Racquet cap “virtual contact” in forehand

Jian Li (USPTA coach)

The quality of a forehand shot (power and consistency) is determined mainly by the contact at the racquet "sweet spot".This isthe core of tennis.This contact lasts ~1/200th of one second (~5ms) only. However,the reaction time for human being is~ 0.2 seconds. Basically,even best pro players can do nothing at contact. Then why can tennis players still be differentiated? One of the secrets is: if we cannot do magic at contact, we still can do something significant before (and even after) contact!

Figure 1: this kind of racquet orientation allows racquet cap pointing to the coming ball.

From video analysis of a forehand stroke, we can have a glimpse how a fast forehand stroke is generated in a visible sequence. Figure 2 (a) and (b) focus on the racquet orientation, shoulder movement and racket head travel track versus coming ball speed. Right before hitting the ball, there are two distinct phases in generating forehand shot: (1) racquet butt aligning to the coming ball (Fig 2.(a)); and (2) racquet rotating to contact the ball (Fig 2.(b)). Those two stroke phases play significant roles in forehand shot quality: achieving both control and power consistently.

Phase 1 is called “virtual contact” phase for aligning the coming ball with racquet cap.

Phase 2 is called “real contact” phase for hitting the ball at the sweet spot of racquet.

In phase 1, the racquet cap is aligned to the coming ball (after bouncing) and travels toward the coming ball linearly. There are three interesting observations from Fig 2 (a): a) shoulder turns about 90 degrees, driving the racquet cap moving forward; b) the forward speed of racket cap is about the same as the ball speed (by comparing the travel distances of both racket and ball which suggests that the racquet forward rate is very fast) and c) the racquet cap facing the coming ball reaches forward as far as it can.

In phase 1, the racquet orientation is defined by two factors: a) racquet aligning to the coming ball; and b) the forearm and racquet forms a 90 degree angle.

Federer holds the phase 1 long enough before starting phase 2. During phase 1, his shoulder drives the racquet liner move WITHOUT any racquet swing. How fast is this kind of liner move of aligning racquet cap towards the coming ball? Very fast! The speed is about the same as the coming ball speed (after bouncing from the ground). Phase 1 ends with the holding hand (with laid back wrist) in front of the body. His fore arm must feel a tremendous “twist” at the end of phase 1.

Phase 1 setups the racquet orientation and body position (arm and hand position) well for phase 2. Basically this type of setup can avoid any obvious racquet swing since the major racquet movement is in liner direction in phase 1. Phase 1 lasts longer enough allowing the coming ball as close to the aligned racquet as possible. The starting point for generating racquet head speed is well defined and positioned right the beginning of phase 2.

In phase 2, the dominant racquet movement is the racquet head rotating to meet the ball at the sweet spot in contacting the ball. From those photos in Fig 2.(b), showing the comparison between before and after the racquet rotation, the shoulder is clearly seen not turned anymore in this phase, suggesting that fast racquet head speed must come from the wrist release and snap. The arm does not participate to the racquet rotation. In other words, a quality forehand does not need racquet swing at all.

To compare these two phases in body movement, we believe that phase 1 is mainly driven by shoulder turn; and phase 2 is mainly driven by wrist snap. Major multiple body movements are avoided at the same time. The sequential body movement, shoulder turn induced wrist snap in this case, is critical to maintain the stability for control in forehand.

Why is phase 1 needed and how does phase 1 impact phase 2 in forehand stroke?

We can recall our childhood experience of catching butterfly with a long rod butterfly net. The longer the rod is, the more difficult to catch the butterfly. Phase 1 is necessary to ensure the racquet not swung with arm in phase 2. Aligning the racket cap to the coming ball allows a desirable body position in hitting the ball in a comfortable zone. By following the sequence of these two phases, a quality shot can be achieved without compromising control and power consistently.

In practicing these forehand stroke movements, we can imagine a “virtual contact” before the real contact: using racquet cap to meet the ball in front of the body (see a circle highlighted in Fig 2.(a)). Also, we need to pay more attention to the body movement sequence in forehand: shoulder turn first toward the “virtual contact” followed by wrist snap forward the real contact when racquet head meets the coming ball in sweet spot: shoulder turn induced wrist snap into contact.

Any racquet orientation, movement and body position before phase 1 are not considered as core actions in forehand: they can be read as personal style. However, any racquet orientation, movement and body position after phase 1 are still considered as core actions, which are normally categorized as “follow through”, which can be read as the continuation of phase 2.

Fig 2. (a) Racquet butt aligning to the ball Fig 2.(b) Racquet rotating to the contact

Dr. Jian (Jose) Li is the founder of ADHD Tennis (www.adhd-tennis.org). He authored an article “Tennis the Right Sport for ADHD Kids” in USPTA ADDvantage Journal in Jan. 2010.