Understanding Professional Forehands: Part 2

In my previous article (Four Pillars of the ATP Type III Forehand) I presented a "best practice" guide for hitting a forehand based on my research and work on the court. (Click Here.) In the first article of this two-part series for the September issue, I covered concepts not addressed in that presentation. Specifically, I discussed the backswing and the implication of a bent elbow in the forward swing. (Click Here.) The Four Pillars article, combined with the concepts from Part 1 of this article, should provide a mechanical framework to better understand many forehand options. So now let's see how these concepts apply to a number of forehands on both professional tours. I break them down into 4 categories: The ATP Type III Forehand The ATP Classical Forehand The ATP Modern Forehand The WTA Type II Forehand The Type III Forehand The Type III Forehand by definition conforms to the pillars of the Type III model. It is a well linearized stroke with significant independent motion of the hitting arm and clear rotation sequencing. External shoulder rotation in the external to internal coupling mechanism is driven by the racquet in the "flip". The elbow is maintained straight (180 degrees)...