What's the most effective forehand drill?

I have been working on my forehand for five years. I'm trying to change the grip, take-back and follow-thru. I used to hit my forehand like Nathalie Tausiat and now I'm hitting like Rafael Nadal (I'm trying to playlike him). I have better control with the Tausiat like forehand but less power than with the Nadal forehand. Any good practice drill you can suggest?

WE NEED A PLAYERS' FORUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the meantime, try the tips/instruction forum at this board: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ :D

I have been working on my forehand for five years. I'm trying to change the grip, take-back and follow-thru. I used to hit my forehand like Nathalie Tausiat and now I'm hitting like Rafael Nadal (I'm trying to playlike him). I have better control with the Tausiat like forehand but less power than with the Nadal forehand. Any good practice drill you can suggest?

I wouldn't suggest using Nadal's forehand. Techinically its not the best and he can get away with it because of his immense power and other factors but I don't think you are as talented as him (no offense).

BTW we do need a tennis playing forum.

masturbation

I don't advise you Nadal's extreme western grip because he's a very unique player and has a way of hitting very unique , so if you try to imitate him you will be missing the chance of using another grip more suitable for you and a grip that you can hit with better technique than trying to imitate Nadal's way of hitting the ball .


I would be advise Hrbaty's grip , the most orthodox on ATP tour. (Obviously i'm kidding :p )

Your forehand "should" fit your body not your "mind". Your mind says Rafael has a good forehand so I'll play like that. It may not be the best thing for your natural rhytm, coordination, explosiveness and so on.

The best forehand (or any stroke) drill is to try and hit a target with your desired ball flight (low and fast, higher with more top spin or anything in between) and let your body figure out how to it. Stop thinking HOW you are going to hit a forehand and start imagining ONLY the flight of the ball. Then keep hitting and wait for your body to adapt. It will if you leave it alone. Inner Game of Tennis masterfully explains this process.

Good luck and Happy New Year!

I agree with the above posts on difficulties of the western grip and of there being better styles of play to copy. Grip also varies with the type of shot, so you might consider a grip that is more versatile. Per a great technical book by the German Tennis Assoc., western grip is good for FH groundstrokes and FH half volley, but not effective for FH slice, slice lob, FH volley, BH, smashes, and of course serves. The semicontinental grip is very versatile, although a problem for high contact point shots.

Also agree that tennis warehouse is a much better forum for questions on actually playing tennis and MTF is much better for fan info. Don't remember if a link was posted? http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/

As for drills, can't think of any all encompassing drills, but USTA put out a book called "Tennis Tactics Winning Patterns of Play" with 63 drills for improving various aspects of your game. Ch. 6 on groundstroke drills includes these:

Crosscourt rally competition drills with 4 players on court at same time; probably esp. important for classes with multiple students, personally haven't found it especially useful.

Alley rally for FH & separately for BH (just hitting in the alley is great for building consistency and accuracy)

Dictate & react - reactor player has to return directly to dictator who stands in the same spot and sprays shots all over (reverse roles too)

Inside out FH - running around your backhand, commit to only FHs (Nadal tends to overuse this, per commentators)

Defending your turf, more complicated, haven't tried this, but I've seen the net extended up for advanced players before, seems v. useful - put a rope 4 feet above the net and ropes or draw chalklines perpendicular to the net from baseline to baseline along the center third of the court , and mark off a rectangle in that third along the baseline stopping halfway to the service line - shots outside the rectangle earn points for opponent - to teach importance of hitting deep near the baseline with no angles for the opponent and of clearing the net, and of returning those shots too, variant to take the ball out of the air & end point at the net.

I expect the USTA website has some great instructional resources and probably sells their instructional materials online. Best of luck!

Oh yeah... the alley rally worked pretty well for me. My shots used to be all over the place but this drill helped me out a lot. :)

I don't know if this is a smart thing to do but to strengthen my forehand my dad used to make me practice with a wooden or steel racquet so that when I play with my regular racquet the weight difference will make me hit the ball harder and swing the racquet faster... i don't know if this is really safe and all... you might want to ask a trainer before you do this.

I wouldn't reccomend immitating someone else's style, instead create your, own find out what works for you because everyone's body's (and minds) work a little differentely, which makes this very hard to answer. To strengthen your forearm, get a gripmaster (just enter that into a search engine).

like everyone says be yourself... but watch a lot videos and a lot of practice... sometimes the mistake is a bad figure instead the grip... think your figure and where do you finish the movement

I will never change the Nadal grip because it feels very good to me. I hit the ball very flat so I have no problem with his grip. My ball goes very fast but I tend to go for it too much. I mean, when I try to put a lot of top spin on the ball, it doesn't work because of the grip, which prevents me from brushing up on the ball.