COMPARATIVE FOREHANDS – BLAKE – RODDICK – GONZALEZ

 

One of the things, which make tennis such great a sport, is the opportunity to learn how to play it so many different ways.

 

When it comes to the pro tour, I always tell my students, “We can’t play like the pros otherwise we would be on the tour right now; but we can copy their habits.”

 

One way to examine habits is what I will do with this article…Compare the same stroke amongst different players. I have chosen the forehand groundstroke of three  top players in the world…James Blake, Andy Roddick and Fernando Gonzalez.

 

I will examine the common denominators and differences between all three of their forehands.  It might be one aspect of their stroke or the entire process, which can then help you with your forehand.

 

In my opinion, there are four key areas or phases to analyze…

 

*Footwork

*Racquet / Body Preparation

*Swing / Point of Contact

*Finish

 

FOOTWORK

 

1. They are all balanced.  Obviously, we are looking at “perfect world” forehands in the videos…Meaning shots in which the players have time to set up their stroke versus having to hit on the run or when they are in trouble.  In every sport it is more difficult to execute and achieve desired results if you are off balance.  Keep in mind, you can also be balanced when both feet are off the ground! i.e. In tennis it may mean jumping when serving; basketball it could be when shooting a jump shot.

 

Essentially, being balanced means before, during and after they hit their forehands they are stable with both feet and body.  However, it all begins in the early stages of footwork. If you start the stroke off balance then there is a very good chance it will continue throughout the entire shot.

 

2. How do they achieve proper balance?  One very easy to understand concept is keeping the feet about shoulder width apart as they began to prepare for the shot.  As well, you will notice right before they began preparing the racquet they take a split step…This gives them a good foundation from which to begin the stroke.

 

3. The feet are in more of an open stance position. There are three reasons for this…

 

A) is the lack of time they often have to turn completely sideways i.e. The ball is moving too fast back and forth between the players.

 

B) By hitting open stance, once you have completed the stroke you are somewhat in the ready position for the next shot due to the fact you are facing the net / opponent.

 

C) There are no recovery steps required. If you turn sideways and step to hit; then after the stroke is completed it takes the same step to return to a ready position. 

 

RACQUET / BODY PREPARATION

 

1. All three players are using the opposite hand(All left-hand with these players) to help prepare the racquet head.  One reason I like this technique(See my previous article on it) is, among other benefits it helps with getting the upper body / shoulder turned. Both hands are working together in the preparation to help maximize racquet control.

 

Yet as similar as they appear with this technique, there are some significant differences too! Look at the arm / racquet positions right about the time they let go of the racquet head with their opposite hand…

 

BLAKE: Arms are almost fully extended from his body and off to the side.  This straight arm preparation can cause Blake or anyone, problems with balls in close or can possibly contribute to hitting late.

 

GONZALEZ: Racquet head is still in front of his wrist pointing more towards the net than off to the side. Arms are more bent than Blake which I like. This can help keep you more relaxed and add to the power aspect.  Any time you straighten your arms you are creating more physical tension…In part because with tennis players we are also holding a racquet and about to hit a tennis ball.

 

RODDICK: This has to be one of the most interesting racquet positions in all of tennis!  Both hands and the racquet head are above his head, with the racquet head “on edge,” and the tip pointing towards the net!  Because of this approach, Roddick’s hands are much closer to his body than either Blake or Gonzalez.  This type of “coiling” preparation allows for the potential of a tremendous amount of power.  If you are going to try this technique with your forehand…Beware of the possibility of hitting late if you are not able to get the racquet head around to the point of contact in time.

 

2. While the lower body is more open stance(See the above Footwork section); the upper body is more closed. I think one of the most misleading aspects of hitting groundstrokes is the notion someone must hit every shot with either a completely closed stance or a completely open stance i.e. Like your body from head to toe moves in unison. If you look at the pros they are often “half and half” between closed and open.

 

This half and half technique allows for more trunk and shoulder rotation(Can help increase power) when hitting yet still keeping the lower body in an open stance.

 

3. They all “load up” on the back leg(Notice how it is bent) prior to beginning the swing / weight transfer forward. The bent back leg helps add more explosion into the shot.  In addition, “bent” almost always creates more relaxation versus “straight.”

 

SWING / POINT OF CONTACT

 

1. Despite the early phases of the racquet preparation where the racquet head is above the wrist of the hitting hand; at the point of contact all three players are striking the ball with the racquet head lower than the wrist.

 

This is a reflection of two issues:

 

A. The players having a “loop” swing which helps increase racquet acceleration versus a “straight back” preparation.

 

B. The basic premise of hitting topspin is to from “low to high” or “brush up” on the ball. A low to high motion can also be created with a straight back preparation but again the loop helps generate more racquet head speed.

 

2.The hitting arm is bent at the point of contact. Again this whole “bent issue” is part of the picture…The more relaxed you can be the better the chance for success.

 

3. Everyone is making contact in front of their body. This will maximize the chance for a strong and powerful shot. Obviously, in a perfect world, this is our desire with every shot but all players from Roger Federer to the rest of us are going to hit late from time to time.

 

There are however, some interesting differences between the three players in this aspect of the stroke and particularly once they let go of the racquet with their opposite hand.  The other issue which comes into play is jumping at the point of contact.

 

BLAKE: Racquet head stays around shoulder level or below. This more compact type of swing will help him in situations where he has little time to react. Very little jumping at the point of contact / follow-through.

 

GONZALEZ: Racquet head goes higher above his shoulder than Blake.  More of a jump at the point of contact / follow-through.

 

RODDICK: Racquet head is very high about shoulders compared to Blake and Gonzalez. Of the three, he has the biggest and most pronounced jump at the point of contact / follow-through.

 

So what does a more compact, racquet head stays around or below shoulder level versus a much bigger swing mean for your game?  Is jumping important or necessary?

 

COMPACT VS BIGGER SWING

 

I am an advocate of having as many options in your tennis game as feasible. I feel it is beneficial to have a compact loop swing, a bigger loop swing and a straight back / straight through swing…All to be used when appropriate. Meaning, if you are playing someone who serves and hits groundstrokes at a speed which is causing you problems, then the shorter the swing the better to give you time to react and hit.

 

The players on tour are more able to get away with using one type of swing the majority of the time(Although they do use other options) because they practice hours and hours every day on their games.

 

Generally speaking, a more compact swing will work in any situation whereas a big loop swing can be detrimental at various times…Against a hard hit ball, having to hit while running and balls which are close to your body.  If you are playing in windy conditions, big swings making timing even more difficult.  Finally, while he may not hit as hard as Roddick, Blake is probably using less effort to hit his forehand. Therefore, if match fatigue is a problem for you, then perhaps taking a look at how much effort you are using to hit your shots might be one factor to consider.

 

JUMPING AT THE POINT OF CONTACT

 

The whole jumping issue is an interesting one and of which I often receive questions…Most of the time regarding the serve but with groundstrokes as well.  The key point I always stress is…There is no question from a kinetic transfer of energy standpoint, jumping can help increase the power in a shot.  However, the players on the tour are in the late teens or early twenties; they practice for hours every day and train / workout every day.  I do not know very many people in the thirties let alone older who can physically jump on every serve or forehand for entire match.  The amount of effort required in jumping would not, in my opinion, transfer into significantly better results for the majority of tennis players not on the pro tour. 

 

FINISH

 

1.When observed at normal speed it can often appear(Not just for these players) as though the swing and finish go more in a semi-circle motion with the hitting hand and racquet finishing way over on the left side of the body.  However, when watching the strokes in slow motion there is phase right after the point of contact where the hand and racquet are extending forward i.e. Hitting through the point of contact, prior to the finish on the left side of the body.

 

2. They are all balanced and better able to prepare for the next stroke.  The chances are significantly better if you begin a stroke balanced then you will end balanced.

 

3. The finish or follow-through of a stroke has more to do with preventing injury and retaining balance than the result of the shot even though many tennis players believe in the latter. The ball has already left the racquet so how could the follow-through affect the result? If you are having problems with the results of your shots, you will find the solutions in areas like balance, preparation, swing, point of contact rather than the follow-through. I could have a perfect follow-through and still hit the ball into the net every time if racquet face is too closed at the point of contact.

 

On the injury aspect…If I told you to throw a baseball as fast as you can, you would not, in the middle of that throw, have your arm come to a screeching halt! Ouch! The follow-through of your arm would simply be a natural continuation of your throwing motion.

 

OVERVIEW

 

So what does all this mean as it applies to your forehand ground stroke?

 

If you break the stroke down into three very simple phases…Start, Middle and Finish…All three have the most in common with the start and finish.  It is the middle phase where there are the greatest differences.

 

Why is this?  In my opinion, this is the part of the stroke which allows for the greatest creativity whether it is with spin, power or combinations thereof.  Some players jump more than others; some rotate their body more…Yet even in the middle phase there are still some common denominators…See above about the position of the racquet head and arm at the point of contact.

 

In order to write this article I viewed the videos in it a number of times both at regular and slow motion speeds.  If you do the same there is a good chance you may see one or two areas which, in working with your teaching pro, can help improve your forehand!

 

Dave Kensler has 25 years of teaching experience with Peter Burwash International (PBI), the most successful international tennis management company.  PBI directs tennis programs at 60+ exclusive resorts and clubs in 23 countries and has taught over 3 million students in their 30-year history. For information on PBI tennis destinations and employment opportunities please go to www.pbitennis.com.