Forehand Groundstroke – Timing of the Swing

One of your fellow WebTennis.net subscribers, Tim, recently asked me about the timing of when to start the swing for his forehand groundstroke.

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Great question that depends on a couple of factors, and it’s more about being able to get to a specific “finish” position.

That may sound confusing, but stay with me…

And I also have a video for you at the end of my answer to Tim.

Chapter 5 (Magic Move #2) of my Forehand Groundstroke Topspin Drive lesson

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Hi Tim and thanks for your email. Excellent question…

I initially point my left shoulder at the incoming ball to at least get me sideways and thinking about “spacing”.

Hopefully, I get the left shoulder pointed before the ball crosses the net. Loose hands in your Ready position will make this much easier and faster.

But after that, there a million and one circumstances that could determine when I swing, and some of them are based on the timing of the bounce, and some are not.

The size of your swing shape (how large a loop) is determined by how soon you have to make contact.

Balls hit to you with pace that land deep in your court will mean you’ll have to swing sooner, and since the bounce is so close to you, you’ll have to start your swing sooner than if the ball bounced on your service line with medium to slow pace.

And that means that if you’re fully committed to a large swing shape on every forehand, you’ve got a real problem on balls hit deep to your baseline and with pace.

So if you set up with a large swing shape, and then have to adjust to that deep ball with pace, it’s not a great recipe fro being consistent.

Do the opposite.

I always turn from my ready position and assume that’s exactly what I’m getting, a deep shot from my opponent with pace.

If in fact that’s what I get, then I’m prepared to have a smaller swing shape which is what I want for incoming pace that is landing deep. I don’t need to add power at that point, the incoming pace is providing that for me, and all I want to focus on is being able to get out to the finish position with good contact timing.

The bigger your swing shape, the further your racket gets away from your eventual contact point, and consequently, the more difficult it is to consistently bring your racket through contact at just the right movement in time.

On short and medium depth balls from your opponent, it’s a ton more easier to “time” when to bring the racket into that ideal contact area.

A slightly bigger swing shape is usually not a problem then.

So, as I mentioned above, for me it’s much easier to turn from my ready position in a way where my hands and racket stay close to my stomach and anticipate incoming depth and pace.

That’s sort of worst case my opponent can bring to me, depth with pace. With my initial turn out of my ready position, I’, now ready for it.

If I have to, I can then easily adjust to shorter balls with less pace as opposed to turning and setting up with a big swing shape.

Make sense?

Here’s what I think you should work on.

Try to see how consistent you can make two elements of your forehand, #1 the start (your shoulder turn to commit to the forehand, and #2, the finish position.

Can you develop a swing tempo (a specific controlled swing speed before, during, and after contact) so that you end up at the same position every time.

I think if you can focus on those 2 things, your start and your finish, the stuff in between will work itself out over time.

I’ve always felt that if I can finish in a specific position as I demonstrate on the video, no matter what type of ball I have to receive, then I’ve had good timing on that particular shot.

My coach Tom Stow used to tell me that when one of my strokes wasn’t feeling comfortable to “start at the finish”.

Make sense? Focus on being consistent to the same finish position and everything else will eventually fall into place.

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