The Double Bend Forehand:
Coming Into Contact

By Jeff Counts

I would like to continue my exploration of the double bend forehand by looking at how top hitters maintain a very solid hitting structure, yet are still able to generate momentum into the ball, as well as make contact well in front of their bodies. (Click Here to see the previous articles.)

Video really helps us here because we need side angles and rear footage angles, slowed down, to see how these top players do this. I will show in this article how they use two motions - torso rotation and a pulling/lifting motion - to generate momentum into the ball and to make contact well in front of the body - without compromising the hitting structure.

I will also show how the sequencing of these events - how one movement following another - creates a chain of movements that lead to power and momentum.

When I first teach the double bend forehand, students frequently complain that it doesn't feel "whippy" or "loose". Players are always looking for "racket head speed" and "whippiness" through the ball, in an effort to hit like an advanced player.

Almost inevitably this attempt results in a break down of the hitting structure. While the racket and arm may feel like they are traveling faster, it is at the expense of the hitting structure. A second result of just "swinging faster" is that the racket quickly gets ahead of the body and comes across the body in a circular motion resulting in very little drive or extension through the ball.

Instead of swinging across and around, pros use different motions to get the racket to the ball. After locking into a double bend hitting structure, they use rotating and lifting motions to move to contact. By rotating and lifting, rather than swinging, the double bend structure remains intact.

After exploring these two motions, I will show how you can develop the feeling of "looseness" or "whippiness." This comes from what I call a "double rotation" into the ball, where the torso rotates first towards the net, followed by a second rotation of the hand and arm, that is, the rotation of double bend hitting structure itself. This double rotation provides momentum into the ball without compromising the hitting structure.

Rotation

The first critical component of using the double bend forehand is torso rotation into the ball. By rotating your torso, you can perfectly maintain the double bend hitting structure while generating angular momentum. This will bring the hitting structure forward to help strike the ball in front of the body.

By rotating your torso, you can initiate a kinetic chain of events where one motion is followed by another. This is the "double rotation," as well see below. For these reasons, top players today always start their forehands by stretching the non-hitting arm across the body. This is what allows with a full upper body rotation coming into the contact.

The double bend forehand requires upper body rotation, aided by the non-hitting arm, to set up the stroke. This will let you rotate your torso into the ball.

Watch these players rotate their torsos into the ball. Rather than "swing the racket" into the ball, the racket moves in part as a result of the movement of the larger double bend structure. The double bend does not get ahead of the rotating upper body, but rotates in harmony with it. In the two clips below, consider how the body serves as an axis around which the double bend hitting structure rotates.

In both clips watch how the the torso rotation brings the double bend up to and through the ball. Rather than "swing the racket" at the ball, these players maintain a hitting structure (the double bend) while the torso rotation powerfully brings the hitting structure to and through the ball.

Pulling/Lifting

If you rotate your torso, the double bend hitting structure will come around, but this is not enough to get the hitting structure all the way in front of the body to the correct contact. The move that really accomplishes this is a pulling/lifting motion where the arm lifts forward. The beauty of this move is that, again, it moves the racket forward without affecting the double bend.

To understand this subtle move, I like to use a bowling analogy. When you bowl a bowling ball, your entire arm lifts upward bringing the arm and ball forward. This same lifting motion occurs on all the groundstrokes, most noticeably with the onehanded backhand where the hitting arm is straight. On straighter armed forehands, like the Nadal forehand, this lifting motion is obvious as well. On the double bend forehand, the same motion occurs, but it is more subtle. First watch two examples of the straight arm lifting motion with Nadal and Srichaphan. Then below, watch how the double bend lifts forward from the same motion.

The lifting of the arm is most obvious on the straight armed forehands.

Watch the upper arm lift on these double bend forehands. This lifting motion lets your bring the entire hitting structure forward.

A "Double Rotation" into the Ball

Today's players are clearly sequencing their movements in a way that transfers energy from one part of the body to the next. We see this in all the strokes. On the forehand I want to focus on one aspect of this process that begins with with the upper body uncoiling. Watch the sequence as the shoulders come forward and open up about 45 degrees to the net. The hitting arm falls into the double bend and the butt cap of the racket gets pointed at the incoming ball. This creates a stretch, or lag, where the body is rotating but double bend lags behind. But after the lag, the hitting structure will then rotate outward to the ball, picking up speed in the process. This is the second rotation.

Let's look closely again at the first rotation into contact. In all the clips below, again watch how the torso rotates and the shoulders open up about 45 degrees to the net. meanwhile, the hitting structure falls and points, butt cap first, at the ball.

The first move of a double rotation. The shoulders open up and the butt cap of the racket points towards the ball. The double bend "lags" behind.

Inside Out - The Second Rotation

Now watch the second rotation. This is the double bend rotating from the "inside out", from closer to the body to the outside and into the ball. So first the shoulders rotate forward and open about 45 degrees towards the net and the double bend "lags behind" as the butt cap of the racket points towards the ball. Now the energy will be passed outwards as the double bend rotates inside out, catching up with the shoulders as they aslo continue to rotate towards the net. In the clips below, watch how the double bend remains intact as it rotates into the ball and "catches up" to the rotating shoulders. Also watch the arrows I drew in the first frame of each clip. The arrow shows how the racket initially moves almost directly to the right (inside out) due to the double bend rotation.

The first move of a double rotation. The shoulders open up and the butt cap of the racket points towards the ball. The double bend "lags" behind.

Putting It All Together

Let's watch the entire forehand sequence, demonstrated by Florent Serra. Watch how he starts his forehand with a complete upper body rotation aided by his left arm extending across his body. Watch how he initiates his forward movement not with the racket, but with the opening, or unwinding, of his shoulders and torso. After opening his shoulders, the butt cap of the racket faces the ball and the double bend "lags" behind. Now the double bend rotates inside out into the ball (and lifts forward for more out in front contact). Through this entire sequence, the double bend, remarkably, keeps its shape. Even Serra's wrist (which can come forward on some balls), remains in a fixed position. The momentum he generates into contact comes from his body storing up and releasing energy, outward, into the ball. Note as well how he finishes with his elbow pointing straight ahead towards the net and elevated. This is a great indication of a full lift and drive through the ball, I discussed in my first article. (Click Here.)

Here is the entire forehand motion into the ball, with one moving leading into the next. Watch the integrity of the double bend hitting structure through this sequence as it rotates "inside out" to contact.

Conclusion

More than ever, momentum into contact is being generated through the storing up and releasing of energy with the body, and through a sequencing of movements. The racket itself plays a largely passive role of connecting the body's unwinding energy into the ball. That is why the double bend structure is so crucial. It is the solid foundation through which the body and ball are connected. This formula is actually the opposite of what lower level players do. Lower level players try to generate speed and momentum through the racket and arm by actively "swinging fast" at the ball. This leads, ironically, to very little power (and frequently to injury).

If you want to hit big, experiment with getting your power from everywhere but the racket itself. Work on coiling and uncoiling your upper body into the ball. Work on sequencing your movements so that you first open your shoulders as you lower the double bend and get the butt cap of the racket pointed at the incoming ball. Follow this with an inside out motion into contact.

This "double rotation" forehand will take the core energy from your center and pass it outwards into the the ball. Racket head speed will take care of itself if you do this correctly. Rather than actively, or forcefully, swinging the racket, you must trust that these larger rotating forces will automatically lead to momentum into contact. And most importantly, by rotating and lifting, rather than swinging, you will preserve a hitting structure throughout the stroke. This hitting structure will allow you to powerfully drive through and up the ball.