Excellent point about the static wrist through contact, and how it releases after impact. And I loved the comparison between more classic stroke versus modern stroke.
Woah, the other I was hitting on the ball machine and realized I was very tense and it led to me being very inconsistent. My coach pointed this out to me and I started to relax on my contact point and the ball felt so nice going of the strings. This video really explained everything very well and I understood the exacts mechanics on the forehand that were stopping me from improving. This was a great video, thank you
I agree 1000%, focus on contact and keeping the head still/eyes focused on the point of impact; all things being equal in phase I consistency improves.
Seriously. This is the best video about forehand in youtube. The follow through may add 10% to the power and spin. The rest depends on the contact from the moment you feel the impact and the moment Kevin asks you to stop in the video. Great drill. The balls go to the net go long, or go short, because of the contact not because of the follow through. Great video Kevin. Keep going.
You make a valid point about some players forcing the follow thru while making crappy contact. But at the same time the follow thru is important. It is true. The follow thru often determines what happened at contact. Indeed, a common teaching method is to focus on follow thru and the contact will often take care of itself. This makes sense as contact is only 3 milliseconds and too brief to feel... I would say that if you take 10 rec players with a proper follow thru, the majority of them will have proper contact. A minority of them will have bad contact despite a proper follow through.
Excellent tutorial. I was practicing my sliced backhand focusing very closely on my follow through-- and I could not hit down and through the ball. Next time I'm going to forget about follow through so I can see the ball clearly when I unwind my stroke. Thank you for a strong and practical tutorial.
So glad it helped you understand where the importance of the swing is -- can't wait to hear an update on how it works for you in training practices -- keep us updated Thomas!
Best tennis lesson video I've ever watched. Blows everything else away. And I agree with him 100 percent. Others focus on so many fundamentals that you lose the big picture. By highlighting this one point, he delivers what would seem to me, the best video I've watched on tennis instruction. It's not how you hold the racket, the grip strength, bending knees, or stance, it's the whole notion of contact and follow through. And if you think about it, this is the hardest part of each shot. And if it isn't right, nothing will go right. Bravo! So well explained.
So true. Suffered so much with loose wrist concept and all the wind shield wiper thing. I thought it meant hold the racket loosely. Now I grip is firm. I am even getting blisters lol. But the wrist is locked through contact.
I struggled with Contacts I focused on it I could never get it consistent I never knew where to hit the ball it was a mess. I had a coach have me focus on the take back and then focus on the follow through and not even think about contact. That totally worked
The best video/tip I saw about relaxing was Top Tennis Training's video on breathing through the shot. Inhaling during preparation and exhaling during striking the ball is so important to staying relaxed. It's almost impossible to tense up while breathing out and swinging. But Kevin's video was great too. Relaxation will give you that extra power and topspin. Guaranteed.
This video is good lesson for those who want huge speed but not direction of a ball. I think that the first thing of teaching tennis should be teaching direction.
I don’t know, maybe players are just focusing on the wrong part of the follow through? Like you, Jeff Salzenstein is a great coach and his core principle is to focus on the finish. Doing so has helped me greatly, as have your TTD videos. Keep up the great work!
I feel like this is probably the single most common mistake I see on basically every level. Being way to tight in your arm swinging at the ball. If you stay loose, elements like wrist lag, racquet drop and follow through will naturally work properly.
As Andre Agassi said is his Udemy course, use the 12 inch rule, meaning, what actually influences a good shot is what happens 6 inches before contact, contact moment and 6 inches after contact. That's it. The rest is just what your body normally wants to do, i.e. in the follow-through phase, just letting the inertia guide your hand and decelerate naturally.
Interesting! Do you think that flat hitters have a slight advantage here when it comes to the biomechanics? Spin players more or less need to have a more pronounced movement in order to be able to create the right angle to produce the spin. It kinda takes much more focusing in using the right preparation, execution and certain muscles. Flat hitters don’t have this extra step to think about, i.e. using the right grip and racket drop to be able to execute the upward movement that is a prerequisite for spin. Of course, with enough practicing even spin players’ movement becomes deeply rooted in the muscle memory but they still have some additional parameters to think about.
Also not mentioned too often is balance. Just like martial art. If you achieve balance as you hit, you will feel a lot more control of the ball. All of the technique really is designed to achieve balance. And to achieve balance, motion cannot be abrupt, or the balance will be broken. So it's not just technique, but your footwork is also crucial to achieve balance. If you ever feel like you don't have as much control at the end if the match as at the beginning, that's most likely due to the legs giving out. I can definitely feel it now that I am older. It's harder to hit a reliable overhead now for me, because my legs don't respond as well. There is a lot of foot movement to position yourself to hit an overhead.
I have a question for you Kevin, and anyone else who comes across this. I dislocated my right ankle and broke my right fibula a year ago. I hit the court for the first time yesterday, and while my forehand wasn't stresing my bad foot too much, i felt my backhand was. I'm right hand, and I use a single handed backhand. My question is, would switching to a 2 handed backhand be better? I have no idea if one style would be better for putting less rotational stress through the right foot. Great videos Kevin, crystal clear.
idtso bc actually with a 2h backhand you will be putting more rotational stress on your entire body as you can send more power in the same motion while using 2h
Thanks Kevin, at the moment I feel like sometimes I am able to get it but then making some good shots and then eventually junk a few shots then get the rhythm again if you know what I mean
So dead on. I stopped thinking and focusing on follow through because that makes me tighten up. Instead I focus on getting into that physical and mental Zen state of relaxing while playing. This video along with Kevin's video on control and mini tennis is critical for consistent tennis shots. I play doubles with an older lefty who hits like McEnroe and his control is amazing. You don't have to be a lag and snapper to be effective.
Even when I’m getting a foot massage I can’t relax my muscles. Constant muscle tension is my standard state of being. Was practicing not having tension in my arm yesterday (thanks to another one of your videos) as I practised my forehand and it was going well but felt so incredibly awkward. I’m a big strong dude and am using SwingVision App + Slinger Ball machine and was surprised to see when I use all hips and try to avoid using my arm at all for power and when I smack the heck out of the ball with my arm the speeds are generally the same after two different sessions.
That was a great way to compare and get your body/brain on board Wilson! We will also do a short video on some tips to work on relaxation as well (for those of us who are a little extra tense)
Hello Kevin I think you may have nailed it for me. Several of my coaches have told me to hit “ longer” through the ball for exactly the same reasons that you mentioned. But your drill is by far the best one for me to feel what it’s like to hit longer through the ball and the arm more extended and in front at impact. 🙏🙏👍
I understand the point of the video but don't agree that the finish doesn't have an impact. A lasso finish puts more spin on the ball just like the height of your finish will have an impact as well on the ball trajectory.
For me this is all wrong. To preface this the fundimentals of my stroke are faily sound. I make better contact when I ignore the takeback and contact and just imagine myself doing a big smooth follow thru, and I see the ball spinning off the racket particularly on the forehand. Then when I actually play I get better contact, better timing and a lovely shape to my ball with spin and power. It's almost like I am painting in the air, I can see in my mind how the shape of my swing causes the ball to spin off my racket in the direction I want then my brain attempts to make that happen. I pay little attention to what my muscles are doing, or racket face or any of that, my brain just tries to copy the shape in my mind and the rest just happens.
IMO, this statement doesn't even need defending. The only thing that matters is how the racquet contacts the ball; the follow-through is a result of that contact and doesn't cause anything. A "wrong" follow-through is just a symptom of a poor contact with the ball.
I don't think the follow through matters for most beginners and intermediates. But advanced players who use very heavy rackets (> 12 oz.), if you aren't careful, you will hit yourself painfully. I use to catch the racket but even that could jam your finger or split your nail. You are pulling that racket so hard and the racket has so much momentum, you really have to be aware where that racket is going. I've seen ppl hit themselves in the head. Ouch. So I buggy whip on diagonal swing paths just out of necessity, that way I don't get brain damage from tennis. I believe that most pros do it out of necessity as well and it's not to look like you're in a rodeo.
👏🥎nice comparison, clean simple strokes with solid contact point ignited by building momentum then let inertia take care if the finishing swing naturally, and being rekaxed with the eyes on the ball, good balanced base and pinch as many details what are you doing with the racquest that wil help you adjust for your next shot. Tennis is easy when understand the biomechanics and psychology of it, ALSO WATCHING THE BALL'S JOURNEY BETWEEN THE 2 OR 4 RACQUESTS TEACHES YOU TO BE PRESENT AS IT TOUGHF ME AND NUMBERLESS CLIENTS OF MINE (TO BE FOCUSED AND PRESENT IN THE MOMENT). AWPROTENNIS &FITNESS LTD.LONDON.
This is the single best tennis channel on youtube
Yes
Excellent point about the static wrist through contact, and how it releases after impact.
And I loved the comparison between more classic stroke versus modern stroke.
Woah, the other I was hitting on the ball machine and realized I was very tense and it led to me being very inconsistent. My coach pointed this out to me and I started to relax on my contact point and the ball felt so nice going of the strings. This video really explained everything very well and I understood the exacts mechanics on the forehand that were stopping me from improving. This was a great video, thank you
Awesome! So glad it was helpful to elaborate on what your coach was telling you!
I agree 1000%, focus on contact and keeping the head still/eyes focused on the point of impact; all things being equal in phase I consistency improves.
You are absolutely correct about this!!! I need to practice this more myself.
Seriously. This is the best video about forehand in youtube. The follow through may add 10% to the power and spin. The rest depends on the contact from the moment you feel the impact and the moment Kevin asks you to stop in the video. Great drill. The balls go to the net go long, or go short, because of the contact not because of the follow through.
Great video Kevin. Keep going.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
Your channel is pure gold. I have a great backhand but i'm having problems with my forehand's contact. Thank you very much.
Great content. Kevin needs more subs.
i realized this 'dont force it' recently, trying get rid of every unnecesay muscle tension and just flow..
You make a valid point about some players forcing the follow thru while making crappy contact. But at the same time the follow thru is important. It is true.
The follow thru often determines what happened at contact. Indeed, a common teaching method is to focus on follow thru and the contact will often take care of itself. This makes sense as contact is only 3 milliseconds and too brief to feel... I would say that if you take 10 rec players with a proper follow thru, the majority of them will have proper contact. A minority of them will have bad contact despite a proper follow through.
Great video! Completely agree.
Excellent tutorial. I was practicing my sliced backhand focusing very closely on my follow through-- and I could not hit down and through the ball. Next time I'm going to forget about follow through so I can see the ball clearly when I unwind my stroke. Thank you for a strong and practical tutorial.
So glad it helped you understand where the importance of the swing is -- can't wait to hear an update on how it works for you in training practices -- keep us updated Thomas!
One more proof that I have never meat better tennis channel than this 👍👍👍
Thanks Yevgeniy!
2+ years of playing tennis, I'm still having consistency issue when I'm in the match... "poor contact management" rings my bell. Thank you. Haha.
Best tennis lesson video I've ever watched. Blows everything else away. And I agree with him 100 percent. Others focus on so many fundamentals that you lose the big picture. By highlighting this one point, he delivers what would seem to me, the best video I've watched on tennis instruction. It's not how you hold the racket, the grip strength, bending knees, or stance, it's the whole notion of contact and follow through. And if you think about it, this is the hardest part of each shot. And if it isn't right, nothing will go right. Bravo! So well explained.
Thanks Ben! Appreciate you watching and the support!
So true. Suffered so much with loose wrist concept and all the wind shield wiper thing. I thought it meant hold the racket loosely. Now I grip is firm. I am even getting blisters lol. But the wrist is locked through contact.
I struggled with Contacts I focused on it I could never get it consistent I never knew where to hit the ball it was a mess. I had a coach have me focus on the take back and then focus on the follow through and not even think about contact. That totally worked
Game Changer! Full stop. Great work and contribution as usual!
Awesome! Glad to hear it was helpful in your practices!
I lost it at, THATS THE KEY TO TENNIS!! Lol great video man! Thank you
Top shelf tennis instructions .
Best on UA-cam.
Thanks for watching!
Really well taught!!
You sir, are a genius!! Awesome explanation of what really is happening at the most important moment in a tennis stroke! Thank you:)
Thanks for watching and so glad it was helpful!
Thank you for the great tip
Wow, great video. I was way too focused on the finish. I also have a Slinger bag and will try to set it up as you did for the feed and try this out.
I'm so thankful for this channel, Kevin!
Appreciate it Kyle!
Awesome lesson, Thanks!
Thanks for watching Hector!
The best video/tip I saw about relaxing was Top Tennis Training's video on breathing through the shot. Inhaling during preparation and exhaling during striking the ball is so important to staying relaxed. It's almost impossible to tense up while breathing out and swinging. But Kevin's video was great too. Relaxation will give you that extra power and topspin. Guaranteed.
Yes love that breathing tip from Top Tennis Training! They have some awesome videos!
This video is good lesson for those who want huge speed but not direction of a ball. I think that the first thing of teaching tennis should be teaching direction.
I don’t know, maybe players are just focusing on the wrong part of the follow through? Like you, Jeff Salzenstein is a great coach and his core principle is to focus on the finish. Doing so has helped me greatly, as have your TTD videos. Keep up the great work!
I feel like this is probably the single most common mistake I see on basically every level. Being way to tight in your arm swinging at the ball.
If you stay loose, elements like wrist lag, racquet drop and follow through will naturally work properly.
I totally agree! thanks
GREAT Video Kevin!!!
As Andre Agassi said is his Udemy course, use the 12 inch rule, meaning, what actually influences a good shot is what happens 6 inches before contact, contact moment and 6 inches after contact. That's it. The rest is just what your body normally wants to do, i.e. in the follow-through phase, just letting the inertia guide your hand and decelerate naturally.
Love that! Yes totally agree!
Really Great! Thank You
Interesting! Do you think that flat hitters have a slight advantage here when it comes to the biomechanics? Spin players more or less need to have a more pronounced movement in order to be able to create the right angle to produce the spin. It kinda takes much more focusing in using the right preparation, execution and certain muscles. Flat hitters don’t have this extra step to think about, i.e. using the right grip and racket drop to be able to execute the upward movement that is a prerequisite for spin. Of course, with enough practicing even spin players’ movement becomes deeply rooted in the muscle memory but they still have some additional parameters to think about.
I tried this exercise today, it is very helpful, great tip. Thanks a lot.
Amazing to hear! Love that you gave it a try!
LOVE IT!! Learned so much in person and continuing to learn and reinforce from your videos. ✌🏾&💜
Thank you Seal! We appreciate you and can't wait to continue working on the courts with you!
Also not mentioned too often is balance. Just like martial art. If you achieve balance as you hit, you will feel a lot more control of the ball. All of the technique really is designed to achieve balance. And to achieve balance, motion cannot be abrupt, or the balance will be broken. So it's not just technique, but your footwork is also crucial to achieve balance. If you ever feel like you don't have as much control at the end if the match as at the beginning, that's most likely due to the legs giving out. I can definitely feel it now that I am older. It's harder to hit a reliable overhead now for me, because my legs don't respond as well. There is a lot of foot movement to position yourself to hit an overhead.
Keven you know your stuff i have been going this for years and coaches see me and tell me to stop doing it you must follow though
Glad that it was helpful!
Ottimo! Grazie Kevin
What racquet is that? Never seen that one before.. thanks!
Its the 2021 head radical. Probably "pro" version.
Very very good!
Thank you Nate!
Your speaking speed is faster than the ball speed. Very nice.
Great as always Kev 🚀 keep going 👍🙂 ~Mati
Thanks Mati! Appreciate it!
I have a question for you Kevin, and anyone else who comes across this.
I dislocated my right ankle and broke my right fibula a year ago. I hit the court for the first time yesterday, and while my forehand wasn't stresing my bad foot too much, i felt my backhand was. I'm right hand, and I use a single handed backhand.
My question is, would switching to a 2 handed backhand be better? I have no idea if one style would be better for putting less rotational stress through the right foot.
Great videos Kevin, crystal clear.
idtso bc actually with a 2h backhand you will be putting more rotational stress on your entire body as you can send more power in the same motion while using 2h
Thanks Kevin, at the moment I feel like sometimes I am able to get it but then making some good shots and then eventually junk a few shots then get the rhythm again if you know what I mean
So dead on. I stopped thinking and focusing on follow through because that makes me tighten up. Instead I focus on getting into that physical and mental Zen state of relaxing while playing. This video along with Kevin's video on control and mini tennis is critical for consistent tennis shots. I play doubles with an older lefty who hits like McEnroe and his control is amazing. You don't have to be a lag and snapper to be effective.
Even when I’m getting a foot massage I can’t relax my muscles. Constant muscle tension is my standard state of being. Was practicing not having tension in my arm yesterday (thanks to another one of your videos) as I practised my forehand and it was going well but felt so incredibly awkward. I’m a big strong dude and am using SwingVision App + Slinger Ball machine and was surprised to see when I use all hips and try to avoid using my arm at all for power and when I smack the heck out of the ball with my arm the speeds are generally the same after two different sessions.
That was a great way to compare and get your body/brain on board Wilson! We will also do a short video on some tips to work on relaxation as well (for those of us who are a little extra tense)
I like Kevin. Though why did he leave that other place - the one with the fireball logo? Did he get sick of beating that Ian guy?
haha - We moved back to oklahoma (Kevin and Megan) - it was the right move for our family and now run a club there as well as TTD.
very good
Bro! could open the session talking about your left hand movement when hitting forward?
“No windshield wiper anything!” 🤣🤣
Much appreciated
Thanks for watching!
Did you work in Essential Tennis? I seem to see you there.
Thnk u
Hello Kevin
I think you may have nailed it for me. Several of my coaches have told me to hit “ longer” through the ball for exactly the same reasons that you mentioned. But your drill is by far the best one for me to feel what it’s like to hit longer through the ball and the arm more extended and in front at impact. 🙏🙏👍
Awesome to hear Robert! Yes, love that your coach was working on you hitting longer through the ball!
looking good in 4k bro
Thanks for watching!
I understand the point of the video but don't agree that the finish doesn't have an impact. A lasso finish puts more spin on the ball just like the height of your finish will have an impact as well on the ball trajectory.
For me this is all wrong. To preface this the fundimentals of my stroke are faily sound. I make better contact when I ignore the takeback and contact and just imagine myself doing a big smooth follow thru, and I see the ball spinning off the racket particularly on the forehand. Then when I actually play I get better contact, better timing and a lovely shape to my ball with spin and power. It's almost like I am painting in the air, I can see in my mind how the shape of my swing causes the ball to spin off my racket in the direction I want then my brain attempts to make that happen. I pay little attention to what my muscles are doing, or racket face or any of that, my brain just tries to copy the shape in my mind and the rest just happens.
Cool
Fernando verdasco swing anything racket wise
Love from India
Thanks for watching Sudhesh!
IMO, this statement doesn't even need defending. The only thing that matters is how the racquet contacts the ball; the follow-through is a result of that contact and doesn't cause anything. A "wrong" follow-through is just a symptom of a poor contact with the ball.
Appreciate your humor. Love your content. Can you make it shorter?
Thanks for watching Linda! You might try watching our shorts also - since those are not as long.
The grips more extreme and contact point more in front
Awesome. Get to the ball, stay balance, let physics rip it.
But you’re not really manipulating the racket face - no way. I think an “open racket race” is actually a late hit, a leaning back body, etc
So many gimmicks in tennis teaching. You debunked a few of them nicely.
I don't think the follow through matters for most beginners and intermediates. But advanced players who use very heavy rackets (> 12 oz.), if you aren't careful, you will hit yourself painfully. I use to catch the racket but even that could jam your finger or split your nail. You are pulling that racket so hard and the racket has so much momentum, you really have to be aware where that racket is going. I've seen ppl hit themselves in the head. Ouch. So I buggy whip on diagonal swing paths just out of necessity, that way I don't get brain damage from tennis. I believe that most pros do it out of necessity as well and it's not to look like you're in a rodeo.
😂
👏🥎nice comparison, clean simple strokes with solid contact point ignited by building momentum then let inertia take care if the finishing swing naturally, and being rekaxed with the eyes on the ball, good balanced base and pinch as many details what are you doing with the racquest that wil help you adjust for your next shot. Tennis is easy when understand the biomechanics and psychology of it, ALSO WATCHING THE BALL'S JOURNEY BETWEEN THE 2 OR 4 RACQUESTS TEACHES YOU TO BE PRESENT AS IT TOUGHF ME AND NUMBERLESS CLIENTS OF MINE (TO BE FOCUSED AND PRESENT IN THE MOMENT). AWPROTENNIS &FITNESS LTD.LONDON.