Roger Federer Forehand Analysis | Unique In His Technique

[@musarra195]

I love Feds path on his forehand. Narrow on the takeback ( almost kicking his right shoulder back with racquet ) and then to the outside on contact . It's so repeatable and effortless. I'll take Fed's forehand and stan's backhand. Thank you

[@musarra195]

And thinking about this more - similar to the "one plane swing in golf " , his path allows him to keep his hands inside the ball which leads to a lot effortless power and a lot of leverage and solid shots. This is mentioned around the 9 min mark.

[@topspintennis]

Paul Musarra Great point. Good technique with a repeatable process leads to efficiency and success. Thanks for your comment! John

[@topspintennis]

Paul Musarra I'm not familiar with the one plane swing in golf but what you are saying makes sense. Keeps the hands inside the ball and to the right of the body is so important. Thanks, John

[@califitworkout9211]

Just effortless. Its like no one can teach you to play a forehand like that, it is just god gifted to him!

[@topspintennis]

Califit Workout, you are correct. Years of practice and great technique. Thanks for your comment! JF

[@k.j.hardie5774]

Hey, great video! Something that might be interesting to note on his forehand is that since his hand position is much more horizontal than it is for most players (where the hand is not angled up the grip), he is actually in a hybrid grip, so the base knuckle of his index finger is in a semi-western position and the heel of the hand is in an eastern. Hope this offers some interesting perspective.

[@topspintennis]

Great point. I need to take a closer look at the video to confirm. Thank you for your observation. All the best with your tennis game! John Frausto

[@kingtutmano]

@@topspintennis peace and love did you ever look at the video to confirm?

[@THEFITNESS411]

Very good analysis and insight. Thx 💪🎾

[@topspintennis]

Glad you liked it Charles! Thanks for your support! JF

[@wendellperry6464]

Great video, good snap shots.

[@musarra195]

I love your comment re : the racquet lag at the top. Many talk about the lag at the bottom but don't tell you how to get there. All the pros , as you point out , have some degree of lag ( racquet head ahead of the hand ) - fed has some , thiem have a ton. If you do that at the top , it should just flow at the bottom. I'm a 4.5 player. This will also help in golf

[@topspintennis]

Thank you for your comment. You have a great eye - meaning you see the intricacies of the stroke. The arm (especially the wrist) is like a "hinge", hence how there is lag at the top of swing, creating lag. I'm glad you are enjoying the videos. I appreciate your feedback! Enjoy your day, John Frausto

[@musarra195]

Also great use of the split screen. Really gives you different angles of the swing path. Appreciating the right side angle upon further review. I would maybe add a full swing at the end to allow the viewer to digest all the commentary in full flight.

[@topspintennis]

I like your idea of adding a full swing at the end of the video, I will implement this with my Wawrinka FH video. Thanks, JF

[@musarra195]

Incorporated much of Fed's swing into game action today thx to your commentary. I was really hitting it solid and with much less effort. So a big thank you. I've watched a number of videos and yours are the best. It's a great tutorial on the pros. Perhaps you could complete the Fed analysis with a look at his background. I'm curious to hear your comments on he compares to guys like Stan. I find your comparison comments to be very helpful. So thank you and keep up the great work. My forehand was a monster today

[@topspintennis]

I'm glad to hear you were "ripping" your forehand. What do you mean about looking at his background? Do you mean to look at the history our their upbringing/training and how it influenced their technique? Thank you for your insight and comments! JF

[@musarra195]

Shoot - I️ meant backhand ! Not background. Too bad my thinking and my typing were off

[@topspintennis]

I will also do an analysis on Fed's backhand, I can add some comparisons to Stan's BH as well. Thanks! JF

[@thomblinn4731]

It's no little thing how he's not neutral to start in that his humerus is back... He's got a head start. God dwells in the details!

[@fearsomebunny]

I'm actually more fascinated with how Federer took his first steps in the left video. The pivot and turn on right leg/foot at around 0:57. I'm not sure if it's a conscious effort but the efficiency with which he took those first steps allowed him to be in the right position to punish that ball. Personally I'm a believer in your position relative to the ball when striking the ball as key to good tennis.

[@musarra195]

Fantastic analysis

[@jeanhuz3689]

Thanks for thèse gréât vidéos

[@topspintennis]

You are welcome Jean. I'm glad you are enjoying the videos! JF

[@giovannileone9365]

You said it looks as if federer seems to have almost a hammer grip in the racket drop. Indeed the racket pointing at side fence after the racket drop is unique to federer. But it is not caused by a hammer grip. It is caused by radial deviation of his wrist so he can generate even more power by unlocking it in the foreward swing. He does the same in the unit turn of his backhand. There it is more obvious.

[@topspintennis]

Giovanni, thanks for your comment. I really appreciate your insight! I didn't think this movement was caused by his grip. Thanks for your support! JF

[@bournejason66]

Great analysis. Does the windshield wiper move happen right before the contact or afterwards? Also, do you consider his swing a “ sling shot” type of swing, like Daniil Medvedev or other new gen?

[@giovannileone9365]

The windshield wiper move begins before contact. It is all one move. The technique of the federer forehand and almost all next gen forehands are totally different. They work with a full back swing while federer let's his racket drop passively.

[@topspintennis]

Bourne, it is definitely imitated before hand. The "INTENT" is to accelerate "up and across the ball" with the finish happening naturally. I'm not sure what you mean by a "sling shot" type swing. Please elaborate. JF

[@poida007]

Good stuff John! 👏Is his rotation into, through, and post contact continuous or is there a stop/slow down at contact? Also, the separation of the hands seems very misunderstood by coaches. They don't seem to work together like throwing a medicine ball. Your thoughts. 🎾

[@topspintennis]

The rotation is my opinion is continuous - with it being slightly slower in the initiation phase and faster at the end. As for the hands, I do believe they work together in the preparation phase and unit turn. On the follow through is where they may be different than throwing a medicine ball. Thank you for your questions. All good stuff! JF

[@poida007]

Topspin Tennis thanks John, yes it's all good! 👍 Great connecting with you again. I'll locate and post for you a video re a Fed analysis by a well known coach/instructional author Dave Smith with a "completely opposite" interpretation, positing that the shoulders stop rotation at contact to accelerate arm into ball LOL. I've often heard it said that coaches "see what they want to see" vs. what is. That seems to be the case with Dave Smith. I consider your FH to be "world class" and haven't seen his, nor any of his students. Let's keep the convo going! 🎾

[@poida007]

Topspin Tennis John, here's that FH video analysis on the kinetic chain sequencing. Look forward to your thoughts on this 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4CUfapjZ6uUg9k

[@topspintennis]

That is the craziest thing I have ever heard. Watch the end of this video and clearly Federer's hips and shoulders have rotated - to the point that they are facing the camera. Now, on a fast incoming ball the shoulders and hips may rotate less but they don't stop. I may have to create a video on Dave's theory. Stay in touch. JF

[@poida007]

Topspin Tennis Yes, but their interpretation on rotation, as I understand it, is that the acceleration of the arm through contact is what "pulls the shoulders and hips around" from the stopped shoulder/hip contact phase position. 😀

[@musictrainingonline]

"Hitting the inside of the ball", what does this mean? What about the wrist? What about weight transfer, what about the follow threw?

[@topspintennis]

Thomas, great question. The pros direct the ball by positioning the racquet face at different angles. When Federer hits "inside out" he is basically hitting the "inside" of the ball. Meaning his hand is technically leading with the racquet "dragging" behind the hand. This angle allows him to hit crosscourt or "inside out." The follow through is usually the same since the ball is long gone by the time he finishes his swing. Does this make sense? Thank you for your comment! John Frausto

[@twks123]

Great video! One question about using eastern grip: I actually started with eastern grip as I felt it's the most comfortable grip to hold. However as the contact felt more straightforward, I actually felt pain on the wrist due to the contacting force even though I tried to lock my wrist angle. I felt a lot less such pain with semi western. Is this normal and such that semi western has advantage on this perspective? Thanks!

[@topspintennis]

A couple things: 1. I would avoid "locking" your wrist position. You want it to remain stable but you should "release" the position. It's not a static position, it is dynamic. 2. As for your grip, I would go with what feels natural and comfortable to you. I have notice that as I have gotten older I don't hit with the power that I once did - hence I have gravitated towards more semi-wester and eastern grips. Thank you for your comments! JF

[@twks123]

Thanks for the reply and explanation!

[@topspintennis]

You are welcome! JF