A Comment on Locked Elbow and Bent Elbow Forehands

Are the modern locked elbow forehands really superior? In the last decade, seemingly out of nowhere, the two greatest tennis players of the modern generation, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer reintroduced locked elbow forehands in the pro game. Fernando Verdasco also hits a locked elbow forehand. Before Nadal and Federer, Stefan Edberg was the last great player to hit a forehand with a locked elbow in the late 1980s and early 1990s. But this was a continental grip version of the stroke. Locked elbow Continental forehands were actually prevalent from Rod Laver, to Tom Okker, to Lew Hoad, to Ken Rosewall, to Arhtur Ashe, and Illie Nastase, before Edberg. In the modern game, however continental forehands are virtually a thing of the past. So where did the modern locked elbows come from? Should we copy them? In 60 years I can only remember 4 great locked elbow forehands: Laver, Okker, Nadal and Federer. Although it is impossible to deny their effectiveness, they are an extreme rarity, and associated with the genius of individual players. Why? I believe that a locked elbow forehand offers the player less support behind the racket and for this reason is inferior to a bent elbow…