Your Strokes Shirish Forehand

[johnyandell]

Thanks for the thoughts!

[bjmiller]

He could try to get more in the position Roger F gets to just when R's left hand leaves the racket. To find that wrist position, S could start in the ready position, then, bend at the wrist so the racket points as far to his right as possible (that is, with the racket "laid back" as much as possible), then rotates his right forearm so his thumb moves to his left. That's Roger's wrist position, laid back and rotated, when his left hand leaves the racket. In that position, a line from the tip of the racket through the grip, that is, through the long axis of the racket, should point diagonally down into the court roughly at his right foot. From that position, S could simply gently straighten his right arm and rotate it so his right bicep moves away from him, doing so as he lowers his hand.

In other words, he sets his wrist position early as he turns to start the stroke, then rotates his entire arm while straightening it and lowering his hand. If his grip, wrist, and arm are relaxed, he will pass through that "racket drooping down position" just after he starts his torso/shoulder rotation into the ball. His arm should remain in a relaxed straight position with his wrist in the same position as it was when his left hand left the racket but possibly exaggerated due to the centrifugal force created by his turn into the ball.

As his arm starts up from the drooping, low position, it should remain straight rather than bending at the elbow as S does. He should simply rotate his arm in the opposite direction to what he did to reach the low, drooping position, without doing anything with his wrist. By rotating his torso fast, he can hit the ball with his wrist still in that same position at impact, with a slightly closed racket face.

If he wants to hit the ball even harder, he can turn the swing into a whip crack, which is what tour-level players do. S could turn into the ball really quickly with his left arm outstretched to create more rotational momentum, then, in rapid sequence, just before impact, attempt to stop his left arm, then his right shoulder, causing the racket to whip forward into the ball. When it does so, it will pull the right shoulder on around, giving the illusion that the right shoulder is "powering through" the shot; it does not; it supplies much of the kinetic energy that is transferred to the racket, and then the ball when the shoulder almost stops just before impact.

If you look carefully at the high speed videos in John's newsletters, you can just detect this whip-cracking effect and its after-effects as the racket whips around the chest, pulling the shoulders/torso along.

[jeffreycounts]

Honestly, his forehand reminds me so much of Sebastien Grosjean. I'll see if I can find something to post here.

[johnyandell]

OK! Yeah I mean you could cut that back a little to fit...

[stotty]

Well my two hours includes at least 30 minutes looking at video... Agree that you want to stop on a positive note! Check out this month's classic lesson on muscle memory and why working longer on one stroke is necessary...

Okay I read the classic lesson. I think I will give it a go with my more dedicated players who have the time, it does soak up a lot of time: What do I mean by high repetitions? Something like 45 to 90 minutes 3 or 4 times a week for a 3 week period.

I will let you know how things are going in about 3 weeks time.

[johnyandell]

Well my two hours includes at least 30 minutes looking at video... Agree that you want to stop on a positive note! Check out this month's classic lesson on muscle memory and why working longer on one stroke is necessary...

[stotty]

Good call to keep the grip extreme. Many coaches would try to change it but would it really be workable idea? It would be tough for Shirish to change his grip because it is likely very established by now.

Interesting that John advocates spending two hours on one stroke. The thinking with many over this side of the pond is that you don't do that. Instead you work on the stroke and leave it a certain point while it is going well. The idea being that the player 'mentally percolates' his/her success for when they come back for the next session. It's important the coach stops working on a stroke during a on a positive note. I have never tried working on a single stroke for two hours but might give it a try and see how it goes. I suspect some students could do it while others not.

[johnyandell]

Yes tough call. Gonna see him again and try working on that extreme hitting arm position...

[arturohernandez]

johnyandell Great article and work with his forehand. The first thing I thought about is that his forehand hurts to watch it. I mean he is really asking for elbow/arm problems in his later playing days. I have a friend who had a pretty extreme grip. I was always strong eastern. He quit playing tennis a few years ago. I can still hit with no pain in my arm. In fact, my other arm has been bothering me lately.

I realize that a grip switch is just too difficult. But I wonder if you have had cases like this where you manage to shift the grip over at least some so that they can hit with the palm of their hand rather than with the back of their hand. It just hurts to look at it. On the other hand, you have to work with what you have.

[johnyandell]

Yes!!

[tommyhorton]

hi John,
great job with Shirish's forehand. He now has internal shoulder rotation on his follow through. I think he took a step backwards on the start of his forward swing. He is folding up his arm past 90 degrees like a serve. Do you think drop feeds with him starting at the bottom of his backswing with his arm straighter hitting at 50 percent be a good drill for him?

[johnyandell]

Would love to discuss my latest Your Strokes article "Your Strokes Shirish Forehand"