TennisOne Lessons

The Two-Handed Forehand

by Dave Smith

Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill, two of the most successful modern-day two-handed forehand players.

Overview

Currently, you can count on one hand the players on the pro tour hitting a two-handed forehand. Many believe that Monica Seles, Jan-Michael Gambill and Fabrice Santoro are anomalies, rare instances of players using abnormal strokes who have made an impact on the tour.

Is this merely a variance from convention, or could the two-handed forehand evolve into a “revolutionary” new stroke? I can hear the whispers of heresy and “no way, Jose'” being echoed among the tennis populous! Before we completely discount the two-handed forehand, let's not forget that the two-handed backhand took time to make its mark upon the tennis scene and met with considerable resistance as well.

Remarkably, tennis experienced nearly 100 years of competitive play before a significant two-handed backhand appeared. You would be hard pressed to name any two-handed backhand players—male or female—prior to 1971.

It took nearly 100 years for the two-handed backhand to first become recognized as a legitimate stroke. Though popularized by tennis legends Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert, and Bjorn Borg, it took another twenty years before it became commonplace!

Until Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, and Chris Evert emerged in the early 70's, the two-handed backhand was considered remarkably unconventional. Ironically, even as these players dominated tennis for years, it would take another 20 years before the two-handed backhand would be considered commonplace. Consider too, that today we have nearly 70 percent of the top men using the stroke and well over 90 percent of the women. That's quite a transformation!

Is the two-handed forehand on a similar path toward player acceptance, the same path the two-handed backhand experienced over the last thirty years? I doubt it…at least not in the same magnitude.

Because of the still favorable advantages most players enjoy using the one-handed forehand, I don't believe a two-handed version will make as big an impact. However, if one observes the vast number of young players now climbing high among the junior rankings who are executing potent two-handed forehands, a significant increase of high-performing two-handed forehand players is sure to come.

In addition, my study of the stroke over the past fifteen years has shown that the two-handed forehand provides an incredible foundation for anyone wanting to learn to hit the one-handed forehand.

History

While its notoriety has been far overshadowed by the sheer number of one-handed forehand players, the inarguable success of the two-handed forehand—among those who have mastered the stroke—has made a significant mark in tennis history.

It was back in 1943 that Francisco “Pancho” Segura, an Ecuadorian, would introduce the significant potential of a two-handed forehand. Segura reached a ranking of number 4 in the U.S. and won 14 North American tournament titles using the two-hander.

Also in the 1940's there emerged a lesser-known doubles great, John Edward Bromwich, an Australian who was an ambidextrous player using a two-handed stroke on his right side. However unknown, Bromwich managed to win two Australian singles titles and 13 other Grand Slam doubles titles, including 3 U.S. Titles, two Wimbledon, and 5 mixed doubles titles.

A few might recall the South African Frew McMillan's two-handed play on both sides, earning him 9 Grand Slam doubles titles including three Wimbledon and two U.S. (mixed doubles).

Gene Mayer first introduced the two-handed forehand to the modern pro game. Mayer a New Yorker, used a most unorthodox, two-handed stroke on both sides—placing his dominant hand above the other hand for both his forehand and backhand. Though Mayer reached number 4 in the world in 1980 as well as a number 2 world ranking in doubles, it would be another ten years before another world-class player would emerge using the stroke.

Currently, the most notable competitor exemplifying the potential of the stroke is Monica Seles. Ranked in 1991 as the world's top female tennis player, Monica demonstrated what a weapon her two-handed forehand was then, as it continues to be today.

At present, on the men's tour, France's Fabrice Santoro and American Jan-Michael Gambill have demonstrated that the stroke is not relegated to women's tennis only. Both players have been ranked in the top 50 in the world and have done well recently on the ATP Tour using their own brand of two-handed forehands.

Because very few teaching pros hit or know how to teach the two-handed forehand, the proliferation of the stroke has been slow. (We can recognize similar circumstances when the two-handed backhand was first emerging.) When Monica Seles proved the stroke could be taken to the highest level on tour, (Number one in the world), players began to see its potential. However, at the same time, many players and teaching pros branded Seles' stroke as an isolated instance of success or a simple case of extremely rare achievement. (Incidentally, this was the initial critical response of Borg and Connor's two-handed backhands as well!) Many pros simply refuse to study the stroke assuming that few players would benefit from such technique. Yet, since relatively few players have been introduced to the stroke, it would be hard to draw an empirical conclusion from such a small experimental field! Even from such a small offering, many have excelled using the stroke.

Techniques

There is one main dissimilarity when comparing the two-handed forehand to the two-handed backhand. This is the variety of technical methods used by the two-handed forehand players mentioned earlier. While virtually all two-handed backhand players use the same grip position (dominant hand on bottom), there are three distinctive two-handed forehand methods. With all three methods, the stroke is effective and consistent. However, they all offer a variety of advantages and disadvantages compared to the conventional forehand and to each other.

Three Working Models

1. Two backhands: Here the player switches the positions of the hands so that they are essentially hitting two backhands; a right-handed backhand and a left handed-backhand. The dominant hand moves from the bottom of the grip (for a traditional backhand) to the top of the grip for the two-handed forehand. Jan-Michael Gambill hits his groundstrokes in this manner.
   Advantages: Having two backhands simplifies the mechanical action of the stroke when compared to the other two-handed forehand techniques. It also allows for greater reach on both sides compared to the other methods.
   Disadvantages: Player must switch hands quickly during fast rallies. It also poses a problem with the hands immediately following a serve.
2. Dominant hand always on top: Here, there is no switching of the hands for either groundstroke. The dominant hand is on top of the non-dominant hand. Gene Mayer hit his strokes in this fashion. (There is the obvious need to change the dominant hand's position for serves and volleys, however.)
   Advantages: It is somewhat easier to learn to control these strokes since the dominant hand is closer to the racquet head. (Essentially, it feels like “choking up” on the grip.)
   Disadvantages: The player must change the position of the dominant hand immediately following a serve or to hit a volley.

3. Dominant hand always on the bottom: The player hits forehand with the non-dominant hand on top and uses the same grip alignment for the two-handed backhand. This grip structure decrease the reach of the forehand. However, it increases the amount of body rotation. This is due to the crossover hand and arm reaching over the dominant hand's grip. This is Monica Sele's two-fisted technique and is the favored stroke pattern of most top junior players utilizing the two-handed forehand.
   

   Monica doesn't change her grip position for any shot. The dominant hand remains as the bottom grip.

   Advantages: There is no changing of the grip position for any shot. The dominant hand remains as the bottom grip. The disadvantage of the shortened arm reach on the upper arm is actually an advantage as far as learning. The player must turn the shoulders to effectively take the racquet back further. This allows for greater rotation into the shot. This method also is similar to the one-handed forehand on many levels. Players can later develop a better one-handed forehand through the proper practice of this method.
   Disadvantages: There is less reach with this forehand due to the position of the non-dominant arm. It puts a premium on footwork. (Which, to me, is a learning advantage!)

Next month, I will describe the main stroke components of this third method and offer several of the learning advantages I have found through the study and teaching of this stroke.

Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about this article by emailing us here at TennisONE.

David W. Smith is the Director of Tennis for the St. George Tennis Academy in St. George Utah. He has been a featured writer in USPTA's magazine Advantage in addition to having over 50 published articles in various publications. David has taught over 3000 players including many top national and world ranked players. He can be reached at acrpres1@email.msn.com