Forehand Quick Fix

If you're a high school player, you may have an error on the forehand which plagues many tennis players, and which can be easily identified and fixed.

Many players lose power, as well as the ability to hit down the line, by letting their elbows come out (similar to a roundhouse punch) rather than keeping the elbow in through the stroke (similar to a karate punch).

When the elbow bows out too early, the player ends up trying to generate power only with the arm, losing the important contributions of the legs, hips and trunk.

Hitting an effective forehand should be similar to throwing an effective punch.

The classic American roundhouse punch starts low, but ends high, with the elbow moving away from the body, starting at the shoulder, and ending with the top of the forearm and elbow in front of the nose.

A more effective and powerful karate punch begins low, at the hip, with the knuckles of the fist and bottom of the arm facing up. This punch is then rolled into the opponent, with the palm facing down at contact, and the elbow staying relatively close to the body during the punch.

This allows the person throwing the punch to keep most of his or her body weight into the punch, by leading with the hips, rather than the upper torso.

Even with the "windshield wiper" forehand, popular among young baseliners, the elbow is in prior to contact. Regardless of what type of forehand your player uses, the elbow should close to the body at contact, not vice versa, as demonstrated by these photos below.

Watch your teammates hitting forehands -- do they have more of a "roundhouse" forehand, where the elbow begins to come out early, with the racquet head ending up low, below the hip, instead of high, above the shoulder?

Ask a friend to watch you hit a variety of forehands down the line, crosscourt and up the center of the court. If you have a "roundhouse" forehand, it will be easier and more natural to hit crosscourt, and more difficult to hit down the line.

Have your coach use the skill-building drill in this issue of High School Tennis to help your team learn the effects of keeping the elbow in during the forehand, such as improving to power and direction on the shot. Keep your elbow in and turn a weak forehand into a weapon!