John Yandell: Roger Federer and the Evolution of the Modern Forehand: Part 2

Torso Rotation

In our previous analysis, (Click Here) we saw a direct correlation between grip style and torso rotation. In general the more extreme the grip, the more torso rotation. A player like Sampras rotated about 90 degrees or a little more on the forward swing, with the shoulders normally finishing something like parallel to the baseline. Players like Agassi and Safin, with moderate semi-western grips, rotate further with the rear shoulder, coming around slightly past parallel to the baseline or slightly further. Players with more extreme semi-western grips like Hewitt, Guga and Roddick rotate further still. At times their shoulders rotate 180 degrees or more on the forward swing, sometimes finishing with the rear or right shoulder pointing at the opponent.

According to that gradient, we would expect Federer’s forehand to have a moderate overall rotational pattern, probably somewhere between Sampras and Agassi. And sometimes that’s true. But at other times, his rotational pattern looks like the most extreme players such as Roddick. Or it can be somewhere between.

So you’ll see him rotate about 90 degrees from the turn position to the hit, stopping with his shoulders about parallel to the baseline. Other times, the shoulders don’t stop…