Tennis Lessons - The Forehand - Follow-through & Finish
Let s finish up the forehand lesson from the other day by concentrating on the follow through and finish.
Once you have found the correct preparation position we talked about previously it is imperative that the wrist and elbow are locked in position; the wrist should be laid slightly back whilst the upper and lower arm should form an approximate 90 degree angle with each other. Once the swing has reached its maximum extension, the butt of your tennis racket should be pointing at your opponent. The 90 degree angle should be held until the point of contact and well beyond in order to steady the racket head as impact is made with the tennis ball. To properly maintain this locked position it is useful to let the butt lead the strings , this means that the butt of the handle and the heel of your hand should feel as though they are combining to pull the racquet head through the contact point and on into the follow through.
Speaking of contact points you must make sure you hit out in front. I cannot emphasize this point enough; it s so simple but yet so often over-looked. One time about five years ago my forehand went off the boil and my ranking slipped. I practiced and practiced but still it wasn t going for me then the coach I was working with at the time (some of you might remember him if you re British Chris Wilkinson) told me to concentrate on hitting out in front. The transformation was amazing and I got my old forehand back! I have lots more to say on contact points but I won t go into depth with that here just do the right thing and hit in front.
It is common to see improper movement of the non-hitting arm in amateur play. I spoke a little of this in the last article, don t neglect this other arm, it has the role of pace car to the hitting arm s role of race car , they should work in harmony with one another. All of the top pros have well synchronized arms from start to finish but I ve seen so amateurs unaware of their non-hitting arm. I ve seen it all from dropping like a lead weight to flying up in the air, or (I especially see this one!) scissoring across the body having started too far to the left (for a right hander), and many more comedy moments! These movements all effect balance and cause the racket to be out of sync with the body s elastic momentum.
Make sure you follow all the way through, hit right through that ball a massive part of the stroke is the bit after you ve made contact, drive the racket head well beyond the impact point. Players who don t do this are often prone to wristy errors, the above method stops these; increasing both power and consistency.
Take all this information on board and get out there to practice! The only thing stopping you from having a great forehand that opponents fear is yourself. Concentrate on flowing through the shot using all of your kinetic energy and watch that timing!
By: 6-0tennis.com
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Darren at www.6-0tennis.com is a former top 20 British player who travelled extensively on the professional tour for several years. He has trained and played against some of the most famous names in the industry and continues to help players of all ages and abilities reach their potential. He is a PTR Professional coach and also holds the NLP Master Trainer certification.
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