Shoulder Adduction Will Transform Your Forehand Contact

Horizontal shoulder adduction is the final major link in the forehand kinetic chain, when the pectoral humeral angle closes, and the pecs drive the racket through contact.
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[@gripspintennis3143]

This is one of the best forehand technique concepts that I have ever seen. Great job, Coach!

[@ItMaker5000XL]

Woah, that feeling when you watch a new-to-you instructor and immediately want to subscribe. VERY good stuff!

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Thanks! I think this part of the forehand swing is so incredibly useful, and yet woefully under-discussed.

[@SrJFK]

This is the only video I've seen that discusses this. I've struggled to understand how to fix my forehand and this is a summary of the solution. I have a lot of work to do but results are immediate. This alone solves that tight feeling which costs me so many points. Great work man.

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Amazing. That's exactly why I do this.

[@germanslice]

@@FaultTolerantTennis Do you teach to slice drive the ball with the one hander at 80-100 mph?

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

@@germanslice Not sure I understand the question, but definitely not. Trying to hit a slice at 100 mph sounds like an automatic error.

[@germanslice]

​@@FaultTolerantTennis Ok well I changed it from brushing under the ball to pronating instead all through the ball instead to slice drive it leading with the bottom edge of the racquet. And the result of using a longer contact point is 80-100 mph slice drive groundstrokes staying all low through the court with greater deeper more penetrating lengths in the court that I could not get with the normal slice grip. So I changed the contact point to allow me to drive slices with effortless power instead of having to muscle the ball with just brushing it.

[@germanslice]

@@FaultTolerantTennis What do you mean I get an automatic error ? I can drive at a higher velocity now with the one backhand slice because I had changed my grip. I had changed my grip from slice over to flat to close off all my strings., I did that to allow me to be able to shoot the ball low over the netcord to increase the depth and pace in the court. So I only have to lift the ball just a few inches over the netcord to get the pace and the depth instead of having to aim metres above it to float it high to get the depth.. That is what the grip change allows me to do to the ball. I turned the slow floating weak sitter slice into a big flat penetrating buggy whip drive and that buggy whip action keeps the slice staying low down in the court..

[@AL-jk5pl]

best example for this point is Federer, he is hitting effortless forhands in practice only concentrating on the contact. Thanks for this worthy information, most club coaches are so useless

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

That's a great point. I highly recommend that practice style for most players - don't start injecting effortful velocity until you're really feeling the contact zone.

[@18yearsoldnot]

I’ve been trying to figure this out for the last 3 months! Thank you so much!!! My problems started when I successfully got a coach to teach me how to shorten my swing, and I managed… but then I lost the ability to hit the top of the ball and keep it down. I will now warm up every time with those small motions you showed us. 🎉

[@HoiWaiKwan]

Really glad to watch this! This really open a new page of my understanding on forehand stroke!

[@icarius7793]

Your video demonstrating internal & external rotation provided a new progression to adjust, improve & strengthen my forehand swing! Same progression appears identical to my serve swing! Thx

[@brasileirosim5961]

I subscribed immediately after watching this video, great explanation, thanks!

[@skalenskij]

It is what I need the most. Thanks.

[@honkeyness9427]

Shoulder adduction is the contact - thank you!

[@juanmontes6701]

Great video, i subscribed immediately. I loved how you explained it!, I know not everyone understands this way, but its nice to have this perspective! I will watch more of your videos, thanks.

[@weadog]

I appreciate the detailed content! Do you have any tips or exercises to help me focus on shoulder adduction? I can naturally adduct my shoulder with my two-handed backhand, but I struggle with my forehand. The two-handed backhand came easily because my hands are in sync and my shoulder turns automatically.

[@RubinStJohn-rl4qx]

Great video! I'd love to see a similar video on the backhand. How does shoulder adduction function in that stroke?

[@zallen6000]

top tier content!!!! please keep it coming. subbed.

[@justincook305]

I like it! The concept of starting with where you feel strongest/ swing fastest is interesting. I usually do a lot with students rotating their hips and whipping both up and across the ball (more-so across) to create this. You may have a better foundational move here though, because it starts with the correct feeling. Then the "upstream" stuff. I'm guessing based on the focus of pec action creating the shoulder motion that you would have a preference for straight arm forehands (all things being equal)?

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Glad it resonated with you. Often, students have this natural adduction already, and in that case, working with them to integrate their hip rotation is critical, so that's wonderful. I do believe, like you said, that the motion we're talking about here, the END of the swing, is the truly fundamental part of the stroke, and so with new players, or with players whose stroke is a complete mess, I highly recommend starting here. With respect to the straight vs bent elbow - all else is very rarely equal. Similar to grip, I'd never correct a student either way, given that they are comfortably and efficiently adducting their shoulder and driving through contact. Jannik Sinner is a great example of a player who almost always hits with a bent elbow, but you'll see that elbow fly way out in front of his body, because his horizontal shoulder adduction is so strong.

[@TheThamyohyin]

❤ now i know how to hit better fh. Thanks coach

[@stranger360th]

Interesting content. Thank you 👍… and please get a body mic with wind noise reduction 😉

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Yeah, I get it. Would it really be a tennis video, though, if the coach wasn't talking to the cam, on court with, wind noise in the background?

[@guyrestivo]

would you also say the position of the off-arm/hand can either help or hurt this shoulder adduction..i ask this because in golf(2-handed grip)the wrong grip, poor left arm position, not enough club drop,etc can block and trap the arms behind the body preventing any shoulder adduction and it seems to me that both sides of the body must be in sync or one side may dominate or stall the swing...im not a tennis player(hopefully soon) but your teaching is incredible and this subject is fascinating..anyway im subscribed and thks again..

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Yes, the left arm plays a big role, but it's mostly in balance, accuracy, and efficiency. You can still perform the same motion, fundamentally, with your left arm dangling down, it just won't be practically useful. In practice, you use both arms to control your torso, and then bring the left arm in and close to maximize the amount of angular momentum that goes into the right arm by contact. Probably the most important role the left arm plays is giving you an extra lever to use to control where in space you aim your swing. You can experiment swinging through all different contact points with a weight and feel how doing different things with your left arm makes those various swings more or less natural.

[@guyrestivo]

@FaultTolerantTennis thks for the response and look forward to more of your wonderful videos

[@treplay8846]

Everything follows contact point

[@knotwilg3596]

Exactly.

[@continental33]

So just open stance coach?

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

It's almost strictly superior. On low balls, you'll often feel comfortable staying more closed than usual, so in those cases, neutral and closed make more sense, but even on short balls, if they're chest height, semi-open is just better (and obviously in any situation you're pressed for time, open is far superior).

[@jmberille1]

Nice explanation kuya

[@TheSermonizer]

Great content. Thanks for posting! Wondering if you could clarify - When exactly does the adduction happen in relation to contact with the ball? Is ball contact at the start of the adduction, midway through it, or towards the end?

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Ideally, contact is not right at the beginning of your adduction, because then you don't get as much time for the chest to accelerate the racket. Too late, and you're now pulling sideways, rather than back-to-front. Typically, contact happens with a pectoral-humeral angle of 150-100 degrees. 90 is usually too late. Watch some slow motion footage of your favorite pros from the side to see the player to player variation in how much they use.

[@drdickenbalz]

I would say it depends on how heavy their racket is and how heavy the incoming ball is. The less force you have to counteract, the more you can afford to contact the ball later in the adduction. Imagine you're playing with a feather or just your hand. You'd have to be adducting right at the start and the whole way through because you'd basically have to carry the ball entirely and throw it forward in order to get any speed back.

[@albertozabeo77]

first shoulder rotation and then adduction, correct? or does the rotation happen halfway?

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Great question. I don't want to use the term "rotation" imprecisely. There are two different things rotating: 1. The trunk rotates BEFORE the shoulder adducts (they might bleed together). You start sideways, and you rotate back towards your target. 2. The shoulder internally rotates AS the shoulder adducts. While your chest presses your arm forward, your arm naturally rotates in (in meaning towards the midline of your body, in this case.) Hope that clears up any confusion.

[@2008M5]

Awesome dude but what about people that are prone to shoulder impingement (like myself)? Is there any hope for us?

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

What's the nature of your impingement? Which motion hurts, or locks up?

[@2008M5]

@@FaultTolerantTennis it's the bicep tendon getting impinged in the subacromion space. I have the problem in both shoulders. It's genetic, it happens to quite a few people. The tendon gets sore after a while and it could theoretically get frayed. So, I avoid such motions. The internal rotation portion is what seems to somehow irritate it

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

@@2008M5 Hi, apologies I lost track of this comment. Well, that's certainly rough. Unfortunately, internal shoulder rotation is integral to the modern topspin forehand. Not only does it create whip through contact, but it's also how your body decelerates your arm in the follow-through. I play with a strong 4.5, borderline 5.0 guy who never hits with topspin on his forehand. He hits almost entirely flat, or underspin, but he's got some of the best eyes and anticipation I've ever seen. The flat or underspin forehand is a shot that can be executed with far less ISR. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but for the forehand you see on the tour, ISR is essential, and from reading up on your condition, it does look like this motion would be very difficult for you. However, it's still possible to be a very strong 4.5 player, even 5.0, by focusing on vision and balance, and then using those abilities to employ tactics no one else is good enough for. The guy I was referencing, for example, can drop-shot and lob to a level that some tour level players can't. He can easily hit against heavy topspin, making 20 balls in a row despite the quality of shot coming at him. He can hit drop volleys or deep volleys in a similar way, even off of very good passing shots. He hits every overhead at 70 mph, and yet they're all winners because it's so well disguised and well placed. All this is to say - Rafa's forehand might be physically out of reach for you, but high quality, fun-to-play tennis is not.

[@2008M5]

@@FaultTolerantTennis Thank you for spending so much time on this. I am trying the IR, it does feel 'uncomfortable' but no actual pain right now. I will continue to use it for as long as I can. I did see an older man play on a court near me yesterday and he was hitting everything flat but with zero effort and getting most balls in play with pace so it is doable if you have fantastic timing (which I do not).

[@aarontian5979]

you look like Bruno Fernandes

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Haha, you're right. I can totally see it. He's gotta shave his head though ;)

[@aarontian5979]

@@FaultTolerantTennis 😄

[@topspin1715]

Subscribed! Question about the forehand, I read the accelerate late like Sinner article, trying to figure out what I need to do now to hit a bigger forehand. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4DQk2uHhLJ7kJI I'm the one in blue. I am trying to see what can I do better? Accelerate starting at contact by trying to fire the hips and only when they are square to net then try to accelerate the upper body? I can feel the hips fire but then I don't know how to feel firing the upper part faster. Suggestions?

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Your fundamentals look great! 1. Move your contact point right. It's too close to your body. Your brain still wants to swing straight at the ball, but that's not what we want. The first motion is exploding around, which sends the racket out, not forward, and then the racket goes back-to-front through contact. 2. Watch some pros from the side. Even though the swing is low-to-high, it's a very slight upward diagonal. The current swing path you're using should only be used on defense or lobs - it's too vertical. Drive the racket mostly forward, not up. (this will also naturally adjust itself as you move your contact point right) 3. Train your abs. I'll be releasing videos on this later, but work on your quick, explosive twist. The more explosively you can go from 90 degrees turned, to facing the net, the better your forehand will be.

[@topspin1715]

@@FaultTolerantTennis wow thanks for the detailed reply. I’ll get working on spacing further away and use the abs to get the swing to go more out and away instead of being jammed. I’ve never thought about swinging out and around. My brain just wants to crush forehands and it’s become used to swinging the way I do now. Thank you, hopefully after the suggestions are implemented I can hit properly!

[@petersills5716]

As a fellow coach great to see people who sees so many BS tips on KZbin it's great to see people who know what they're taking about.

[@AANasseh]

Your videos are excellent. At 1:36 you say this is the string angle I want to hit the ball but you need a side angle to actually show it. How close is the racket face, 15-20% would you say? But it would also matter where on the bounce the ball is, correct? If it's rising you can close the angle more but if it's falling would you make adjustments? Cheers!

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Good point, that's a bit of an oversight. I'll keep that in mind when I reference string angle in future videos. On a typical topspin groundstroke, 10-20 degrees is about right, and yes, that changes based on the trajectory of the incoming ball, and your intended launch angle. Go watch any of your favorite pros from the side, and you'll see the variation. It just takes reps to figure out how to use different string angles for on-the-rise shots, vs falling shots, vs shots stopped at their apex, and also, of course, when you yourself are attempting different kinds of spins and trajectories (more open for a lob, for example). That's why I've don't usually reference the specific string angle, because, like you said, it varies from situation to situation. The important two elements for topspin contact are 1. it's slightly closed at contact and 2. it's not changing drastically during the hitting zone.

[@AANasseh]

@@FaultTolerantTennis Great explanation. One suggestion: Since I've noticed from your channel that you care deeply about foundational learning and understand these foundations yourself; I think a couple of videos getting into the physics of ball contact at close up and racket face angle under different circumstances would be extremely helpful to your audience. All channels talk this in macro but really understanding the contact point on the ball surface (clock surface or whatever other analogy) for flat balls vs. topspin/slice combined with racket path and face angle would be novel. These are the subconscious foundations behind the "feel" on the ball but have actual physical basis. I haven't seen anything of any value out there online on this subject. Just a suggestion for a couple of pieces of content. :) Thanks again for your work on these videos! 👍

[@СергійКліменко-ф8р]

I watch a lot of tennis channels... this is a good and simple explanation of the space in front of the ball my subscription

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

That's exactly right. This motion is WHY the best forehands require so much space to hit, and can't be hit right next to the body.

[@donnifx]

Can you make the same video on the two handed backhand???

[@deirdreleggett5764]

This has really helped me improve my forehand. Thank you. Some more videos on the forehand would be much appreciated.

[@vjayvenkat]

Let me try this. Has anyone changed the way they play after seeing this? My coach asked me to let it flow and do not restrict at contact point. Now i know what he meant and what he wanted to achieve

[@alexeys158]

Through lots and lots of experimenting with the forehand motion I actually found that the key is to do exactly the opposite during the contact i.e. opening the shoulder angle and extending the overall distance of the racquet handle from the body by relaxing and letting the shoulder to open. Whenever I try to close the shoulder angle as you suggest I feel like I can't put the body weight into the motion any more as all the leg work I do counters the shoulder opening and I feel like I need to really stress my peck muscle in order to close the shoulder as I need to fight my own legs now.

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

This is a nuanced point so this will be a longer reply. You're absolutely right about what you're feeling, and you're right about relaxing and leg drive. The forehand is a kinetic chain - chain being the operative word there. For it to work perfectly, each link in the chain fires after the previous link. Horizontal shoulder adduction is the *last* major link. Trunk rotation and leg drive come first. You are very correct that, if you adduct your shoulder too early, your swing won't feel right, and it'll interfere with the power from your legs. Early in the swing, you are supposed to relax, and drive with your leg, and then torque your torso around with your stomach muscles. Only after that initial drive should your chest drive your hand forward, not before. Additionally, you *can* hit a pretty decent forehand with leg drive and trunk rotation alone, and no adduction, but it'll never be truly great. I'll be able to hit as hard as your max effort shot just by torquing my abs a little and adducting my shoulder, but it'll take me a lot less energy. I promise it's worth spending the time to sync the adduction to the end of your chain. You can still explode off your back foot, and you can still torque your stomach muscles, while adducting your shoulder at the end. The real magic happens when all three fire in the right rhythm. The ball will explode off your strings.

[@alexeys158]

@@FaultTolerantTennis Thank you for such a detailed explanation! What you say makes sense and I completely agree with you on most points. Moreover, this is how a forehand motion is taught by almost all high level coaches I've ever had lessons with. However, when trying to apply these ideas in practice I faced the following problem: as the pace increases I have less and less time for all my leg drives and body rotations. This means that I have to make all the motions either shorter or faster or both. As you absolutely correctly pointed out for the kinetic chain to work the timing requirements have to be met i.e. I start with my lower body and wait for my upper body to "catch up" the motion while it's still relaxed and only then uncoil the torso and then shoulders. However, as I shorten my motion (or do my lower body faster) this makes my torso just lag behind more and the only way to make to make it to catch up on time is to actively muscle it with the abs and later with the peck muscle right away together with the legs. Because of this at no point I have my muscles relaxed any more. I'm not sure if I'm explaining it clearly but I hope you understand what I mean. I also found a solution to this issue but I had to entirely change the idea of how the racquet is accelerated and a stroke is produced. I believe it's possible to hit great forehands the way you describe it and many people including top pros do so. They somehow manage to time it well though in spite of the issue I mentioned. I personally could not make it work for me without overloading my shoulder and getting injured as the result.

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

@@alexeys158 I'm fairly certain I know exactly what you mean. Here are a few things that might help: 1. One of the best open secrets in tennis is that you actually *don't* need to use your legs for anything but balance if your opponent is hitting hard. You barely even have to coil your upper body if you don't want to. You can stay almost completely facing the net, adduct your shoulder to create a very short swing, and in doing so remain very competitive. The better you get, the more links you can incorporate at a faster pace, but I can't stress enough how often pros hit using ONLY the later links, and not the beginning ones. Fognini, for example, has hit 90 mph forehands while on the DEAD RUN, getting absolutely nothing from the lower body. 2. The inverse of the kinetic chain is how fast you can do it. Shoulder adduction is the quickest. Trunk rotation is pretty quick. Leg drive is the slowest. Because of that, you include or exclude links based on the shot you're seeing. At the top level, the guys have such a strong core that they rotate (and adduct) on almost every shot, but they don't necessarily press with the back foot on every shot. As you train your stomach muscles, you'll get to the point where your core rotation is explosive enough to handle fast balls as well, and you'll learn when to fire the trunk so that your arm has time to fly out to the ball before it gets on top of you. 3. You need to adjust properly when you're late. The safe swing strategy when you're late is to throw the racket above your head, or to stay sideways (don't rotate) in order to adduct forward like normal. If you try to force the arm forward into space that doesn't exist, that's when it hurts. Preventing shoulder injury is all about learning to feel the natural motion of your shoulder, and then creating it even out of awkward spots. It's a matter of figuring out how to swing the shoulder through different contact points without impingement. I know this was long, but hopefully it helps, and don't hesitate to ask if you still have questions.

[@HoiWaiKwan]

U suggest that the racket should be slightly closed at contact, do u have a suggested range of closeness?

[@petersills5716]

From a Fellow coach: With all the BS out there, Great to see someone who knows what he's talking about.

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Thanks, and in that same vein, I always invite discussion in the comments in pursuit of truth. I've been wrong before, and I'm sure I'll be wrong again. It's the only way to uncover the truly important things people don't already know.

[@liimey87]

As I learn more about hip and chest rotation as powering the forehand, I'm starting to see examples of players and coaches doing this on instinct to a point of maybe not realizing how central it still is to powering their technique. This video and the comments section provide an interesting discussion about how active the arm and shoulder muscles should be, finishing into forehand contact. However, is the role of hip and torso rotation minimized a little here? At 3:40 it is mentioned that we don't need to rotate. But then at 3:43, 3:47 & 3:52, just before driving these example shots, the chest and shoulder unit are first rotated back, sometimes all the way to maybe 70/80 degrees, and the hips are coiled enough to then uncoil into the shot. The mild-looking but significant rotation appears to be a primary source of the arm coming around and then into contact, with an active adducting shoulder perhaps working on top that. Maybe I am misunderstanding. Still learning.

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Great comment, let me address this. When I say "you don't need to rotate," you're right that that's not exactly true. The racket is heavy enough that it's pretty uncomfortable to reach the position you press from without rotating at all. It's much more comfortable to rotate, at least slightly, into that position, and then press out of it - even when you're primarily driving the stroke with your chest, rather than your early acceleration. Purely physically speaking, in order to ONLY use the chest, you wouldn't have to rotate at all, but doing so is far less comfortable than adding just a little early rotation, which is why I demo'ed it that way. I want you to hit mini-tennis and contact warm-up shots the way I did in the video, rather than forcing yourself to literally rotate zero degrees. The rotation was not a significant source of velocity - in that example - it contributed maybe 20-30%. Rotating is by far the most comfortable, natural way to get your arm into the position you press from, which is why you want to rotate a little even when you're "not rotating." After seeing your comment, I do wish I had said "you barely even have to rotate" instead, because you're 100% correct that "you don't even have to rotate" is misleading.

[@liimey87]

@@FaultTolerantTennis Thanks for the reply and the additional commentary. Appreciate it.

[@tross2455]

How do you know if you’re mastering it? Thank you

[@baselinej1333]

it's so helpful bro please do one for the 2 handed backhand

[@Leight4Dinner]

Great video. I’m subscribed. Seems like the first step is to figure out my personal motion and where my hand/wrist is and the angle they are at in the optimal impact zone. The second step is to adjust the racquet angle (which means adjust my grip) to get the strings in the right position. Step three is then focus on the shoulder adduction. But it has to be in that order. Is that right?

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Not quite. The first step is to adduct your shoulder - use your chest to push your hand forward the way I showed in the video. Then, you hold your racket, and use a grip such that, when you press your hand forward in the way that feels most natural for you, your strings are slightly closed to the court. After that, you make sure you're acutely aware of where, in front of you, the ball needs to be to make the swing work. Those are the fundamentals, and then you practice, practice, practice.

[@dsd2002]

Great video,👏I tried from base line and I was able to get good top spin and kept ball low. One question coach about short mid court balls. When I do the same, I get a loopy spin often goes long or out sideways in alley. Fine from base line, but any changes and suggestion for shot net net balls to keep them in?

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Great question. You'll want to use a shallower low -to-high slant when you're inside the court. For example, your elbow might routinely end up above your shoulder when you're hitting from behind the baseline, but when striking an approach shot, your elbow ends up at about chest height. It'll depend on your exact mechanics, but the basic answer is: swing straighter back-to-front, and less low-to-high, when you're inside the court and attacking.

[@internetzvonok420]

Great video. I also have a question about beginning of the shot. Should our be closed first? So first it closed, then we opening it and closing again. Thanks!

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Hold the racket comfortably, and place your hand away from your body. Allow the racket to open as you swing, don't force it open, and then, again, allow it to close, rather than forcing it closed.

[@mychannel2902]

Interesting concept. Was expecting to see also a demonstration during a rally though.

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

Noted! I'll have more full strokes, through an actual ball, in follow-up videos. Still experimenting with the best techniques for delivering the info.

[@colinbyer3018]

Solidddd

[@andrewbrennan6717]

Is there an analogous “essential contact” motion on the one-handed backhand?

[@FaultTolerantTennis]

There is. I'm still working on the best way to communicate it. I think Richard Gasquet is the best to watch if you want to see what absolutely perfect understanding of OHBH contact looks like.

[@andrewbrennan6717]

Thanks! I look forward to the video once you’re ready to teach it.

[@Lecia-lithium]

Copy Tommy Hass. Best fundamental of ohbh