Federer's forehand return of serve

[don_budge]

?

[worldsbestcoach]

hmmmmm

Fine tuning the angle of the racket with the fingers of your free hand should be part of every forehand service return, every forehand groundstroke. It is an essential part of a good stroke. It is not emphasized much by coaches, but it should be. Peter Burwash devoted an entire chapter to the proper use of the free hand. The use of the off hand and off fingers is probably more important than turning shoulders sideways. Unwise blocking off the essential foreward movement of the racket shoulder through the forehand is unfortunately way too common by players on the pro tours. But the poor players only do as they have been taught.

Fed and too many other players (note Serena Williams when her forehand goes off, as a prime example), have a backward-emphasis 2-piece forehand. They do not use their off hand enough to prepare the racket & track the ball. They get their racket back too early, their racket-arm muscles tighten, so they have difficulty getting the racket started going forward. Sometimes they must fight against their body because their sideways shoulders have prevented their racket shoulder from flowing forward through the stroke into the ball. Most of their swing is backwards towards the backdrop, instead of flowing naturally towards the ball. Their poor forehands are like a non-continuous 2 piece motion with a hitch, rather than a naturally flowing, continuous 1-piece motion into the ball.

In the video, Fed seems to do well, but often Fed takes too big of a backswing (not using his off fingers enough to prepare the racket), and he emphasizes too much getting sideways with the shoulders. The result is too many mistakes . . . too many mishits. Fed's forehand emphasizes too much racket movement behind his body. Often, he does not flow forward into his forehand well.

[johnyandell]

WBC what players have technique you approve of, if any? Just curious.

[worldsbestcoach]

players I approve of?

Every player has strengths and weaknesses. At this time on the pro circuits, many players have sounder topspin backhands than topspin forehands. (Decent slices, either forehand or backhand, are almost nonexistent.)

For topspin 2-fisters, the players line up the ball (track the ball, & prepare their wrists) better on their backhands than they do their forehands. They have more compact, biomechanically efficient technique on the backhand than they do on the forehand. Their backhands are more forward-set than their forehands, and flow forward better. Yet, they often make mistakes with their wild, over-the-shoulder, racket-acceleration, high elbow finish. Yes, the follow through or finish often blows the shot. In general, they are not very consistent.

But such players tend to wait in the forehand grip so that they are more prepared to hit a forehand freely. Also, they get caught in a weak backhand grip sometimes, when the ball comes too suddenly.

Many players are a mixture of good and bad. For instance, Venus Williams might hit a good forehand when the ball comes fast, but when the ball comes slowly, she gets her racket back too early & too far, & has difficulty fighting across her body & getting the racket started again. Many men & women pros have the exact same problem -- they do pretty well sometimes, but when their poor training takes over, they do poorly. For even the pro players today, tennis is poorly analyzed, and poorly taught.

Every player that I see on the ATP & WTA has tremendous holes in his or her game. Almost every player is too inconsistent. They all have many biomechanical flaws. I do not see a single current player who consistently positions himself or herself well in anticipation for the next coming shot. Tennis as a sport is not at a high level yet. Let's hope players in the future improve over today's level. Let's hope that coaches in the future can analyze and teach better than today's coaches do.

Many players are close to being great with some of their techniques. For example, Cibulkova lines up the balls well on her forehand, & has a smooth, efficient swing, but she needs to tighten up her backswing more . . .and sometimes she stays a little too sideways too long. And that young German woman who just beat Wozniacki at Key Biscayne (Miami) often has a nice forehand, but she sometimes blows the shot by staying sideways a little too long, and by sometimes having a wild finish, without respecting what her strings are doing on the ball. Even Rafa has minute flaws in his forehand, that creep to the surface in certain situations.

Sometimes I get bored watching all the same-old-mistakes in pro tennis, but I have to admit that I find many matches and players sometimes intriguing. For instance, I admire the way that the French player Simon often goes for flat, offensive shots -- line drives that almost appear angles downwards at times. He has played some great matches, & almost beat Federer at the Australian by hitting that way. (When Djokovic gets on a roll, he kinda hits offensive line drives similar to the way Simon can do.) So, although i notice flaws & weaknesses, I also am constantly on the lookout for positives in players' games.