at least some of this backward rotation.

The amount of backward rotation is just as variable as the forward rotation described above. In the extreme case this backward rotation can approach 90 degrees, so that the tip of the racket appears to point almost directly down at the court.

When the arm is rotated backward like this, the beginning of the forward windshield wiper action is well before contact. This means the racket head is already moving upward through the rotation of the hand and arm from the shoulder.

This is what explains the seeming paradox of the hand height. When the arm rotates backward, the hand can be slightly above the level of the ball and the racket head can still be well below.

The massive forward or upward rotation of the hitting arm from this position is a critical dimension in the low to high motion. The amount of this rotation and the speed of this rotation help explain the increases in spin in the pro game, where players routinely generating up to 3000rpm of spin and more on forehand drives that can reach 90 or 100mph.

How does all this relate with the traditional idea of "brushing" up the back of the ball for topspin? There isn't a contradiction. The two actually work together.

The brushing action is different than the wiper rotation. The brushing comes from the upward, lifting action of the arm from the shoulder. Watch in the animation how the hand and arm lift the racket so that brushes up the back of the ball. This brushing is going on simultaneously with the wiper.

According to Brian Gordon, however, the wiper rotation is capable of generating far more racket speed than the traditional lifting and brushing alone. Again, this helps explain why the racket hand can be at or even above the level of forehands hit with such tremendous spin.

The game of tennis, and especially pro tennis, is extremely dynamic. The speed and complexity of the strokes means critical moments are invisible to the naked eye.

This is nowhere more true than in the fractions of a second when the forward swing generates topspin. High speed video is what makes it possible for us to unravel or at least try to unravel these complexities.

So the question becomes this. Should the average player try to hit topspin by raising his hand above ball level?

I know there are at this moment subscribers out there trying! But I think the real take away is simply learning how to experiment with a fuller wiper. It's about trying out the backward rotation not the hand height.

Try hitting some forehands from the turn position with the racket hand and arm rotated back so that the racket tip is angled down toward the ground before starting the forward swing. Make sure this rotation is unitary and keeps the shape of the hitting arm position in tact.

But don't worry about the height of the hand, much less try to place it above the ball. The hand height will take care of itself. Swing forward from this backward rotated position. Now complete the wiper finish in the usual way by turning the head over until it points part way or all the way toward the opposite sideline in the followthrough.

What does that feel like? If you get comfortable with it, you will feel and see you ball rotation increase visibly.

Now try incorporating that backward rotation in the entire motion from the ready position. But compare the spin effect with the other key characteristics of your ball before you decide to make it the norm. Are you giving up obvious depth or speed?

It's a pro element. But remember it's still an extreme element and is used variably by the top players. A large percentage of pro forehands are still hit with minimal backward wiper rotation.

It's fun to understand and experiment. And the full wiper can be very, very effective on many balls--high and heavy, short low and wide. Or to hit deep, high bouncers.

Just remember that the extension of the swing is what creates a real power drive. That hasn't changed in pro tennis and it hasn't changed at any other level.

In general when I see students in person this is one of the elements that is almost always in need of improvement--extension of the forward swing. But when you can add some of these variations to the basic drive, then you have a forehand that can take your game up a level, or maybe more!