Forehand follow-through

[tennismaverick]

What are the advantages and disadvantages of following-through like Pete Sampras (more classic style a la your Visual Tennis book) or following-through like Roger Federer (more modern style) on a forehand? Does one style give you more topspin? More power? More consistency? I noticed some players do both at different times? It seems like the majority of women finish with a more classic style and swing path and the men finish with the more modern style? Is that true? If so why? The differences in grips alone can’t account for this because Roger’s grip is closer to Pete’s grip then it is to Roddick’s grip yet Federer and Roddick have a similar follow-through. Also, this has to be intentional and not a result of just hitting through the ball and letting your arm go where it may as some authors suggest. If that was the case then Pete would end up with a follow-through like Roger’s a lot of the time and visa versa. But you don’t see that. There follow-throughs are consistently the same every time regardless of where the ball is at impact and where they end up hitting the ball.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/pro_men/rogerfederer/rogerfederer_forehand/rogerfederer_fh_center/rogerfederer_fh_center.html?FedererFHCenterSide1.mov

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/pro_men/petesampras/ps_forehand/ps_fh_center/ps_fh_center.html?PSFHCenterFront1.mov

[johnyandell]

Good questions--but one point--I might not have found this post. If you want me to specifically answer please post it under questions for me.

There are no simple answers though. All of these issues are discussed in detail the Advanced Tennis articles on forehand commonalities, differences, and hand and arm rotation. They are revisited in the Federer and Nadal forehand articles. Would suggest you read those.

First of all it's not a question really of "classic" versus "modern". And grips do play a big part, again as explained in the articles. Players who are more underneath rotate the hand and arm over more and will tend to finish across the body more.

But you also see something close to the same extension on flatter drives from all the players. It's just when they are also turning the hand over, the wrap tends to go more to the side.

You can see this very clearly in the first Federer clip you attached. Back it up about 12 frames from the end. This is a fairly flat drive and he really extends.

Federer as with other players increases the hand and arm rotation at times to do certain things. Increase spin and hit short angles.

My belief is that the Sampras grip style and finish in the clip you posted are a great place to start. You see similar finishes for Agassi--extended with the racket on edge or turned only slightly. The spin here comes mainly from brushing up.

The variation is to learn to rotate the hand over more to hit more spin when appropriate. You see this across the grip styles.

[lukman41985]

I agree with John all the way about learning the more extended finish first in which topspin comes from going up rather than rotating the hand. I became obsessed and fixated on hand/arm rotation after seeing Federer and Gonzo and was convinced it was the key to power and spin. Guess what? I got a ton of spin but routinely spit up short balls for my opponents because I lacked the extension I needed in my stroke to get depth and pace. It's all about balancing the various elements in your forehand (or any stroke) and emphasizing different elements for a certain reason--not just blindly copying what you see pros do. What's great about tennisplayer.net is that we can read about why players do what they do (i.e. why do Guga, Fed, A-Rod, et al. rotate their arms/hands so violently?). Good luck with your game, man and great question!

[tennismaverick]

Thanks for the replies but I am still confused. I have read most of the articles you referred to but I am still confused or maybe just being dense. I thought I knew how Sampras and Federer gripped the racquet but maybe not. I thought Sampras used a standard eastern grip and Federer a low eastern almost semi-western grip. If that is true then there isn’t much difference in their grips. I thought Agassi, Hingis, Clijsters and the Williams sisters used a semi-western grip but they hit more like Sampras. Safin, Ferrero, and Roddick all use a semi-western grip also but they hit more like Federer. Do I have their grips wrong? If not then they are using the same grips but have different follow-throughs.
Did Sampras hit the ball faster than Federer? Does Federer hit with more spin? Who had more unforced errors?I am just curious because in one of your articles you said Sampras hit with more spin than Agassi, which really surprised me.

[lukman41985]

Let's try and simplify things...

The correlation between grips and followthroughs is that the milder the grip (the more eastern) the more extended and vertical the finish; the more extreme the grip, the lower and more to the side the finish.

However, players with more extreme grips can extend just as much through the ball as players with milder grips (for example, Safin and Guga); also, players with milder grips can rotate their hand and arm just as much as players with extreme grips (for example, Federer and Blake).

Don't worry so much about what grip goes with what finish. Establish your grip (milder grips are easier to learn and make the most sense at all levels), make your unit turn, make your full turn, set up behind the ball (right handers have right foot behind the flight path of the ball), step in neutral stance (then work towards developing the open stance, especially on higher balls), and lastly work towards the universal finish (outlined in John's articles, and once you have that, then worry about hand/arm rotation). The followthrough/wrap are a result of relaxation and happen after the point of greatest extension (about two feet from the body).

[johnyandell]

That pretty much says it all. The point is to understand how to hit thru the ball with the more extended finish and develop the variations. The more underneath the grip the more natural hand and arm rotation--but that doesn't necessarily mean a lower finish.

It's when the players vary spin and angle that you see the additional rotation. What Federer and Blake have shown is that you can use more rotation with the milder grips.

[tennismaverick]

OK thanks. Any data on the speed and spin of Federer's forehand compared to other players? I find this data very interesting because sometimes it looks as if one player is hitting it much harder or with more spin than another but the reality ends up being the opposite.