Don't stop at just watching the video! Download your free Forehand Action Plan now so you can start unlocking your forehand's power the very next time you hit the court: www.forehandactionplan.com/
Kevin from Total Tennis Domination has joined Essential Tennis!?!? This is awesome! Great to see this channel growing with more great tennis teachers out there!
Im an old serve and volleyer from southern California, early 70's. I can't hit like I used to but this drill allows me to increase my racket head speed. I am trying to get that deep top spin forehand and I just might make it now. Thanks guys and dolls.
The longer the swing the more your timing has to be perfect . Compact swings are far more consistent . Placing the ball wins more points than power ( hitting behind the opponent , hitting passing shots that thread the needle ) . Fir the pros , power wind most points but fir everyone else , being consistent wins more points because collecting your opponents errors is what wins .
All true but I would never tell a rec player to use a compact swing because they will just end up keeping the racket too close to body and then fling the racket across their body. Move those feet and create space for a proper swing.
Hello Team, I recognize the importance of keeping your hand loose on the racquet but I find often that in doing so, the racquet often swings in my hand as I hit the ball, especially on those heavy/fast returns and my control and intended direction goes out the door. I've surmised that at the point of contact you need to firm up your grip and I've begun to make a mental note of that as I hit. Still a work in progress though. Good to see the collaboration. I follow both your channels and learn a lot from your videos!
Thanks! He’s a great guy and we respect both his and Megan’s coaching greatly. We’re lucky to have them - the team just got stronger! How else can we help your game? 🙌🏼 -Kirby
I've been a serious player for 20 yrs but the game keeps changing and so I want 2 keep up! U 4 Pro's r very giving with ur time, effort and energy. Thx again.
Congrats ET on merging with the Garlingtons! Corporate consolidation in the online tennis world! Wow! Kind of like Amazon and Whole Foods...whatever. My hitting buddy and I were always big fans of Kevin-we have his treasure trove of lessons. But like this video-it focuses on the four things I try to do (power from legs, length of swing, relaxation and acceleration) plus early preparation but seldom achieve all five. Oh well, it is a New Year. And a New Team. All I need now is a Canadian team winning the Stanley Cup.
Great video. Like the energy of the four of you. Can't download the pdf though, tried both sources under video and in Ian's answer. :) Could download it by copying and pasting it on my browser. :)
That last one is good for learning to hit short high sitters. There are more power tips, such as keeping elbows higher, allowing the body to flow into the shot, etc.
Hey ET! Great to see Kevin on the team as I used to follow his tennis channel. Great vid as well! Can I ask what model (racquets) Kevin and Ian have? Kevin's racquet in particular looks really nice! I have the Wilson Pro Staff 97 L CV :)
In baseball, whether throwing or hitting, or volleyball with spiking, you want to keep your hips closed as long as possible to increase hip to shoulder separation. Is that discouraged in tennis?
Loading the legs and keeping loose really helped. Thanks guys. Do those general principles work for the backhand too? I feel like they do. I tried the out of the air drill on the backhand side...
How does one “accelerate the racquet?” On another video Kevin mentioned “accelerating the racquet through contact.” What is he talking about and his is this done with control and drive ?
how do u serve harder to get the opponent stop and try to hit it and miss it so you are not hitting to soft to where they can hit everyone one that we serve
Why try to hide your left handedness, I know that most players are right handed, but there are lefties aswell. Some of the other coaches you teach with are right handed, so why not show both left and right handedness?
That’s actually a good point, Motto. When it used to be just Ian then he would flip every video. We even flipped the videos once it became Ian, Ira and I...but now that we have all 5 of us (3 righties, 2 lefties) then we really dont need to do this anymore. Definitely something to think about so thanks for your input. -Kirby
I would say, for powerful forehands: Always keep your feet a way apart, legs bent, bending forward slightly, a strong stance. As you hit the ball, you have to move your body weight forward, even if it's just a bit, your body has to be going forward, so generally you will be loaded in your back leg and start to push off that back leg and so move forwards. Of course you have to use your whole body and unit turn and get the arm right back so at one point the racket head is facing directly backwards, and then using the whole body, push forward and turn and whip the arm through... easy! Technique and speed are so important to a hard shot, you don't have to be big and strong but that helps too of course! Hitting in the sweet spot of the racket affords greater power for one thing. I watched a 12 year old girl play the other day. She was great, great technique, good racket speed but she was like 5 foot nothing and small, there's no way she had much power compared to most of us, but she was hitting so well, great forehands... it can be done... keep plugging away :)
I totally agree that to achieve maximum power, you need to have a long ... a very long Racquet length swing. But from your demonstration, your runway ( “Racquet Length Swing” ) is still pretty short in my opinion. To achieve 100 percent Racquet length swing, when the racquet is brought back, the right arm should be fully stretched straight and not bent at the elbow ... it’s as if someone behind you is pulling the racquet from your arm, hand and shoulder and you are pulling back from the shoulder at the same time. Another analogy would be pulling back a small bamboo tree and letting it go. Just imagine the force that’s created from the snap back? Of course, that’s hard to do with a semi-western or full western grip ... which is why I abandoned these two grips for the Continental. I wasn’t getting the power (ie, the thrusting force that’ll knock the opponent’s racquet from his hand)) and speed I wanted from the semi-western. I was generating a lot topspin but it wasn’t what I wanted. Moving on......once those two forces ( the pulling of the Racquet from behind during the take back and you pulling it back ) equals zero, there’s a snapping or whipping action of the inner elbow. The straightness of the Racquet arm is maintained ,, but because of the arm’s pliability,, you will see a slight bending of the arm as you whip it across your body. While this is happening, what’s going on with the lower part of the body? Well,, you are pushing off with the left leg to start the stroke and pushing off with the right leg at the end of the stroke. Where is the racquet arm at the end of the stroke? The right arm is in front of you ... the right elbow, just inches from your face ideally at the level of your chin.
Great question, Anthony. We have lots of videos that explain, here's three: th-cam.com/video/dUotcoLy5H8/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/WWQHF31Vhro/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/3Bqq-nOQjfU/w-d-xo.html
Here's some videos on control, accuracy, and decision making, Endless: th-cam.com/video/9gml__OnmoA/w-d-xo.html, th-cam.com/video/VB6xrbXfSM8/w-d-xo.html, th-cam.com/video/Od_WqoDwMXE/w-d-xo.html
I absolutely love your videos, I do have couple of issues. 1) is Tennis elbow, is there anything else I can do to prevent it. 2) I have blisters on my thumb and index finger from holding the grip ( I have been using wilson pro overgrip) is there anything I can do to prevent it? I am 4.0 player. Thanks in advance !
There's a LOT you can do to help treat and prevent tennis elbow, Haseeb. Here's the first of three videos I did with a sports medicine expert several years ago: th-cam.com/video/CLX2CzKXjCI/w-d-xo.html
I found the video and Action Plan valuable. The one thing that I didn't like was the suggestion to switch the racquet from one hand to the other. A hallmark of Ian's teaching is to avoid silly tips and tricks and keep things simple. You don't want the distraction of thinking about switching hands. Better to think and focus 100% on "Loose Grip".
Appreciate the feedback, Lewis! This was Megan's first ever video lesson....and she's just starting to get familiar with the ET coaching approach. We'll all keep getting better together :-) -Ian
what is the trick to have a balance loose grip and yet hold the racket tight enough so that when you hit the ball the racquet does not drip off your hand or end up hitting a loose soft ball.
Great questions, Betty! First of all, holding the racquet loosely does NOT end up with a "soft" result. The speed of your shot is all about the speed of your acceleration of the racquet, and for most players the tighter their body is the more their swing slows down. So for most players, you actually have that idea opposite! RE letting go of the racquet, I've honestly only ever seen that happen one or two times in 20 years of coaching, and I've always emphasized being relaxed. Most players are waaaaay on the other end of the spectrum. What feels like "too loose" to them is usually just about right. Hope that's helpful! -Ian
![[TH] Esports World Cup : Point Rush Stage](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/eLU-jnYp3Zs/mqdefault.jpg)
Don't stop at just watching the video! Download your free Forehand Action Plan now so you can start unlocking your forehand's power the very next time you hit the court: www.forehandactionplan.com/
Essential Tennis - Lessons and Instruction for Passionate Players
Essential Tennis - Lessons and Instruction for Passionate Players jjekdkj
😂 😂 🎾 😅 😥 ooo
drill wise do you have something similar for one hand backhand
the download doesnt work
in chrome that is - safari gives me the the option to supply my email address
I’m about to go to tennis practice, this helps a lot because I’m struggling on gaining enough power
Same
The 4 Ways:
* Using your legs
* Lengthening your swing
* Stay Loose and relaxed
* Racket acceleration
* Use two-handed forehands
Great, but I wasn't totally sure what the last one was. Racket acceleration? umm swing fast? Duh.
@@FollowFunk it’s about when u should accelerate and when u should act slowly, like the serve, u normally accelerate at the end of the swing.
Kevin from Total Tennis Domination has joined Essential Tennis!?!? This is awesome! Great to see this channel growing with more great tennis teachers out there!
Thanks! We’re excited to have Kevin and Megan on the team. You can catch all of us on our Wednesday live coaching sessions now at 1130am CST! -Kirby
Im an old serve and volleyer from southern California, early 70's. I can't hit like I used to but this drill allows me to increase my racket head speed. I am trying to get that deep top spin forehand and I just might make it now. Thanks guys and dolls.
The longer the swing the more your timing has to be perfect . Compact swings are far more consistent . Placing the ball wins more points than power ( hitting behind the opponent , hitting passing shots that thread the needle ) . Fir the pros , power wind most points but fir everyone else , being consistent wins more points because collecting your opponents errors is what wins .
All true but I would never tell a rec player to use a compact swing because they will just end up keeping the racket too close to body and then fling the racket across their body. Move those feet and create space for a proper swing.
Wonderful cohesive video. Spells it out so clearly and concisely, thanks for sharing.
Hello Team, I recognize the importance of keeping your hand loose on the racquet but I find often that in doing so, the racquet often swings in my hand as I hit the ball, especially on those heavy/fast returns and my control and intended direction goes out the door. I've surmised that at the point of contact you need to firm up your grip and I've begun to make a mental note of that as I hit. Still a work in progress though. Good to see the collaboration. I follow both your channels and learn a lot from your videos!
You're off base with that "fix", Fiona. Be sure to watch this video: th-cam.com/video/BbsLMOsyhbM/w-d-xo.html
Awesome points. Trying to revive my old forehand and these all make total sense!
This helped me so much👌🏻 Thank You!
Thanks for the reminder about the 'out of the air' drill - great stuff!
Thanks Chad, glad you enjoyed it! Let us know how we can ever help you improve! -Kirby
Clear and understandable. Keep it coming!
Excellent, as a beginner it gives me an insight into how to do things correctly, great drills.
nice job...Kevin good to see you buddy
Thanks Pete! We’re pumped to have him! -Kirby
Great explanations and tips; loved the video
I really feel that perfect shots..
Great job..
Great instruction. I need this!
I will try this thanks for the vid. :)
Keep up the good work!!
Awesome technique, great pros!
Great advice
Yay it's Kevin. He has helped me with before on his channel. This is a nice addition to the crew.
Thanks! He’s a great guy and we respect both his and Megan’s coaching greatly. We’re lucky to have them - the team just got stronger! How else can we help your game? 🙌🏼 -Kirby
One of the best videos for forehand
I've been a serious player for 20 yrs but the game keeps changing and so I want 2 keep up! U 4 Pro's r very giving with ur time, effort and energy. Thx again.
That's part of the fun, Brent! Always new things to learn and improve :-) What are you working on now? -Ian
Kevin on the team - Awesome! Thoroughly enjoy his instruction and posts, great addition.
Thanks! We happen to agree. 😁 -Kirby
Thnx ferry use full and I subscribed
Yeah ! Thx very much. Really instructive. These concepts are vital for us, the amateurs. Nice team uve got Ian. Cheers from Bs As.
Great to hear you enjoyed it, Sebashtian! What level player are you? -Ian
Ian, im an advanced club player. 15 years playing tennis. Im 42. 1.80 height. 90 kg.
Congrats ET on merging with the Garlingtons! Corporate consolidation in the online tennis world! Wow! Kind of like Amazon and Whole Foods...whatever. My hitting buddy and I were always big fans of Kevin-we have his treasure trove of lessons. But like this video-it focuses on the four things I try to do (power from legs, length of swing, relaxation and acceleration) plus early preparation but seldom achieve all five. Oh well, it is a New Year. And a New Team. All I need now is a Canadian team winning the Stanley Cup.
excellent video, keep it up!
Appreciate it, Alfprieto! -Ian
I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!
6:35 Kevin be like, "damn, I was giving it 💯 that entire time..."
GRACIAASSSSSS BROS
These video are awesome. is there any video for backhand? You guys are awesome! Thanks!
Thanks for this video...awesome tips and good instructions guys....btw, Kirby is beautiful😁..subscribed!
Thanks for watching, Tomenio!
Very helpful
Good to hear, Warley! Which part helped you the most? -Ian
EXCELLENT WAY TO PERFECT YOUR TENNIS SHOTS
Glad you enjoyed it, Kalyan! Which part was most helpful? -Ian
Nice this will help me get more power😀😀😀👍👍👍
Great video. Like the energy of the four of you. Can't download the pdf though, tried both sources under video and in Ian's answer. :) Could download it by copying and pasting it on my browser. :)
Sorry you had trouble, Bruno! If you ever need help with any of our resources please be sure to reach out: ian@essentialtennis.com -Ian
It is very cool that this channel answers every direct question isn´t it? keep on, you are the best tennis channel
Thanks for the love, Andreas! -Ian
resuming tennis coaching after 3 long years. Before i was really good at tennis, but the break made me lose my muscle memory. Thanks for the tips
love the bloopers 😂
A great summary of key tips...thank you! By the way...did you paint that racquet frame gold?
You're very welcome, Craig! Yup, we're all into custom paint jobs recently :-)
What Racquet is That?
Good vid
Muy buen trabajo, excelentes lecciones. SALUDOS FROM MÉXICO
Thanks for watching, Alejandro! -Ian
That last one is good for learning to hit short high sitters. There are more power tips, such as keeping elbows higher, allowing the body to flow into the shot, etc.
Agree, thanks for watching! -Ian
Great tips ty
You're welcome, Mickey. Which was most helpful to you? -Ian
Does anyone know which racquet Ian is using at around 1:30 ? God it looks gorgeous.
I like when Kirby talks about legs
I think its all about feeling
Hey ET!
Great to see Kevin on the team as I used to follow his tennis channel. Great vid as well!
Can I ask what model (racquets) Kevin and Ian have? Kevin's racquet in particular looks really nice! I have the Wilson Pro Staff 97 L CV :)
Please do a video about backhand power generation
What racket are you using? I think the color is gold. Thanks
Wow. So insane.
In baseball, whether throwing or hitting, or volleyball with spiking, you want to keep your hips closed as long as possible to increase hip to shoulder separation. Is that discouraged in tennis?
What racket is that all black one
I watch all of your videos and i love it !!! my dream is to know your academy and participate of one class!!
We'd love to work with you! Where do you live? -Ian
great
Wooow!! Awesome that Kevin joined u guys!!
We agree! He and Megan are both awesome coaches. -Ian
How out of the air drills guarantees that you have a full follow through?
Great video!, especially the exercise to improve acceleration!
Glad you found it helpful, Marco! Great to see you publishing tennis videos in Italian :-)
Thanks! I try to learn from the best tennis teachers in the world and in the web, but I don't have your elegance ;-)!
Watch my early videos.....no elegance to be found!! haha -Ian
You guys really help me out I’m truly thankful. Also watching from school😂
Thanks for watching (we fully support you watching from school haha)! How can we help your tennis? -Kirby
The thing in having trouble with the most in mid hitting the ball. If you could help that would be great
Do you mean making contact at waist height, Cougar? -Ian
I mean when the ball is coming in to my forehand I keep hitting the rim of the racket
Ahhhh, here's two videos that will help! th-cam.com/video/5xCuXCz76n4/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/eW_iHszB1Ck/w-d-xo.html
Hi there. I would sometimes like to see the shots you show us in slow motion just to give a better idea so that the information can sink in. Thanks.
Hey team I'm back!!! Nice to see you again in....a different format?? That's great!!!
Always trying to improve, Catalin! -Ian
OMG IT'S KEVIN GARLINGTON! GREAT ACQUISITION
Thanks Phillip! We’re pumped to have the Garlingtons in the ET Fam now. They’re excellent coaches. Let us know how we can all help your game! -Kirby
nice
hey guys can you pls tell me what racket is Kevin and Megan using?
Please do a video for single right hand backhand
Here you go, Lokesh: th-cam.com/video/MEFMbQ1fUD0/w-d-xo.html
I do not understand what is the purpose of the out of the air drill? Does it force looseness?
What racquets are those?
Loading the legs and keeping loose really helped. Thanks guys. Do those general principles work for the backhand too? I feel like they do. I tried the out of the air drill on the backhand side...
They absolutely apply to the backhand as well, yes! Great to hear this helped. -Ian
Thks
You're welcome!
Prolly the best tennis Chanel on TH-cam
We all appreciate your support very much 😀
Kevin didn't finish the forehander with the base pointing to the left fence. Can u do that with him. Thanks.
It's awesome that you guys expanded but did we lose Ira?
We haven’t lost Ira - he was just on Court teaching that day. -Kirby
Essential Tennis - Lessons and Instruction for Passionate Players Ok cool. Just haven't seen him the last few videos.
How does one “accelerate the racquet?”
On another video Kevin mentioned “accelerating the racquet through contact.” What is he talking about and his is this done with control and drive ?
Great question, G CS. Here's a video that explains more about where that acceleration comes from: th-cam.com/video/yQRmHsHgrRI/w-d-xo.html
how do u serve harder to get the opponent stop and try to hit it and miss it so you are not hitting to soft to where they can hit everyone one that we serve
What happened to Ira?
Ira’s been teaching on court more and was just teaching on the day we shot this lesson! 😁 -Kirby
Problem with a loose grip long swing is accuracy
Is backhand the same too?
Why try to hide your left handedness, I know that most players are right handed, but there are lefties aswell. Some of the other coaches you teach with are right handed, so why not show both left and right handedness?
That’s actually a good point, Motto. When it used to be just Ian then he would flip every video. We even flipped the videos once it became Ian, Ira and I...but now that we have all 5 of us (3 righties, 2 lefties) then we really dont need to do this anymore. Definitely something to think about so thanks for your input. -Kirby
pls try backhand high
I would say, for powerful forehands: Always keep your feet a way apart, legs bent, bending forward slightly, a strong stance. As you hit the ball, you have to move your body weight forward, even if it's just a bit, your body has to be going forward, so generally you will be loaded in your back leg and start to push off that back leg and so move forwards. Of course you have to use your whole body and unit turn and get the arm right back so at one point the racket head is facing directly backwards, and then using the whole body, push forward and turn and whip the arm through... easy! Technique and speed are so important to a hard shot, you don't have to be big and strong but that helps too of course! Hitting in the sweet spot of the racket affords greater power for one thing. I watched a 12 year old girl play the other day. She was great, great technique, good racket speed but she was like 5 foot nothing and small, there's no way she had much power compared to most of us, but she was hitting so well, great forehands... it can be done... keep plugging away :)
how to return a hard serve
Golden racquets
Ian you are left handed then also demonstrating with right hand???hehe
Lol he’s a talented guy! -Kirby
Yay ! Sure he is
I totally agree that to achieve maximum power, you need to have a long ... a very long Racquet length swing. But from your demonstration, your runway ( “Racquet Length Swing” ) is still pretty short in my opinion. To achieve 100 percent Racquet length swing, when the racquet is brought back, the right arm should be fully stretched straight and not bent at the elbow ... it’s as if someone behind you is pulling the racquet from your arm, hand and shoulder and you are pulling back from the shoulder at the same time. Another analogy would be pulling back a small bamboo tree and letting it go. Just imagine the force that’s created from the snap back? Of course, that’s hard to do with a semi-western or full western grip ... which is why I abandoned these two grips for the Continental. I wasn’t getting the power (ie, the thrusting force that’ll knock the opponent’s racquet from his hand)) and speed I wanted from the semi-western. I was generating a lot topspin but it wasn’t what I wanted. Moving on......once those two forces ( the pulling of the Racquet from behind during the take back and you pulling it back ) equals zero, there’s a snapping or whipping action of the inner elbow. The straightness of the Racquet arm is maintained ,, but because of the arm’s pliability,, you will see a slight bending of the arm as you whip it across your body. While this is happening, what’s going on with the lower part of the body? Well,, you are pushing off with the left leg to start the stroke and pushing off with the right leg at the end of the stroke. Where is the racquet arm at the end of the stroke? The right arm is in front of you ... the right elbow, just inches from your face ideally at the level of your chin.
How to hit powerful forehand close to net
Kevin!! I have your original videos.. This is my GUY!!
Kevin is a boss! We're all super excited to have him and Megan on board. Which of his videos have been most helpful to you, MP? -Ian
Forehand and serve... I actually paid for his course not just watched on youtube. Go kevin !!
Awesome, he says "thanks for the support!".
i am ur biggest fan
love the golden racquets, I'll watch the video later :)
What did you think? -Ian
great stuff !!! You guys are the only instructional tennis channel that I follow, thanks
Appreciate that very much, Javier! -Ian
I have enough power but no control, my shots often get out because I can’t find the right balance. How do you deal w this?
How do i get head accerleration? You did not mention that in the video, just by hitting the ball lose in mid air? How do you snap?
Great question, Anthony. We have lots of videos that explain, here's three:
th-cam.com/video/dUotcoLy5H8/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/WWQHF31Vhro/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/3Bqq-nOQjfU/w-d-xo.html
Is there an action plan for the two-handed backhand? This is great stuff, thanks!
after this season my son had been wining more matches and this is his. channel and sub to his channel
How get power when the ball comes iin away we don’t have space
Try making some videos on control, accuracy, and intention (make decisions faster)
Here's some videos on control, accuracy, and decision making, Endless: th-cam.com/video/9gml__OnmoA/w-d-xo.html, th-cam.com/video/VB6xrbXfSM8/w-d-xo.html, th-cam.com/video/Od_WqoDwMXE/w-d-xo.html
I absolutely love your videos, I do have couple of issues. 1) is Tennis elbow, is there anything else I can do to prevent it. 2) I have blisters on my thumb and index finger from holding the grip ( I have been using wilson pro overgrip) is there anything I can do to prevent it? I am 4.0 player. Thanks in advance !
There's a LOT you can do to help treat and prevent tennis elbow, Haseeb. Here's the first of three videos I did with a sports medicine expert several years ago: th-cam.com/video/CLX2CzKXjCI/w-d-xo.html
RE blisters, I think the best thing to do is tape your finger! Stretchy, flexible medical tape would be best. -Ian
I found the video and Action Plan valuable. The one thing that I didn't like was the suggestion to switch the racquet from one hand to the other. A hallmark of Ian's teaching is to avoid silly tips and tricks and keep things simple. You don't want the distraction of thinking about switching hands. Better to think and focus 100% on "Loose Grip".
Appreciate the feedback, Lewis! This was Megan's first ever video lesson....and she's just starting to get familiar with the ET coaching approach. We'll all keep getting better together :-) -Ian
and how can I correct my serve swing how to pronate on my first and second serve
Here's a lesson to help with that, Chhima: th-cam.com/video/uWgIW9az90A/w-d-xo.html
you forgot to also add to use the hips rotation; a big portion of power comes from uncoiling the hips!
what is the trick to have a balance loose grip and yet hold the racket tight enough so that when you hit the ball the racquet does not drip off your hand or end up hitting a loose soft ball.
Great questions, Betty! First of all, holding the racquet loosely does NOT end up with a "soft" result. The speed of your shot is all about the speed of your acceleration of the racquet, and for most players the tighter their body is the more their swing slows down. So for most players, you actually have that idea opposite! RE letting go of the racquet, I've honestly only ever seen that happen one or two times in 20 years of coaching, and I've always emphasized being relaxed. Most players are waaaaay on the other end of the spectrum. What feels like "too loose" to them is usually just about right. Hope that's helpful! -Ian