| The Three Development
Stages for the Forehand, Part I |
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In this lesson, we explain the development stages for the forehand. There are three, which we call (1) Conventional/Classic/Basic, (2) Progressive, and (3) Professional. The conventional forehand is what has been taught for many years as the standard forehand. We call it the conventional or classic forehand because it is the most commonly taught forehand throughout the world. A good reference for this is Dick Gould's classic text Tennis Anyone, third edition, 1978. Another good reference is any book by Vic Braden. The Shockwave video below is an illustration of this forehand from an overhead view.
The Conventional Forehand The key features of this forehand are: there is no contraction stage, the rotation and acceleration stages are combined, and the strike stage consists in leaning forward and extending the racquet straight out to the ball. The stroke is initiated with the butt of the racquet pointing toward the direction you intend to send the ball. Then it immediately begins by rotating the racquet face into the path of the oncoming ball either by using the upper arm or by rotating the hips. Following the complete rotation of the racquet into the path of the ball, the racquet is extended outward to the ball in as straight a line as you can control. Typically this stroke is taught by focusing on the follow-through as the last stage and concluding (in its best-taught version) by checking feet, balance, and racquet position. Note that the elbow starts in front of the body plane. Below are two QuickTime videos that can be used to step through the entire sequence up to ball contact.
Our research suggests that this should be the starting point for anyone getting started playing tennis. Also, if you have not mastered this elementary stroke (or you are below a NTRP 4.0 rating), it might be a good idea to do so. The reasons for this are explained in The Learning Process. In short, this elementary and classic stroke provides the first layer of muscle development and neuronal control necessary to understand the next stage of stroke development. The limitations of the conventional forehand are that it cannot be executed efficiently at high speeds without becoming unstable, and, due to its lack of a separate acceleration component, it cannot be used to generate modern ball speeds. However, it is consistent and reliable at medium speeds and is common among players with a rating of NTRP 4.0 and below. It is important that, during the conventional stage of development, the student begin to exercise the components of the professional stroke (for example, see Getting Started, The Elbow and Your Grip, Five Exercises for Developing Professional Skills, and Forearm Extension) because these take time to develop. By exercising these components during this stage, students will have them available for use by the time they are ready for the professional-level forehand.
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