The Next Gen forehand (I call it "square forehand")

[@frankmcchrystal4029]

Aha! 3:03 - 3:08 shows exactly why Djokovic does this move. First freeze it at 3:07 to view the classic "pat the dog" and "lead with the flashlight" positions first presented in the modern forehand by Braden and then made mainstream by Macci. These are the non negotiables. "Pat the dog" guarantees no last millesecond adjustments in the wrist in order to get to square impact and "lead with the flashlight" guarantees an inside out motion which adds some linear motion to this big rotary engine and lengthens the hitting zone. Getting from the "square" position shown at 3:05 to the classic Braden/Macci position at 3:07 requires a noticeable inward rotation of the humerus which guarantees the maximum amount of what golfers call "lag" heading into impact. And more lag equals more stored energy heading into impact. The evolution never seems to stop even as the true fundamentals stay the same. Thanks for this video.

[@MarioRITennis]

😳 holly! This is what I would sound if I had a PhD lol, my students would be going huh? Love it, shows your passion for the game!

[@chtomlin]

Nice post over all and maybe Braden did come up with the Pat the dog phrase, but he butchered the swing with the debunked "lengthen the hitting zone" traditional instruction mistake. More lag isn't about stored energy, but instead about quicker response time due to the shorter moment arm of dragging the racket. If you are flipping out from the lag, slapping into the ball you are misusing the technique.

[@The77dwarf]

Thank you Mario for the video and the explanations. Since I saw that on your site and others I have tried to practice the concept of the "next Gen" Forehand and to do similar change in Backhand. If I get it right the main outcome of the style change is a Whip motion that give you much more spin and power - resulting in more aggressive Tennis. After some practice it pays and I love to see the changes ! :-). Some questions on the down sides of the technique are: 1st - reduced stability - I would like some tips on how to improve control on this style (beside practice); 2nd - how to handle hard balls where quicker and shorter preparation is beneficial (like serve returns etc.); 3rd - how to improve versatility and disguise - with flat, slice and drop shots with this style; 4th - last but not least - the physical pressure on the hand joint is increased no doubts on including shoulder, elbow and wrist - while it is understood that the responsibility choosing this style more and not risking yourself is on the player - or at least on the direct coach - you may want to provide some fitness drills to support that by strengthening the muscles and how to help people keep the motion within the reasonable limits and avoid "over hitting" that may increase the risk; Thank you again for the great video and in advance for your response Omri

[@MarioRITennis]

Hi Omri! Thank you for such a great comment! I will try to make a video answering all these questions, they are great questions! For sure is not an easy technique to master, it takes years, I love the modern Forehand the next GEN forehand and the one in between, which is what Djokovic uses, but definitely the one that produces more topspin is the next GEN Forehand. Thank you again !

[@peppio]

Mario... You are a great coach.. I have no doubt... Congratulations

[@MarioRITennis]

Thank you Peppino!

[@poida007]

Great seeing you and your channel back online. Very helpful video 👍 Interesting to see the coaching evolution from your two 2013 videos called “the angle and after the angle” to the Next Gen “square FH”. Much of the swing mechanics were already demonstrated in those 2013 videos (on this channel). Good to watch them and do a compare and contrast exercise. The origins of the “pet the dog” come from a coach/poster way ahead of his time on the TennisWarehouse forum using the handle “BungaloBill” around 2006. He was legendary for his insights, knowledge and take no prisoners approach to debates that sprang up regularly, especially around stroke biomechanics, and especially the FH. We now see many coaches using/referring to this “pet the dog” analogy in their coaching, both online and on court. Kudos to BungalowBill!

[@MarioRITennis]

I'll check him out! Thank you!!! Hope you are doing well!

[@ruggierojerolli]

Sock, Kyrgios, Kokinakkis (just to mention) and "old" Thiem Next gen forehands are/were the "test and error" though work well (not always) for them nevertheless the state of the art next gen forehand (less extreme, less upper body drama, the most ductile) is Jannick Sinner´s like you excellently explain in another video.

[@MarioRITennis]

I still think Thiem will change back, although the change is very small, he doesn't look the same since he made the small adjustment, but yes Jannick Sinner is definitely the best example out there now. Thanks for the feedback!

[@paangofn1201]

@@MarioRITennis What small adjustment. Did thiem change his forehand?

[@Gonzalonich]

Thanks Teacher Mario, your advise always are useful, greetings!

[@MarioRITennis]

My pleasure!

[@uhaltuamarsahala2436]

@Ritennis Mario: in all humility, your explanation about next Gen technique is very good but Djokovic actually uses the traditional modern FH technique as his contemporary (Federer, Nadal and others) since he still does the looping/coil and drop the racquet's head next to his body before hitting the ball as opposed to Thiem, Zverev, Sinner, Tsisipas etc who do the hands inverting motion instead of looping and use their left hands to time the ball. Djokovic quasi western grip and elbow lifting that makes his movement look like next Gen technique IMHO 🙏.

[@MarioRITennis]

Djokovic racquet when reaches the back is at a 45 degree angle, modern forehand is straight and next Gen is parallel to the ground, Djokovic is in the middle between next Gen and modern.

[@uhaltuamarsahala2436]

@@MarioRITennis thank you for your feedback 👍

[@sebastiansantos5561]

nole's is different than Thiem forehand's, the mechanism. What you think about it?

[@cannongavinjr7166]

Excellent info Mario Thank You!

[@MarioRITennis]

Thank you Cannon!!!

[@CenturionNL]

Wow, crazy how much the technique has changed from what I learned as a kid.

[@MarioRITennis]

It has, but the modern forehand is still being used, the next gen FH is just a new forehand we see more and more today

[@JW-bw8nj]

@@MarioRITennis Mario, what would you say the pros and cons are between the modern forehand vs the next gen forehand?

[@MarioRITennis]

@@JW-bw8nj as long as the kinetic chain is in the proper order, they are both really good, my believe is the next Gen generates more spin as the racquet has a little more momentum to gather speed.

[@hermtennis]

Thiem doesn't use that forehand anymore. He has shortened his take back and his racket is now more vertical like Federer. Nice to see you making videos again. I've watched your videos for years and they're great. Thanks

[@MarioRITennis]

Thanks for the input!

[@milton4y]

I think this “square forehand” is a result of the players with western grip to return to semieastern or even easten to have more pover without loosing spin.

[@MarioRITennis]

Interesting theory Alexey, thank you for the feedback!

[@GeneralRock114]

I thought it was more of a flip than patting. Isn’t that where the extra racquet head acceleration come from??

[@samoart]

What about grip style ? No matter ?

[@emjay2045]

This forehand technique gives a LOT of easy power and natural spin... just don’t be late with that take back

[@MarioRITennis]

You are absolutely correct!

[@chtomlin]

Actually that is the advantage of racket lag in how it allows you to catch up to the contact if you are a bit late in your takeback.

[@emjay2045]

You’re other forehand vid from years back was simplistic and should be copied by us amateurs… most of us don’t have 5-7 hours on court per day to groove these. And YES for your kid is correct !!

[@joseh899]

@@emjay2045 I agree with you 100% Jay! For us rec players who can't put in the practice time necessary, the modern forehand is more simplistic for the majority of players. 👍👏🎾

[@danielmata9178]

What is the grip? Perhaps I missed it. Not sure

[@swalterstennis]

I like it. Thanks.

[@MarioRITennis]

Thank you Steve!

[@petermonteyne4197]

“ Pet the dog “is from Rick Macci ‘s explanation of the modern forehand .

[@MarioRITennis]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@frankmcchrystal4029]

And Macci got it from Vic Braden.

[@MarioRITennis]

@@frankmcchrystal4029 That is great news! I am a much bigger fan of Vic Braden, than I am if Macci, Thanks for the info!

[@frankmcchrystal4029]

@@MarioRITennis Yes the real roots of the "modern forehand" are in "Tennis for the Future" by Vic Braden. It was a game changer.

[@MarioRITennis]

@@frankmcchrystal4029 thank you for this info, I’ll be looking for it ASAP

[@10sDog]

haha, Mario, of course, it's not just Djokovic and others who use that shot...Eric :) does too! (of course you know)...I call it rainbows too...girls love that. btw, Brian Gordon is the biomechanics who did the analysis for Rick Macci. Brian and I were trying to do some research together like 9 years ago when it first came out (the flip, pat the dog, etc).

[@MarioRITennis]

I think rainbow should become the official term! 🥰

[@10sDog]

@@MarioRITennis i agree! Shall we co-present on this?

[@JonoSolo]

Cool tips

[@MarioRITennis]

Thank you! Really appreciate it!

[@commondirtbagz7130]

Obviously this is old but they all end up that position so idk what your point was with this switch other than riding the bandwagon

[@bournejason66]

Can we do next gen forehand with eastern grip?

[@MarioRITennis]

Yes! It looks a little different as the racquet face will not face the fence on the “back swing” position, it will face mostly downwards, see my example on the sinner video of Tsitsipas:)

[@bournejason66]

@@MarioRITennis thanks. Will check it out

[@goodwinholley9986]

that’s just roger federer forehand

[@movdqa]

I mentioned the different types of forehands after hitting today but I could not accurately describe this forehand. It looks like my partner's coach was trying to teach him this from what he described when we started. I started playing in the 1970s with a classical forehand and migrated to the modern forehand about a decade ago. It took quite a while to make the transition. I don't think that I'm going to migrate to this forehand though - changing strokes takes such a large investment in time.

[@kvaansharifi4692]

Are you sure about Novak?!

[@yanfeiguan6991]

So why this is good

[@MarioRITennis]

it naturally adds more spin as the racquet can gather more speed, it's not necessarily better or worse, it's just the new trend coming

[@Audimann]

Tried it but it feals unnatural for me. I started playing in 1982 at 7yo so this maybe explains my struggle🤔. And watching tennis today is not fun at all anymore. Miss the guys as Sampras, Edberg, Forget, Leconte, Rafter, Stich etc. Very stylish and distinctive players. Luckily Federer is still around😊

[@MarioRITennis]

Yes Toni!!I agree, it is one of those techniques you have to learn from they won, otherwise whatever muscle memory you had is very difficult to change and feel comfortable with. I miss those players a lot as well!

[@deanma7399]

But Thiem has been changing a lot of his forehand in these 2 years , turn to not that “modern” any more.

[@MarioRITennis]

Yes, And I hope he doesn’t come back to “bite him”, his forehead and doesn’t seem to have the same spin as before

[@resmonperez4470]

D square box forehand delivers faster.

[@claudioprado389]

That way of hitting the FH is because of the Western grip. I don't recommend that technique for us recreational players.

[@MarioRITennis]

I agree, A nice Eastern and grab will be fine

[@chtomlin]

Well who calls it the "Next Gen Fh" and why call it the Square Fh when it's been around over a decade and already has a name?

[@MarioRITennis]

I agree, Lendl Used this take back, it is called the next GEN Forehand, maybe because it became more obvious in the game in the last 10 years?

[@jackquinnes]

Fed pets the dog better than the rest of the bunch. I am not sure if other guys even pet the dog as it is meant to be...

[@MarioRITennis]

Federer does everything a little easier than anyone else, he’s on a class in its own

[@MrTolearn]

Hi, Can you hit a ball to demo that you really understand the stroke action? I bet you can't do it. You can't learn this by slow motion video, that misguided.

[@DungHoang-bv2yd]

Djokovic and Federer are best forehand, next gen forehand is not effective!

[@thestuff8023]

I PREFER THE MODERN FOREHAND AND CLASSIC ONE.. IT IS SAD TENNIS IS BECOMING A LOST ART. POWER, SPIN, POWER, POWER, POWER, POWER.... DUH....😲😲😲😲😲😲😯😯😯 SORRY FOR THE RANT.....

[@MarioRITennis]

Haha! I totally get it, I come from the era that constructing points and touch and finesse were a true art! Unfortunately technology put an end to that and this is where we are today :-), power and spin, it is sort of why everyone loves Federer, He reminds us a little bit of those times…