Tennis Forehand - Preparing For The Ball
One of the key things you need to perfect to become a good tennis player, and even more important if you want to try and take tennis to career level, is your stroke technique. With all strokes being equally important you need to make sure you have a strong understanding of the required approach and that you have spent time trying to perfect each one, if possible with a trainer watching and giving you tips.
There are eight fundamental tennis strokes; however, the tennis forehand has to be the most basic all round stroke that needs to be perfected. Once you are able to perfect this forehand, you can move on to the others which are: the backhand, the volley, the lob and drop, the serve, the topspin, the slice and the approach shot.
So, what is the correct technique used in the tennis forehand shot? Well, the first step is to make sure you are holding the racket in the correct way. This is called the ‘grip'. The easiest way to get the correct grip is to hold the racket in your non playing hand by the head, and hold the handle out towards your playing hand as if you were going to shake hands with someone you just met. This is known as the ‘eastern grip'. Keep hold of the racket like this, and then extend your index finger out along the handle as if you are about to grip the trigger of a gun. Hold the racket this way for a while until it becomes a familiar feeling. Let go and try again until this feels like a totally natural way to grip your racket.
When you are waiting for the ball to be returned, stand facing the net with your feet shoulder width apart, and keep your weight distributed equally between them. Lean slightly towards the front of your feet, and have your knees softly bent. Tuck in your elbows and use your non playing hand to provide some support to the racket. You are then in the correct position to get ready for the shot. When the ball is coming you need to prepare to hit it. You do this by turning your shoulders and your hips, then transferring your body weight to your right foot as you move it so it is now pointing at the post of the net. Keep your forearm parallel to the floor at this stage.
You are then ready for the ‘Backswing' stage of the shot. Take your racket back until it is now parallel from the floor. Do not change your grip or the angle between your arm and your racket. Your racket will be pointing at the net, roughly the place that the ball will be approaching you. You have now made all the necessary preparations to hit the ball when it arrives, and are on the way to creating yourself the perfect tennis forehand. Again, practice these steps, especially the turn and backswing until they seem natural.