Coaches learn A TON from their students. I've learned a bunch from all the feedback people send me -- what works, what doesn't, etc. So I owe you and everyone else a big debt of gratitude.
hi gmeee. the wrist doesn't release until after you've made contact with the tennis ball. your arm gets set in a "hitting-arm position" -- a relationship between your tennis racket and your entire arm -- and you keep that position thru contact. it can break down after you hit, however, so that you can follow thru in a smooth and relaxed motion. if you search for "forehand hitting-arm positions" our video on this subject will come up.
Learning the classic forehand is important -- I would recommend you learn it first. From that foundation you can incorporate more advanced techniques, such as the windshield wiper.
Hey SVC. Thx! Semi-western is a good grip. Basic mechanics stay the same, yes. Your grip tends to influence your contact point and, thus, how you swing up to the ball. More extreme grips facilitate more vertical swing planes, causing you to brush up on the ball more. This results in more topspin. Downside is you don't swing through the ball as much, which diminishes power.
Hi trev. We'll work on the double bend. The angle of your racket during the takeback can vary. You just need to make sure your backswing allows you to get to a correct hitting-arm position. Extending your non-hitting arm across your body will help you get sideways during your preparation.
ya nadal hits a windshield wiper. you can use pretty much any acceptable forehand grip to hit a windshield wiper forehand -- nadal uses close to a western. but you can use close to an eastern (like federer) as well.
Hi sublime. That's a good way to think about it. I'm going to use that in future videos... we could add some graphics to make that description pretty clear. Thanks!
Congratulations, your videos are quite professional. I have used your explainations working with high perfomance juniors with very good results. Is the best approach to a kind of "cientific tennis" ever. Keep feeding us with videos, please.
I never had my own coach, but watching your videos and practicing hard on my own got me to a level I'm proud of, thanks so much for all the videos you've done :D
Hi blue. Extreme grips tend to make it easier to create topspin because of how they affect your swing plane -- it's more comfortable to have a relatively vertical (vs horizontal) swing path w/an extreme grip. Swinging up = more brush, which creates topspin. And as you say, an eastern makes it easier to hit flat cuz the swing path tends to be more horizontal. Keep in mind that theses are general guidelines -- you can hit w/lots of topspin w/an eastern or hit very flat w/an extreme grip.
For the windshield wiper, i use it as my approach shot to the net, sometimes i use a full western grip which creates HUGE topspin when combined with a windshield wiper
Good stuff -- I'm an older player transitioning from hitting 'classic' drive forehands to the ww topspin fh -- fyb videos are useful, especially in HD - thanks for the good work.
Great video! I DID hit in tranditional forehand with a wiper follow through unconsiously most of the time. I tried to hit in a complete windshield-wiper style today, and it felt just so right :D
Well two things you can do right away is adjust your stance / body position when you hit. Neutralize your stance to go down the line. The other is to make a slight adjustment in your hitting-arm position so that your racket has a different angle at contact. In reality, learning to control the direction you hit the ball takes practice. Gotta just hit tons and tons of forehands.
Ryan, perfect technique alone is NEVER going to guarantee you a spot on an ATP tour. Learning great technique will only get you to the intermediate level at best. Pros like Federer know the importance factors like strategic ball placement, the precise amount of pace and athleticism needed to counter a certain shot, having great court dominance over the opponent are a few examples. There is much more depth in tennis than merely knowing the right way to swing around a racquet.
yep, especially for me when i get a short ball in the middle of the court i use the windshield wiper motion to hit the approach shot, it's just a more effiecient and stronger way to hit an approach shot, plus with the heavy topspin it pretty much never goes long so you have that safetly.
No I keep the same grip. One grip isn't better than another. However, each grip does have it's advantages and disadvantages. If you search for tennis grips one of our videos explaining this will come up.
I use this stroke with a full western grip and hit the ball on the rise. Great net clearence and extreme bounce of about 6 feet ! This and a good serve will win many matches even if your backhand is less than tour quality. Inside out run around is my big weapon if the ball is dropped short.
Pros with very powerful forehands hit through the windshield wiper forehand very well. I doubt you're saying don't hit through the ball altogether (you're saying it to help accentuate the idea of spinning the ball), but I believe if you want to hit hard, deep, and penetrating, you need to hit through the ball and use plenty of spin and height for control and safety. Federer's forehand is weird though. He can hit it so many different ways and still hurt you with it. It's amazing.
well it's important to understand how your swing path affects how the ball travels -- that allows you to modify your swing depending on the situation and create variety in your game.
Thanks! High balls really depend on what you're trying to do and where you are on the court. You could hit either depending on the situation. WW is a pretty good option tho.
Hi Will , this video is simply amazing , I have been waiting for one like this for a long , long time . Actually , I improved my forehand being helped by other videos ( as well as from essential tennis leader Ian ) but always I had the feeling that something was wrong, without knowing what . Now I think I know and I am going to work at it. Thank you so much , Ervin Segal
Will I like that you hammer on the fact that a WW FH starts well before contact. A key cue that you leave out is the direction of the buttcap at the beginning of the forward swing. If you think of the handle/buttcap as a laser, on a classic FH that laser would go through the front of the ball and into the back fence. On the WW FH that laser beam would go through the underside of the ball and shine well over the top of the fence into the sky.
Hi Wil, im just here to ask if you could tell me if you were going to make a video about: 1. Double Bend? 2. Angle of racquet during take back i.e. closed, open. 3. Tips on how to produce effective body rotation. Thanks a lot man, youve helped a lot.
@serbtennnis3 You need to watch the ball as close as possible. You also need the ball around eye level when you can get it there - bend your knees. You could also film your forehand and see what you need to do with your wrist: Is your racquet completely parallel to the floor? If it is, you need to make it more "open", so the ball has much more chance of hitting the strings instead of the frame. Someone like Federer hits his forehand with a very open face, have a look at his. Hope this helped!
great vid. esp the part explaining how not to hit wwf using classic form. i have been struggling with that for years. i always felt the ball had already left the string before i do the ww motion.
it's basically the same, you just have to extend your elbow a little bit more with eastern. Also don't forget to drop the tip of your racket before you start your swing path. This will allow the racket to have an upward movement resulting in more brushing.
@cjppsb123 you can still do the same thing, just make sure u can see through the strings at all times, it might be a little harder for you though, you might want to consider learning the nadal forehand
Im 5.0 and i find i can come in and volley more confidently because of higher ball against people who overuse the windshield forehand. Always keep in mind, each type of forehand (or backhand) is a tool. Even Roger hits his forehand like Rafa sometimes. Its all about having all the tools you can and knowing when to use them. I love this game :)
Oh alright, thanks. Also i looked around and found the video that you made about wrists, which really cleared a lot of stuff up for me. Watching federer and nadal's forehands really make things a bit confusing cause they make it look pretty complicated.
His follow through is a little bit different. He starts to bring the racket across his body, left to right, but then the racket releases over his head. So I can see how it looks kinda the same but the mechanics of Nadal's reverse finish are a little bit different from what I'm demoing.
i actually learned windshield wiper forehand first. and i think most rising tennis players tend to do this cuz its the easiest way to have a consistent controlled forehand. it wasnt until maybe a couple years later did i want to learn the traditional flat forehand because it give u more pace.
Most pros hit the majority of their forehands with this technique. The spin required to hit consistently at that level necessitates the windshield-wiper forehand.
@bingobongo0711 the difference between the traditional top spin forehand and the WW forehand is that your swing paths are completly different. the traditional is a relatively horizontal shot, aka your swing goes back but then does not go down then up nearly as much as the WW forehand, the pros of the traditonal is that you will get more power, but the con is less consistancy, the pros to the WW forehand is its more consistant, but less power hope this helped!! :)
I think any of them can work. I have seen Federer swing sharper before like he has said. Now which is easier? Probably semi to western because of the natural swing paths of those grips.
hi qph. d1 players hit pretty hard -- they're probably swinging harder than you are so the ball is going to sound different off their strings. racket tension also affects this. hard for me to tell what you're doing wrong w/out seeing your strokes.
If you ever get a chance, could you make a quick video on how to better your aim? Some people say to just swing sooner/later while some say to change your stance..
No not all. It's a particular type of forehand. It's used very, very often because it allows you to hit hard and be consistent but it's not the best shot for every situation.
Hi Will, first of all thnx for your clear and helpfull videos. 5 stars for you! I've been reading a lot lately, one of the things being that to create topspin a semiwestern grip is very helpfull. 2 questions: do the basic mechanics you talked about stay the same for this grip? and 2: do you recommend an average player to try this grip?? Thnx, grtz from belgium.
FYB, is the WSW forehand the preferred shot for a high forehand? Is it harder to hit a flat high forehand properly? Great presentation and explanation in your video work.
Awesome vid. I'm new to tennis. Is it common to use this as their main forehand stroke or do people just switch between this and the traditional at will. Also, which grip is best to use when applying the windshield wiper forehand? Many thanks from New Zealand
Simply put yes. though Federer makes a lot of adjustments to it, but the principle is the same. If you look at Fed's forehands from the front and diagonally, after he makes contact, you can see him "brushing" the follow through. He's just more explosive with the footwork, turns his body quicker and he adds that famous whip of his (arm-wrist pronation)
Hi queen. I'm not 100% sure what you mean? Perhaps you're hitting some balls in the center of the strings and others closer to the frame. That will definitely make contact feel different.
Hi i enjoyed your video, I'll probably be trying this out the next time I play. I just have a couple questions. Do you think this shot will cause more fatigue over time compared to the regular forehand shot? Like if you swung 200 times with standard swing and WW swing which one would tire you out more? Also do you think it will cause more stress to the elbows because it seems a little more demanding, thanks a lot for the answers :)
Well the trajectory of the ball depends on a number of things. The amount of wiper you've got in there will affect how much spin is on the ball. You're not pushing through the ball, you're hitting it =)
Hey thanks a lot for these videos, they have helped me coach myself from just starting out and knowing nothing but what I watch on television to being a legitimate, quality player. Is it a bad thing that I've basically been using the windshield wiper forehand throughout my career? I modeled my forehand off Rafael Nadal which looked like the majority of the motion in the forehand is upward as oppose to through the ball, but I'm not sure if a less experienced player should just stick to basics.
Hey Will. The WW forehand is a very good rally ball because you get much more variation and leeway but do you still stick to it when you want to hit a powerful winner? The WW forehand is good and all but its significantly harder to generate power on it.
Eastern / Semi-Western / Western all work. However, it's probably a little easier to hit a windshield wiper the more extreme your grip becomes. The continental is NOT an acceptable forehand grip.
Will, I have a question. If like you say where the racket ends up (either shoulder or below shoulder) Can I put it this way. If I want more spin on the ball, I should try to hit the ball so that the racket ends up near to my waist and if I want to hit a flatter forehand I will end it above my shoulder?
Can you explain more about the grip with the ww forehand? For instance, how's an Eastern grip windshield wiper forehand compare with a Semi Western or Western, is it both as spin as those + more power or anything like that? Btw, can you please also give me a closer look at Federer combined grip? Thanks!
@Y3ll0wBr1anPass10n yes, almost all good modern players use semi western grip, and pretty much all of them use WW forehand, although they dont think of it that way, they just think of it as a forehand haha. so in short yes, semi western with WW forehand is what almost all good players use. so the short answer is yes, almost all good modern players
Is it true that a semi-western or western grip is better when you want brush on the ball to generate topspin and an eastern grip is better to hit more flatly. I felt that when you want to brush from low to high across the ball the semi western feels better than the eastern and it seems impossible with the continental grip. What do you think?
Very good description of the windshield wiper forehand (WWF) here, but he's missing the key mechanical difference in this stroke vs. the classic forehand. It's essentially a pro-nation motion, similar to the torsional action of the arm for a properly hit serve, that provides the additional spin and pace to the shot. Try a drill - hold a racquet to your side with a straight arm. Now, try to hit a forehand as hard as you can, without swinging your arm, rather through torsional rotation...
to do top-spin, u need to swing underneath the ball, but if u hit it to late its going fly out,, try to think about hitting the ball more infront of u and aslong as u do that, u can start adding some power into it,
Hi will ; what kind of forehand and grip nadal uses?becuse his forehands seems like a combination of both forehands ; awesome work greetings and thx from peru :D
would the flight path of the ball become more of a semi circle arc?Sorta like rafa's?But can this shot this be used for the big forehands like huge ones that travel in a straight path.
Will, my FH is horrible(so bad I had to switch to a 2HFH). I use an eastern grip and always hit flat shots long. I also have a habit of bringing the racquet over my head which produces a lot of unnecessary topspin. This works great for doubles because it makes really short angles. For singles though, the ball always gets smashed in my face. Any suggestions?Thanks in advance.
... if you're doing this right you can generate a heck of a lot of racquet head speed. Now, add that torsional action into a full swinging forehand and that torsional "whip" will be added to the racquet head speed generated through the body rotation / arm swing. Watch one of the Federer slo-mo clips and you'll see the ridiculous amount of torsional action he adds to the swing. The Windshield path just represents this torsional rotation.
my elbow hurts when i put more strenght on the forehand shots, is it normal in the beggining or am i doing something wrong? btw, thank you very much, your videos are helping me a lot !
Winshield wiper is great for front facing forehands and for more clearance over the net and good topspin. Don't do it if a player is at the net and you're hitting close to them. It will be one of the easier volleys for them. But use it if you have clearance from the net player since it does penetrate the court it can get behind someone.
so fed's forehand dips in but still travels in a straight path?Is the windshield wiper more about "pushing"through or brushing up?Coz i notice that federer usually drives through the ball in many of your videos?I get confused in putting spin into the ball....Is it more brushing or more pushing forward with an upward motion.
from the way you are hitting those ww forehands, how am i suppose to hit it from mid court and maybe even on the service line? Cause usually my shots are going out on those easy balls
hi fyb2007 i want to hit the ball with more extreme spin ,I start from the backswing position and drop the racket down then i step forward with my feet my non hitting arm is extend to the ball and i go upwards to find the ball and ends across but i want that the ball kicks like and kickserve.
I still check in on this channel every so often. But I remember being glued to your videos back in HS for me. hope you're doing well!
Coaches learn A TON from their students. I've learned a bunch from all the feedback people send me -- what works, what doesn't, etc. So I owe you and everyone else a big debt of gratitude.
Hi Kevin. Federer does use a windshield wiper. But he also uses a classic forehand. Depends on what shot he's trying to hit.
hi gmeee. the wrist doesn't release until after you've made contact with the tennis ball. your arm gets set in a "hitting-arm position" -- a relationship between your tennis racket and your entire arm -- and you keep that position thru contact. it can break down after you hit, however, so that you can follow thru in a smooth and relaxed motion. if you search for "forehand hitting-arm positions" our video on this subject will come up.
Learning the classic forehand is important -- I would recommend you learn it first. From that foundation you can incorporate more advanced techniques, such as the windshield wiper.
Hey whoa. Yes, Federer does hit a windshield wiper forehand. The shot actually increases racket-head speed if you execute it correctly.
It's amazing how difficult this is to learn for s.o. who is used to the classic FH. It takes hours upon hours. Good job with the instruction!
Hey SVC. Thx!
Semi-western is a good grip. Basic mechanics stay the same, yes.
Your grip tends to influence your contact point and, thus, how you swing up to the ball. More extreme grips facilitate more vertical swing planes, causing you to brush up on the ball more. This results in more topspin.
Downside is you don't swing through the ball as much, which diminishes power.
depends on the situation. it's good to have more than one forehand in your arsenal so you can choose the most appropriate shot in any given situation.
You can use pretty much any grip you want. I use close to an eastern, but a western probably makes it a little bit easier to hit a windshield wiper.
Hi trev. We'll work on the double bend. The angle of your racket during the takeback can vary. You just need to make sure your backswing allows you to get to a correct hitting-arm position. Extending your non-hitting arm across your body will help you get sideways during your preparation.
ya nadal hits a windshield wiper. you can use pretty much any acceptable forehand grip to hit a windshield wiper forehand -- nadal uses close to a western. but you can use close to an eastern (like federer) as well.
Hi sublime. That's a good way to think about it. I'm going to use that in future videos... we could add some graphics to make that description pretty clear. Thanks!
Congratulations, your videos are quite professional. I have used your explainations working with high perfomance juniors with very good results. Is the best approach to a kind of "cientific tennis" ever. Keep feeding us with videos, please.
I never had my own coach, but watching your videos and practicing hard on my own got me to a level I'm proud of, thanks so much for all the videos you've done :D
Hi blue. Extreme grips tend to make it easier to create topspin because of how they affect your swing plane -- it's more comfortable to have a relatively vertical (vs horizontal) swing path w/an extreme grip. Swinging up = more brush, which creates topspin. And as you say, an eastern makes it easier to hit flat cuz the swing path tends to be more horizontal. Keep in mind that theses are general guidelines -- you can hit w/lots of topspin w/an eastern or hit very flat w/an extreme grip.
For the windshield wiper, i use it as my approach shot to the net, sometimes i use a full western grip which creates HUGE topspin when combined with a windshield wiper
Good stuff -- I'm an older player transitioning from hitting 'classic' drive forehands to the ww topspin fh -- fyb videos are useful, especially in HD - thanks for the good work.
Great video! I DID hit in tranditional forehand with a wiper follow through unconsiously most of the time. I tried to hit in a complete windshield-wiper style today, and it felt just so right :D
Well two things you can do right away is adjust your stance / body position when you hit. Neutralize your stance to go down the line. The other is to make a slight adjustment in your hitting-arm position so that your racket has a different angle at contact. In reality, learning to control the direction you hit the ball takes practice. Gotta just hit tons and tons of forehands.
A conservative one -- heel pad on bevel 3 and index knuckle in between bevel 3 and 4... prob a little closer to 4.
Ryan, perfect technique alone is NEVER going to guarantee you a spot on an ATP tour. Learning great technique will only get you to the intermediate level at best. Pros like Federer know the importance factors like strategic ball placement, the precise amount of pace and athleticism needed to counter a certain shot, having great court dominance over the opponent are a few examples. There is much more depth in tennis than merely knowing the right way to swing around a racquet.
yep, especially for me when i get a short ball in the middle of the court i use the windshield wiper motion to hit the approach shot, it's just a more effiecient and stronger way to hit an approach shot, plus with the heavy topspin it pretty much never goes long so you have that safetly.
No I keep the same grip. One grip isn't better than another. However, each grip does have it's advantages and disadvantages. If you search for tennis grips one of our videos explaining this will come up.
This is a good forehand to use during rallies. You'll be consistent, keep the ball deep, and prevent your opponent from attacking your forehands.
I use this stroke with a full western grip and hit the ball on the rise. Great net clearence and extreme bounce of about 6 feet ! This and a good serve will win many matches even if your backhand is less than tour quality. Inside out run around is my big weapon if the ball is dropped short.
@kamikazejap650 you can use a windshield wiper motion to get more spin than a normal flatter eastern gripped forehand.
Federer's forehand is a good example of a huge / power shot and he uses the windshield wiper technique.
Pros with very powerful forehands hit through the windshield wiper forehand very well. I doubt you're saying don't hit through the ball altogether (you're saying it to help accentuate the idea of spinning the ball), but I believe if you want to hit hard, deep, and penetrating, you need to hit through the ball and use plenty of spin and height for control and safety.
Federer's forehand is weird though. He can hit it so many different ways and still hurt you with it. It's amazing.
well it's important to understand how your swing path affects how the ball travels -- that allows you to modify your swing depending on the situation and create variety in your game.
Thanks! High balls really depend on what you're trying to do and where you are on the court. You could hit either depending on the situation. WW is a pretty good option tho.
Yes. Very frequently.
Hi Will , this video is simply amazing , I have been waiting for one like this for a long , long time .
Actually , I improved my forehand being helped by other videos ( as well as from essential tennis leader Ian ) but always I had the feeling that something was wrong, without knowing what . Now I think I know and I am going to work at it.
Thank you so much , Ervin Segal
Will I like that you hammer on the fact that a WW FH starts well before contact. A key cue that you leave out is the direction of the buttcap at the beginning of the forward swing. If you think of the handle/buttcap as a laser, on a classic FH that laser would go through the front of the ball and into the back fence. On the WW FH that laser beam would go through the underside of the ball and shine well over the top of the fence into the sky.
Hi Wil, im just here to ask if you could tell me if you were going to make a video about:
1. Double Bend?
2. Angle of racquet during take back i.e. closed, open.
3. Tips on how to produce effective body rotation.
Thanks a lot man, youve helped a lot.
@serbtennnis3 You need to watch the ball as close as possible. You also need the ball around eye level when you can get it there - bend your knees. You could also film your forehand and see what you need to do with your wrist: Is your racquet completely parallel to the floor? If it is, you need to make it more "open", so the ball has much more chance of hitting the strings instead of the frame. Someone like Federer hits his forehand with a very open face, have a look at his. Hope this helped!
great vid. esp the part explaining how not to hit wwf using classic form. i have been struggling with that for years. i always felt the ball had already left the string before i do the ww motion.
it's basically the same, you just have to extend your elbow a little bit more with eastern. Also don't forget to drop the tip of your racket before you start your swing path. This will allow the racket to have an upward movement resulting in more brushing.
This is an awesome video. The forehand is a lot more complex than i thought. This vid xplains so much. Great job
Your hitting-arm position can vary. Verdasco hits a windshield wiper with a straight arm while Roddick hits it with a bent arm.
@cjppsb123 you can still do the same thing, just make sure u can see through the strings at all times, it might be a little harder for you though, you might want to consider learning the nadal forehand
Im 5.0 and i find i can come in and volley more confidently because of higher ball against people who overuse the windshield forehand. Always keep in mind, each type of forehand (or backhand) is a tool. Even Roger hits his forehand like Rafa sometimes. Its all about having all the tools you can and knowing when to use them. I love this game :)
Oh alright, thanks. Also i looked around and found the video that you made about wrists, which really cleared a lot of stuff up for me. Watching federer and nadal's forehands really make things a bit confusing cause they make it look pretty complicated.
Thank you for these videos, they are the most detailed tennis videos and are the best.
His follow through is a little bit different. He starts to bring the racket across his body, left to right, but then the racket releases over his head. So I can see how it looks kinda the same but the mechanics of Nadal's reverse finish are a little bit different from what I'm demoing.
i actually learned windshield wiper forehand first. and i think most rising tennis players tend to do this cuz its the easiest way to have a consistent controlled forehand. it wasnt until maybe a couple years later did i want to learn the traditional flat forehand because it give u more pace.
Most pros hit the majority of their forehands with this technique. The spin required to hit consistently at that level necessitates the windshield-wiper forehand.
No problem. I'm glad I could help you a little, seeing as your vids have helped me so much.
@bingobongo0711 the difference between the traditional top spin forehand and the
WW forehand is that your swing paths are completly different. the traditional is a relatively horizontal shot, aka your swing goes back but then does not go down then up nearly as much as the WW forehand, the pros of the traditonal is that you will get more power, but the con is less consistancy, the pros to the WW forehand is its more consistant, but less power hope this helped!! :)
I think any of them can work. I have seen Federer swing sharper before like he has said. Now which is easier? Probably semi to western because of the natural swing paths of those grips.
hi qph. d1 players hit pretty hard -- they're probably swinging harder than you are so the ball is going to sound different off their strings. racket tension also affects this. hard for me to tell what you're doing wrong w/out seeing your strokes.
If you ever get a chance, could you make a quick video on how to better your aim? Some people say to just swing sooner/later while some say to change your stance..
No not all. It's a particular type of forehand. It's used very, very often because it allows you to hit hard and be consistent but it's not the best shot for every situation.
Hi Will, first of all thnx for your clear and helpfull videos. 5 stars for you! I've been reading a lot lately, one of the things being that to create topspin a semiwestern grip is very helpfull. 2 questions: do the basic mechanics you talked about stay the same for this grip? and 2: do you recommend an average player to try this grip?? Thnx, grtz from belgium.
FYB, is the WSW forehand the preferred shot for a high forehand? Is it harder to hit a flat high forehand properly?
Great presentation and explanation in your video work.
Awesome vid. I'm new to tennis. Is it common to use this as their main forehand stroke or do people just switch between this and the traditional at will. Also, which grip is best to use when applying the windshield wiper forehand? Many thanks from New Zealand
Yes, absolutely. You need to be able to hit both.
Do you have a video? Does your follow through feel smooth or forced?
ya backswing is the same. haven't really counted how many "forehands i have" but my forehand is pretty versatile.
Simply put yes. though Federer makes a lot of adjustments to it, but the principle is the same.
If you look at Fed's forehands from the front and diagonally, after he makes contact, you can see him "brushing" the follow through.
He's just more explosive with the footwork, turns his body quicker and he adds that famous whip of his (arm-wrist pronation)
Hi queen. I'm not 100% sure what you mean? Perhaps you're hitting some balls in the center of the strings and others closer to the frame. That will definitely make contact feel different.
this is a great shot i just have one question, when should i use this forehand and when should i use the classic forehand please respond!
Hi i enjoyed your video, I'll probably be trying this out the next time I play. I just have a couple questions. Do you think this shot will cause more fatigue over time compared to the regular forehand shot? Like if you swung 200 times with standard swing and WW swing which one would tire you out more? Also do you think it will cause more stress to the elbows because it seems a little more demanding, thanks a lot for the answers :)
Well the trajectory of the ball depends on a number of things. The amount of wiper you've got in there will affect how much spin is on the ball.
You're not pushing through the ball, you're hitting it =)
Hey thanks a lot for these videos, they have helped me coach myself from just starting out and knowing nothing but what I watch on television to being a legitimate, quality player.
Is it a bad thing that I've basically been using the windshield wiper forehand throughout my career? I modeled my forehand off Rafael Nadal which looked like the majority of the motion in the forehand is upward as oppose to through the ball, but I'm not sure if a less experienced player should just stick to basics.
so it can produce more topspin than classical swing right? how about stances does it matter open, semi open, closed stance?
no there isn't really a risk of injury if you do it correctly. pretty much all the pros use this shot as their standard forehand.
Hey Will. The WW forehand is a very good rally ball because you get much more variation and leeway but do you still stick to it when you want to hit a powerful winner? The WW forehand is good and all but its significantly harder to generate power on it.
When you change your swing path to more "steep" for more topspin, do you have to close your racket head more in the backswing and at contact?
thx! if you search through our channel there are some videos on how to hit a backhand... both one handed and two handed. hope they help!
Eastern / Semi-Western / Western all work. However, it's probably a little easier to hit a windshield wiper the more extreme your grip becomes. The continental is NOT an acceptable forehand grip.
would you recommend this for someone who has a history of tennis elbow
@kamikazejap650 i would say semi-western because its
easier to turn the racquet into the swing
Will, I have a question. If like you say where the racket ends up (either shoulder or below shoulder)
Can I put it this way. If I want more spin on the ball, I should try to hit the ball so that the racket ends up near to my waist and if I want to hit a flatter forehand I will end it above my shoulder?
Is Rafael Nadal hitting a windshield wiper forehand ? And what grip do we have to use to hit a windshield wiper forehand ? Thanks you FYB
did i still hit a correct ww forehand if my racket finish wrap around my heads but not my around my shoulder?
Can you explain more about the grip with the ww forehand? For instance, how's an Eastern grip windshield wiper forehand compare with a Semi Western or Western, is it both as spin as those + more power or anything like that? Btw, can you please also give me a closer look at Federer combined grip? Thanks!
@Y3ll0wBr1anPass10n yes, almost all good modern players use semi western grip, and pretty much all of them use WW forehand, although they dont think of it that way, they just think of it as a forehand haha.
so in short yes, semi western with WW forehand is what almost all good players use.
so the short answer is yes, almost all good modern players
Is it true that a semi-western or western grip is better when you want brush on the ball to generate topspin and an eastern grip is better to hit more flatly. I felt that when you want to brush from low to high across the ball the semi western feels better than the eastern and it seems impossible with the continental grip. What do you think?
Oops just accidentally removed a comment... we're converting most of our videos to high definition but it takes time. We have to re-shoot them all!
Very good description of the windshield wiper forehand (WWF) here, but he's missing the key mechanical difference in this stroke vs. the classic forehand. It's essentially a pro-nation motion, similar to the torsional action of the arm for a properly hit serve, that provides the additional spin and pace to the shot. Try a drill - hold a racquet to your side with a straight arm. Now, try to hit a forehand as hard as you can, without swinging your arm, rather through torsional rotation...
to do top-spin, u need to swing underneath the ball, but if u hit it to late its going fly out,, try to think about hitting the ball more infront of u and aslong as u do that, u can start adding some power into it,
hi
how you can get extreme topspin that the ball flying forward.
greetings
Hi will ; what kind of forehand and grip nadal uses?becuse his forehands seems like a combination of both forehands ; awesome work greetings and thx from peru :D
would the flight path of the ball become more of a semi circle arc?Sorta like rafa's?But can this shot this be used for the big forehands like huge ones that travel in a straight path.
would you suggest that a player should know how to hit both shots (windshield wiper/classic), or be able to hit different shots using one technique?
Will, my FH is horrible(so bad I had to switch to a 2HFH). I use an eastern grip and always hit flat shots long. I also have a habit of bringing the racquet over my head which produces a lot of unnecessary topspin. This works great for doubles because it makes really short angles. For singles though, the ball always gets smashed in my face. Any suggestions?Thanks in advance.
... if you're doing this right you can generate a heck of a lot of racquet head speed. Now, add that torsional action into a full swinging forehand and that torsional "whip" will be added to the racquet head speed generated through the body rotation / arm swing. Watch one of the Federer slo-mo clips and you'll see the ridiculous amount of torsional action he adds to the swing. The Windshield path just represents this torsional rotation.
I'm closer to an eastern. I'd recommend you stay away from a western. Semi-western works fine though.
my elbow hurts when i put more strenght on the forehand shots, is it normal in the beggining or am i doing something wrong?
btw, thank you very much, your videos are helping me a lot !
can you please explain how the grip affect your windshield wiper forehand?
Winshield wiper is great for front facing forehands and for more clearance over the net and good topspin. Don't do it if a player is at the net and you're hitting close to them. It will be one of the easier volleys for them. But use it if you have clearance from the net player since it does penetrate the court it can get behind someone.
so fed's forehand dips in but still travels in a straight path?Is the windshield wiper more about "pushing"through or brushing up?Coz i notice that federer usually drives through the ball in many of your videos?I get confused in putting spin into the ball....Is it more brushing or more pushing forward with an upward motion.
that's great to hear. happy to help!
from the way you are hitting those ww forehands, how am i suppose to hit it from mid court and maybe even on the service line? Cause usually my shots are going out on those easy balls
Is there is a difference in grip between the classic and windshield wiper forehands?
There is more of a vertical component to the forward swing, so ya.
hi fyb2007
i want to hit the ball with more extreme spin ,I start from the backswing position and drop the racket down then i step forward with my feet my non hitting arm is extend to the ball and i go upwards to find the ball and ends across but i want that the ball kicks like and kickserve.
Great job. I really like your video and the explanation of the game. Keep it up.
Great job! I'll be thinking of using that in my next game =) hopefully it'll work. how long did it take u to get ur forehand like that?