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TennisOne Lessons 
Victoria Azarenka: A Model for the Modern ForehandDavid W. Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne
Nineteen-year old, Victoria Azarenka is one of many young women on tour challenging the elite players. She has become a WTA top-10 ranked player this year with a win over Serena Williams and three WTA Titles (Brisbane, Memphis, and the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne) after reaching four previous tour finals over the last year and a half. Azarenka has a complete game, one that students of tennis, (women and men alike!) could study and emulate as her strokes are fundamentally sound and extremely effective. I am particularly impressed by her forehand. Her form is what I would consider model form; her footwork, stroke pattern, and balance are probably the best among many of the top women players; and, her ability to hit from a variety of situations should be examined and learned from. Overview In the video of Azarenka below, Victoria recognizes a short ball and quickly establishes the necessary footwork to position herself to hit an aggressive, offensive shot - in this case, a winner. This, as much as anything, helps separates elite players from the pack. At the recreational level, players tend to move only enough to be in position to make contact with the ball. Hence, they are not always in the optimum position to make the best stroke. This concept alone can be one of the defining traits that keep many good club, team, and competitive players from reaching higher levels. Studies have shown that the pros take an average of 10 to 12 steps between each shot. 3.0 to 3.5 level players tend to take 4 to 6 steps per shot. I share this statistic to emphasize that most non-pros rarely take enough adjusting steps to position themselves to best hit each ball. In addition to the stroke itself, many recreational and club players when they do gain a favorable position on the court (usually a short ball that sets up in the middle of the court) lack the confidence to commit to the stroke. Instead they often decelerate the stroke (in fear of hitting the ball out or into the net) and end up getting passed, lobbed, or drilled at the net, because their shot was not effective enough. When drawn into the court, it is important to understand the vulnerability from this position. If you don’t hit an effective shot (effective can include a well placed drop shot, a slice approach, and, as in the clip here, an aggressive topspin winner), your percentage of winning the point decreases. And, the chances of losing the point increases the higher level your opponent is!
Forehand Stalk In preparing to hit her forehand, Victoria “stalks” the ball. That is, the unit turn is completed early as she moves her feet; however, she holds her racquet in front of her with both hands as a two-handed forehand player might when beginning the unit turn. Notice, her hands separate at just about the point when the ball bounces on her side of the court. One of the elements that separated the women from the men on the forehand side in years past was the limited use of the off-hand during the unit turn. Women historically separated the hands much earlier than men, diminishing the coil of the upper body within the unit turn. I like Azarenka’s setup as she moves to the ball with a balance of both arms at nearly the same height within the preparation of the forehand and prior to the contact phase of the stroke. I also like the use of her off-hand and arm in getting her body fully turned early within the swing pattern. Initial Footwork As with nearly all pros, setting up early allows for the use of the most dominant shot in tennis, the open stance forehand. Notice as she sets up early in her preparation, she loads up on her inside (right) foot, allowing her to transfer her weight to her outside foot during the contact phase of the stroke. This “loading” of the inside foot is a critical point to players employing an open-stance forehand and requires balance and early preparation as you see Victoria do here. When hitting a forehand or backhand on the run, you might want to use a closed stance footwork pattern so you don’t lose balance. If you try to use an open stance while moving out wide, it might be difficult to maintain balance during the stroke unless you can get to the ball early enough to set your feet.
Contact Phase The transfer of weight to the outside foot is the initial move within the contact phase of the forehand in what is called the “Kinetic Chain” of body segments. The explosive power of any skilled player is initiated with the feet and legs. While a player can generate power without using the legs completely (which is why top-level wheelchair players can serve at speeds over 100 mph and can hit some groundstrokes with high velocity), the complete player will want to practice and employ the maximum components of every stroke given the opportunity. Victoria uses a high loop take-back, again using the off hand to not only facilitate the unit turn completely, but to also establish the upper body uncoil, the third segment of the kinetic chain following the legs and hips. Watch, however, as Victoria drops her racquet into the “slot” (the lowest point of the backswing before the upward transition to hitting the low-to-high topspin swing path), her shoulders stay neutral until the racquet drops completely down to its lowest point. This is another problem among recreational players: they tend to open the shoulder plane too early and end up fully open long before the racquet approaches contact with the ball. In the conventional “modern forehand” you can detect many “key-position points” that all skilled players establish during the stroke and Victoria is no exception. One of these points is where the butt-cap of the racquet points at the ball when the racquet has dropped completely into the slot. The hitting elbow stays close to the body and the classic “double bend” of the arm (the racquet laid back at the wrist, the forearm at a nearly 90-degree bend at the elbow) is maintained within the contact phase of the stroke. With her nearly full western grip, the hitting side of the racquet will almost be pointing towards the ground (the so called "pat the dog on the head" position that many pros use).
Post Contact Phase There are some very subtle, yet important, elements to understand during and just after contact. The first of these is to recognize that Victoria’s upper body has stopped rotating open at contact. As mentioned, many club players open up early or open up too far during the contact phase. Both of these actions force the player to lay the racquet back further at contact in order to maintain the directional control of the shot. Notice how Victoria maintains a very quiet upper and lower body position through the contact phase of the hit. Another element is the role of the right leg during and just after contact. As with a closed stance or neutral stance, the player will need to kick the right leg back during contact so the inertia of the swing doesn’t carry the player open during contact. This aspect of the back leg is often missed when watching tennis at full speed. Slowing down the image, we can see the back leg kick-back (or, often it is only just a ‘toe-drag’), among all players hitting big, powerful forehands. Finally, during the contact phase, the action of the wrist is locked with no deviation of the ‘double-bend’ throughout the contact phase. It isn’t until well after the ball has left the strings that Azarenka releases this position and then turns the forearm over (pronation) during the relaxation phase of the stroke. Again, at full speed, many players see this pronated forearm and assume it occurred at contact. This idea is why many players “roll” the racquet over the ball instead of “keeping the plane the same” which is a phrase I often use to help players comprehend how the racquet should be maintained throughout the contact phase.
Finish As with many pros, the finish point of the racquet can indeed be in several positions depending on the stoke hit and the severity of the spin applied. In our example Victoria uses a windshield wiper finish with the racquet ending up over her left hip and her weight fully transferred to her outside (left) leg. A subtle “fist pump” at the end of the stroke identifies the shot as being a winner! Conclusion We can learn a lot from watching videos of Victoria Azarenka's forehand. Like all great forehands, she establishes certain key reference points during the stroke and so should you.
It still amazes me how many tennis students don’t take responsibility in learning about the game through the study of video clips such as those shown in this article – even players who take endless lessons. Don't get me wrong, lessons are invaluable, however, one of the greatest tools in completing the picture in terms of understanding the game and the stroke mechanics necessary to play the game at higher levels, is the observation of pros hitting specific shots and looking for the “key position points” which are usually common among most all skilled players. I encourage all aspiring players to study these slow-motion videos, along with your pro, it is the quickest way to climb the tennis ladder. Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Dave Smith's article by emailing us here at TennisOne .
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