The Clijsters Forehand

We have noted in previous lessons that a top professional player uses about 12 different forehands, depending on the circumstances of the shot. In the figure below, we present an illustration of one of Kim Clijsters' forehands.

The specific forehand illustrated produces the linear interval of the strike stage by extending the forearm.

In addition to this feature, note that the racquet orientation is unchanged, even though the ball has been struck and has left the frame of the photograph.

A third feature (emphasized by the inset) is the tension in the muscles of the forearm. This tension is used to maintain stability, not to develop power.