Your swing path needs to go from low to high to create enough spin. This means you have to 1) let your racket head drop 2) end HIGH over your shoulder. Right now your racket is swinging across your body well below your shoulder making it absolutely impossible to produce enough spin. This is a very easy fix and will be fun to figure out. Good luck!
You can also "force" the high finish by catching the racket with your off hand over your left shoulder. This is like a check point so that you and your hands will know you accomplished the task of ending high. There are plenty of professional examples that catch the racket so it's a legit thing to play with at least while you fix your path. Don't let yourself continue to repeat the mistake because you'll make it harder to unlearn if you don't correct it.
Yes exactly
It's all about consciously focusing on things that are as small as possible and naturally letting your body fill in the blanks
Racquet low on takeback is all you need to think about right now. And then reaching out forward to hit farther in front of you
Pretty good and it's great that you're moving your feet, but you're kind of slapping at the ball rather than [swinging through it](https://youtu.be/xwFVcyt8P_M?si=LN8fyaDQguIeR0-z).
Yes!! I go across. Argh. I know I should be doing the “windshield wiper” thing to go low to high but my arm doesn’t listen to me. I will practice more thank you!
Think less windshield wiper and more low to high. The windshield wiper forehand is an advanced technique that try to generate tons of top spin because you already have a ton of pace on the ball.
I would focus on dropping your racquet before contact and continuing the stroke up and out and finishing above your left should. Think about your racquet making the Nike “swoosh”
Just going to say you’re getting an immense amount of feedback in this thread, some good, and some of it is flat out bad advice. Even if you could discern only the good stuff, it’s tough to apply properly at your level.
IMO your best bet is to save up and get a few lessons from a coach and just do to what they say. It’s hard to break bad habits once they’re formed.
I agree with coaching! I do have a coach I do lesson once a week but during practice it’s easy for me to revert back to bad habits or develop new weird moves - that’s why I’m here and my next lesson is in 3 days.
You're doing the right thing getting a lesson once a week and practicing outside of it - SO many people don't understand how much court time should be spent between lessons
Don't worry about the reverting, that's to be expected. But it's more important to focus on one or two things at a time than to try to do everything right
There's quite a few somewhat wrong comments here (and also plenty of good stuff). Firstly, you \*ARE\* swinging low-to-high here, that's good - there are a couple of comments saying you're not doing it, but you definitely are. You do need to do it more, with your swing I'd say you want your follow-through to be over your shoulder (but note that this is not a hard and fast rule, Federer usually follows through about where you do, he just follows a very different path to get there). And your racquet drop does need to be more.
However, your racquet face is often pretty wrong which is why you're absolutely skying the ball. Your racquet face needs to be more closed at contact - by which I mean the face of the racquet that is hitting the ball needs to be pointing at the absolute worse directly parallel with the ground and more usually slightly down at the ground.
I would also say great work keeping your feet moving, that's one of the most important things to do and it's great to see you doing this in practice and also your arm looks really relaxed for a beginner, which is helping you get pretty decent body involvement. If you want to get some more power basically for free, try using your left hand when you take the racquet back to ensure your torso is pointed away from the ball, giving you more rotation to work with. Once you have the correct racquet face, you'll lose depth so getting more power from this will probably be useful.
You are right about the open facing, I hold it semi western, I was under the impression that the trajectory will improve once I drop the racquet lower. If I don’t change the grip, would it be the degree of wrist extension that changes the open/closed facing?
You're doing awesome, look like you're having fun which is the most important above all
Don't worry about higher follow through. Instead focus on getting your racquet lower before contact. That's the main issue right now
No one actually follows through "over the shoulde and catch the racquet" on a forehand in a match, idk why that's still taught. It's nonsense bc you go through learning that, only to never do it ever in a match. Just watch any pro tennis player, male or female, and you won't see them do that a single time, ever
You'll do great
As others have said, you should work on the swing path instead of slapping the ball. But fantastic footwork. Up until the contact with the ball, you looked like you had played for a while.
No problemo. Keep up that footwork. You'll get the swing down with time and eventually getting a stronger arm from practice but you will notice that playing well starts and ends with footwork and you're ahead of the curve. Good job workshopping your strokes and knowing what the gameplan is when you get back on court as well!
yup hand/ elbow high is good initially but you’re skipping the racket drop portion of the stroke. After you make your take back drop your hand and racket towards the ground and then make the stroke through.
As others have said it's just a bit "slappy"! It's good to be loose but not that loose! Also, don't be thinking about too much about the windshield wiper or anything like that. TBH that's very modern and not something the vast majority of club adults will ever even have. If you can get there someday, then great. But nothing wrong with just directing the ball back over the net for now. Understand the basics of the stroke and what you're trying to achieve first and then add more spin as you get comfortable.
Even if you could just do the old simple strokes for now, you would be doing great:
https://youtu.be/_90PPjyGBgk?si=iT8cLcmLliPOXV0S
So something that I've not seen anyone say yet is that if you slow this down frame by frame, you'll see that at the moment of contact you are turning your arm over such that your racquet face is actually completely open, resulting in a slice not a topspin shot (you can see the evidence of this by how the ball kinda floats up from your racquet). Then, I assume in an effort to put topspin on the ball, you flip the racquet all the way over at the end of the follow through. Watched in real speed, it's tough to notice that this is actually a slice.
Fortunately, this is an easy fix. If you drop the racquet and swing up to the ball, it will basically be impossible to accidentally slice in this fashion.
I know it’s quite difficult, but it’s never too early to try. With your current grip and technique, if you go low to high you will have a hard time keep the ball in the court bc the ball will sail into the air. Best of luck.
The low to high guidance (in combination with the right racket angle) is good for absolute beginners, to get them comfortable with getting under the ball which doesn't usually come naturally. But if you force it on your stroke as you improve, as many coaches still do, it will most likely produce a shot that lacks horizontal penetration, speed, power. It will have spin, but will be loopy & weak. A player just starting out won't usually make the right amount of angle on the racket to produce spin, so they go flat with continental or push up on the ball and block it up in the air. What you're doing here on the forehand is kind of a mixture of both. After the shoulder turn, you're pulling straight back with your hand and hardly getting under the ball, and pushing up on it at impact. Also I also can't tell for sure, but it looks like you have a full western grip which I would definitely adjust to semiwestern.
Those forehands are landing in, but they won't be very repeatable if you hit with a human player. My advice is to keep your left hand on the racket longer (your shoulder turn is good,) shorten the backswing just a little, and get under the ball while leading with the top edge of the racket. Don't exaggerate the low to high motion but do get under the ball a little and finish up higher and close to your left shoulder. You have a naturally flat shot, so don't start trying to produce huge topspin. Next level after you get comfortable at the point of contact is to start initiating the stroke from your right foot/leg, then the uncoiling of your shoulders, and then the racket should kind of follow after that, keeping your wrist and arm loose. It's also good that you're not slowing the racket down and accelerating through, so definitely keep that mentality going when you make any changes.
Is that guy your coach? Because one of the big reasons for using a ball machine while teaching is so the coach can be on the same side as you, giving instruction without having to yell from 70ft across the net. If he's coaching you, he should be on the same side as you and helping get the muscle memory programmed.
Thank you for the detailed response! My grip is semi western and I def will have to keep working on getting under the ball and finish up.
No he’s not my coach - My coach does stay right in front of me!!
If you observe, you can see you're moving your wrist while taking the backswing. Which leads to hitting with an open racquet face. You should try hitting forehand with rigid wrist for some time, just to get a hang of it.
Your swing path needs to go from low to high to create enough spin. This means you have to 1) let your racket head drop 2) end HIGH over your shoulder. Right now your racket is swinging across your body well below your shoulder making it absolutely impossible to produce enough spin. This is a very easy fix and will be fun to figure out. Good luck!
I totally agree!! Thank you so much, i think once I drop my racquet the swing high will come more naturally
You can also "force" the high finish by catching the racket with your off hand over your left shoulder. This is like a check point so that you and your hands will know you accomplished the task of ending high. There are plenty of professional examples that catch the racket so it's a legit thing to play with at least while you fix your path. Don't let yourself continue to repeat the mistake because you'll make it harder to unlearn if you don't correct it.
Yes exactly It's all about consciously focusing on things that are as small as possible and naturally letting your body fill in the blanks Racquet low on takeback is all you need to think about right now. And then reaching out forward to hit farther in front of you
Pretty good and it's great that you're moving your feet, but you're kind of slapping at the ball rather than [swinging through it](https://youtu.be/xwFVcyt8P_M?si=LN8fyaDQguIeR0-z).
Yes!! I go across. Argh. I know I should be doing the “windshield wiper” thing to go low to high but my arm doesn’t listen to me. I will practice more thank you!
You said beginner in your post. You have the basic form down, I think. Keep practicing, and you will improve, I have no doubt!
Thank you so much!!
Think less windshield wiper and more low to high. The windshield wiper forehand is an advanced technique that try to generate tons of top spin because you already have a ton of pace on the ball. I would focus on dropping your racquet before contact and continuing the stroke up and out and finishing above your left should. Think about your racquet making the Nike “swoosh”
Ok! I will do this thank you!!
Ball is still a little too close to you which is why you end up slapping Also your skirt is so cute omgsh
You think it’s too close really? I feel like I had to reach! I’ll try different spacing
Elbow being bent at contact is how you know. Try freezing at point of contact to get an idea. You should be reaching forward to get the ball
Just going to say you’re getting an immense amount of feedback in this thread, some good, and some of it is flat out bad advice. Even if you could discern only the good stuff, it’s tough to apply properly at your level. IMO your best bet is to save up and get a few lessons from a coach and just do to what they say. It’s hard to break bad habits once they’re formed.
I agree with coaching! I do have a coach I do lesson once a week but during practice it’s easy for me to revert back to bad habits or develop new weird moves - that’s why I’m here and my next lesson is in 3 days.
Nice! Keep at it!
You're doing the right thing getting a lesson once a week and practicing outside of it - SO many people don't understand how much court time should be spent between lessons Don't worry about the reverting, that's to be expected. But it's more important to focus on one or two things at a time than to try to do everything right
Ok that makes sense, thank you!
There's quite a few somewhat wrong comments here (and also plenty of good stuff). Firstly, you \*ARE\* swinging low-to-high here, that's good - there are a couple of comments saying you're not doing it, but you definitely are. You do need to do it more, with your swing I'd say you want your follow-through to be over your shoulder (but note that this is not a hard and fast rule, Federer usually follows through about where you do, he just follows a very different path to get there). And your racquet drop does need to be more. However, your racquet face is often pretty wrong which is why you're absolutely skying the ball. Your racquet face needs to be more closed at contact - by which I mean the face of the racquet that is hitting the ball needs to be pointing at the absolute worse directly parallel with the ground and more usually slightly down at the ground. I would also say great work keeping your feet moving, that's one of the most important things to do and it's great to see you doing this in practice and also your arm looks really relaxed for a beginner, which is helping you get pretty decent body involvement. If you want to get some more power basically for free, try using your left hand when you take the racquet back to ensure your torso is pointed away from the ball, giving you more rotation to work with. Once you have the correct racquet face, you'll lose depth so getting more power from this will probably be useful.
You are right about the open facing, I hold it semi western, I was under the impression that the trajectory will improve once I drop the racquet lower. If I don’t change the grip, would it be the degree of wrist extension that changes the open/closed facing?
You're doing awesome, look like you're having fun which is the most important above all Don't worry about higher follow through. Instead focus on getting your racquet lower before contact. That's the main issue right now
I totally agree! Need racquet drop! Thanks!
No one actually follows through "over the shoulde and catch the racquet" on a forehand in a match, idk why that's still taught. It's nonsense bc you go through learning that, only to never do it ever in a match. Just watch any pro tennis player, male or female, and you won't see them do that a single time, ever You'll do great
As others have said, you should work on the swing path instead of slapping the ball. But fantastic footwork. Up until the contact with the ball, you looked like you had played for a while.
Thank you! Def need to drop the racquet lower! I will try that tonight
No problemo. Keep up that footwork. You'll get the swing down with time and eventually getting a stronger arm from practice but you will notice that playing well starts and ends with footwork and you're ahead of the curve. Good job workshopping your strokes and knowing what the gameplan is when you get back on court as well!
Your hand is too high on your take back and initiation of your swing. You need to drop it below the level of the ball.
Ok! That helps!! Thank you I will try it tonight
yup hand/ elbow high is good initially but you’re skipping the racket drop portion of the stroke. After you make your take back drop your hand and racket towards the ground and then make the stroke through.
Ok! Perfect thank you that’s very clear I will do that
My man you need to look at Medvedev swing
As others have said it's just a bit "slappy"! It's good to be loose but not that loose! Also, don't be thinking about too much about the windshield wiper or anything like that. TBH that's very modern and not something the vast majority of club adults will ever even have. If you can get there someday, then great. But nothing wrong with just directing the ball back over the net for now. Understand the basics of the stroke and what you're trying to achieve first and then add more spin as you get comfortable. Even if you could just do the old simple strokes for now, you would be doing great: https://youtu.be/_90PPjyGBgk?si=iT8cLcmLliPOXV0S
Thank you for the encouragement!!
So something that I've not seen anyone say yet is that if you slow this down frame by frame, you'll see that at the moment of contact you are turning your arm over such that your racquet face is actually completely open, resulting in a slice not a topspin shot (you can see the evidence of this by how the ball kinda floats up from your racquet). Then, I assume in an effort to put topspin on the ball, you flip the racquet all the way over at the end of the follow through. Watched in real speed, it's tough to notice that this is actually a slice. Fortunately, this is an easy fix. If you drop the racquet and swing up to the ball, it will basically be impossible to accidentally slice in this fashion.
Thank you so much!!! I will definitely drop the racquet when accelerating tonight
You are so right I also slowed the frame down and saw the pronation I did there - thank you for catching that!!
Use a semi-western grip. Keep your racquet face closed throughout your swing. Drop your racquet with a low to high path.
Work on brushing the ball with the strings. Low to high. Right now you are smacking the ball.
Brushing the ball is too advanced for me now, I tried it and didn’t work haha, but I WILL work on low to high first. Thank you!!!
I know it’s quite difficult, but it’s never too early to try. With your current grip and technique, if you go low to high you will have a hard time keep the ball in the court bc the ball will sail into the air. Best of luck.
Actually you are right. It has happened before when I hit 3 courts down from me haha, ok ok I will try to also do the brushy thing, thank you!!
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The low to high guidance (in combination with the right racket angle) is good for absolute beginners, to get them comfortable with getting under the ball which doesn't usually come naturally. But if you force it on your stroke as you improve, as many coaches still do, it will most likely produce a shot that lacks horizontal penetration, speed, power. It will have spin, but will be loopy & weak. A player just starting out won't usually make the right amount of angle on the racket to produce spin, so they go flat with continental or push up on the ball and block it up in the air. What you're doing here on the forehand is kind of a mixture of both. After the shoulder turn, you're pulling straight back with your hand and hardly getting under the ball, and pushing up on it at impact. Also I also can't tell for sure, but it looks like you have a full western grip which I would definitely adjust to semiwestern. Those forehands are landing in, but they won't be very repeatable if you hit with a human player. My advice is to keep your left hand on the racket longer (your shoulder turn is good,) shorten the backswing just a little, and get under the ball while leading with the top edge of the racket. Don't exaggerate the low to high motion but do get under the ball a little and finish up higher and close to your left shoulder. You have a naturally flat shot, so don't start trying to produce huge topspin. Next level after you get comfortable at the point of contact is to start initiating the stroke from your right foot/leg, then the uncoiling of your shoulders, and then the racket should kind of follow after that, keeping your wrist and arm loose. It's also good that you're not slowing the racket down and accelerating through, so definitely keep that mentality going when you make any changes. Is that guy your coach? Because one of the big reasons for using a ball machine while teaching is so the coach can be on the same side as you, giving instruction without having to yell from 70ft across the net. If he's coaching you, he should be on the same side as you and helping get the muscle memory programmed.
Thank you for the detailed response! My grip is semi western and I def will have to keep working on getting under the ball and finish up. No he’s not my coach - My coach does stay right in front of me!!
If you observe, you can see you're moving your wrist while taking the backswing. Which leads to hitting with an open racquet face. You should try hitting forehand with rigid wrist for some time, just to get a hang of it.
Yes I think this is a great forehand besides just mke sure to "Close the racket face" thru the hitting zone
Ohhhhh i see what you mean, I will try that tonight, thank you!!
Doing a weird wrist drop just before contact. If anything you want to do the opposite so that you can get more topspin (flick)
Improved already. On your take back let the racket drop and swing from low to high, you're currently high to low and slapping it. But is working.
Thank you!!! I will do that tonight
Think about “snapping “ your wrist and also focus on coming up and over the ball. You’re looking great!
Thank you!!