Your Strokes:
Gavin Rossdale Forehand

Analyzed by John Yandell

This month we look at the forehand of avid LA tennis player Gavin Rossdale. I met Gavin because he hits every week with my old friend, Wade McGuire, an independent LA teaching pro, former tour player, and All American Georgia Bulldog in his college days.

Wade asked if I'd film Gavin, particularly his forehand, and I agreed. And yes, if he looks familiar, you may have seen him sitting in the friends box at Wimbledon with his wife, Gwen Stefani, right there next to their friend, Mirka Federer. In addition to his incredible passion for tennis, Gavin happens to be a full time rock star (Click Here), but the thing that impressed me most was how down to earth and humble he was. Not to mention he got off some good jokes. That always helps lighten the mood during video analysis!

Afterwards, Gavin was kind enough to send me his recent solo CD, and I have to say my favorite lines are from a song called Beauty in the Beast:

Check out his music when you have time, but I digress. So let's get back to what matters here, his forehand. Working with Gavin was particularly interesting because it was a window into the complex possible variations on the forehand for high level recreational players--and the difficulties of knowing what variation to hit when.

Right from the start, Gavin showed he could hit a pro style heavy wiper forehand. He also had a technically sound reverse forehand. (For more on the Reverse, Click Here.) His problem though was something more basic--hitting a hard, relatively flat drive to pressure opponents and/or finish points when the opportunity presented. He tended to play way back in the court and loop most balls with topspin using the wiper, regardless of the situation.

One huge plus in his forehand was his exceptional turn. His motion began with a compact unit turn, and he stretched his left arm beautifully across his body. (Click Here for more on this critical element.)

Releasing Energy

The problem was releasing this energy into the stroke when he had a chance to go for it. When we looked at the video of his forward swing, we saw two things. First the contact point tended to be very low. Second, it was also pushed too far back and was also somewhat jammed in toward his body.

From this position, you could see why Gavin relied so heavily on the wiper--he had to get the ball up and down from a difficult ball position, and without the leverage normally associated with a strong hitting arm or contact position.

We've see in our analysis of the pro finishes that it is possible to hit with great extension and still use a heavy wiper motion. (Click Here.) My feeling though was that Gavin first needed to develop a more traditional followthrough, with the racket more on edge and less wiper action if he wanted that hard drive.

This needed to be combined with a better feeling for the contact. And that in turn required an improved hitting arm position, with a more pronounced double bend shape.

When Less Can Be More

I felt Gavin definitely had the racket head speed to do some damage if we could tweak these elements so his swing would travel more along the line of his intended shot. So as much as Gavin and Wade and myself all agreed that we loved Roger, the king of the wiper, we decided to work on the simpler model to bring out the elements we wanted.

Once he could drive the ball from a better contact point with a more extended finish he could reintroduce more wiper when appropriate. The reality was, however, that he didn't need the wiper in many situations. He was getting plenty of balls he could hit in his strike zone at around waist level, without having to go up in the air and/or make higher contact, two factors usually associated with more wiper action.

So we looked at some on edge finishes hit by players like Andre Agassi and Tim Henman. We worked on establishing a strong double bend position--making contact with the hitting arm more in front and at around waist level for optimum leverage. We also worked on the spacing on his finish with a couple of core checkpoints: wrist at around eye level, and 2 feet or more distance between his racket hand and his left shoulder.

I showed Gavin video of these basic positions from Agassi and Henman, then I had him model the motion physically. Next I had him visualize the motion and the key checkpoints. Finally, he had to do model practice swings with his eyes closed according to the checkpoints.

Now with his eyes open and focused on the ball, I told him to visualize the checkpoints as a kind of mental blueprint. I have found through repeated experience that this process of using your mind's eye is what allows players to make physical changes in the shape of their motions, without thinking about it consciously and risking paralysis by verbal analysis.

Huge Results

The result was huge. Gavin was able to move in, raise his contact height, and hit through the ball on a more direct line. You could see it in the trajectory of his ball, which was now clearing the net by 2 or 3 feet instead of 6 or 8. His ball had more pace, still had depth, and most interestingly, he felt he was working half as hard. (For Robert Lansdorp's views of trajectory and net clearance, Click Here for his current article on the Academy Ball and the Pro Drive.)

Related to these same issues, we also worked on Gavin's stance. Gavin had a great feel for hitting open stance, and he could also rotate his shoulders through the shot using the more extreme pro model. (Click Here for my article on shoulder rotation.) But again, I questioned whether this was the way to go on medium to fast paced drives that were in his strike zone.

So we looked at video of Agassi stepping directly forward into the line of the shot, keeping the double bend structure in tact, and making that gorgeous extended finish, racket on edge with great spacing between the hand and the torso. Notice also at the finish how Agassi's shoulders are parallel to the net--great shoulder rotation, but not the same extreme motion you see on so many pro balls.

Confidence and Weapons

Again Gavin used this as his model, taking a neutral step forward along the line of his intended shot, and reducing his shoulder rotation to around 90 degrees or a little more. This further cemented the other positive changes. It actually made it easier for him to sustain his improved contact point, keep the double bend configuration, and make the model finish point.

This change was also important when the ball was short. Gavin was so conditioned to the open stance, that on shorter balls, he would often take unnecessary additional steps in order to hit open. With his new feel for the neutral stance, he was able to take the natural step forward on these balls the way all top players do, and still keep his improved technical elements in place.

The change to a drive forehand Gavin made actually mirrors a story Lansdorp tells in his article this month about a young player with a high loopy forehand. On the backhand side the kid could hit low lasers and was very consistent. The same was true with Gavin. He had a very natural two-hander that he could hit with pace and consistency. You could see his increased racket head speed on that side compared to his forehand, and feel the difference in his confidence just by watching.

This type of disparity can be such a critical factor. When a player feels there is a big difference between one side or the other, it can affect the entire picture when you walk on the court. That's why I'm sure that sticking with these changes is going to make a difference in his results when Gavin plays in those big Pro Ams. If he keeps going he may have to rethink about whether he should play the forehand or the backhand side, because his forehand is on the verge of becoming a weapon.