The Forehand Followthrough: Extension and Rotation

The modern forehand: complexity and misunderstanding.

The pro forehand in modern tennis is one the most complex biomechanical motion in sports. It’s also one of the most misunderstood.

In some ways the development of video data bases of the strokes of top players has actually increased this confusion. There is a long standing tendency in coaching to speak about the forehand as if there was only one variation. Now with the video resources available, it’s possible to pick one example and hold that up as the norm.

This tendency to over simplify the forehand is most pronounced when it comes to the followthrough. It leads to statements such as these: "Roger Federer finishes his forehand low and across his body." "Rafael Nadal finishes with his racket over his head." "Maria Sharapova finishes with her hand on her left side."

And yes, you can see those players, and virtually all pro players, making all those finishes at different times, and others as well. What the video data bases really show is the incredible complexity and variety of the forward swings. The followthrough is an extremely dynamic combination of elements, and we need to understand how it varies depending on how these…