The Forehand

Roger Federer hits an inside forehand.

When you hit the tennis ball on your dominant side (your right-hand side if you are right-handed), you are hitting a forehand. The forehand is often the shot that every tennis player develops first, but this also means that players often develop bad habits early on their forehand side. This section of contains videos that teach you the fundamental techniques that every pro uses to hit a forehand. We teach the forehand by breaking the shot down into easy-to-follow steps, using videos and pictures of the top pros on tour to illustrate what we’re talking about. We then move on to progressions, which are essentially a series of drills you can do to build yourself a fundamentally sound forehand. If you can master the fundamentals of the shot, you will be in position to turn your forehand into a major weapon. The “windshield-wiper” and “advanced” forehand sections will help you do this.

Forehand Fundamentals
In this section, we focus on the fundamentals of the forehand — the things that every single pro tennis player does every time they hit the shot. If you master the fundamental steps that we lay out in these videos you will be well on your way to possessing a powerful, consistent forehand.

Forehand Progressions
The progressions videos present a series of steps you can follow to build your forehand from scratch. In the Forehand Fundamentals section we showed you what every top player does the same when they hit the shot. However, simply knowing what the pros do doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to hit the shot.

Windshield Wiper Forehand
The windshield wiper forehand is a shot you’ll see most pros using nowadays. This is a must-learn shot for intermediate players looking to take their forehands — and their games — to the next level. The windshield wiper allows you to hit with both power and spin, making it a consistent yet powerful weapon.

Advanced Forehand Technique
This section focuses on some of the more advanced techniques that pro tennis players use when hitting their forehands. We go into detail about the various elements of the forehand — really focus on the minutia — to help you better understand what’s going on over the course of the motion.

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Come inside and play like you have an unfair advantage.
  • Kevin
    hi where do I fond the free email course on forehands on the site I wanted to bookmark day 1 and I'm new to gmail so I cant find it
  • Just some compliments
    I think this website is the most reliable and useful in the Internet in teaching people playing tennis for free. The videos are very informative. It is very obvious that these videos are made in such a way so that people can really learn from watching them.
  • Thanks!
  • Fernando Barbosa
    Hi, Will!

    Because I'm learning English I can't write too much. Just like to say I really love all videos and your explanations. I'm a beginner in tennis but I love this game.

    Thank you so much!

    Hugs from Belo Horizonte/Brasil!

    PS: Yesterday, Ferrero won Brasil Open.
  • Pedro osorio
    Where is the video???
    Let me know
    THK
    Pedro
  • clay jordan
    hey man....Love the FYB site. You have some great tips. I was checking out the site the other day and was able to watch all your video demo's, but today I am unable to. Is that b/c I am not a Premium Member?
  • i have taken the free online course on forehands and know the 5 fundamentals - both hands hold racquet, arm goes across the body, pivot, weight on back foot, c-motion and follow through
    please look at the video of stefi graf on this page http://steffi-graf.net/en/
    she doesnt seem to take her front arm across her body and she seems to push off on both feet - does stefi obey the 5 rules of good forehands ???
    thanks
    m
  • Jessey
    Will,
    would you advise teaching the straight take-back first to the beginners and the loopy take-back later, or go right to the loopy, continues take-back?

    Thanks.
  • You can segment the motion to start -- begin w/the racket down and back (pointed at the back fence essentially). If you watch our forehand progressions, this is the starting position in the second video.

    However, you want to quickly incorporate the loop. A straight-back takeback is technically incorrectly in today's modern game.
  • Gustavo Carrasco
    My son playes tennis and we want to create some power in his strokes specially on the forehand sida.
    How we can do to do that?
    Gustavo and "Ingo" Carrasco
  • Philby Jam
    Gustavo,
    Basically, all power begins with the feet. Leg drive, pushing into the ground, creates GRF (Ground Reaction Force). If you don't have any of this you wont get much power. If your feet are good and you generate GRF you can manipulate it to generate greater racket head speed through the legs, body and arms.
    LFPBT
  • shubham malviya
    i need to learn forehand
  • Philby Jam
    Shubham,
    Grab a balloon and a beachball. use your hand then a racket and hit both with topspin. Create the movement and understanding of the forehand in your own home. Lift and spin, gets the ball in.
    LFPBT
  • Brandon
    I have a question about the forehand. When I make contact with the ball, should my racquet face at contact be pointed slightly downwards to the ground? But i am still obviously swing low to high. Thanks
  • JOHNNY D
    After one year of playing I have switched my forehand to the windshield wiper.I made the switch because of my rapid improvement I am quickly becoming one of the best young players at my club with the best backhand in my age group.But when I made the change my forehand has declined....

    I very rarely get my forehand past the end of the service box and am spinning the ball far to much; I though this forehand gave you more consistency depth and angles.Well not for me.I was far better with the classic I need help,what should I do.
  • Philby Jam
    Johnny D
    Your windshield wiper forehand sounds like it is coming across the ball too much. Why the change in the first place?? Did someone suggest it?? All I can say is tennis is a game of many forehands and backhands depending on the situation. Don't feel as though you need to have one style or technique only. Use your forehand to create angles and open up the court then smack the ball down the line. Variety is the spice of life.
    LFPBT
  • youn moon sang
    ..
  • dan
    will I was getting the videos which are super. now i get nothing but a white screen. what to do.....
  • Hmmm hard for me to tell. My guess, w/out any other information, is that it's an issue w/your computer. Try it on a different box and see if that works.
  • JM
    To Shripathi Kamath:

    Not a pro or even remotely good at the game, but i believe the reverse forehand follow through shows what went on with your shot. As a consequence if you don't naturally follow through like that you're not hitting *that* particular shot. Example: the reverse forehand is used to limit the sideways and downwards motion of the tail end of the windshield wiper motion so instead of trying to brush the ball across your body like a wiper, you focus purely on the vertical action of the stroke. However, due to natural body mechanics, you are going to start off hitting the ball with a bit of a sideways motion, and since you want to maximize the motion of the racket going OVER the ball you truncate the wiper movement and let the racket go up over your shoulder. To do so you must fight the sideways (left if you're a righty) windshield wioper motion; this is done by ripping the racket towards the opposite direction (i.e. the right side).
  • LD
    see videos
  • CJ
    Hi, I recently cleared the cookies and as a result, I am unable to view the videos without subscribing. Now I use the same ID to subscribe. It says email ID already exists. Do I need to go on providing new email IDs everytime I clear the cookies. That is really bad.
  • uday
    hello sir ,
    i am a 20 year old trying to learn tennis on my own
    i can only practice for an hour a day
    as i am an engineering student and a little occupied with my studies
    i have been playing since 3 weeks
    and developed an ok looking forehand
    but my basic problem is i cant take my body weight forward
    i watched your progressions and the fundamentals section
    they've helped me a lot ( or infact thats my only "coaching" source)
    i have a decent( not good) arm swing but some improper footwork lets me down
    also my stance seems more open and this results in my body weight going backwards while hitting a forehand
    also i hit a one handed backhand
    which i least prefer as its in very nascent stages
    please suggest how to develop both the forehand and the backhand
  • Shripathi Kamath
    To illustrate the point I am trying to make, take a look at this video footage:

    http://www.tennis.com/yourgame/instructionartic...

    The racquet starts lower than the ball, makes contact, gets over his right shoulder and *then* comes around over his right.

    That last part (where the direction of motion changes long after contact) cannot possibly add anything, can it?
  • I think I got something. To me, players do this sometimes while they are on the move. I guess this because if they did the full swing while running they would hit their left/right shoulder depending on what hand they use because their shoulders are facing the net while they are running. This is just my suggestion. What do you think?
  • Hunter
    Shripathi-
    Concerning your example clip....a lot of times with Nadal's swing motion and lack of time for prep, that follow through is more natural and a practical way of slowing the racquet down without getting hit in the head. But with that video clip you provided it may just be a case of habit and what he's used to as it would seem like he could have ended the follow through over his shoulder.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKamwrstur8
    -Here is a short video of Nadal hitting a forehand where it is evident that his upward swing motion (and ridiculous racquet head speed) would cause him to take the racquet over his head
  • Shripathi Kamath
    Tom, can you explain how a change of direction in the arm *after* the ball has been hit has *any* indication of what happened during the shot?

    Take a normal topspin forehand. The racquet starts below the ball brushes up against the back, and then the hand continues either finishing over your opposite shoulder or across your body. However, the motion is continuous and does not go opposed to the swing.

    This is the part I cannot understand about the reverse forehand: The swing continues as if it is going over the opposite shoulder and then it *changes* direction to finish over the same-side. Check any Nadal reverse forehand.

    The fact that the ball has been struck long before the direction change takes the racquet over the same side makes it be of questionable nature. What is bewildering is so many coaches on TV and in instruction actually emphasize this point.
  • Tom
    The finish has no impact on the shot. However, it is an indication of what happenned during the shot. Another way that seems to help people understand it is to visualize a bowler's finish. For some reason that comparison resinates more.
  • K.A.
    I agree with Shripathi. I don't understand why so much emphasis is placed on the finish. Is it because it help's you to utilize your entire body and put more power into your forehand? So instead of the power just coming from the swing of the arm and shoulder, the power comes from the entire body. That's the only explanation I could come up with and it seems valid enough to stress the forehand finish.

    Any explanations or information would be greatly appreciated.
  • Shripathi Kamath
    I have a question regarding popular descriptions and illustrations of the reverse forehand.

    Just about everyone stresses the finish. Examples commonly cited are those of Nadal or Davenport.

    I simply cannot understand this.

    Once the racquet has completed its contact with the ball, it does not matter where the hand ends up. I am not saying that the swing path and the follow through do not matter. No, not at all. What I am saying is that once the racquet has finished contact with the ball, getting the hand to change directions and then finish over your right shoulder (for a right-handed player) does NOTHING to the ball.

    The reverse forehand starts off fine, hits the ball then continues for a little bit like a regular forehand would before changing direction to finish over the right shoulder. I feel that this change of direction does absolutely nothing.

    What am I missing?
  • Torsten Ove
    17 Torsten Ove July 29, 2009 at 11:37 am
    Will: I’d like to see some instruction on how to handle low, hard, flat shots. At my level, 4.5, a lot of the players are in their 40s and hit a traditional eastern forehand with a closed stance that stays low and penetrates. Some guys I play are very good at this and hardly ever miss.

    The pros don’t seem to have to handle that shot very much because they hit big topspin that bounces higher in their strike zone. I don’t have a lot of trouble with those shots, but low flat ones give me trouble. I’d like to see what you recommend.
  • OK. Let me try to help, I'm not exactly an expert on low, flat, hard, shots, but I'll try if that's ok. One option is too slice if it's a super tough shot, which I wouldn't recommend unless your in trouble because flat hitters kill slice if it's high enough. If the slice is low though, they will probably have to hold back on the power to stop from overhitting the ball, or hitting it into the net. Another easy option is to volley. Flat hitters are easy to take advantage of at the net, considering they can't really get the ball at your feet, and will probably not be able to return your 1st volley hard at all if you make it a good one. The last option(There is probably more.) is to apply more topspin. Try to brush up on the ball so that you get that Ommphh! on the ball. Putting topspin on the ball will be pretty easy considering they are hitting hard and flat, all you have to do is brush up. To me and many others most likely, it is easier to apply topspin on low shots because you can follow through very much on the ball causing immense topspin. Depending if you hit flat too then this probably won't help you, I'm a topspin player so....Anyways, hope this helps you beat those mean flat hitters. :D
  • Philby Jam
    Low and hard shots can cause problems because "angle in equals angle out" unless you compensate. So to do topspin on a lower shot is more difficult - you will hit the net - unless you really whip up the ball for maximum lift and rotation to clear the net and bring it back down in the court quickly. Hard and flat also means forget what you have been taught about the backswing. Use the power, get the ball early and lift to impart the spin or, save time and energy and slice it back low and make them deal with it.
    LFPBT
  • its ozome!!! i learn more on servings plsss add more!!!
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