The last time I saw something that raised the technical tennis bar was the first time I saw Andy Roddick's forehand (different speed animations in c and o...in Part 1, The Forehand). There's an evolutionary element to Roddick's forehand that makes perfect sense to the well-travelled technical eye. It's like the feeling of having known it all along, which you can get when moved by a truly great piece of art or writing...only you couldn't have conjured it up yourself.
The first time I saw Andy Roddick's forehand I knew that such a shot had
been heading towards us for some time: it was inevitable that the various
elements he uses to pummel tennis balls would work their way into one stroke.
But I couldn't have demonstrated the shot to you before Roddick put flesh
and bone to the forehand possibilities, as only natural talent can.
Hopefully I can do the stroke some justice, so you too might feel like you've
known it all along. Just don't expect to hit a forehand like it any day soon!
I've left the animation of the Jimmy Connors forehand running in perpetual motion so you can compare the two different techniques. In Part 1 I've used the Andy Roddick and Jimmy Connors forehands as a couple of technical reference points, to show how the forehand has evolved, from simple flat hitting into what (in the Roddick forehand) is probably as much racket head speed as you'll see on a forehand.
tennisforall.com
The racket head speed on Andy's big forehand starts life as a huge loop,
and after a push back of his right foot to shift his center of gravity
forward,
Andy side-shuffles up the court and gets his preparation up and running.
In the first four frames you can see he's changing to his extreme palm-under
forehand grip.
All those dull, clichéd grip names are ancient history, so erase
them from memory. It's what you do with the palm of your hand that largely
determines
the types of forehand you can successfully hit.
The size of the loop is determined by the height of your hitting elbow. Here, Andy pulls his elbow back and away from the oncoming ball (and subsequently the forthcoming contact). Shoulder height is the point at which Roddick's hitting elbow stops rising, which makes this one of the biggest loops in the game.
In frames o and f Andy Roddick loops the racket head on its way and 'loads' the shoulders with powerful intent.
The loop in itself isn't the full Roddick enchilada: it's what Roddick does
with all this looped up racket head speed that's a radical leap forward in
the evolution of a forehand.
Different Strokes: Elbow High and Low
The size of a loop can be tailored to the needs of
the moment, the speed of the ball coming at you and the speed of the court
surface (for example, clay and grass courts).
As the loop generally works its way around the elbow,
if the player doesn't
take
the elbow quite as high on a looped wind-up, the overall stroke will be
more compact.
Keep your eye on Roddick throughout Wimbledon and you'll see far
more compact strokes than, say, you'll see him hit on the clay courts.
Now look at the Connors forehand and compare the two styles of hitting.
We'll take a look at Jimmy's forehand and compare it to Roddick's here.
This is an edited selection from Part 1 of the tennisforall digital tennis book
Available
as a download on
www.lulu.com. Click the graphic.
THE
FOREHAND
3 Sample Chapters (of the full 12)
THE
FOREHAND Chapter
One
THE
FOREHAND Chapter
Two
THE
FOREHAND Chapter
Three
THE SERVE
Two sample Chapters (of the full 12)
THE SERVE Chapter
One
THE SERVE Chapter
Two
Juan Carlos
Ferrero
Tennis for
All?
Simon Roberts:
A County Tennis Odyssey
Anabel Croft
Andy Roddick
Elena Dementieva
Gabriela Sabatini
Tim Henman
Jimmy Connors
Venus and Serena
Williams
Serena Forehand
Mary Joe Fernandez
How to hit a tennis backhand: Part
1
How to hit a tennis backhand: Part 2
How to hit a tennis backhand: Part 3
How to hit a backhand: Part 4
How to hit a backhand: Part 5
