How to hit a forehand: grip, swing and the whip

What a good forehand looks like

1. Split step as the opponent hits, so you can move either way.
2. Unit turn. Shoulders and hips turn together, and the racket goes back because the body turned, not because the arm pulled it.
3. Drop and lag. The racket head falls below the height of the ball and trails behind the hand as the body starts forward.
4. Low-to-high swing into contact in front of the front hip.
5. Release and finish. The racket head whips past the hand, the forearm rotates, and the racket wipes across to finish over the opposite shoulder.
6. Recovery back towards the middle before the ball lands on the other side.

Eastern or semi-western: choosing a forehand grip

The handle has eight bevels. With the racket edge towards the ground, number them from the top bevel (1) going clockwise for a right-hander (anticlockwise for a left-hander). The grip is named by where the base knuckle of your index finger sits.

• Eastern (bevel 3). The handshake grip: palm behind the handle, face square without trying. Flatter ball, comfortable on low balls, easy to learn. Harder on shoulder-high balls and limited on topspin.
• Semi-western (bevel 4). The palm slides further under the handle. More topspin, high balls feel natural, contact moves a little further in front. Low, skidding balls get harder. This is the default of the modern game and where most club players end up.
• Western (bevel 5). Heavy topspin, awkward on anything low. Few adults should start here.

Beginners do well with eastern or halfway between eastern and semi-western, then drift towards semi-western as the swing gets faster. The continental grip is for serves, volleys and slices, not topspin forehands; if your forehand feels like a slice, check the knuckle first.

How to hit a forehand, step by step

1. Split step and unit turn

Hop as the opponent makes contact, land, read the ball, then turn. The shoulders rotate about 90 degrees, the hips somewhat less, and the non-hitting hand stays on the throat of the racket for the first part of the turn before stretching across towards the ball. Stance follows the ball: semi-open for most rally balls, open for wide and high ones, neutral (stepping in with the front foot) for short balls and approaches.

2. Backswing and drop

Keep it compact. The racket goes back at about shoulder height with the tip up, then drops below the ball behind you, face slightly closed (the "pat the dog" position). A big, looping backswing looks powerful and makes you late. The turn should give you most of it.

3. Lag

The forward swing starts from the legs and hips, then the shoulders, then the arm. Because the grip is relaxed (three or four out of ten), the wrist lays back and the racket head trails the hand. That is lag. You do not create it by bending the wrist; you allow it by not holding on. A tight grip kills it.

4. Contact

Contact is in front of the front hip, about 30 to 50 cm ahead with a semi-western grip and a little less with an eastern. The arm is comfortably extended, not bent up against the body, the strings are vertical or slightly closed, and the ideal height is around the waist. Keep the head still and look at the contact point for a moment after the ball has gone.

5. The whip and the windshield-wiper finish

Through contact the wrist releases and the racket head overtakes the hand. The forearm rotates, so the strings brush up the back of the ball, and the racket continues across the body in an arc like a windshield wiper. It finishes over or around the opposite shoulder with the hitting elbow pointing roughly at the target, where the non-hitting hand catches it. Topspin comes from the low-to-high path plus that rotation. The release is fast, but it is a result of the body pulling the handle, not a flick of the wrist.

Cue: the non-hitting hand points at the ball during the turn and catches the racket at the finish. If it never leaves your side, you are arming the ball.

6. Recovery

Crossover step back towards the middle and split again as the ball reaches the opponent. A forehand hit from a great position and never recovered from is how club players lose points on the next ball.

Common forehand mistakes and how to fix them

• Arming it. No turn, all arm, shoulder complaints within the year. Fix the turn first: the pointing-hand cue above.
• Late contact. The ball is beside or behind the hip, so it sprays wide or comes off the frame. Start the turn as the ball crosses the net, not as it bounces, and practise freezing at contact in front.
• Death grip. No lag, no whip, a slow heavy-feeling swing. Relax to three out of ten; the racket will not fly away.
• Flicking with the wrist. The opposite problem: the hand does the work, and the ball goes anywhere. Let the body pull the handle and the release happen on its own.
• Swinging flat or down. Balls in the net, or long with no spin. Drop the racket head below the ball before swinging up.
• Going long. Usually an open face, a flat path or late contact; with an eastern grip, often high balls. Close the face slightly, brush up, meet it earlier.
• Stopping at contact. A short finish means the racket decelerated before the ball. Hold the finish over the shoulder for a beat on every rep.

Forehand drills without a court

The stroke half of the forehand (turn, lag, contact, finish) can all be built at home. The wider plan is in tennis practice at home and the rules for good shadow reps in shadow swing drills.

• Shadow forehands, 3 × 15. One cue per set: turn with the hand on the throat; contact in front of the hip; catch the racket at the finish.
• Freeze at contact, 10. Swing and stop dead at contact in front of a mirror. Front hip, extended arm, vertical face. Then ten full swings.
• Lag feel, 3 slow then 12 fast. Three slow reps with a loose grip to feel the racket head trail the hand, then straight back to full speed. Slow reps only find the shape; speed trains the timing.
• Wall rally. Four metres from a wall, forehands only, aiming just above a net-height line.

Forehand drills on court

• Drop feed, 20 balls. A partner (or you) drops the ball beside you; hit cross-court to a target. No movement, so all the attention is on the swing.
• Deep cross-court rally. Only balls landing past the service line count. Play to 21. Cross-court is the high-percentage forehand: the net is lower in the middle and the court is longer.
• Ball machine or basket, 3 × 20. Moderate pace, same ball each time, one cue per set.
• Inside-out pattern. Feed to the backhand corner, run around it and hit the forehand inside-out. Ten from each position, recovering after every ball.
• Net clearance. Aim a metre or more over the net and still land deep. Topspin makes that possible; most club forehands clear the net by a few centimetres and miss by the same.

Related guides

• How to hit a backhand: one- and two-handed
• How to serve in tennis
• How to hit a slice
• Tennis practice at home: how to practise alone
• Shadow swing drills: the complete guide