Full WW Forehand
The third and final step of the windshield wiper forehand progressions is to move back to the baseline and try and hit using the entire motion. In the previous two videos the motion was abbreviated. Hopefully, by now you are comfortable with that motion so it’s time to try the whole thing.
At 35 seconds into the video I demo a few windshield wiper forehands. I’m not trying to hit as hard as I can. I’m still trying to work the technique.
At 1:10 in the video I discuss why the windshield wiper forehand is a versatile shot. You can hit a very consistent ball with this technique — one with a lot of topspin — so it’s a good rally ball. You can also hit hard — go after the ball — because that extra topspin allows you to aim a little bit higher over the net than you otherwise would and still be confident that the ball will drop in.
{ 38 comments }
Hi there.
Just one question.
Do i have to switch the grip to have a more effective ww forehand?
I mean, since it’s easyer to me to hit a flat ball with the estern grip, I usually hit a ww forehand with the semi-western grip. Is that correct?
Is it something recomendable for an intermediate player?
CIAO from ITALIA!
Hi Michele. You can hit a windshield wiper forehand with any acceptable forehand grip. However, the more extreme your grip the easier it is to get the motion. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you should use a more extreme grip because it makes it harder to swing through the ball.
hi, i want ask a question :why the lefty players can perform the topspin forehand more than others ;nadal ,verdasco and lopez have large topspin in their forehand
Hey Ali. I don’t think this is necessarily true. Technique produces topspin — not being a lefty or a righty. There are many right-handed players who hit w/lots of topspin. You are correct, however, that Nadal hits with waaay more topspin than most players (and hits with more than any other player). But again, that’s because of his technique and physical strength, not his left-handedness.
thanks a lot hamilton,hope to explain the forehand of nadal
Hi Will,
I have tried closed a closed stance approach to my shot and having failed I find open stance more comfortable. However, I tend to drive mny racket down up to the ball more aggresively form (knee Up) to get more spin, how would you suggest I incorporate a windshield stroke to my forehand especially if I what a cross court opener?
is there a certain height of which you can try to hit the ww forrehand for example waist high and shoulder high can you hit it from both?
No particular height. Works regardless of how high / low the ball is.
Hi Will,
at first I just wanna thankyou for your usefull lessons. I think that my game has improved since I discovered your site…
One question:
since the ww it’s so good, can I use it in all the part of the court? One of my coach told me to use it mainly when I’m in the no man’s land or on the service line, is it correct or I can use it also from the baseline anytime I want?? Does the ww also have disadvantages compared to the “classic” forehand??
Thanks man, keep up the good work.
Greetings from Italy
Hey Dirk. You can use it whenever you want. Most of my forehands are windshield wiper forehands. You can’t hit quite as hard w/a WW (typically), so that’s the trade off. However, at high levels of play you can still pound the ball with this technique so it’s not really an issue.
Hi Will, great videos and detailed explanations of the technique used. I have a question. When I hit the ball hard using topspin it lands at the service line or before and it is not powerful enough to make it difficult for my opponent although I hit as hard as I can. How can I make it go deeper? Should I use less spin to avoid curving it too much over the net?Thanks!
Hey Will,
I have been trying the WW forehand lately and i think im getting use to it, but my problemes are more on the takeback and getting to de dobule bend possition. I dont really know when i should start the “lift and push” or the swing up, and how is that related to the double bend stance. I`ve been watching the pros latley and they do like a an 8 movement or something like a pendullum during the take back, do you think i should try something like that on my takeback?
Thks will
Hey Francisco. I would really simplify your takeback if you’re having problems. A basic loop should do the trick. Once you’ve got the basic technique down you can develop a bigger loop but you want to limit yourself at the moment so that you’re reducing the number of things that could go wrong.
thks will =) I ll try that and see if i can hit more consistent.
hey will!
i have a question. i have an eastern grip, and when i bring the racket back, my wrist is pretty normal. now when im bringing the racket forward to contact the ball, i tend to tilt my wrist the opposite direction of the wiper motion, then as im making contact i tilt it the right way. i dont know if you understand that lol, but my question is this. its it ok for me to initally tilt my wrist to the right, then upon making contact, tilt it left for the WW motion? doesnt hurt to cause injury. please help!
Hi Josh. I’m not 100% sure what you mean. Let me just say this — you want to set your racket / hand / wrist / arm into a hitting-arm position as you begin to swing forward and that relationship should remain basically the same through contact. So you shouldn’t be moving your wrist on purpose. Does that help clear things up?
yes!! sure does! i just got done hitting, and ironically i was doing just that, but the big thing that helped me was the weight transfer. from being balanced at the beginning pose, to swinging through the ball and moving my weight so that my left foot comes up off the ground! (open stance, im a righty) so anything sound out of place with that? i just dont know how to put power behind it without it traveling very high and long. can you help with that?
Hello Will,
I have been trying WW for more than a year with different grips, swings, contact points, wrist action, body turn etc. I notice the followings:
1. The more backswing I have, the chance of hitting the ball flatter and longer is higher as the nature path of the racket tends to be forward rather than upwards. I have to momentarily break the forward racket path to push up the racket.
2. The harder I grip the racket, the more control I would have but the spin is much lesser. Most spin is generated if I flick the WW motion using my wrist with a more relaxed fore arm.
3. I try locking my wrist for more control but again, the harder I lock, the less spin it generates. I am not sure that the spin should be generated by the arm then the wrist or just the arm.
4. More spin is generated with my hand extended at contact point.
5. I tend to hit the ball with an racket slightly opened and it would blast the ball high and long. This is something which I find difficult to control.
6. I find hitting ball above the waist with a ww is much more difficult and does not generate much spin. I have to hit produce more forward motion to avoid short ball.
I do not know if the above are due to my techniques. Any kind advices please?
Thank you.
regards
Mark
I’ve recently learnt this forehand, and one of the main differences I have noticed in the technique is that I lead into the shot with my body. Take a look at the slow-mo’s of federer hitting forehands in the pro-strokes section. Just before contact he opens his body towards the net, and uses his wrist to then come through the ball. This felt different to me as for a normal forehand (either rightly or wrongly) I was leading with my arm. It also works for a back-hand. I hit a double backhand and if I turn my body into the net before contact and use my wrists to then ‘catch-up’ I generate alot more top-spin.
Very useful videos.
Trying to get the swing right and it’s not an easy task! Still pretty unconsistant. When it’s on, it’s crazy good; when it’s off, it’s crazy awful. Sometimes, I can drive, vary spins, height, power, angles, etc. Almost feel like I got it perfect. Other times, I hit it and it sails long. Like I try to kick it like a mad man and get through it instead of brushing.
Don’t know if you have an idea to get in my head the principle of swing up better because when I swing slowly, I don’t get this grabing feeling when the strings brush on the ball. When I swing harder, the ball gets in and it helps to brush it up.
If you have also videos of pros hitting it, I’d like to see. Anything aside Roddick, I’ve seen all of them. Just need an idea on how to get my backswing right and lift up powerfully. Examples inspire me and almost always makes me realise where my error stands.
I thin kthe major problem about it is in the accleration where I have to push it up with a square face kind fo like you’re doing so well. I’d say the racket goes from waist to contact. It’s there the problem lays probably.
lol man this took me a long time to notice, my coach actually started teaching me this tecnique when i started playing
Moro no Brasil e estou usando seus videos para meu aprimoramento no jogo de tenis.
Congratulation.
Hi,
Just a question,
it’s possible to do ww with a 2hbh ?
Ciao from Italy
thank’s a lot
Marco
Hi,
Just a question.
It’s possible to do a ww 2hbh ?
Thank’s a lot from Italy
Marco
Hi Will,
Effective stroke, as I experienced in my game.
Would there be an (single-handed) Windshield Whiper backhand?
Thanks from The Netherlands
Hey Will,
When i do the WW forehand i find that i rotate my wrist a little bit, like as if i was waving my racket. I see from the first video that you did a bit of that. So I wonder if the wrist really do have to be locked. Im afraid i may cause some wrist injury if i continue hitting like that. please help thanks
Winston
Hi Will,
Another question about the WW forehand. If the main point of the forehand is to swing up to the ball (prior to contact), why add on the WW follow through? Would a regular follow through work just as well?
Thanks.
hey i’m just wondering does the ww forehand have all the same princeables as the basic forehand? I use the ww forehand I never knew that is what i’ve been during I just noticed it helped hit the ball harder.
Hey will thx so much for the videos, they really help.
But i guess I naturally started playing w/ a windshield wiper forehand and I’m sure my technique isn’t too great cuz I’ve never taken lessons, but I was wondering what other types of forehands are good ones to hit regularly? I know pros use an occasional slice or flatten it out. But are those the only commonly used forehands? I guess what I’m trying to say is there anything better to hit regularly then the windshield?
Also what grip are you using in this video, I can’t tell if is a semi or full western? Also does the grip really matter? I’m having trouble choosing between a semi and full western and I don’t know which way to go?
Btw your an amazing tennis player and thank you so freakin much for making these awesome videos.
I am having trouble w/ my forehand and backhand topspin groundstrokes. I hit the ball relatively flat. My strokes are pretty good but at times inconsistent. I would like to mix it up hitting topspin and flat. Also, I am having trouble keeping the flat ball deep. Thank You for reading the message, please comment back.
the forehand shots used on pro tour are mostly windshield wiper forehands, reverse forehands and occasionally slice
just stick to one grip on the ww forehand, contact the ball when its comfortable, just follow the instructions and look at the fundamentals of the forehand the pros use
Great and easy explaination.
Hi Will,
Thanks for your really interesting videos!
I hit pretty good topspin FH but some of the balls I hit don't go to far (They come down in the middle of the court). Can you tell me what I should do to make the balls go further (more power transfer to the ball)? Is it the shoulder rotation that I am not doing right?
Thanks
Pouya
Hi Will,
Thanks for your really interesting videos!
I hit pretty good topspin FH but some of the balls I hit don't go to far (They come down in the middle of the court). Can you tell me what I should do to make the balls go further (more power transfer to the ball)? Is it the shoulder rotation that I am not doing right?
Thanks
Pouya
I’ve been trying to hit WW forehands lately and I find my shots quite inconsistent. Most of the time, the ww forehand shots I hit are really high, about 2 or more meters off the ground and bounce over my partner’s head. I tried to bring them down a bit by having a lower follow through but it doesn’t work. I think there is something wrong with my swinging motion.
Thanks Will and fuzzy yellow ball for the post and appreciate all the great stuff that’s been listed.
however as a ‘student’ of tennis, i will have to disagree with the teaching of the windshield wiper forehand in this current fashion. Pro’s + coaches alike have been teahing this IMO incorrectly.
Alot of the 3.5-4.5 students want more from their forehand and don’t know how to get to that next level. “Modern forehand” and understanding the dynamics (even from coaches percpectives) are done by watching the pro’s and mimicing there movements which is not always correct (in this case with the WW forehand. Anyways enough of the monologue here’s my two cents.
WWF taught in this example will not help your game (may be harmful). 3.5-4.5 level students when applying topspin should follow through with the racquet
above the shoulder (ensure that you have hit high to low) and that you have had a fully extended arm.
-WHY-The best strokes are based on full long swings the WW forehand will cause intermediate students to break their elbow to SOON and for them have a linear and not angular stroke stroke which will decrease the probability of top spin. As well, shortened and horizontal stroke focus = less power. You want a long, full extended, linear stroke with momentum and energy focus linearly straight into the directional of the ball and not accross your body.
So if what you are saying is true – wtf are the pro’s doing this WWF?
Greater power forehand = faster (more) hip rotation into directional of ball + faster forehand (wrist -this is debatable) pronation just prior to and post impact
of the ball.
Pro’s want max power and on their forehand have unwound all the ‘loaded’ energy so much and so fast that hip/shoulder and waist roation have caused their body to rotate. The fore arm and wrist have pronated so violently through the ball that the bottom of the racquet now faces the oponent. The arm length is kept as straight and relaxed as possible for maximum length just prior to contact, which causes the arm to finish on the other side of the body. Finished product is what people have been calling the WWF stroke.
WWF
1) a forehand driver topspin shot
2) an aggresive rather than defensive shot (bounces lower than topspin)
3) IMO used best with semi-open and open stance (not saying it can’t be done with clsoed)
4) Used best only with really good hip/shoulder/waist rotation (especially when rotation to the other side of your body is required). Doing it without any is pretty useless, and defeats the purpose.
5) Used best with a long fast relaxed stroke.. If you have a medium/short stroke that is tense you will come up short – forgot about it.
I DON’T care who you are or what you say – I still want to do it?
IMO it’s best learned cross court. I often use it hit winners down my opponent forehand side from an inside outside position. it’s deadly in that fashion.
here’s some tips if you want to give a shot. I use a SW grip
1) use a semi open stance
your follow through and shot should end resembling the wwf you want.
2) ensure you hit in front of you
3) have your arm and wrist totally relaxed (like it was limp almost)
4) hit like you normall would (hopefully using the modern forehand technique)
5) load legs and try to push off the loaded foot prior to impact.
6) shift momentum into the ball so much that you rotate your upper body to face the other direction.
7) prior to hitting the ball thinking of brushing the ball hard with forehand and wrist prior to contact.
this all i got – just gotta say keep on stroking.
GLHF (good luck have fun)
Seems someone is a little negative and Mr. Know it all. what is your name? Maybe we can see you on the US Open since you seem to know so much
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