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Rafael Nadal ҆s forehand is a better role model than Roger Federer ҆s for girls (and for boys too). I will try to explain why I think so.
Brian Gordon and Rick Macci explain very clearly the advantages of the modern forehand in comparison to a classical forehand. https://www.tennisplayer.net/members...ehand_part_01/ But forehand they describe may have a clear disadvantage too. It has to do with a role of players wrist.
During the flip wrist is naturally laid back and it remains so till the point of contact.
As Brian Gordon mentioned himself players actually try to keep their wrist in a laid back position till and though point of contact. In practice it is very difficult to do. Because of that many players end up slapping the ball. And they lose control of the ball. It might actually be difficult to see and understand for a player or a coach. But in my view this is number one difficulty in learning modern technique.
In comparison in classical forehand wrist is placed in a required position long before contact. This distinction is looked at in detail in the following article. https://www.feeltennis.net/forehand-wrist-lag/
Solution
During the flip the racquet head falls back and down. At this moment as Brian Gordon explains 3 things happen. Players shoulder is externally rotated and the wrist is laid back. (Let ҆s leave forearm out of picture here for simplisity)
These in my view are both enhancements. They allow to create vertical racquet head speed and eventually spin. The key element here is to avoid slapping the ball forward with the wrist but to use laid back wrist to create spin. And do it naturally.
The only natural way to do that is to create radically low to high path of the racquet. During the flip the racquet head should fall low. You can suggest a comparison with a fabled dog Rick Macci envisioned. But this one is a little dog sitting close to the leg and a little bit behind it.
To do that a player should relax his (her) hand while pulling the racquet forward and allowing racquet head to fall down. At some point the racquet head will be close to perpendicular to the ground.
From this position it should go up. This path is really facilitated by external shoulder rotation and laid back wrist. Wrist snap will be minimized.
Now we see why Rafael Nadal is a very good role model for a modern forehand. His racquet head path is from very low to very high. This way his wrist becomes his best friend (and not his enemy you have to prevent from going to its natural position).
In the following video clips from Tennis player archive you can pause the video to see the lowest point of the racquet path.
https://www.tennisplayer.net/members...50fps.mp4&new=
https://www.tennisplayer.net/members...50fps.mp4&new=
Rick Macci said that with this technique you can hit a true heavy ball. It might be better to say that with this technique you have to hit a heavy ball. Only if you move racquet head from low to high you get sound technique.
This might explain why few girl adopt modern forehand. They want to reliably hit relatively flat ball like other girls do. It is not possible with this technique.
Again we can look at how Rafael Nadal uses his forehand. His game begins with a high return applying a lot of spin to the ball. Then he continues to play like than with high margin over the net and from the baseline. This way a player can be very consistent and create nice angles with modern technique.
Brian Gordon and Rick Macci explain very clearly the advantages of the modern forehand in comparison to a classical forehand. https://www.tennisplayer.net/members...ehand_part_01/ But forehand they describe may have a clear disadvantage too. It has to do with a role of players wrist.
During the flip wrist is naturally laid back and it remains so till the point of contact.
As Brian Gordon mentioned himself players actually try to keep their wrist in a laid back position till and though point of contact. In practice it is very difficult to do. Because of that many players end up slapping the ball. And they lose control of the ball. It might actually be difficult to see and understand for a player or a coach. But in my view this is number one difficulty in learning modern technique.
In comparison in classical forehand wrist is placed in a required position long before contact. This distinction is looked at in detail in the following article. https://www.feeltennis.net/forehand-wrist-lag/
Solution
During the flip the racquet head falls back and down. At this moment as Brian Gordon explains 3 things happen. Players shoulder is externally rotated and the wrist is laid back. (Let ҆s leave forearm out of picture here for simplisity)
These in my view are both enhancements. They allow to create vertical racquet head speed and eventually spin. The key element here is to avoid slapping the ball forward with the wrist but to use laid back wrist to create spin. And do it naturally.
The only natural way to do that is to create radically low to high path of the racquet. During the flip the racquet head should fall low. You can suggest a comparison with a fabled dog Rick Macci envisioned. But this one is a little dog sitting close to the leg and a little bit behind it.
To do that a player should relax his (her) hand while pulling the racquet forward and allowing racquet head to fall down. At some point the racquet head will be close to perpendicular to the ground.
From this position it should go up. This path is really facilitated by external shoulder rotation and laid back wrist. Wrist snap will be minimized.
Now we see why Rafael Nadal is a very good role model for a modern forehand. His racquet head path is from very low to very high. This way his wrist becomes his best friend (and not his enemy you have to prevent from going to its natural position).
In the following video clips from Tennis player archive you can pause the video to see the lowest point of the racquet path.
https://www.tennisplayer.net/members...50fps.mp4&new=
https://www.tennisplayer.net/members...50fps.mp4&new=
Rick Macci said that with this technique you can hit a true heavy ball. It might be better to say that with this technique you have to hit a heavy ball. Only if you move racquet head from low to high you get sound technique.
This might explain why few girl adopt modern forehand. They want to reliably hit relatively flat ball like other girls do. It is not possible with this technique.
Again we can look at how Rafael Nadal uses his forehand. His game begins with a high return applying a lot of spin to the ball. Then he continues to play like than with high margin over the net and from the baseline. This way a player can be very consistent and create nice angles with modern technique.
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