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On the majority of his forehands, Nadal reverses his finish.
Two Basic Finishes
Which brings us to the finish. Again there are major differences when we compare Nadal and Federer. With Federer we saw an almost infinite array of possible finishes. Roger finishes over his shoulder, or at waist level, or anywhere in between. He combines any of these finish heights with varying amounts of hand rotation turning the racket head over more or less depending on the ball. But Nadal is much less varied. He uses two basic finishes on over 90% of his forehands.
His most common finish is the one that has attracted the most attention from television commentators and other observers. This is what Robert Lansdorp calls the reverse finish, with the racket moving sharply upward after contact, traveling over his head, then moving backwards, and finishing on the left side of the body. (Click Here.) Brett Hobden calls this same followthrough the vertical finish, because the swing plane is more vertical or straight up and down (Click Here.) Whatever you want to call it, Nadal uses this finish on over half his forehands.
Nadal’s other main finish, across the body at shoulder level.
But…
