Something important to my judgment is how still & focused on the ball his head & eyes are - even after contact. Many parts of his body are in motion - but not his head. Too often I prematurely pull my head up - wanting to see - which throws my stroke off. Enjoyed the video.
Dead on accurate observation. Some pros lose the ball a couple feet before it hits the strings. Federer's eyes seem to tract to the strings. His head remains pointed toward the impact even after he has hit the ball and is in follow though . I think this is very important to note. His ability to track the ball to string contact is far superior to most tennis players.
Hello it is wonderful video. As a tennis instructor I have a bit different opinion. When I teach students, actually i do teach this techniqe right off the start. if you know the concepts it's not that difficult and actually it is very important to have. 1) I teach them unit turn. keep the right hand on the racket longer. 2) Second, i tell them make sure pull the racket as you hit the ball... I do not really focus on keeping racket face down part. it is bit complicated... instead after they have done the unit turn , i tell them to "pull" the handle first or if they don't get it then, i tell them to hit through the ball... or have long follow through, this help them to start the handle first. I would say it is very very important to tell the student that you must start with handle first before wiper swing or close the door nab action comes. 3) once racket handle goes toward the tennis and i tell my student. Just before you hit the ball "close the door nab" or make rainbow shape and there you have it....... it is not difficult to teach if you really know what is really happening here.. a lot of people focus on just wiper and wiper and wrist and all fail because they do not have handle first motion and which you can see Roger does it beutifully... You can see his handle goes toward tennis ball before wrist show up..... This is one of the reason why many instructors try to teach good follow through and not focus on wrist. And yes it is safer way but without the wrist, you will never get great racket head speed or spin. Actually it took me while to figure out this but Roger's swing has classic swing and at the end he close the door nab for heavy spin. Actually if you compare Sharapova and Roger's swing. Just before the contact, their swing is very very similar. I mean sharapova does not keep the racket face down but their handle goes to ball first and then we will see different finish because sharapova hit more flatter which cause her to finish over the shoulder more.
flatballrule yeeeees I just got it yeeeeessssssss ;-) U nail it for me...Yes Yes Yes U are a great teacher, I*ve been frustrated for moth trying to do it....hours and hours at the wall Videos and videos hours and hours.... After I read ur text I clicked I took the stick and i just came like a flash.....man ...there is no hitting is just a beautiful swing ....drive through ;-) Thanks a million U r the man ;-)
H Florian, I struggled to find my FH for last few yrs, finally with the help of wall, I was able to generate the type of power I ever wanted. Then I looked at this video. I had replicated quite closer to what Roger is doing and the way you were explaining. I agree, it took me few weeks to generate a clean stroke without framing. Basically the unit turn and wrist snap does the job for me.
Great job Florian.. I couldn't agree more, most players, a d even our most advanced juniors sruggle trying to copy wrist wip of Federer's forehand. It's a thing of beauty and worth looking at over and over and over and I'm glad you posted this analysis because the rest of his forehand is solid fundamentals. Federer broke the mold and we all get to watch History every time he plays 😁
For us recreational players, lots of good fundamentals. What I find exceptional in all videos of Roger Federer is the focus of his eyes before, during and immediately after contact... he stays with the point of contact for a split second. No matter what stroke I am working to improve, this extended focus on the ball has reduced the learning time considerably, allowing me to try more advanced techniques.
You make a great point about Federer's eyes. He always looks the ball right into the strings. I see photos of many other players and they are looking 2-3 feet ahead as the racket hits the ball. One reasons why he's one of if not the best ever and they aren't.
I agree. Keep it simple for beginners. You can notice that there is almost no lag when Roger hits the very first few shots in his warm-up. His wrist is always relaxed, but if he swings much slower the lag just doesn't happen. The lag will automatically happen when he swings faster (more acceleration) and that force overcomes his relaxed wrist (F=ma). Just relax your wrist, and this may happen on its own.
I think that the best and simplest explanation is the one on Top Speed Tennis. It is like turning a door knob. First, turn the door knob to the left, then turn it to right (what Florian calls "dropping the racket" which causes the racket to be lower and behind the wrist) and then as the arm moves forward from the shoulder, releasing the tension, first in the elbow as it straightens followed by the forehand and wrist allowing the door knob to naturally turn again to the left as the racket moves thru the point of contact and on thru the follow thru. It is very similar to the pronation on the serve and like on the serve, it gives tremendous racket speed at the point of impact. I think that everyone should be taught pronation on the serve and this same forehand and wrist movement on the forehand. It is the natural way to throw a football, baseball, javelin etc.
William Danks I'm not a fan of "Top Speed Tennis". I don't think he is a high level player, by the way. He teaches what he sees from the Pro's. But the movements you see, some of them are not "forced" to happen. "Feel Tennis Instruction" explains this really well.
+William Danks Actually what is really interesting is that many of the biggest serves use slight supination, then pronation on the serve. It's not taught but what happens, yes, is similar. The lag in late cocking (biomechanically speaking), as the body drives upwards, the racquet in the best serves tend to stay downwards still with the butt facing the ball above the head. As the left arm drops the right side cartwheels upwards. But the best serves actually are able to have hyperflexibility and the racquets comes outwards (not from behind the back) from over the right hip. It is a few degrees of supination with high valgus stress on elbow (elbow extends at 982 deg/s, maybe more) and then turns back in.
+Widmer09 Continuing...I mentioned this to a few coaches and players and everyone tried it out. So the slight supination to pronation, people feel maybe you can get 3-5 mph bigger serve. Like Andy Roddick did.
I absolutely agree. Keep the wrist firm first, & learn to drive the ball using the legs > trunk > arm. Tennis shots are complicated. Get the fundamentals down. Then move on. I suppose those that are coordinated enough will figure it out eventually, however many kids/rec players could benefit from the simplification at first. Whenever I start to spray shots, I instinctively back off the wrist snap & my shots aim more true. I see so many who only know how to hit w wrist snap, it's just crazy. Some coach heard me suggest a firm wrist at first & thought I was crazy. I'm not against wrist. It should be added maybe after a year, when one gets a feel of how much to add for precise added "pop" & especially spin.
It's A LOT easier than everybody thinks. There just isn't anybody explaining it correctly, so let me do it for you. Yes you will frame it a lot if you are too aggressive with this concept at first, but if you do it slowly and with a lot of shadow strokes at home you will progress quickly. The key to the whole process is the buttcap. BUTTCAP, BUTTCAP, BUTTCAP! Sorry about yelling about the buttcap, but it is the secret to almost all your strokes and you need to pound this into your head everyday. A very good exercise to do is to get your racquet and practice guiding it around in a figure 8 motion WITH THE BUTTCAP pointed in the direction to which the racquet is going. Starting with the racquet in front of you, then moving it to the side and back with the unit turn described in these videos start a figure 8 going back and then down, then forward and up through the contact then around and down at the finish, and then back past the ready position to the side and back down again and continue this figure 8 all the while making sure to go through the forehand motion at the contact spot. Do this figure 8 over and over without stopping using the feel of the BUTTCAP to guide the racquet around. You have to remember the buttcap does the driving. Let the wrist be as loose as possible without letting the racquet get out of your control as to not cause to many framers once you start hitting dropped balls. The better you get the more advanced the looseness of the wrist gets. ALL swinging motions whether it be a baseball bat, a golf club, a serve, a volley, ALL swinging motions are generated from the BUTTCAP and how you guide it. Also how you "let, not force" it to take that energy and transfer it from the buttcap out to the tip of the racquet, baseball bat or golf club. Just remember the buttcap is like a light showing your racquet which way to follow. Also another key to hitting good ground strokes is to try and drive the buttcap cap toward the contact spot as long as possible to allow yourself to hit the ball out front as much as possible. The further the better just as long as you're not over doing it. Buttcapp and out front are THE two most important parts of a GREAT ground stroke no matter what anyone else says.
I've been playing tennis for about 20 years. In those years, I took some lessons. But I couldn't quite seem to be comfortable with any considerable progress. Just recently ...I have discovered how important this is... "Let...not force " the shot making or serve. Man...I wish you would've been around 20 years ago.
I have a daughter that I have been teaching for 9 years. The first three years I payed and payed and payed for many a lesson until one day I asked the third or forth coach that we went through when she was going to teach my daughter to put topspin on the ball. What she said next changed my view of coaches forever. We had been paying for three lessons a week for nine months to that coach and her response to my question was with another question, "What, she's not?" I knew from the first day that my daughter was not putting topspin on the ball and I wasn't sure I would teach her the right way so I went to club and used the coach they assigned us. Each and every day I would tell myself she's the pro and she just has to get through the other steps before she got to the topspin part, but when she hadn't noticed for 9 months my daughter didn't have topspin on her ball I knew I was in trouble. I knew then and there I was on my own and from that day forward I spent every free moment I had to teach myself how to teach her, because after all it's just a job to them. Now I see these You Tube coaches popping up everywhere and what a joke. The only two I have found that really understands the game(the correct way) and is willing to spend his time to teach the correct way is Tom Allsopp and Kevin Garlington.
Good analysis, except for part 3, where I think Federer's back swing and wristplay concept hasn't been fully understood. In fact I am convinced that Federer doesn't forcefully use his wrist and that in contrary everything is done by swing (that would explain also his very high precision). Compared to earlier forehand stars in Tennis like Lendl and Borg, what immediately struck me is that Federer's back swing is fairly slow if not relaxed, but then the acceleration back to the front end is explosive (a multiple times faster than the rear swing). At the back end of the rear swing, the abrupt acceleration in the opposite direction, generates a lot of inertia in the head of the tennis racquet (lag). Hence this extremely open wrist angle (and tension) at the back end of the back swing where the racket head lags diagonally behind Roger for a split second. What happens then is that due to the release of the energy potential from the tension (caused by the explosive acceleration of his underarm back to the front end) the wrist snaps back. The racket head needs to catch up with the underarm and hence is moving significantly faster. There exactly I see the extra energy potential. The beauty of it: no forceful wrist play the way it is being taught (unfortunately) in many places these days. It's all swing and the racket is finding its way all alone. As a result Federer can achieve more powerful hits, more spin, better precision while burning less energy. I am convinced Federer's forehand is all about footwork, upper body movement, timing and swing. And yes, why not teach Federer's technique to kids? Much better IMHO than teaching them using their wrist.
To put it in simple terms you are right but this is how I would explain it. The swing of the racket post contact is created by the elbow joint being bent which allows the racket to come to the other side of Roger. The wrist does play a role in making sure the strings start to roll above the ball but it is not forceful just merely a guide.
Tony Sekvenc Yes, but you can get a static lag with a locked wrist which will give you at least the 90-degree angle at contact point. Fed's is what I would call a *dynamic lag*.. Dimitrov and many others on the ATP tour use this technique.
Good Morning! So great this vídeo for me. I have more problems with forehand than back hand. I am not a good player. But when I make a rotatition movement in forehand , I do better strokes. But I do not turn the head of the racket to the left. It reachs almost 90 degrees with the base line. Otherwise, some coaches use to correct me to hit the ball with the racket parallel to the floor. And when I try to do that, i make more mistakes than usual, I notice in this video that Federer hits the ball with the head of the racket lightly to the floor. Only when the ball is high he reachs with the head parallel to the floor. I will not more try to correct this point. And I will also try to do the rotation more to the left. I lurned to do it near to my back leg. I wil try to improove. If i get no success, I return to how i did before. I really do like this channel. Thanks for the tips!
From my observations, it's all the points you mention. Federer, Nadal and Verdasco have a different type of forehand to all the other players, signaled by the straight-arm contact. This is called the slingshot forehand. Of these players, Fed is the best ball striker because his takeback and consequently his follow-through is most efficient, resulting in highest overall precision and versatility of shot. Verd muscles the follow through, and Nad hits flat shots less cleanly.
What many think is the wrist moving is actually forearm pronation. Try this : Grab slightly above your wrist with your left hand very tightly and see how little movement the hand/wrist has without the forearm helping.
When i started using a head lighter head racket, i got much more racket head speed using this wrist. You can see a video of me playing on my channel, try to see it in slow motion, the quality is not good, but visible
I highly disagree that us average players should not attempt to get the lag. It is not a pre stretch of the forearm muscles it is a relaxed wrist that allows the racquet face to continue traveling back when the arm is rotated forward and then Isaac Newton law the face sling shots (whips) back. It does not take incredible athleticism. I can teach average 14 year olds to do this. The entire ATP tour is doing this. I do this. Amateurs do not need to bring the racquet as high as Federer and the other pros, bring it back at 45 degrees instead of straight up at 90- like the pros. Then if your timing is not as good as the pros you can quickly get the lag and the racquet on the ball no matter how far your arm went back. Timing has to be perfect for the ATP forehand. The drop is not as important as the lag. Its nice to have but the lag is making that racquet accelerate. But should little kids do this - maybe not - the momentum of the racquet face makes your wrist lay back more then you can make it go on its own. What does this do to little kids in the long term?
Yes I agree with that to a point. Most of the kids I am converting are already advanced. The too advanced older kids can not convert because they can not afford to play bad for several months. Some kids that I really don't want trying to do this want to anyway because they watch the ATP on TV, youtube, and other students that do it well. It becomes a personal thing if I teach player A the ATP forehand and player B a simpler forehand that does not generate as much racquet speed. It is a simple matter to convert them back to straight back without a lag if they are a disaster for too long. If a kid does not come out everyday to practice I will not teach them this. My main point is this is not that hard. It is not as complicated as we are making it. I will divulge how I teach it for anyone that is contemplating learning this. I start out with a 30 inch wood dowel from home depot and have them do shadow swings with that, feeling the lag, like using a whip or snapping a rolled up towel. I have them hit balls or try to with the stick. Then I drop balls for them to hit with their racquet, a full bucket one at a time. When they are good with that it becomes just a matter of timing. I go farther back and use quick start balls. The teacher has to be able to do this in order to effectively teach the students how to do this. Our motto is "it is okay to S%ck for a few months".
hello je ne suis pas d'accord , il n'y a que lorsque le poiqgnet est completement a 90 degres , en etirant les flechisseurs de l'avant bras que l'on peut profiter de leurs elasticité au maximum lors du debut de retour, en dessous de 90 degres, impossible et on perd : 1 de la distance d'acceleration 2 d'un debut d'acceleration , beaucoup plus rapide immediat, Au final on perd 30 % De vitesse a l'impact c'est trop , et les joueurs se mettent a forcer , pour compenser cette perte . il est tres possible de faire sentir ca chez la plupart des jeunes , car il est tres difficile de changer , plus tard une mauvaise habitude prise tres tot . Bye from Normandie it 's the same thing in the base ball,and differents sports. l'elasticité des muscles du corps est magique , bien uilisée, aux resultats etonnant d'efficacité....
+imateapot51 good comments and then some not quite. There is a pre-stretch of the extensor muscles. Actually Vic Braden pointed this out about 25+ years ago with Andre Agassi who was the first modern baseliner. Second, yes, the wrist is more relaxed in the modern forehand as opposed to classic loop. Because the wrist is in a downward position, it is more relaxed. Just like the serve or overhead where the palm down position promotes a whippier action. Basically the modern forehand is the classic loop but angled 90 degrees (the loop is lateral as opposed to vertical). But the modern forehand advantage is greater extensor muscle pre-stretch where the older loop relied on ulna to radial deviation. You still see that on the modern backhands where players often break the dominant wrist to increase racquet head drop or closing. The non-dominant hand then also goes into a ulna-radial deviation movement. So it's not as radically different as some people think and a natural progression to hitting harder. And yes, you can teach kids at age 8-10 who have at least a year of playing how to slightly close the racquet face. When they are 11-12 or so, they can use almost the modern ATP forehand. At age 10-11, it is a bit difficult but slightly closed racquet face is easy. Rather than a classic C loop, the modern forehand is more a boot-like or J swing as the racquet drops faster in loading (early cocking, if we compare biomechanically to the serve or pitching) or backswing. And as you say, yes, it can be massive...I had a 13 year old with the biggest forehand in the section (as big as the best 15-16 year olds) at around 95 mph (and he was average size). But he exaggerated the wrist relaxation and had even a bigger flat loop or lag than Federer or Nadal. I honestly didn't like (thought it somewhat extreme) and tried to get him to change. Of course, he has some wrist problems. I don't see him anymore since he moved and probably training at Forest Hills and NTC. Wrist injuries are rare still but I think amount to 3% of injuries among juniors, but you consider it was less than 2% maybe 5 years ago which means it might have doubled.
+imateapot51 Also, timing is actually easier than the classic loop! People don't realize that is one reason which is why the top players use the ATP forehand. The most consistent players use this type of forehand (as opposed to a Maria Sharapova who uses a classic loop). The concept has been around for 25-30 years, maybe longer since Agassi had it when he was young. But why it is actually more consistent? Besides the extra topspin. People will say it's more erratic but that's if you teach it incorrectly to lag and close the racquet face...the emphasis is on the wrong idea. The strong point is really the length of the contact zone. It's why Djokovic and Murray's return of serve is so good. Murray doesn't loop, he simply drops the racquet face into the cocking position and pulls the racquet linearly, lag and whip. It's a concise movement that allows a long contact zone. The classic loop actually takes the racquet farther away from the contact zone. Hence, it is likely to miss! Hard for people to understand since it seems that the closed racquet face gives more than enough problems. But just look at how long Federer's racquet stays within the hitting zone. He doesn't need to bring the racquet up and then down and then change the racquet face position by much. Compare that to the even older junior loop which was played back 30+ years old, was still popular 15 years ago...and still played today. Many young players (u14) have joint hypermobility and it's quite easy to take a bigger loop which compensates for lack of strength. Hence they take a huge loop, where the racquet face opens up high above the head and then drops back with the hitting face parallel to back fence. You have to wonder how do they make contact?? That's due to joint hypermobility and lack of strength so the child tries to make the loop bigger. Brian Gordon chose to separate the strokes into 3 classes and you can actually see evolution of a player who often starts with the over extended C loop, moving to a vertical ("WTA") loop and finally to a closed loop.
Thanks for sharing - very nice analysis though there are some other subtle things to make his shots so great and so hard to copy. Some viewers seem to complain this is too advanced to show and don't understand this is not meant for beginners. They should look elsewhere for basic forehand videos. While many of club players aren't able to copy this technique 100% but this analysis is very inspiring and would help some intermediate players to blend part of his routine into their own style so the videos are still helping a large segment of players in the global tennis community. Keep up the good work!
Roger generates a lot of topsin in a different way that most players do. Most players do it by using extreme grips and with more vertical movements, brushing the ball. Roger on another hand, hits more through the ball with a flatter trajectory and a more conservative Eastern grip. His topspin relies more on racquet speed and wrist control (probably the reason why he always used heavy Head Light racquets). It's unusual but beautiful to watch.
stays sideways, racquet head point straight while taking back, then the butt point at the ball, left hand on standby, use wrist not elbow to generate topspin, and most important of all practice practice practice. Watch kyrios forehand since both are similar in concept but kryios's is easier to study.
Look at the forehands of Nadal, Federer and Del Potro. Different, big but one common thread, the straight arm at contact, though perhaps Del Potro probably gets some of his power from his sheer size. Now look at some less famous forehands such as Novak, Roddick or Hewitt (all of which hold or held the #1 ATP spot at some time). Elbow bent at contact. I believe the bent elbow is absorbing some of the power generated by the core that otherwise would have ended up in the racquet head.
at this stage the wrist is loose or dead. or is carried on the strength of the muscles. The videos are good-natured. en esta etapa la muñeca esta suelta o muerta. o es llevada con la fuerza de los musculos. Los videos estan buenazos.
I think we're not forced to choose between common fundamentals and Federer's technique. Who says you can't have two or more drive forehands? You can learn them as separate concepts. Plenty of people are 'physically intelligent' enough to accomodate more than one concept in their minds and bodies. One of the greatest dangers is becoming one-dimensional and readable. If you can learn more shots off one wing you'll keep the opponent guessing.
Thanks for the instruction. However I think you fail to mention the upper body rotation that takes place asRoger swings the racquet forward to make contact with the ball.
Thanks dear sir,appreciated your kind response,I motivate,encourage ans inspire people to believe in yourself,trust your inner divinity latent..express it by action..Yes,i am your student,i got the best explanation i was looking for .regards virendra dr
The atp forehand is generally complex and difficult to learn for older players..thats why you don't see many older club level players with modern topspin fhs
why we shouldn't copy it because we're recreational players? Then what should we do first? Its not like forbidden right? Is there other way around before getting into this?
Hi, Florian: Regarding the Federer's "wrist lag" : is this due to his voluntarily cocking his wrist backward or is his wrist passively being thrown backward by the aggressive unwinding of his hips? Personally, I suspect it is the latter. One of the issues regarding squaring the racquet face on contact is whether, like Federer you rotate the string bed to point straight down (racquet face in a horizontal position) or keep a more traditional orientation. It seems to me that placing the string bed in a horizontal position would require an additional adjustment to square the racquet face on contact (the other adjustment being the recovery of the "wrist lag" into a more neutral wrist position.
Something not emphasized enough I think is the movement of the hand outward (and forward). Look at the running forehand at 2:05 and where the hand is relative to the knee. Waay behind. And while the knee is moving forward into open stance, the hand is at far right of the knee at contact. Generally, I think coaches do not emphasize cause and effect enough. It too much what the racquet does and not why it does it.
yeah why do you show this if we cant use it? and so true i tried this and i was hitting the ball with the border of by rackett all the time :)...so yes this requieres so much coordination that i would need years to get it :)
do not discourage .any body any time can learn great strokes.its simple ..practice..more practice.amd millions times shadow practice to make it instinctive t
I don't think learning Roger's forehand technique, which is textbook form, is parallel to teaching a fade away jump shot in basketball. learning proper groundstroke technique is more like learning proper jump shot technique, both fundamental lessons of each respective game. of course it's going to be complex to a beginner, but it's fundamental nonetheless
Also, we get to deal with balls that are much easier than what Roger has to face. So even if we learn a half-paced version of his technique, we'll reap plenty of reward from it.
What are you talking about not attempting the wrist flick action? I do this naturally even though I'm play recreationally and at the beginner level. You have to do this whether or not you like it otherwise you won't even be able to have enough power to hit the ball over the net..
I dont think dont do it... That is easy to learn if you learn only whit the wrist and hand... ONly whit wrist and. Hand.. Put raquet Looking up and then with a relaxed wrist, let the racket brush back and then use the kinetic energy forward. This exercise on the wall. Improves coordination and hit accuracy
You are wrong about the wrist. It is just a natural movement. Take a racket between your two/three fingers, try to make a forehand swing and you'll see that it's automatic
...in effect you are telling any 3.5+ to keep playing stiff for rest of their lives, overcontroling shots and never know what it feels like to hit more effortlessly. Let them frame shots until they figure through feel how not to frame. Not to have wrist as free as possible is not natural, which is not same as forcing it...
At occasions when Roger's racquet head pointing to the left is simply a result of Roger's body moving to the right and his extremely loose wrist. For average amateur players, I think there mainly two key points for a good forehand: loose wrist; hip and core rotation to initiate and actuate swing (compared to arming the ball). The rest is timing which is only attainable through practice.
Good analysis, except it would be more effective if you let audience knows the logic and theory of it, so that they know what to do at different point in time. His preparation position and point right and etc are irrelevant, because Roger might be aiming at certain angle down the court. Different angle, different spin and contacting point as well as target will result in you approaching to hit the ball differently. I am just saying more effective to let them know the theory.
ultra important , pas expliqueé ds la video ; il faut savoir utiliser , l'elasticité des muscles de l'avant bras , avec un relachement maximum a 90 degres , de la raquette . 1 er avantage , on profite d'une acceleration angulaire maximum source de vitesse optimale..grace a la distance d'acceleration maximale . 2eme avantage, relacher au maximum en arriere on peut profiter en tout avantage de l'elasticité des muscles , qui vont amorcer le retour angulaire , ainsi les muscles de l'avant bras sont moins solicités en hyper etirement, car a ce moment qu'ils sont le moins efficaces, et la contraction prend le relais immediatement apres le debut de retour................au final acceleration ultra rapide , et donc grande vitesse a l'impact .. Bref le coup parfait , rien que ça ...avec le coude en arrriere du plan d'acceleration comme butée naturelle , le levier le plus rigide que l'on puisse faire , bras ,avant bras. ..
En gros tu parles d'un coup de fouet des muscles proches du coude une fraction de seconde avant l'impact? C'est très difficile de générer la bonne puissance avec ma prise plutôt ouverte comme celle de federer... Et je n'arrive pas à le faire sans que mon geste ne soit pas court ( qui ne fait donc pas avancer la balle avec une bonne explosion )
+marseille007nm ça ne vient pas de la prise , en aucun cas , mais plus probablement et classiquement , d'une hyper extension , insuffisante, qui ne génère aucun retour, élastique , en début d'accélération comme en 2'18 sur la video avec la flèche bleue qui indique parfaitement de le coté dynamique + une amplitude plus faible , donc distance d'accélération bcp plus faible , résultat , peu de vitesse , et donc peut d'énergie transmise a la balle .... c'est hyper extension est , primordiale , , elle peut être réalisée avec n'importe quelle prise , plus ou moins fermée, l'avantage de la prise ouverte ,eastern, est que le coude se situe parfaitement ds le plan d'acceleration , du bras , ce qui implique , une meilleurs transmission d'energie de ce levier , plus rigide , qu'avec une prise fermée , rien de plus . Ajoutons a cela , une frappe de balle le plus loin devant soi, pour bénéficier , a l'impact de la vitesse la plus rapide de la tète de raquette ,c'est aussi hyper important , pour récupérer le maximum d'énergie fournie.. la seule difficulté et pas des moindre , est de bien timer , cette chaine cinétique , avec prise de balle , loin devant ..60 a 70 cm devant la ligne d'épaule . Avec l'entrainement , l"hyper extension va devenir de plus en plus importante , grâce a une plus grande laxité des fléchisseurs du poignets qui vont gagner en étirement , chez fed , c'est au delà de 90 degrés .donc encore plus d'accélération . Bien réalisé , apres des heure d'entrainement , le résultat est très perceptible , jusqu'à devenir automatique .....très utile pour accélérer entre autre des balles très lentes et surprendre l'adversaire ..et surtout aussi , dépenser le minimum d'énergie physique ..moins de fatigue musculaire, moins de blessures etc...tout a y gagner .. c'est la clé du tennis moderne , moins visible ds le tennis féminin. ----------------------------------------
+macvv21 au fait le coup droit dont tu parles à 2'18 qui génere peu de vitesse c'est finalement le meilleur coup qu'il peut faire puisqu'il est au bout de son déplacement et doit frapper la balle au plus vite et puisque comme tu dis il est ''automatique'' et agencé à cette faible vitesse (gain de précision) il nous sort un coup droit long de ligne probablement chirurgical??
Very good analysis, but you are underestimating your audience by saying not to copy Federer's forehand and you are selling yourself short by assuming that only recreational players are watching your video. My daughter who us 9 yrs old copied this forehand in 2 yrs but others may do it in shorter time. Thank you.
This is not actually true. Sometimes he swings the left leg forward rather than the right leg backward. Look at this: ua-cam.com/video/ZjOWb7e4znc/v-deo.html (ca. 0:20 to 0:30)
All these wannabe noob armchair analysts and fed imitators have no idea how complex pro tennis strokes are. If it is as easy to copy it as they make it sound then everyone and their grandma would be open level by now. The reality is that no one has ever been able to successfully copy Federer's or Nadal's forehand yet, there are literally thousands of tennis professionals, coaches and analysts like Florian all over the world who do it for a living everyday with decades of professional training and experience yet they still cant copy it. So what makes them think any chubby hack who just picked up a racket for the first time in the last few years could just copy it by watching a couple youtube videos? Just stick to the fundamentals.
I think we're not forced to choose between common fundamentals and Federer's technique. Who says you can't have two or more drive forehands? You can learn them as separate concepts. Plenty of people are 'physically intelligent' enough to accomodate more than one concept in their minds and bodies. One of the greatest dangers is becoming one-dimensional and readable. If you can learn more shots off one wing you'll keep the opponent guessing.
Something important to my judgment is how still & focused on the ball his head & eyes are - even after contact. Many parts of his body are in motion - but not his head. Too often I prematurely pull my head up - wanting to see - which throws my stroke off. Enjoyed the video.
Dead on accurate observation. Some pros lose the ball a couple feet before it hits the strings. Federer's eyes seem to tract to the strings. His head remains pointed toward the impact even after he has hit the ball and is in follow though . I think this is very important to note. His ability to track the ball to string contact is far superior to most tennis players.
Hello it is wonderful video. As a tennis instructor I have a bit different opinion. When I teach students, actually i do teach this techniqe right off the start. if you know the concepts it's not that difficult and actually it is very important to have.
1) I teach them unit turn. keep the right hand on the racket longer.
2) Second, i tell them make sure pull the racket as you hit the ball... I do not really focus on keeping racket face down part. it is bit complicated... instead after they have done the unit turn , i tell them to "pull" the handle first or if they don't get it then, i tell them to hit through the ball... or have long follow through, this help them to start the handle first.
I would say it is very very important to tell the student that you must start with handle first before wiper swing or close the door nab action comes.
3) once racket handle goes toward the tennis and i tell my student. Just before you hit the ball "close the door nab" or make rainbow shape
and there you have it....... it is not difficult to teach if you really know what is really happening here.. a lot of people focus on just wiper and wiper and wrist and all fail because they do not have handle first motion and which you can see Roger does it beutifully... You can see his handle goes toward tennis ball before wrist show up.....
This is one of the reason why many instructors try to teach good follow through and not focus on wrist. And yes it is safer way but without the wrist, you will never get great racket head speed or spin.
Actually it took me while to figure out this but Roger's swing has classic swing and at the end he close the door nab for heavy spin. Actually if you compare Sharapova and Roger's swing. Just before the contact, their swing is very very similar. I mean sharapova does not keep the racket face down but their handle goes to ball first and then we will see different finish because sharapova hit more flatter which cause her to finish over the shoulder more.
flatballrule yeeeees I just got it yeeeeessssssss ;-)
U nail it for me...Yes Yes Yes
U are a great teacher, I*ve been frustrated for moth trying to do it....hours and hours at the wall
Videos and videos hours and hours....
After I read ur text I clicked I took the stick and i just came like a flash.....man
...there is no hitting is just a beautiful swing ....drive through ;-)
Thanks a million U r the man
;-)
H Florian, I struggled to find my FH for last few yrs, finally with the help of wall, I was able to generate the type of power I ever wanted. Then I looked at this video. I had replicated quite closer to what Roger is doing and the way you were explaining. I agree, it took me few weeks to generate a clean stroke without framing. Basically the unit turn and wrist snap does the job for me.
Great job Florian.. I couldn't agree more, most players, a d even our most advanced juniors sruggle trying to copy wrist wip of Federer's forehand. It's a thing of beauty and worth looking at over and over and over and I'm glad you posted this analysis because the rest of his forehand is solid fundamentals. Federer broke the mold and we all get to watch History every time he plays 😁
For us recreational players, lots of good fundamentals. What I find exceptional in all videos of Roger Federer is the focus of his eyes before, during and immediately after contact... he stays with the point of contact for a split second. No matter what stroke I am working to improve, this extended focus on the ball has reduced the learning time considerably, allowing me to try more advanced techniques.
You make a great point about Federer's eyes. He always looks the ball right into the strings. I see photos of many other players and they are looking 2-3 feet ahead as the racket hits the ball. One reasons why he's one of if not the best ever and they aren't.
Very very good analysis and advice!
Thanks a lot, it very useful comprehensive video analysis which improve the forehand stroke, making it consistent and good winning point shot.
I agree. Keep it simple for beginners. You can notice that there is almost no lag when Roger hits the very first few shots in his warm-up. His wrist is always relaxed, but if he swings much slower the lag just doesn't happen. The lag will automatically happen when he swings faster (more acceleration) and that force overcomes his relaxed wrist (F=ma). Just relax your wrist, and this may happen on its own.
I think that the best and simplest explanation is the one on Top Speed Tennis. It is like turning a door knob. First, turn the door knob to the left, then turn it to right (what Florian calls "dropping the racket" which causes the racket to be lower and behind the wrist) and then as the arm moves forward from the shoulder, releasing the tension, first in the elbow as it straightens followed by the forehand and wrist allowing the door knob to naturally turn again to the left as the racket moves thru the point of contact and on thru the follow thru. It is very similar to the pronation on the serve and like on the serve, it gives tremendous racket speed at the point of impact. I think that everyone should be taught pronation on the serve and this same forehand and wrist movement on the forehand. It is the natural way to throw a football, baseball, javelin etc.
William Danks I'm not a fan of "Top Speed Tennis". I don't think he is a high level player, by the way. He teaches what he sees from the Pro's. But the movements you see, some of them are not "forced" to happen. "Feel Tennis Instruction" explains this really well.
+William Danks Actually what is really interesting is that many of the biggest serves use slight supination, then pronation on the serve. It's not taught but what happens, yes, is similar. The lag in late cocking (biomechanically speaking), as the body drives upwards, the racquet in the best serves tend to stay downwards still with the butt facing the ball above the head. As the left arm drops the right side cartwheels upwards. But the best serves actually are able to have hyperflexibility and the racquets comes outwards (not from behind the back) from over the right hip. It is a few degrees of supination with high valgus stress on elbow (elbow extends at 982 deg/s, maybe more) and then turns back in.
+Widmer09 Continuing...I mentioned this to a few coaches and players and everyone tried it out. So the slight supination to pronation, people feel maybe you can get 3-5 mph bigger serve. Like Andy Roddick did.
I absolutely agree. Keep the wrist firm first, & learn to drive the ball using the legs > trunk > arm. Tennis shots are complicated. Get the fundamentals down. Then move on. I suppose those that are coordinated enough will figure it out eventually, however many kids/rec players could benefit from the simplification at first. Whenever I start to spray shots, I instinctively back off the wrist snap & my shots aim more true. I see so many who only know how to hit w wrist snap, it's just crazy. Some coach heard me suggest a firm wrist at first & thought I was crazy. I'm not against wrist. It should be added maybe after a year, when one gets a feel of how much to add for precise added "pop" & especially spin.
It's A LOT easier than everybody thinks. There just isn't anybody explaining it correctly, so let me do it for you. Yes you will frame it a lot if you are too aggressive with this concept at first, but if you do it slowly and with a lot of shadow strokes at home you will progress quickly. The key to the whole process is the buttcap. BUTTCAP, BUTTCAP, BUTTCAP! Sorry about yelling about the buttcap, but it is the secret to almost all your strokes and you need to pound this into your head everyday. A very good exercise to do is to get your racquet and practice guiding it around in a figure 8 motion WITH THE BUTTCAP pointed in the direction to which the racquet is going. Starting with the racquet in front of you, then moving it to the side and back with the unit turn described in these videos start a figure 8 going back and then down, then forward and up through the contact then around and down at the finish, and then back past the ready position to the side and back down again and continue this figure 8 all the while making sure to go through the forehand motion at the contact spot. Do this figure 8 over and over without stopping using the feel of the BUTTCAP to guide the racquet around. You have to remember the buttcap does the driving. Let the wrist be as loose as possible without letting the racquet get out of your control as to not cause to many framers once you start hitting dropped balls. The better you get the more advanced the looseness of the wrist gets. ALL swinging motions whether it be a baseball bat, a golf club, a serve, a volley, ALL swinging motions are generated from the BUTTCAP and how you guide it. Also how you "let, not force" it to take that energy and transfer it from the buttcap out to the tip of the racquet, baseball bat or golf club. Just remember the buttcap is like a light showing your racquet which way to follow. Also another key to hitting good ground strokes is to try and drive the buttcap cap toward the contact spot as long as possible to allow yourself to hit the ball out front as much as possible. The further the better just as long as you're not over doing it. Buttcapp and out front are THE two most important parts of a GREAT ground stroke no matter what anyone else says.
I've been playing tennis for about 20 years.
In those years, I took some lessons.
But I couldn't quite seem to be comfortable with
any considerable progress.
Just recently ...I have discovered how important
this is...
"Let...not force " the shot making or serve.
Man...I wish you would've been around 20 years ago.
I have a daughter that I have been teaching for 9 years. The first three years I payed and payed and payed for many a lesson until one day I asked the third or forth coach that we went through when she was going to teach my daughter to put topspin on the ball. What she said next changed my view of coaches forever. We had been paying for three lessons a week for nine months to that coach and her response to my question was with another question, "What, she's not?" I knew from the first day that my daughter was not putting topspin on the ball and I wasn't sure I would teach her the right way so I went to club and used the coach they assigned us. Each and every day I would tell myself she's the pro and she just has to get through the other steps before she got to the topspin part, but when she hadn't noticed for 9 months my daughter didn't have topspin on her ball I knew I was in trouble. I knew then and there I was on my own and from that day forward I spent every free moment I had to teach myself how to teach her, because after all it's just a job to them. Now I see these You Tube coaches popping up everywhere and what a joke. The only two I have found that really understands the game(the correct way) and is willing to spend his time to teach the correct way is Tom Allsopp and Kevin Garlington.
Hey, man, you nailed it!
Good analysis, except for part 3, where I think Federer's back swing and wristplay concept hasn't been fully understood. In fact I am convinced that Federer doesn't forcefully use his wrist and that in contrary everything is done by swing (that would explain also his very high precision). Compared to earlier forehand stars in Tennis like Lendl and Borg, what immediately struck me is that Federer's back swing is fairly slow if not relaxed, but then the acceleration back to the front end is explosive (a multiple times faster than the rear swing). At the back end of the rear swing, the abrupt acceleration in the opposite direction, generates a lot of inertia in the head of the tennis racquet (lag). Hence this extremely open wrist angle (and tension) at the back end of the back swing where the racket head lags diagonally behind Roger for a split second. What happens then is that due to the release of the energy potential from the tension (caused by the explosive acceleration of his underarm back to the front end) the wrist snaps back. The racket head needs to catch up with the underarm and hence is moving significantly faster. There exactly I see the extra energy potential. The beauty of it: no forceful wrist play the way it is being taught (unfortunately) in many places these days. It's all swing and the racket is finding its way all alone. As a result Federer can achieve more powerful hits, more spin, better precision while burning less energy. I am convinced Federer's forehand is all about footwork, upper body movement, timing and swing. And yes, why not teach Federer's technique to kids? Much better IMHO than teaching them using their wrist.
You are exactly right - it's the opposite. Roger's wrist is very loose that why we see the extreme racquet lag and acceleration.
very well spoken!
I worked on this forehand a lot. It is exactly how you described it.
To put it in simple terms you are right but this is how I would explain it. The swing of the racket post contact is created by the elbow joint being bent which allows the racket to come to the other side of Roger. The wrist does play a role in making sure the strings start to roll above the ball but it is not forceful just merely a guide.
Tony Sekvenc
Yes, but you can get a static lag with a locked wrist which will give you at least the 90-degree angle at contact point. Fed's is what I would call a *dynamic lag*.. Dimitrov and many others on the ATP tour use this technique.
Good Morning! So great this vídeo for me. I have more problems with forehand than back hand. I am not a good player. But when I make a rotatition movement in forehand , I do better strokes. But I do not turn the head of the racket to the left. It reachs almost 90 degrees with the base line. Otherwise, some coaches use to correct me to hit the ball with the racket parallel to the floor. And when I try to do that, i make more mistakes than usual, I notice in this video that Federer hits the ball with the head of the racket lightly to the floor. Only when the ball is high he reachs with the head parallel to the floor. I will not more try to correct this point. And I will also try to do the rotation more to the left. I lurned to do it near to my back leg. I wil try to improove. If i get no success, I return to how i did before. I really do like this channel. Thanks for the tips!
Nice video
From my observations, it's all the points you mention. Federer, Nadal and Verdasco have a different type of forehand to all the other players, signaled by the straight-arm contact. This is called the slingshot forehand. Of these players, Fed is the best ball striker because his takeback and consequently his follow-through is most efficient, resulting in highest overall precision and versatility of shot. Verd muscles the follow through, and Nad hits flat shots less cleanly.
good lesson
Tip of the Racket is facing the net exactly perpendicular to base line at point of contact
What many think is the wrist moving is actually forearm pronation. Try this : Grab slightly above your wrist with your left hand very tightly and see how little movement the hand/wrist has without the forearm helping.
All the talented kids I watch have mastered to forehand lag. The lag concept is also applied to the golf swing but it is so difficult to master.
When i started using a head lighter head racket, i got much more racket head speed using this wrist. You can see a video of me playing on my channel, try to see it in slow motion, the quality is not good, but visible
Pretty good video
I highly disagree that us average players should not attempt to get the lag. It is not a pre stretch of the forearm muscles it is a relaxed wrist that allows the racquet face to continue traveling back when the arm is rotated forward and then Isaac Newton law the face sling shots (whips) back. It does not take incredible athleticism. I can teach average 14 year olds to do this. The entire ATP tour is doing this. I do this. Amateurs do not need to bring the racquet as high as Federer and the other pros, bring it back at 45 degrees instead of straight up at 90- like the pros. Then if your timing is not as good as the pros you can quickly get the lag and the racquet on the ball no matter how far your arm went back. Timing has to be perfect for the ATP forehand. The drop is not as important as the lag. Its nice to have but the lag is making that racquet accelerate. But should little kids do this - maybe not - the momentum of the racquet face makes your wrist lay back more then you can make it go on its own. What does this do to little kids in the long term?
Yes I agree with that to a point. Most of the kids I am converting are already advanced. The too advanced older kids can not convert because they can not afford to play bad for several months. Some kids that I really don't want trying to do this want to anyway because they watch the ATP on TV, youtube, and other students that do it well. It becomes a personal thing if I teach player A the ATP forehand and player B a simpler forehand that does not generate as much racquet speed. It is a simple matter to convert them back to straight back without a lag if they are a disaster for too long. If a kid does not come out everyday to practice I will not teach them this. My main point is this is not that hard. It is not as complicated as we are making it. I will divulge how I teach it for anyone that is contemplating learning this. I start out with a 30 inch wood dowel from home depot and have them do shadow swings with that, feeling the lag, like using a whip or snapping a rolled up towel. I have them hit balls or try to with the stick. Then I drop balls for them to hit with their racquet, a full bucket one at a time. When they are good with that it becomes just a matter of timing. I go farther back and use quick start balls. The teacher has to be able to do this in order to effectively teach the students how to do this. Our motto is "it is okay to S%ck for a few months".
hello
je ne suis pas d'accord , il n'y a que lorsque le poiqgnet est completement a 90 degres , en etirant les flechisseurs de l'avant bras que l'on peut profiter de leurs elasticité au maximum lors du debut de retour, en dessous de 90 degres, impossible et on perd :
1 de la distance d'acceleration
2 d'un debut d'acceleration , beaucoup plus rapide immediat,
Au final on perd 30 % De vitesse a l'impact c'est trop , et les joueurs se mettent a forcer , pour compenser cette perte .
il est tres possible de faire sentir ca chez la plupart des jeunes , car il est tres difficile de changer , plus tard une mauvaise habitude prise tres tot .
Bye from Normandie
it 's the same thing in the base ball,and differents sports.
l'elasticité des muscles du corps est magique , bien uilisée, aux resultats etonnant d'efficacité....
+macvv21 French people please face reality, french is not a worldwide language.
+imateapot51 good comments and then some not quite. There is a pre-stretch of the extensor muscles. Actually Vic Braden pointed this out about 25+ years ago with Andre Agassi who was the first modern baseliner. Second, yes, the wrist is more relaxed in the modern forehand as opposed to classic loop. Because the wrist is in a downward position, it is more relaxed. Just like the serve or overhead where the palm down position promotes a whippier action. Basically the modern forehand is the classic loop but angled 90 degrees (the loop is lateral as opposed to vertical). But the modern forehand advantage is greater extensor muscle pre-stretch where the older loop relied on ulna to radial deviation. You still see that on the modern backhands where players often break the dominant wrist to increase racquet head drop or closing. The non-dominant hand then also goes into a ulna-radial deviation movement. So it's not as radically different as some people think and a natural progression to hitting harder. And yes, you can teach kids at age 8-10 who have at least a year of playing how to slightly close the racquet face. When they are 11-12 or so, they can use almost the modern ATP forehand. At age 10-11, it is a bit difficult but slightly closed racquet face is easy. Rather than a classic C loop, the modern forehand is more a boot-like or J swing as the racquet drops faster in loading (early cocking, if we compare biomechanically to the serve or pitching) or backswing. And as you say, yes, it can be massive...I had a 13 year old with the biggest forehand in the section (as big as the best 15-16 year olds) at around 95 mph (and he was average size). But he exaggerated the wrist relaxation and had even a bigger flat loop or lag than Federer or Nadal. I honestly didn't like (thought it somewhat extreme) and tried to get him to change. Of course, he has some wrist problems. I don't see him anymore since he moved and probably training at Forest Hills and NTC. Wrist injuries are rare still but I think amount to 3% of injuries among juniors, but you consider it was less than 2% maybe 5 years ago which means it might have doubled.
+imateapot51 Also, timing is actually easier than the classic loop! People don't realize that is one reason which is why the top players use the ATP forehand. The most consistent players use this type of forehand (as opposed to a Maria Sharapova who uses a classic loop). The concept has been around for 25-30 years, maybe longer since Agassi had it when he was young. But why it is actually more consistent? Besides the extra topspin. People will say it's more erratic but that's if you teach it incorrectly to lag and close the racquet face...the emphasis is on the wrong idea. The strong point is really the length of the contact zone. It's why Djokovic and Murray's return of serve is so good. Murray doesn't loop, he simply drops the racquet face into the cocking position and pulls the racquet linearly, lag and whip. It's a concise movement that allows a long contact zone. The classic loop actually takes the racquet farther away from the contact zone. Hence, it is likely to miss! Hard for people to understand since it seems that the closed racquet face gives more than enough problems. But just look at how long Federer's racquet stays within the hitting zone. He doesn't need to bring the racquet up and then down and then change the racquet face position by much. Compare that to the even older junior loop which was played back 30+ years old, was still popular 15 years ago...and still played today. Many young players (u14) have joint hypermobility and it's quite easy to take a bigger loop which compensates for lack of strength. Hence they take a huge loop, where the racquet face opens up high above the head and then drops back with the hitting face parallel to back fence. You have to wonder how do they make contact?? That's due to joint hypermobility and lack of strength so the child tries to make the loop bigger. Brian Gordon chose to separate the strokes into 3 classes and you can actually see evolution of a player who often starts with the over extended C loop, moving to a vertical ("WTA") loop and finally to a closed loop.
Thanks for sharing - very nice analysis though there are some other subtle things to make his shots so great and so hard to copy. Some viewers seem to complain this is too advanced to show and don't understand this is not meant for beginners. They should look elsewhere for basic forehand videos. While many of club players aren't able to copy this technique 100% but this analysis is very inspiring and would help some intermediate players to blend part of his routine into their own style so the videos are still helping a large segment of players in the global tennis community. Keep up the good work!
Roger generates a lot of topsin in a different way that most players do. Most players do it by using extreme grips and with more vertical movements, brushing the ball. Roger on another hand, hits more through the ball with a flatter trajectory and a more conservative Eastern grip. His topspin relies more on racquet speed and wrist control (probably the reason why he always used heavy Head Light racquets). It's unusual but beautiful to watch.
stays sideways, racquet head point straight while taking back, then the butt point at the ball, left hand on standby, use wrist not elbow to generate topspin, and most important of all practice practice practice. Watch kyrios forehand since both are similar in concept but kryios's is easier to study.
Look at the forehands of Nadal, Federer and Del Potro. Different, big but one common thread, the straight arm at contact, though perhaps Del Potro probably gets some of his power from his sheer size. Now look at some less famous forehands such as Novak, Roddick or Hewitt (all of which hold or held the #1 ATP spot at some time). Elbow bent at contact. I believe the bent elbow is absorbing some of the power generated by the core that otherwise would have ended up in the racquet head.
What I don't get, though, is that Nick Kyrgios can his 100+ mph forehands with a bent elbow right out of his waist.
at this stage the wrist is loose or dead.
or is carried on the strength of the muscles.
The videos are good-natured.
en esta etapa la muñeca esta suelta o muerta.
o es llevada con la fuerza de los musculos.
Los videos estan buenazos.
I think we're not forced to choose between common fundamentals and Federer's technique. Who says you can't have two or more drive forehands? You can learn them as separate concepts. Plenty of people are 'physically intelligent' enough to accomodate more than one concept in their minds and bodies. One of the greatest dangers is becoming one-dimensional and readable. If you can learn more shots off one wing you'll keep the opponent guessing.
my observation about the wrist work is its simply an after effect of his grip. with his grip he has no choice but lag n snap so called
Thanks for the instruction. However I think you fail to mention the upper body rotation that takes place asRoger swings the racquet forward to make contact with the ball.
That is the 3rd video. Please, see 1st and 2nd.
Thanks dear sir,appreciated your kind response,I motivate,encourage ans inspire people to believe in yourself,trust your inner divinity latent..express it by action..Yes,i am your student,i got the best explanation i was looking for .regards virendra dr
The atp forehand is generally complex and difficult to learn for older players..thats why you don't see many older club level players with modern topspin fhs
I have the same forehand and imake contact with the ball sqwuare on the racket
why we shouldn't copy it because we're recreational players? Then what should we do first? Its not like forbidden right? Is there other way around before getting into this?
Hi, Florian: Regarding the Federer's "wrist lag" : is this due to his voluntarily cocking his wrist backward or is his wrist passively being thrown backward by the aggressive unwinding of his hips?
Personally, I suspect it is the latter.
One of the issues regarding squaring the racquet face on contact is whether, like Federer you rotate the string bed to point straight down (racquet face in a horizontal position) or keep a more traditional orientation. It seems to me that placing the string bed in a horizontal position would require an additional adjustment to square the racquet face on contact (the other adjustment being the recovery of the "wrist lag" into a more neutral wrist position.
what happened to the drop of the racket
i agree. rec players like me should not copy rodger. too many late, framed shots.but when you hit the ball cleanly, you wanna do it again
Something not emphasized enough I think is the movement of the hand outward (and forward). Look at the running forehand at 2:05 and where the hand is relative to the knee. Waay behind. And while the knee is moving forward into open stance, the hand is at far right of the knee at contact. Generally, I think coaches do not emphasize cause and effect enough. It too much what the racquet does and not why it does it.
yeah why do you show this if we cant use it? and so true i tried this and i was hitting the ball with the border of by rackett all the time :)...so yes this requieres so much coordination that i would need years to get it :)
do not discourage .any body any time can learn great strokes.its simple ..practice..more practice.amd millions times shadow practice to make it instinctive
t
I don't think learning Roger's forehand technique, which is textbook form, is parallel to teaching a fade away jump shot in basketball. learning proper groundstroke technique is more like learning proper jump shot technique, both fundamental lessons of each respective game. of course it's going to be complex to a beginner, but it's fundamental nonetheless
Also, we get to deal with balls that are much easier than what Roger has to face. So even if we learn a half-paced version of his technique, we'll reap plenty of reward from it.
エネルギーをコントロールしてる。
What are you talking about not attempting the wrist flick action? I do this naturally even though I'm play recreationally and at the beginner level.
You have to do this whether or not you like it otherwise you won't even be able to have enough power to hit the ball over the net..
I dont think dont do it... That is easy to learn
if you learn only whit the wrist and hand...
ONly whit wrist and. Hand.. Put raquet Looking up and then with a relaxed wrist, let the racket brush back and then use the kinetic energy forward. This exercise on the wall. Improves coordination and hit accuracy
You are wrong about the wrist. It is just a natural movement. Take a racket between your two/three fingers, try to make a forehand swing and you'll see that it's automatic
...in effect you are telling any 3.5+ to keep playing stiff for rest of their lives, overcontroling shots and never know what it feels like to hit more effortlessly. Let them frame shots until they figure through feel how not to frame. Not to have wrist as free as possible is not natural, which is not same as forcing it...
At occasions when Roger's racquet head pointing to the left is simply a result of Roger's body moving to the right and his extremely loose wrist. For average amateur players, I think there mainly two key points for a good forehand: loose wrist; hip and core rotation to initiate and actuate swing (compared to arming the ball). The rest is timing which is only attainable through practice.
Sorry, what this buttcap some guys talking about in the comments? There is no translation in my dict for this. Would you please explain, thank you.
Good analysis, except it would be more effective if you let audience knows the logic and theory of it, so that they know what to do at different point in time. His preparation position and point right and etc are irrelevant, because Roger might be aiming at certain angle down the court. Different angle, different spin and contacting point as well as target will result in you approaching to hit the ball differently. I am just saying more effective to let them know the theory.
So you're telling me I'm never going to hit my forehand like Roger Federer? Pffft some analysis... haha
Impossible to imitate. IIt's magic.
...as locked wrist becomes a habit hopelessly hard to unlearn
ultra important , pas expliqueé ds la video ; il faut savoir utiliser , l'elasticité des muscles de l'avant bras , avec un relachement maximum a 90 degres , de la raquette .
1 er avantage , on profite d'une acceleration angulaire maximum source de vitesse optimale..grace a la distance d'acceleration maximale .
2eme avantage, relacher au maximum en arriere on peut profiter en tout avantage de l'elasticité des muscles , qui vont amorcer le retour angulaire , ainsi les muscles de l'avant bras sont moins solicités en hyper etirement, car a ce moment qu'ils sont le moins efficaces, et la contraction prend le relais immediatement apres le debut de retour................au final acceleration ultra rapide , et donc grande vitesse a l'impact ..
Bref le coup parfait , rien que ça ...avec le coude en arrriere du plan d'acceleration comme butée naturelle , le levier le plus rigide que l'on puisse faire , bras ,avant bras. ..
En gros tu parles d'un coup de fouet des muscles proches du coude une fraction de seconde avant l'impact? C'est très difficile de générer la bonne puissance avec ma prise plutôt ouverte comme celle de federer... Et je n'arrive pas à le faire sans que mon geste ne soit pas court ( qui ne fait donc pas avancer la balle avec une bonne explosion )
+marseille007nm ça ne vient pas de la prise , en aucun cas , mais plus probablement et classiquement , d'une hyper extension , insuffisante, qui ne génère aucun retour, élastique , en début d'accélération comme en 2'18 sur la video avec la flèche bleue qui indique parfaitement de le coté dynamique + une amplitude plus faible , donc distance d'accélération bcp plus faible , résultat , peu de vitesse , et donc peut d'énergie transmise a la balle .... c'est hyper extension est , primordiale , , elle peut être réalisée avec n'importe quelle prise , plus ou moins fermée, l'avantage de la prise ouverte ,eastern, est que le coude se situe parfaitement ds le plan d'acceleration , du bras , ce qui implique , une meilleurs transmission d'energie de ce levier , plus rigide , qu'avec une prise fermée , rien de plus . Ajoutons a cela , une frappe de balle le plus loin devant soi, pour bénéficier , a l'impact de la vitesse la plus rapide de la tète de raquette ,c'est aussi hyper important , pour récupérer le maximum d'énergie fournie.. la seule difficulté et pas des moindre , est de bien timer , cette chaine cinétique , avec prise de balle , loin devant ..60 a 70 cm devant la ligne d'épaule . Avec l'entrainement , l"hyper extension va devenir de plus en plus importante , grâce a une plus grande laxité des fléchisseurs du poignets qui vont gagner en étirement , chez fed , c'est au delà de 90 degrés .donc encore plus d'accélération . Bien réalisé , apres des heure d'entrainement , le résultat est très perceptible , jusqu'à devenir automatique .....très utile pour accélérer entre autre des balles très lentes et surprendre l'adversaire ..et surtout aussi , dépenser le minimum d'énergie physique ..moins de fatigue musculaire, moins de blessures etc...tout a y gagner .. c'est la clé du tennis moderne , moins visible ds le tennis féminin. ----------------------------------------
+macvv21 au fait le coup droit dont tu parles à 2'18 qui génere peu de vitesse c'est finalement le meilleur coup qu'il peut faire puisqu'il est au bout de son déplacement et doit frapper la balle au plus vite et puisque comme tu dis il est ''automatique'' et agencé à cette faible vitesse (gain de précision) il nous sort un coup droit long de ligne probablement chirurgical??
Very good analysis, but you are underestimating your audience by saying not to copy Federer's forehand and you are selling yourself short by assuming that only recreational players are watching your video. My daughter who us 9 yrs old copied this forehand in 2 yrs but others may do it in shorter time. Thank you.
Your pro. Like.....
Most tennis enthusiasts can’t do eastern forehand..the end...give it up...find your own style..truth...peace.
Surprisingly Rogers left leg never moves in fornt on forehead
This is not actually true. Sometimes he swings the left leg forward rather than the right leg backward. Look at this: ua-cam.com/video/ZjOWb7e4znc/v-deo.html (ca. 0:20 to 0:30)
Technique can be learned but talent is not posible as well.
Hype?
All these wannabe noob armchair analysts and fed imitators have no idea how complex pro tennis strokes are. If it is as easy to copy it as they make it sound then everyone and their grandma would be open level by now. The reality is that no one has ever been able to successfully copy Federer's or Nadal's forehand yet, there are literally thousands of tennis professionals, coaches and analysts like Florian all over the world who do it for a living everyday with decades of professional training and experience yet they still cant copy it. So what makes them think any chubby hack who just picked up a racket for the first time in the last few years could just copy it by watching a couple youtube videos? Just stick to the fundamentals.
sadcfasdf I've been using it for a year and a half as a fifteen year old, however I can say that it's easy to forget XD
I think we're not forced to choose between common fundamentals and Federer's technique. Who says you can't have two or more drive forehands? You can learn them as separate concepts. Plenty of people are 'physically intelligent' enough to accomodate more than one concept in their minds and bodies. One of the greatest dangers is becoming one-dimensional and readable. If you can learn more shots off one wing you'll keep the opponent guessing.