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An Overview of the Forehand Stroke:

   Swing mechanics should be kept as simple as possible. The basic function of good mechanics is to execute a swing which is complimentary to your body. The swing starts in your feet and moves through your entire body, out your hand and into the shot. Leg drive and hip turn are important. Shoulder turn and wrist snap are critical. Timing is the most important thing to focus upon; and I’ll cover why in the coming sections.

   Strive to develop only one swing for every single forehand you hit (ceiling balls and lob serves are excluded) and also only one backhand swing. Your goal should be to always adjust with your footwork and not your stroke. Your stroke should be the same mechanically regardless of your shot choice. The benefits of this are twofold:

One:

  In the interest of mechanical simplicity, learning one grip and one swing for every forehand and a separate one for the backhand is much easier than several variations of a stroke to get a desired shot. For example, if you open your stance to go cross court, that is one variation of the swing mechanics. To execute a down the line shot, you have to do something a little different mechanically. Altering your swing will increase your chance of making an error. If you always use the same swing mechanics and just alter your timing of that swing, you will increase the chances of hitting a good shot. Even if you mis-time the swing a little, you should still execute a good shot. It may not be the shot you wanted, but you are still in the rally.

Two:

   By using the same mechanics to hit all your shots, you are giving your opponent very little information to read and anticipate your shot. This will freeze them in place and force them to react to your shot, rather than allowing them to read your shots and leaning the correct direction. By freezing your opponent in position, you will always have opportunities with which to win a rally, if you execute them properly. Very few players will cover the court effectively, so there are ample opportunities to win rallies. Court coverage and shot selection will be covered later. When you learn to use good mechanics to hit the ball, you will experience less wear and tear on your body, hit the ball harder and stay more consistent over the course of a match.