Interactive Forum October 2017: Madison Keys Groundstrokes

[johnyandell]

Madison Keys Groundstrokes

I was interested in filming Madison Keys' forehand but when she hit some backhands I saw something interesting there as well. Conventional wisdom is that the women with big forehands are hitting more and more like the men with backswings on the hitting side. Not Madison. But you may be shocked at the actual size and shape of her swing. Conventional wisdom also says women hit the backhand with both arms bent. Not Madison. She's the first high level woman I have filmed since Elena Dementieva (Click Here) who straightened the arms out. Her backhand is probably bent / straight, verging on straight / straight.

In any case some of the highest velocity groundstrokes in women's tennis. Your thoughts please?

[johnyandell]

Madison Keys Groundstrokes

[klacr]

Always great when this slo-mo video can unlock those little details. Often times we see players hit enough and assume we can see the whole stroke, until we actually see it. Madison Keys is a perfect example. I've seen her hit at least 100 times, not just at other tournaments but in Boca Raton where she lived and trained up until just a few months ago. Her power is impressive, velocity is ferocious and her shots make a different sound than other other woman on tour. The thud of the ball on her strings makes her stand out on the practice courts above any other woman, or man for that matter.
But, I was surprised to see in this video just how high her racquet gets and that the racquet face points upward just briefly before rotating back into the court. Her racquet tip points back behind her like a type 1 forehand. Also seems to have made late contact on a few of those forehands.

The backhand looks sweet! Love that hitting arm structure.

Although not shown, her serve is worthy of its own analysis. She gets some impressive pop from that. One of the few women on tour that uses a platform stance for the serve, along with the French player Caroline Garcia and Johanna Larsson.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

I haven't watched Madison play much, but that forehand is as horrible to look at as they come. Still, the shot clearly works as she seems to be doing well of late. I like her backhand far more.

I see the grip on her forehand is a long way round. Players seem to be going further and further round on their grips despite most coaching advice being to stop around the semi-western point.

[bdole]

Starting the tape at 0:39, you can really see the mechanics of how she generates power on the forehand side. The coiling/uncoiling into and out of the slot position is very deliberate.

[arturohernandez]

I agree with everyone's comments so far. The backhand looks nice and compact. The forehand is big but the problem is that it is not as efficient as it could be. It is almost like the same forehand that a child would hit when trying to hit as hard as possible. The problem is that she is no longer a child. I have not watched her much except for in the US open final. But it seems like a Henin or Hingis would have given Madison fits. Basically, a more efficient stroke will put the ball right back at her with much less effort. This is exactly what Stephens did. She just took the power from her and redirected it.

Nadal and Henin both tightened their forehands. I think Keys could do the same. Work more on timing and efficiency and not so much on putting everything into every forehand.

This would open up the short court and the attacking game.

I see how her forehand is an advantage up to a certain point. But so was Nadal's until he ran into Djokovic who would just redirect it.

Then Nadal had to adapt to grass.

Keys will need lots of space to hit her balls but if someone can get to them and redirect them she won't have any choice but to hit harder.

And we saw what happened when she hits harder in the US Open final.

Sometimes the horse that gets us to the edge of town doesn't get us to the city center.

Tennis is tough...

[alexander28]

you can see why she stands so far back with that wta forehand backswing,its not great technique.However her backhand is much more compact with great extension.Much prefer the backhand to her forehand stroke.

[bowt]

I haven't watched Madison play much, but that forehand is as horrible to look at as they come. Still, the shot clearly works as she seems to be doing well of late. I like her backhand far more.

I see the grip on her forehand is a long way round. Players seem to be going further and further round on their grips despite most coaching advice being to stop around the semi-western point.

this is because grip dictates the contact point.

many good juniors progress to yellow ball quickly and they practice alot with high contact points and so their grip moves towards western.

I dont like Madison forehand think it is a real weakness

[bottle]

bot to bowt

Don't worry about capital letters and periods. You don't need them.

[haegliloo237]

Is the big backswing on the FH a reason for the average big number of unforced errors in her game? Does anybody have a statistic about Madison Keys concerning the number of unforced FH to BH errors?

[don_budge]

I haven't watched Madison play much, but that forehand is as horrible to look at as they come.

I don't like Madison's forehand, I think it is a real weakness.

The forehand is ugly...really ugly. Particularly in slow motion.

[stroke]

quite the contrast to M Zverev fh in that earlier thread

[johnyandell]

Certainly

[johnyandell]

But Stroke what do you think?

[sjhara]

Originally posted by arturohernandez:

“Nadal and Henin both tightened their forehands. I think Keys could do the same. Work more on timing and efficiency and not so much on putting everything into every forehand.
This would open up the short court and the attacking game.”


There is always a cost benefit and time space analysis going on with a player’s technique and tactics.
From last months’ forum on Michal Zverev, his forehand technique allows him to play up on the baseline giving his opponents less time and less space.
For Madison Keys, her forehand technique requires her to play further back behind the baseline giving her opponents more time and more space-which she counters with great ball striking and power. For Zverev to play further behind the baseline his technique would have to change as would Keys’ to play up on the baseline.
What she gains and losses with her wonderfully prepared backhand may be more important to her career then what she gains and losses on her forehand. While she gains acceleration with her exaggerated wrist deviation (at 2:45), she may be losing to injury her ability to sustain a longer career.

The question and challenge for a player is do they want to make technical and tactical changes, can they, and then if so, how.
In Madison Keys’ situation her ongoing wrist injury issues may force a technical and tactical change, particularly with her backhand.