Your Strokes: Ryan Dickerson: Forehand

[johnyandell]

Would love to hear what you think of my latest article, "Your Strokes: Ryan Dickerson: Forehand"

[gzhpcu]

Very nice forehand indeed. I would agree with you John on compacting the backswing more... Just a small detail on a great stroke.

[klacr]

I'll keep this kid's name in mind when I'm browsing through the college tennis results. Ryan Dickerson. Looks like a great forehand to me. Compacting the backswing could be a slight adjustment. Especially if he's playing tennis in the North during fall/winter/early spring on fast hard courts. Time is of the essence on those.

As good as his forehand is, I'd love to see his other strokes. Perhaps their are more glaring weaknesses in those segments of his game.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[mlogarzo]

Your first question raised in the article about him being less open at contact is definitely something i think he can work on and make the stroke even better.

Like you raised, would help to hold that left arm across a fraction longer, and can make sure his left hand position at contact doesn't go past his left shoulder. This would help in his timing, consistency, and most importantly when he fatigues or is under pressure being more open would be more pronounced and lead to a few more errors.

The true test of someone's game and technical solidity is whether it stands up under pressure.

Re the backswing, it could be more a little more compact, but it isn't a major issue, i'd be much more concerned with being too open at contact.

[GeoffWilliams]

Powerful shot. Would like to see match play serve returns, and his transition game.

[dpremsagar]

I videoed myself today. During the preparation phase for me, I noticed that my left arm never really straightens. I was worried about it and was wondering if that was something that I needed to fix. But the guy in this video never straightens his left elbow either while the right arm is taking the racquet back and initiating forward swing. Guess I don't have to worry about that element.
All other elements of mine matched the guy in the video except my contact was a little closer to the body, yet still, slightly in front and both my elbow and wrist were laid back. All in all, thanks for this article. I compare it to my own and find mine satisfactory enough for now.

[10splayer]

As per the backswing question,,,,I think it's money, especially as it relates to his 4/4 grip. As a general rule, the backswing loop will tend to be higher for stronger grips (least i like to see that) to accomadate the higher natural contact height...

You want to be able to "drop" the hands a bit in the backswing, and if the contact height is at the pecs, the "top" of the loop needs to be higher then someone with a weaker grip and lower contact point.

And he certainly is keeping teh racquet out to the right side of him, and creating a beautiful direct line to the ball, so yeah, I think it's a great backswing.

I also agree that the ever so slightly over rotated position at impact is something to monitor, but it also could be a case of being "fed" balls. It would be interesting to see that same impact position under normal conditions.

[mlogarzo]

Looking at the video again, in regards to being more open at contact, I noticed his right foot positioning. He has his foot facing forward a little more, leading to the right hip opening up a little earlier. If the right foot is facing to the side, it will hold the right hip a little longer and also increase the pace of the shot with a better rotation.

An example in pro tennis is Andy Murray compared to Federer and Nadal. Murray had a similar foot positioning and wasn't able to generate the same pace as the others.