Your Strokes: Chris Thurstone Forehand

A major revelation from the high speed filming revolution—the left arm stretch on the pro forehand.

Is the left arm stretch the easiest, the most overlooked, and the most beneficial adjustment a player can make on the forehand regardless of level? No doubt in my mind.

When we began our high speed filming projects more than 10 years ago, there were many startling discoveries, but one of the most interesting was observing how top players actually prepared on the forehand. Nothing I had seen or read in the teaching literature accurately described the relationship between the body turn and the stretch of the left arm across the body.

Yet there it was in player after player, from Sampras to Agassi to Gustavo Kuerten to Marat Safin. As our filming continued and new champions emerged, we saw the same key component with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

I’ve written about the critical role of the left arm in the preparation multiple times both in the pro analysis articles in the Advanced Tennis section, and in Your Strokes articles. I’ve presented it at dozens of coaching conferences around the world. It’s been written up in the general press and in…