- Get a grip. Make sure you are using the correct grip for the forehand. If you are a right-handed player a solid grip is the eastern forehand grip which would be bevel number 2 for the right-hander view. Same bevel number 2 for the left-hander view. The eastern forehand grip will steady your forehand stroke because the contact point is relatively flat and with the proper swing, the ball can be easily brushed up against to cause the ball to spin in the court.
2. Take back on your backswing too long. If your forehand continues to give you problems after correcting your grip you may be taking your racket back too far on your backswing. With the eastern forehand grip, a large backswing is not required as the contact point is flat and a simple brush up on the ball is all that is required for.
3. You are letting the racket head drop too early on the back swing. The racket head needs to stay above the shoulders on the backswing. As you progress towards the hitting the ball, the racket needs to make a loop from the backswing to the contact point causing the racket to brush up on the ball creating top spin and providing net clearance and depth on your shot.
4. You are not following through on your swing, and stopping your swing after you make contact. This will cause the shot to lose power and spin. This is a very common problem for beginners and even some intermediates. All of the effort goes into the grip, backswing, keeping the racket head up, but there is no follow through on the shot, thus canceling out all of the previous steps.
5. You are not getting to the ball and preparing early enough. If you have successfully corrected the first 4 steps and still struggling with the forehand, you may not be getting to the ball with sufficient time to get the right grip, take your racket back, keep the racket head up, follow through on your swing. There are many reasons why you may not be getting to the ball on top, but court position is key. You should always try to position yourself at the center of the baseline and standing a foot behind the baseline. This will ensure you can move laterally either way and the ball will be in front of you so you don’t have to back pedal.
In summary, give yourself enough time to perform steps 1-4 as you move towards the ball. If you get to the ball in time with proper techniques as listed, the forehand will soon become the ultimate weapon in your tennis game arsenal.