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Brenda Shultz McCarthy

Of the three parts to a swing – preparation, contact and follow through, your control, your depth, and your power are governed by the position of the racquet at contact, and equally by the direction the racquet is moving at contact.

Said another way, at impact it is all and only about the angle of the string and the direction of the swing. But when watching Federer or Moya whip their forehands, what we see is not always what we get, so to speak. They were trained to hit through the ball, and hit through they do, but somehow we may inadvertently copy their follow through rather than their “in line” mechanics at impact.

It may be misleading to watch the pros hit forehand ground strokes on television. Without slow-motion replay, it appears as if the pros are executing a windshield wiper motion through the point of contact and then quickly wrapping the racquet around their bodies.

But actually, the pros really make contact and follow through the hitting zone before the wrap or windshield wiper motion occurs. In effect, they lengthen the hitting zone, and wrap the racquet at the end of the follow through.

One time-tested technique is to visualize hitting through four balls within the contact zone rather that just one. When visualizing these four balls your follow-through will naturally extend further out along the target line towards the target.

Staying in line with the ball, extending the follow through out along the target line will also improve both your depth and power. Finally, because you are not wrapping the racquet around so quickly, you will have less chance to develop tennis elbow.

How to practice

Have the coach or practice partner stand behind you while you are about to hit a forehand. Your partner gently tosses a low ball in front of you where you have to move to it and hit through the ball. If you practice hitting 25-30 balls each practice session you will have a smoother forehand with a longer follow-through.

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Brenda Schultz McCarthy played professionally from 1986 – 1999, winning 7 singles and 9 doubles titles, and more than $2,500,000 in prize money. At 6'2”, she held the record for the fastest server on the WTA tour from 1990 – 1997; her best effort was an astounding 123mph.

Of additional note, Brenda won the WTA Tour Sportsmanship Award in both 1993 and 1995. Originally from the Netherlands, she now splits her time between Boca Raton Florida and Big Sky Montana.