The forehand is the groundstroke you hit on your racket-hand side, and for most players it is the shot they hit most. Racket speed comes from a chain: the legs and pelvis start the rotation, the trunk follows, and then the arm (upper-arm rotation and swing across the body) and the hand add most of the speed in the last moments before contact. Good preparation, an early turn of hips and shoulders, sets that chain up so the arm can finish the job instead of doing it alone.
Unit turn and load
As soon as you see the ball is coming to your forehand, turn your hips and upper body together as one unit. Don't just pull the racket back on its own; let the turn take it back.
your chest turning to the side, racket travelling with it.
Let your shoulders finish the turn a little further than your hips. At the end of the backswing your shoulders should be turned slightly past your hips, which stretches the trunk muscles you'll use going forward.
a light coil between your hips and ribs.
Bend your knees and sit into your back (racket-side) leg as you turn. Open, semi-open, neutral and square stances are all used; pick the one the ball gives you time for, and keep the knees flexed so they can drive.
weight loaded on the back leg, knees ready to push.
Drive the kinetic chain
Go straight from the backswing into the forward swing, with no stop at the back. A pause at the end of the backswing loses the stretch you just built.
one continuous loop, back and forward.
Start the forward swing from the ground: push with the legs and rotate the hips, then let the trunk and shoulders follow. The shoulders keep turning past the hips and are roughly square to the net by contact.
hips leading, chest catching up.
Let the arm swing forward across the body and rotate through the ball, with the hand releasing last. The arm is a big source of racket speed, so don't freeze it; keep it relaxed so it can speed up late in the swing.
the racket head lagging, then whipping through.
Contact in front, loose arm
Meet the ball beside you and out in front, never behind your body. Contact height depends on your grip: around hip height with an Eastern grip, a bit above the hip with a Semi-Western or Western grip.
seeing the ball meet the strings in front of you.
Keep the racket face close to vertical at contact and swing up through the ball for topspin. A steeper low-to-high path gives more topspin; a flatter path gives a flatter drive.
brushing up the back of the ball.
Finish the swing fully, past your opposite shoulder or wrapping around the body, then recover to ready position. The smaller muscles at the back of the shoulder have to slow the arm after contact, so let the swing run out instead of stopping it short.
the swing running out on its own, then quick feet back to the middle.
Feel it
A smooth, continuous stroke: an early turn, no stop at the back, hips leading and the arm whipping through last. If the forehand feels weak or all-arm, check that you turned early and that your legs and hips started the forward swing. If it feels jammed or late, you met the ball beside or behind you instead of in front. The app reads your body motion, not the spin or where the ball lands.
Fix-its
- No unit turn (you take only the arm back) Start every forehand by turning hips and shoulders together. Practise by catching the ball with your free hand after the turn, then add the swing.
- You make contact late (beside or behind you) Turn earlier and start the forward swing sooner so you meet the ball out in front.
- You pause at the end of the backswing Make the backswing and forward swing one loop. Shadow swing slowly without stopping, then speed up.
- Stiff, straight legs Bend your knees as you turn and push up and around through the shot.
- Tense arm, shortened swing Hold the racket relaxed, keep your shoulders down, and let the swing finish fully past your shoulder.
Drill
- Unit-turn catch: a partner tosses to your forehand; turn hips and shoulders as one and catch the ball with your free hand. When the turn is automatic, hit the ball instead.
- Shadow swings: slow, continuous forehands with no pause at the back, feeling hips lead and the finish past your shoulder. Then add speed.
- Drop-feed or easy partner feeds from a short court with softer, slower balls, aiming to meet each ball in front.
- Repeat the same feed many times in a row before mixing in different balls; beginners usually learn faster from repeated, predictable feeds first.
- Film from the side and from behind to check an early turn, bent knees, contact in front and a full finish.
Sources
- Reid, Elliott & Crespo — Mechanics and Learning Practices Associated with the Tennis Forehand: A Review, J Sports Sci Med (2013)
- Elliott — Biomechanics and tennis, Br J Sports Med (2006)
- USTA — Improve your tennis game: Get your forehand flowing (2018)
Last checked 2026-10-25.