Leylah Fernandez, Type 3 forehand, easier to change direction than Type 2 or Type 1

[johnyandell]

But it was good enough to win 10 matches in straight sets...

[jthb1021]

It looks too mechanical. Yes straight arm and outside backswing etc, but it looks rigid. No play! Honestly her forehand doesn’t look fun to hit

[johnyandell]

What Seano said...

[tenniscoach1]

Not even close boys - not even close - looks like cookie cutter Chris Everett Lloyd's dad's playbook. Woman's tennis is sure open right now - amazing how so many kids are just coming out of nowhere and succeeding at a high level.

[jimlosaltos]

To go along with Stroke, she seems to have an abbreviated take back but more of a classic preparation and stroke. Federer goes back to a more classic stroke on returns.

It's like an adaptation of old and new to allow her to redirect much more easily and take it on the rise. I still wonder how they would fare against Barty that gives no pace with the backhand. It seems like Barty found another solution around the bashing.

Does anyone know how to poke BG and JY into an opinion?

For JY, probably post it in the thread of questions for him ?

[arturohernandez]

Very interesting question. Leyla does have a compact backswing and hits the ball with a straight arm at contact BUT its her flip or dynamic slot that I would question. The flip should occur with the racquet on the outside of the hand with the hand pulling forward and the external shoulder rotation creating the flip. If you look at the forehands at the :15, :19 & :42 marks, it looks like she lays the wrist back before the forward motion of the racquet. Below is another in the series of Leyla's forehand where she shows a drill to keep her backswing short. Would love more input from others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzzCfLbo3xU

Sean

To go along with Stroke, she seems to have an abbreviated take back but more of a classic preparation and stroke. Federer goes back to a more classic stroke on returns.

It's like an adaptation of old and new to allow her to redirect much more easily and take it on the rise. I still wonder how they would fare against Barty that gives no pace with the backhand. It seems like Barty found another solution around the bashing.

Does anyone know how to poke BG and JY into an opinion?

[stroke]

That an interesting observation Sean. I am not certain either about the type 3 flip parameters on her fh. She certainly does not have the violent flip of Federer or Nadal. One thing I have observed (I think) is when Fed would take on a high fh swinging volley, his fh flip looked less violent, more like what Leyla appears to be doing here. Fed returning serve on fh side maybe another example.

[seano]

Very interesting question. Leyla does have a compact backswing and hits the ball with a straight arm at contact BUT its her flip or dynamic slot that I would question. The flip should occur with the racquet on the outside of the hand with the hand pulling forward and the external shoulder rotation creating the flip. If you look at the forehands at the :15, :19 & :42 marks, it looks like she lays the wrist back before the forward motion of the racquet. Below is another in the series of Leyla's forehand where she shows a drill to keep her backswing short. Would love more input from others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzzCfLbo3xU

Sean

[stroke]

She to me definitely has a type 3 forehand with clear independent arm action, which is a key ingredient of the model type 3 forehand. Great form on that shot. Yes Auturo, yes to me, she is a perfect example in the women's game of the advantages of this type 3 model forehand that BG has spelled out quite quantitatively in his presentations.

[doctorhl]

Compact swing sure seems to allow you to take the ball early and therefore create great direction change with less effort and swing time. However, you have to have good footwork and spacing because the strike zone for a core driven, compact swing seems to be a little smaller than the strike zone of a more arm driven loop swing. No proof, just conjecture, so hopefully the experts will weigh in.

[arturohernandez]

Like everyone else I have been watching Leylah Fernandez. She seems to take the ball very early on both sides. Her forehand is super compact and yet it appears to catch the opponent by surprise. According to US Open.org they cite the following stats for her against Kerber:

"In total, Fernandez hit 213 forehands in the match, 108 creating the same two patterns of play.

1. The forehand crosscourt (60)

2. The forehand down the line (48)

These two patterns forced Kerber into defense on 43 occasions"

I immediately thought about Macci, BG and the type 3 (or ATP) forehand.

It looks like a Type 3 to me but I wanted to get expert opinions.

Here is a link to her forehand (I am not associated with this company. Just not a lot of links out there.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmbFPM7y3-M

If so, is it the type 3 that makes it easier for her to change direction? My thinking is that the compactness allows her to redirect more easily since the racket is taking a shorter path back and a more linear path forward. In a type 1 or 2 forehand the racket has to come around in a circle and so it makes it harder to change the direction of the ball.

So, two questions, Is it a type 3 and if so, is this the reason she can change direction so well?

I see Henin and Federer in that forehand.

Just wondering.