There are many factors that contribute to having a big forehand. Court positioning (footwork), stance, grip, racket head speed, topspin levels, leg drive and rotation. All of which can vary greatly between professional players. There is however one very important technical commonality between all big forehands and it comes down to a slight tweak in your elbow set up.

Elbow seperation:

A major problem for juniors and recreational players on the forehand is that they become too cramped at the contact point of their forehand. This shortens their stroke as they rotate and results in them pulling off the ball before they can generate sufficient pace. Giving yourself more space between your elbow and your body on the forehand set up (until turn) will give you more space to swing through the ball as you rotate and will give you the ability to add MPH’s and RPM’s to your forehand.

Contact extension:

Extending your elbow and racket through contact will give you added power. As you can see from the photos below all of these pros are ripping their forehands. In some cases you will have to come across the ball or pull off it to add more spin and play a safer stroke, but when you are set to pull the trigger on a big forehand you need to extend!

Next time you hit the courts try using bigger elbow spacing for a bigger forehand.

See you on the courts!

Joel Myers

USPTA Elite Professional

Tennis Director

Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego

Sheraton Hotel & Marina San Diego

(949) 485-8679

http://www.coronadotennislessons.com

http://www.downtowntennis-sandiego.com