FORHEND IN TENNIS
The right kick is the main weapon of most tennis players. It is customary to distinguish between modern and classic types of forehand. Many beginning coaches and tennis players, paying attention to professional tennis, see significant differences in forehand technique.
We will formulate a unified forehead training methodology
Alexey Lukin
Main coach
Tennis players of the ATP tour play with a wide variety of grips – from the east at Roger Federer to the extreme west at Nadal and Roddick. Even greater differences are observed in the swings, which differ both in length and in shape. The posting of different players also varies. Some end the shock movement at neck level, others on the chest or even behind the head.
Professional tennis players, as a rule, perform kicks from an open rack. But at the same time, even players with extremely western grip sometimes play from a neutral stance when they have enough time to prepare.
The point of impact varies from knee level to shoulder level for different tennis players. Often, strikes are performed from a position with no fulcrum.
A large number of nuances can mislead inexperienced coaches and beginners and lead to a misunderstanding of forehand techniques. In the three articles that we presented, the experts of the Tennis Group Tennis Academy will talk about all the intricacies of a modern hit on the right, putting the right accents. We will formulate a unified forehead training methodology.
Forehand training in our classes
When you watch a tennis match on the TV screen, everything happens very quickly, and sometimes we manage to notice far from all the important technical nuances. Computer animation and high-speed video shooting come to the rescue, which allows you to examine in detail the technique of blows by professionals.
In tennis lessons, we use high-speed shooting equipment of our students. This approach allows you to complement the verbal approach to learning with visual images of the game, to compare your technique with the technique of the best tennis players in the world.
Using this method, we were able to get away from the verbal description of strikes, and imitating the technique of other players, receiving information from our visual apparatus, whose capabilities are limited. Our practice shows that methods of verbal description do not always work, even when it comes to tennis for adults. Tennis training for children and adults is much faster when the information is presented in the form of visual images, this is confirmed by professional tennis players.
With all this, it is impossible to create a universal forehand model. We will consider several options for performing a strike.
Correct forehand = correct racket grip
The first thing to start mastering forehand with is how to properly hold your racket.
The first thing you need to start forehand training with is a racket grip. Today, in the ATP round, the most popular are semi-western and western grip, however, if we talk about children’s tennis, then the unanimous opinion of our coaches comes to the fact that children from the very beginning need to put a semi-western grip. There are several objective reasons for this. Eastern grip, although it is the easiest to learn, is not used by professionals with rare exceptions, which means that sooner or later a transition to another grip is inevitable, which is never easy.
Teaching junior tennis in Western acumen is also not possible due to its complexity and increased load on the wrist and elbow joints. Semi-western grip is the golden mean – it is not as complicated as the western one, and at the same time it is widely used by most professionals, offering wide scope for maneuver.
It should also be remembered that it is extremely difficult to change the grip of a 12-13-year-old junior, and it is recommended to work with an existing one without breaking the established equipment, and make adjustments. A great example is Andy Roddick, who played with a western grip, starting with juniors. Moreover, if the child has an eastern grip, then the best way out of the situation is most likely to be her change to semi-western.
