The Five Fundamentals:
The Forehand Stroke and Finish

Michael Friedman

In this series we have been exploring the 5 fundamentals that make up every stroke in tennis. These fundamental parts are: Ready Position, Preparation, Position on the Ball, Stroke and Finish, and Recovery.

In previous articles we've looked at the first three components. (Click Here.) Now we'll turn to the fourth fundamental--the swing--what I call the Stroke and Finish.

To understand the Stroke and the Finish we'll take a close look at a player with one of the soundest forehands on the tour, David Ferrer. It is fascinating to analyze the forehands of more famous players like Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, with all their flair and variations. (And you can find detailed analysis of those two strokes on Tennisplayer. Click Here.)

But when it comes to sound basics, David Ferrer is a tremendous model. This is one of the best things about Tennisplayer--the chance to study virtually all the world's best players in the world in the Stroke Archive, and learn something from all of them. (Click Here.)

If you saw Ferrer's incredible 5 set Davis Cup win over Radek Stepanek, you know his forehand is a stroke that can hold up under the most extreme pressure imaginable. By analyzing his motion, we will see how to develop your own forehand and be powerful and consistent at the same time.

Perspectives

To do this, we'll take a little different approach, by describing the same motion and how it unfolds from a number of different perspectives, 5 in all.

As a teacher I have found that presenting information through a multi-dimensional approach is very powerful. Some students will respond to one perspective, and some to another. They may learn from certain parts of each and combine these for themselves. As a player this process can only deepen your understanding and your confidence.

The 5 Perspectives are: From the perspective of the racket face. From the perspective of the racket butt. From the perspective of the hand and arm. From the perspective of the legs and torso. And finally, from the perspective of the position of the head.

Racket Face

The first perspective is the racket face. Note how David immediately closes the face of the racket when he sees the ball is coming to his forehand side. As he does so he raises the tip of his racket above his hand and elbow, to about the height of his head.

This means the bottom edge of his racket is now the leading edge on the backswing. This backswing motion reaches its highest point when the ball bounces. Note also at this point how the left arm is stretched across the body as we saw in the preparation article (Click Here).

Now as the backswing drops, the racket face stays closed so that it is almost parallel to the ground. This changes just as the racket starts upward and forward towards the contact point. Now the face is partially closed and the racket is angled below his hand.

Note that the leading edge of the forward motion is now the top edge of his racket. The result is that the racket face naturally squares up at contact.

After contact, the racket face continues to rise, staying perpendicular to the court. From this view you can see how David finishes his follow-through with the face still square to the ground, with the end of his racket pointing back behind him.

The exact angle of the racket to the court varies depending on the ball. At the world class level the players can close the face slightly at contact to create extra topspin. The amount and the speed of the windshield wiper motion can vary as well. Compare the point in the animations where the racket is on edge to court. In the first animation the racket is on edge when the tip points backwards. In thesecond, it happens faster, with the racket on edge when the tip of the racket is pointing toward the sideline.

Butt Cap

Now let's look at the stroke and the finish from the second perspective, by focusing on the racket Butt Cap. The Butt Cap is sometimes easier to focus on, because it is in the player's hand, as opposed to the head of the racket which is obviously further away. I tell my students to think of the butt cap as a camera. If you can control what the "camera" is seeing, the racket head will follow.

The butt of the racket starts by pointing down at Ferrer's right thigh. The racket is slightly angled towards the backhand side. The head of the racket also starts slightly higher than the hand and wrist.

As the backswing begins the Butt Cap points behind the body, which keeps the wrist in a neutral position. When David releases the left hand, the racket is angled up and to the right of his body and it stays on this side of his body to the highest part of his backswing.

As the racket starts the downward part of the loop the hand is lined up with the right side of his body, and the wrist is still neutral or flat. The Butt Cap is pointing at his right hip. As the racket reaches the bottom of the loop his wrist lays back. He is now pointing the Butt Cap at the ball. This creates a lag in the forward swing, and accelerates the head of the racket through the contact point.

As Ferrer extends out towards the target, watch the path of the Butt Cap. At contact, The Butt Cap is pointing at the sideline to David's left. Now as he continues the follow through, the Butt Cap turns completely over, pointing at the opposite sideline. Again, this is the windshield wiper which increases the brush upwards on the ball creating topspin.

Hands and Arms

The third perspective is the hands and arms.

The left, non-dominant arm plays a huge role in the forehand stroke and finish. Ferrer uses his left arm to prepare the swing. He keeps the left hand on the racket to set the grip and begin to take the racket head up. After he let's go, the hand and arm point across his body. This left arm stretch also serves as a timing mechanism. It should reach the stretched position at about the time bounces at the court.

As the swing continues, the left arm starts to pull back to the left side of his body as if you were pulling the ore of a rowboat. It moves from an extended straight arm to a bent elbow against his left side. This opens the shoulders while the racket is still behind the body. This will whip the racket through with tremendous speed.

This is also when the lag in the racket is most apparent. The body is turning from right to left as the racket is dropping behind the body, which then accelerates the racket through the ball.

Now let's look at the racket arm. Notice how David bends the elbow 90 degrees but no more than that on the backswing. As he drops the arm down behind him it extends, but not like Federer or Nadal who completely straighten their arms on a consistent basis. Ferrer is more classical in this way and maintains a slight bend in the elbow. As he goes forward to the ball the elbow starts to bend again, and the wrist is laid back. This arm position makes Ferrer's brushing motion up through contact possible, creating great top spin.

At contact, the elbow points down at the court. Then the elbow points out at the target and then up and away from his shoulder creating great extension in the forward swing and followthrough.

Look at the length of the stroke out through the shot. Players who do not take lessons and just play rarely develop great strokes, because they tend stop the racket as it hits the ball. They are sometimes called hackers. Their natural tendency when they get into competition is to tighten and shorten their swings even more.

The reason I emphasize the Finish to build a player's confidence in his swing. I agree with the great Robert Lansdorp when he said, "I would rather take a player with long strokes and make them more compact, than the other way around. It is much more difficult to lengthen a player's strokes." Getting a player to follow through or "finish" the swing is the key to their confidence that the stroke will create power and control. (Click Here to see Robert's articles.)

Legs and Torso

Now let's focus on the big muscles which generate the swing. The legs, hips, torso and shoulders do all the heavy lifting, so to speak. This is the load and explode effect. As David's racket is going back, his right ankle and knee are bending or loading. His hips turn 45 degrees or a little more and his shoulders turn at least 90 degrees away from the net.

Ferrer plants his weight on his outside or right foot and lets it drop as his knees bend, until his left knee is bent at about a 45 degree angle. Then, as his racket starts to drop behind him, his right leg starts to come up and his hips turn towards the net. This uncoils his torso and shoulders so he is facing the net when he makes contact with the ball.

This is the explosion. As he continues the upward swing he leaves the court with both feet. But it is important to note that he is not jumping purposely off the court. This lifting happens naturally as a result of the uncoiling of the forward swing.

Note that the hips are now turned slightly past parallel with the net. The front shoulder is actually facing the opponent. Also notice how his right knee rotates as well. This is one of the major factors in the recent evolution of the game--the increase in the use of the large muscles in the legs, hips, and upper body.

Head

Finally let's look at David's head. Even when he is violently swinging at the ball his head remains very still. David keeps his head in an up position. When he is striking the ball he is looking down his nose at the ball. He is not "dropping" his head, he is keeping it up, which in turn keeps his spine fairly straight, which gives him good balance even when he is on the move.

Conclusion

So here is a summary of what happens, no matter what perspective you use to view the Stroke and Finish. As soon as you see the ball is a forehand, the preparation begins. Prepare the body by turning fully by the time of the ball bounce. As the hands separate, take the racket up to the top of the backswing. Now in a smooth, circular motion drop the racket to its low point. When the backswing reaches the bottom the face is slightly closed, the elbow bent, and the wrist laid back.

Now accelerate the racket through the contact when the ball is a forearm's length in front of the body. Extend all the way through the shot and brush the ball for topspin, varying the amount of windshield wiper to the situation. The arm will then naturally decelerate in the follow-through.

Adjustments

The game of tennis is a one of adjustments and mistake management. If your stroke it not sound, attempts to adjust after a mistake can turn one error into two, or three. But if your stroke is basically sound, the adjustments are usually minor. This is where the multiple perspectives prove so valuable. They give you a range of ways of looking at any errors and a range of factors to focus on to try to correct them. As you work through this article, notice which perspectives and which parts of those perspectives speak to you. Incorporate those into strokes, and more importantly, learn to use them to keep your stroke on track and correct your mistakes as they happen.

Stay Tuned to see the Stroke and Finish on the rest of the shots!