The Groundstrokes: The Forehand Drive with Billie Jean King

[Music] [Music] scores this. One of the basic shots of tennis is the forehand drive. When photographed in slow motion, the forehand drive looks quite simple. With proper instruction and plenty of practice, you can improve your forehand and increase your enjoyment of tennis. Actually, the forehand drive can be as simple as hitting a ball with a vertical palm and a firm wrist. If we use a racket as an extension of the arm, we are ready to hit the forehand drive. The grip should connect the racket to the arm in such a way that the racket head and the vertical palm move together throughout the stroke. >> The eastern grip, which most professionals think is probably the best one to use. The way you find the forehand grip is to place your hand flat on the face of the racket as such and to bring it straight down. This is the one you use for your forehand. And then for the backhand grip, you turn. If you notice, my hand is more on top of the racket. And this is what you use for the backhand. >> The recommended eastern grip keeps the face of the racket at the same angle as the palm of the hand and makes the racket a simple extension of the arm. >> If you'll notice, my index finger, my trigger finger is spread more so than the other three. It's kind of it's almost impossible really to spread all of them. It'll look more like this. And as far as the thumb is concerned, it's just wrapped around as such. I think this is important. Don't keep the thumb up the back. Keep it wrapped around so you have a firm grip because you want to keep your wrist pretty firm. As the grip's very important in all tennis shots, so is the stance. A good stance is to be on the tip of your toes with your knees bent. And this is very important always to have your knees bent. and you can get a fast start. >> Remember to get your steps before hitting. >> Slide back to the ready position. Run, stop, then stroke. >> If the ball is really far away from you, then you're just going to have to scramble and run. That's a great shot. >> On the back swing, the racket drops lower than the intended point of contact with the ball and then affects a low to high forward motion. Use a partial sideways stance and with the vertical palm, make a continuous loop swing. And you want to keep the elbow a little bent on the back swing. Keep it bent so it's comfortable. If you're straight, you have no feel. So this way it's it's much more comfortable, but remember to get the ball away from your body. >> Hitting the ball too close to the body cramps the follow through and pulls the ball to the left. Instead, reach out for more speed and control. >> I think a good thing to always try to remember is to hit it off the left foot and then therefore you'll always try to be getting out in front. Don't let it get behind you. Always try to keep it out in front. If the ball is hit too early, it goes to the left. If the ball is hit late, it goes to the right. For a straight drive, contact the ball at a point even with the front foot. Notice that as the racket begins the back swing, the forward foot steps out toward the net. Then with the stroke, weight is transferred from the back foot to the forward foot. Try to be shifting your weight towards the net. Sometimes uh beginners especially have a tendency to to step side towards the side of the court instead of towards the net. Since the back foot keeps the hips in line with the intended target, the back toe should not come off the ground during the follow through. The follow through does guide the ball because in actuality, you carry the ball on the strings. This is the reason why we emphasize following through because without the follow through, you don't have this opportunity to carry the ball and to guide it. Hitting the ball at the top of the bounce or earlier saves you many steps and gives your opponent less time to prepare his return. >> If it comes around waist high, you hit the ball waist high. If it comes up, you stand up a little and hit up above. The ball comes low and it's good to bend your knees and hit the ball low. >> If the forehand drive is hit absolutely flat, the result is a ball that is difficult to keep in bounds. However, if the ball is stroked from low to high, the result is top spin. A ball hit with top spin makes a downward arc. As a result, a drive with top spin can be hit very hard and still stay inside the court. Once you've made contact with the ball and made your shot, you've got to get back in a ready position for the next shot that's coming. You should slide back to get ready and not run back. You always want to be ready to go either way. >> Now, here's a checklist to help you improve your forehand. Actually, the forehand drive can be as simple as hitting a ball with a vertical palm. The eastern grip makes the racket a simple extension of the arm, keeping the face of the racket at the same angle as the palm of the hand. Make a continuous loop swing with the vertical palm and always follow through toward the target. From the ready position, pivot to a partial sideways stance and drop the racket below the intended point of contact with the ball. The racket should be vertical at the point of impact and the ball should be hit even with the front foot. Stroke from low to high to produce top spin. The eyes watch the approaching ball. The racket starts back at shoulder height. With the forward foot, a step is made toward the ball. Then the racket drops down and starts forward. Weight is transferred with the stroke. Follow through continues up and toward the target. >> Companion stroke to the forehand is the backhand. Actually, the backhand has many similarities to the forehand. >> The backhand is really the easiest shot in tennis if you're going to compare it with the forehand. The reason that the backhand is actually a more natural shot is that your body never gets in the way of the stroke. Whereas on the forehand, you go across your body >> on the forehand. Because the hitting arm must cross the body. It takes more effort to keep the guiding follow-through in line. But on the backhand, the follow-through takes much less effort because the hitting arm is moving away from the body on the follow through. >> Cradle the racket in your left hand near the head of the racket. And most of the time when you're in a ready position to receive the ball, you usually have the forehand grip. and therefore you change it on the back swing. So what you'll be doing is going from the eastern forehand grip to a eastern backhand grip. So always keep it in your left hand so you can guide it back and so you'll know where it is at all times. Maintain continuous eye contact with the approaching ball. Buy extra time for yourself by reacting quickly to the approaching ball. And the faster you can get to the ball, the better off you are, and you'll have this much advantage on your opponent. You should always have your knees bent and be on your toes so you're ready to go right away. So you can turn left or you can turn right. Quickly anticipate the ball's direction and get into position. Stroke and quickly return to a ready position in the center of the court. Notice the continuity of the loop swing. On the back swing, the left hand assists in dropping the racket below the intended point of impact with the ball. >> The biggest mistake as far as the backhand is concerned is that you don't get the ball out in front enough. You want to get it way out in front when you make contact. >> For maximum power, the ball should be hit just on the net or forward side of the body with the elbow a full finger span away from the waist. Hitting the ball too close to the body results in excessive wrist motion and loss of control. Instead, have the hitting arm comfortably extended at the point of impact while maintaining a firm wrist. Timing is also critical. If the ball is hit early, it goes to the right. If the ball is hit late, it goes to the left. The ball will go straight if hit ahead of the front foot with a follow through toward the target. >> And be firm. This is very important. Be firm and keep the racket firm in your hand and a firm wrist so that when you stroke the ball, it'll be solid. [Applause] Bend your knees and make a short turn. Have your shoulder into it. And just step in again as you do on the forehand. You put your weight into it and swing out >> and shift your weight towards the net. Don't shift it towards the side. Always shift it towards the net. >> The forward foot moves toward the net with the back swing. Then with the stroke, weight is transferred from the back foot to the forward foot and the rear toe which keeps the hips in line with the target maintains contact with the ground. And always make sure that you keep your knees bent because these are the elevators of the body. You must always remember that. Keep the wrist firm, keep the knees bent, but you don't want to bend from the waist. You want to always bend from the knees. Girls have a tendency to always try to bend from the waist and keep their legs straight. Always remember to bend with your knees. If the ball is stroked from low to high, the result is top spin. >> An important thing is always to try to get the head of the racket a little bit below the ball when you make contact. Don't don't have it too high and hitting down on it because you really want a little bit of an uplift at the end. Therefore, you want to get just a little bit below it. A ball hit with top spin makes a downward arc and is easier to control. Top spin is the result of stroking from low to high. And it's important to follow through toward the target and skyward. Now, here's a checklist for improving your backhand. Change from the forehand to the backhand grip. On the back swing, use the left hand to help drop the racket below the intended point of impact with the ball. Make a continuous loop swing with the forward motion from low to high. Hit the ball just ahead of the front foot with the racket vertical to the ground. Stroke the ball from low to high to impart top spin. During the back swing, step towards the ball with the forward foot. Then keeping your eyes on the approaching ball, transfer weight from the rear foot to the front foot as you stroke. Still watching the ball, follow through. These are key points. Remembering them will improve your game. Deuce >> advantage king. game. The game