The Roger Federer Forehand De-Constructed

Published by Andy Magrath in Tennis Coaching · Wednesday 03 Oct 2018 · 7:00
Tags: Topspin, Forehand, Roger, Federer, Roger, Federer’s, topspin, forehand

Hi Guys,

More top free advice and discussion from Andy Magrath of MTI.

Within this article I will be analysing shots as played by the tops pros in a step by step fashion whilst dispelling any commonly held myths in conventional coaching methods.

In this edition I analyse Roger Federer Topspin Forehand whilst receiving a central ball during practice.

Photo 1. Ready position. Preparing to ‘track’ the ball

Note how Roger waits with his eastern forehand grip, wrist laid back and his non-dominant hand supporting the throat which is necessary for one handed backhand
Also note how his right index finger is slightly spread away from his other digits to encourage greater feel and control of the racket

Photo 2. Split and track

Tracking the ball. (preparation) with the racket out in front
Note the slight forward tilt of the racket
Roger’s left hand begins to push the racket throat back whilst lifting his elbow to maintain distance away from the ball, and his core beginning to rotate. The pattern on his T shirt starting to face the camera
Note his right foot beginning to step out

Photo 3. Full core rotation and supporting hand release (left hand)

He has released his racket with his left hand past his ear to encourage maximum hip rotation
Roger’s T shirt pattern now fully facing the camera
His wrist has stayed laid back which is shown with the racket face facing away from him
Note the distance of his right elbow away from his side

Photo 4. At full hip rotation, the racket begins its downward journey.

Note how the racket face remains at the same angle due to his wrist remaining laid off
Note how his left arm remains extended across his body to maintain hip rotation integrity, balance and tracking the ball
Roger’s head still and eyes glued to the incoming ball
Note Roger’s semi-open stance. This stance offers the optimum body position for maximum hip rotation. This is also to be found in martial arts. Players will attempt to adopt this stance wherever possible during rallies
MYTH BUSTED - The open and closed stances do not offer optimum core rotation

Photo 5. As Roger’s racket hand lowers

His racket face remains closed due to his wrist remaining laid off and his racket head outside his hand (pointing to the right) note his right arm starts to straighten out.

MYTH BUSTED - Note his left arm still extended across his body. The non-dominant does not point at the ball to aid direction

Photo 6. Roger now turns his hand so that the racket head now drops and lags below and behind his hand.

This encourages kinetic energy via a ‘whip’ cracking action.
The racket is now being pulled toward the ball via the butt cap first
This is known as ‘linear momentum’ as the racket is travelling in a straight line at this point
His core has started to unwind as he pulls the racket toward the ball
His right arm is straight BUT not locked out!

Photo 7. The L Shape

As Roger continues to pull the racket with racket head dropped below the hand and lagging behind, toward the ball note how me maintains his wrist angle at 90 degrees (L shape) to the racket.
His core continues to unwind

Photo 8. Only two fundamental things to note here...

The all-important continued L shape of hand to racket
The racket head stays below the height of the ball to encourage lift and topspin

Photo 9

Photo 10.

Take a look at photos 9 and 10.

These photos speak 3 major volumes…

Roger’s eyes on the ball 100% plus his head immaculately still even after the ball has left his racket
The racket angle against the ball. In this case he is hitting a flatter lower trajectory over the net as his racket angle is slightly closed on impact. A higher trajectory would mean a squarer contact angle
MYTH BUSTED!!

This proves beyond a doubt that players do NOT hit through the ball nor do they extend their rackets through to the target!!
The yellow cross on photo 10 denotes the position of the ball on contact yet the racket plane is travelling in a natural upward path and not through the circumference of the ball. This is due to his forearm rotating up and across the ball as the form of last-minute acceleration. This is known as ‘angular momentum’.
Yet unfortunately phrases such as; ‘Hitting through the ball’, hit through the tube or ‘extend out to the target’ are still commonly used within forehand teaching. They must be outlawed in modern tennis coaching.
Should pupils attempt to ‘hit through the ball’ they lie in real danger of hyperextending the arm’s joints leading to serious injury over a period of time.
Also by continuing the linear momentum for too long results in the player losing the integrity of their core rotation resulting in less force and less chance of spreading the stress of the shot amongst large muscle groups thus bearing the stress once again upon shoulder and arm joints.
Players will also impart less topspin encouraging the ball to fly long without the spin control to bring it down consistently leading to erratic and inefficient strokes

Photo 11.

A continuation from photo 10. You can see Roger’s forearm and racket turning over in a form of a ‘windscreen wiper’ fashion which creates an abundance of topspin. Again the L shape is still in position.

Photo 12.

…And finally, the finish which can either be a wrap finish just below the shoulder, level with the pocket for short angled, over the shoulder for more height and depth over the same shoulder for buggy whip or hooked forehands
Please note the finishing position of Roger’s right elbow pointing at 90 degrees out in front of him. Also the fact that Roger’s head has remained still the whole time still watching the ball
The whole swing path denoted here can be likened to a horseshoe shape.
Finally, and this is very important, note how his core has rotated back to the front which is followed in succession by the arm coming up and across.

All of these segments have happened in the correct order which displays balanced and coordinated act of a ‘whip’ like action the definition of which is independent segments moving independently to affect the optimum output of power.

Comparisons as follows;

The Medieval Trebuchet – a comparison for the racket ‘lag’ affect

A Discus Throw – a comparison for core rotation

Many thanks for reading. If you found this useful please share on social media. I will be sharing more similar article shortly.

Now would you like to;

A – learn how to develop the forehand from complete beginner to a performance player level with a series of simplistic development drills?

B – learn each of Roger’s singles tactics by practicing his tactical pattern of play drills?

Well you can right now by joining TennisiPro.com today

Plus you will own a shedload of patterns of play drills from other top pros
And a step by step guide to better doubles drills from beginner to performance player
Also you will receive a free downloadable coaching pack worth £97
Join today safe in the knowledge you will receive 30 days money back guarantee

Speak soon and best wishes Andy Magrath