To master Federer forehand stroke (13) - racket head speed

To understand ultra head speed of Federer's forehand stroke, you have to figure out the difference in biomechanics of hitting a ball between Federer and the other almost all Pros players.
Federer and Djokovic use whole body rotation to generate ultra rapid racket head speed. However, almost all Pros players think of using the leg-shoulder lever when they do forehand stroke.

[LetsBuildThatApp]

I think Federer's swing motion is also a result of his eastern forehand grip. If I use this grip to generate topspin, I naturally elevate my arm and don't narrow my armpits either. With a semi-western, there's a lot more shoulder rotation as you need to get under the ball and swing back up to the opposite shoulder. Fed's forehand is much flatter and can be amazingly fast with the correct technique.

[ruggierojerolli]

This 13th video sums it all up.
I returned here because the more I watched Carlos Alcaraz the more made sense the dozens of videos you masterfully demonstrated here that I saw 2 years ago.
Indeed in one comment- I regard it now as wrongful- I said here that from theory to practice there was a huge difference in your teachings because I noticed some odd rigid motions but like I said now with Carlos Alcaraz is the best proof of all your earnest research in my humble opinion.
So, I express my apologies to you.
I said above the best and most visible proof because unlike Federer and Djokovic, Alcaraz gets to keep a high elbow right from the beginning showing also an ample armpit spacing. In Federer sometimes I couldn´t catch the exact move because he iniciates his forward swing with a low elbow.
Now I have to say that the drills you teach in your videos seem quite logical to get a grab of the concept of shoulders aligned with the elbow plus the proper armpit spacing within a uniform upper body rotation axis. You´re (and were) completely right.
Of course, reaching that technique 100% that is always in sync requires lots of hard work and drills but pays off greatly at the end otherwise there would be 30 Rafas, 30 Federers, 30 Noles and 30 Alcaraz in the ATP Tour.
You´re truly a unique researcher, master and coach Jul. You deserve a lot, lots of credit.
Keep on that man!. You´ll reap what you already sowed.

[Molybdaenmornell]

I think another important difference comes in when determining the actual shot speed (as opposed to the speed of the racquet head). What momentum (speed x mass) is the ball feeling? If you crack a horsewhip at a ball at ultrasonic speed, it won't accelerate it much, because the whip is light and floppy and therefore yields a lot to the ball's impact. The ball doesn't feel much momentum at all.

Similarly, if the racquet yields too much to the ball's impact (because the racquet-arm-unit is floppy (due to a weak arm or weak grip) or arm and racquet are both very light), the shot will be slower. The extreme case would be Letting go of the racquet a millisecond before impact. Even if you make sure beforehand that it picks up great racquet head speed, it won't accelerate the ball nearly as much because there's no arm backing it up, maintaining its trajectory through contact, allowing there to be a trampoline effect. Wawrinka's and Gonzalez' forehand speed can be massive in spite of the non-Federesque technique shown here and I put that down to his their firm, heavy arms. The arm-racquet-unit is firm and heavy and you can see that the racquet barely recoils on impact with the ball in the sideways Wawrinka slow-mo here. The ideal shot would be achieved by combining both strengths, i.e throwing the arm to achieve racquet head speed while also making sure you meet the ball with some weight by making sure arm and grip are firm during contact.

[TenniswithAlex]

After two years, I come back to this video again. I totally get what you try to emphasise about "total body rotation" vs "leg-shoulder lever". I follow Powerflail channel also (not sure if you know) and you two share similar views, just different ways of saying.

In your leg-shoulder lever stroke, players that you shown, basically just arm the ball (hitting by arm dorminantly). Total body rotation allows arm acting just like the racquet. Arm just stays there and body drives the arm-racquet. I understand you point in other videos, about why you suggest to stretch shoulder at max to "feel" the rotation better. I personally don't need to do that to learn to let the body does the work. For most of us, old habit causes us to swing by the arm and It's hard to change. I believe I achieve the sensation of keeping the arm steady, free and "let the body strike the ball", both FH and BH and continue to improve it.

Thank you and also Vladimir in Powerflail channel!

[endritmuhadri]

It also helps keeping in mind the balance point being in your spine (axis) instead of thinking with your dominant arm which automatically shifts your axis to your dominant arm shoulder . Would you agree on this?

[VasQuezadilla]

Can you do videos on the two handed backhand?

[LetsBuildThatApp]

I feel Rogers grip allows him to position his arm and shoulders at a flatter angle, allowing faster whip action. Novak just has flawless technique and footwork to make his forehand super consistent and fast.

[danezu]

Your analysis helped me so much to improve my game! One question, when you say Nadal has a great SIR, but he is not using the center of gravity of the body (trunk)? How is that possible? In your previous videos you say the only Federer and Djokovic can use the whole body rotation. Thanks!

[carlosrobertogoycocheamart]

Es un movimiento circular esa derecha... Pero también hay derecha con spin...dónde predomina el movimiento hacia arriba hasta la muñeca realiza pronación ...

[pencilcheck]

i have to give kudo to you, but you are sooo close, you almost get to the right conclusion on how we can do to swing like Fed. The analysis is really spot on however.

[brodaism]

What exactly is SIR ? I'm confused after seeing you SIR for serve video. Thanks!

[상처리-vx]

여기 있는 자료들은 볼수록 정말 독특합니다. 선수 출신들이라면 이런 이론을 절대 펼 수 없을거예요. 극복하지 못한 2프로에 고민하는 탑클래스는 더욱 눈여겨 볼 가치가 있을 것이라고 생각합니다.

[chikwongcheung]

👍excellent study on forehand biomechanics

[silviosarunic]

Djokovic doesnt use full body torso rotation and his forehand has ssoo many issues... i dont understant why did you put two oposite players... one is a Master, other one is an arogant