I am amazed at the word salad so many tennis instructors employ to try to describe the modern tennis forehand. I think that the analogy of throwing a ball or skidding a stone may be the best description. We need to find a better way to help beginners like me master this stroke. I am afraid that tennis has become so complex (as opposed to the old days of the firm, continental grip and hitting through the ball, etc.) that tennis is losing its popularity for the average player. TPA Tennis has some of the better videos in my opinion regarding tennis
One drill i like is to practice is shadow swing strokes with a tennis ball placed in the throat of the racket. This adds a little bit of weight and help me feel the racket and lossen the wrist, shoulder, and better time legs/hips. It is a good warm up activity too.
Tom this looks great but you already got my forehand in amazing shape so I refuse to think about it any more...just want to ingrain what you already taught me! In fact you explicitly said not to tinker with it. I'm taking your advice. Good luck to everyone else
great lesson , when i play i tell myself "CATCH - RELEASE"" .. eg CATCH the ball with my left hand for distance and unit turn and then RELEASE as if the racket was being released from hand and flying away -- that's all good but then there's timing which i'm crap at. WOO!
Really interesting and useful lesson - I don’t think I’ve ever heard any tennis coach mention the use of (even) fingers before on a forehand - but it makes total sense. One comment relating to your observation about the closed fist beginner shadow swings vs advanced player - beginners often don’t separate the index finger on the racquet to get that leverage from the index finger - which really only comes into play when you rotate / release the racquet.
I am the old dude that introduced myself to you yesterday on Tuesday. I certified with Oscar Wagner and he has been teaching about finding the ball with the hand and the racket is an extension of the hand. Even in my old age, I get plenty of power when I want it. However the harder I hit, the flatter I hit and the lower the projectory of the flight of the ball. Right now I am on a really dismal fixed income. I am thinking about trying to go back into the workforce and if I do, would like to get some continuous consultation. Oscar and his assistant Lucille actually had me hitting the ball with elevated height and lots of spin, when I went out to California to do the practicum part of their online certification. I try that technique here and there when I'm practicing, but I always revert back to hitting the ball flat. As it is said: "It's hard to teach an old dawg new tricks".
Excellent video! Explaining the chain of events from the shoulder, forearm/elbow, wrist & fingertips is one of the best examples I've seen. Also you can put a counter weight on an old racquet that I find better than a golf club.
Excellent! I've felt this before wirhout trying and I remwmber it gave me effortless power and topsin and my body was balanced. Hopefully I can replicate that feeling again thanks to your vudeo
Fundamentals! Thank you. Just would like to add the following. Do not be afraid to shot long when you practice to find the feeling Tom is talking about. And try to use for practice a heavy racket ballanced in the head if you have one.
Unreal, no bullshit and simple explanation…This is possibly the first video I’ve seen on TH-cam that is completely on point with my thoughts on the ‘release’ and simple. I literally do the putter swing when I’m on the golf course and think ‘this is a great training tool to learn a good release’
Hi Tom, great content. I lived in Spain for some years and the Spanish say "Mueve la Mano", move the hand through contact, which is exactly what you are explaining. Vamos Tom, great videos, Thank you
High level squash player here just into my second year of learning to play tennis, and loving the challenge. Of all the video's I've found on TH-cam yours have been the most helpful in understanding good technique. I've videograbbed the below extracts and watch them on loop, and slowed down, before going to a hitting session to remind me of the technique. It's reall helping me improve. th-cam.com/video/gaZuZjngkys/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/WznrnmtDX14/w-d-xo.html
@@TomAllsopp If you mean because I'm principally a squash player, absolutely never. It just doesn't feel natural. Before a tennis session I always warm-up on the squash court, solo hitting for 15 minutes. When I then go straight to the tennis court I can immediately switch to tennis technique mode. There's absolutely no squash technique carry-over whatsoever.
This is a great discussion of a bit of nuance that is usually glossed over in most technique discourse. I've noticed this difference in reviewing practice footage, where my best forehands clearly have this easy "release," and forehands where I was rushed or out of position usually don't, they have a locked wrist position through the followthrough. It's a difference that was easy to see but difficult to describe or analyze. I like that this lesson gives a clearer way to discuss it and a clear way to FEEL this difference, to make it more repeatable and purposeful. Guess I'll go get a cheap putter! Thanks, coach.
Great point. This is the type of stuff that is hard to understand and explain and so I think a lot of coaches don't go near it. But it's the good stuff!
Hi Tom. A very good episode again👍👍👍. For me it's so much about the weight of the racket which allows me to swing freely. For the last 20 years I played with heavy rackets (around 330 gr.). Since I'm in the mid 50 now, I changed to a 295 gr. racket and it's a fight against the missing control. My muscle memory still nows how to swing freely but with the light racket (by the way it's the Wilson Pro Staff 97 L with a semi-leathered grip) it is twisting in my hand so much more. How can I overcome this problem?
Good points. I used to get sore wrist when I started playing until I realised I need to use my wrist and not have it stuff or flopping but intentionally engaged in the shot as if I were hitting the ball with my hand like you mentioned
Great video Tom! But we still need to keep the wrist firmly at before and at the contact point, then accelerating racket head speed by pronation the forearm combining with the hip, shoulder and weight transfer right?
If you accelerate after contact and the ball has been sent already, you receive no benefit. This is why you must begin to accelerate thru contact on most shots. Stay firm when receiving very hard shots that you are trying to redirect and control
Hi Tom, do you watch any of Chuck Quinton’s (rotary swing) golf instruction videos on TH-cam? If not I think you’d really enjoy. He’s been talking about the importance of release with hands (dominant hand mostly) of late and I find the similarities to your instruction fascinating and incredibly helpful for both my tennis strokes and golf swing. I’m sure most the concepts are same for two handed backhand release but if there are some small differences w both hands on the racket I’d love to see you do a video on that! I assume swinging a heavy racket or golf club w 2 handed bh stroke will create the proper feeling of release. Thanks for your teaching! Big fan!
Brilliant teaching technique and lesson. Too many instructors teach techniques that MIMIC what should be done instead of getting the player to FEEL what to do. You don't. I noticed your finger is a bit separated too...I'm guessing that allows you to exert a little extra topspin?
Its All about creation of racket extraweight (dynamic weight) and transferring it to the ball efficiently. Its all about not only swing shape/style, but utilization of weight and enertia. We must learn to feel our bodies to develop our individual approach to control and hit the ball in different situations and conditions. If we rely only on external things like swing style/path, we cant be effective enough. So, this is thing that TPA tennis shows us. A way to feel what we do. Thanks.
I’m at beginner level with 2 private lessons with a coach. He taught me how to do footstep, swing, rotation of hip, extension of forearm with an exact angle and finish racquet on shoulder. Tedious😂 I see you are relaxed without those steps, Maybe I can follow?
my racket is like 12 points HL, I have a lot of difficulty releasing it because the weight is concentrated on the grip. Should I consider a racket with less HL?
That grip on the golf club looks thicker than normal. Is that just plenty of overgrip or something else? I have a putter that I picked up from a thrift shop and the handle just feels way too small.
Thanks for the video, Tom. One thing I found very useful is to try to copy the way high level players play mini tennis during a warm up. Since they're not trying to hit the ball deep, the shoulder doesn't get involved much at all. They hit with a very sharp turn of the forearm and the wrist and hit shallow but still with topspin - basically very hard to do it while not releasing the racquet. In fact you can often see the release motion happen in real time with some players, where the hand seems to pause briefly after the contact before the follow through.
I HAVE BEEN WATCHING YOUR VIDEOS A LOT. I USED TO PLAY TENNIS. 🎾 BUT A FEW YEARS BACK I SUFFERED A BRAIN STROKE AND I AM RECEIVING FROM IT. CAN YOU RECOMMEND SOME WAY TO COME BACK TO TENNIS.
Thanks a lot for making this simple and easy. I have trained with many coaches and most of them don't cover all these details which matters a lot. But you did and in a simple way.
It works for shadow swings and controlled situations, but personally when I use heavier rackets I squeeze too tight to try to control the weight instead of letting it go
I wish I could have a golf lesson with you ! I am making steady progress with tennis - and understanding more and more. But I just cant get golf. I have a suspicion you could get me out of a golf rut - which a professional golf coach hasn't been able to do.
I wish you wouldn’t say “relax the hand”. Relaxed wrist, relaxed arm, yes. You have to feel the weight of the racket - a very lose grip makes that impossible.
@@TomAllsopp you say it at 2:15 but after rewatching I see that you say that in conjunction with “manipulate racket head” so I see what you were getting at. Apologies but I still think it should not be said. I spent months with this loose grip idea (not from your videos) and it is incorrect and should be talked about more.
When Federer “releases” the lower part of the arm it is anywhere from .03 to .06 seconds after the contact point. So the release has nothing to do with racket speed. The pros do NOT release their forearm or wrist to hit the ball. They release the lower part of the arm to relax the muscles in the arm and slow the racket down after they contact the ball and NOT to hit the ball. This was proven by Vic Braden decades ago but this information is still around. And please do not say that this is the “modern” forehand and Vic didn’t understand the modern forehand. Trust me he did!! The two aspects that govern how a tennis ball is hit are the dimensions of the court and physical law, not some coaches unique opinion. Read or listen to anything by Vic Braden or Steve Smith for a science based approach to truth in tennis teaching.
The things you see after contact are a result of what happened before contact. But you better focus on after contact if you want to have it happen before contact. This is why Tiger Woods focuses on finishing with his hands low to hit a stinger and hands high for a high shot. It impacts the shot. The release happens coming out of the lag. Make a video showing me where I'm wrong.
No you’re absolutely wrong. Two things that govern how a tennis ball is hit is the dimensions of the court and physical law and not your personal opinion.
I don’t even play tennis anymore. I just try to convince my racquet to do it for me.
Do you win or lose?lol
It’s got a better winning record.
Yeah, great Tom!
‘Swing fast, not hard’ mindset helps achieve that release in my opinion.
I am amazed at the word salad so many tennis instructors employ to try to describe the modern tennis forehand. I think that the analogy of throwing a ball or skidding a stone may be the best description. We need to find a better way to help beginners like me master this stroke. I am afraid that tennis has become so complex (as opposed to the old days of the firm, continental grip and hitting through the ball, etc.) that tennis is losing its popularity for the average player. TPA Tennis has some of the better videos in my opinion regarding tennis
Tom I watch many online instructors and you give the most complete, comprehensive, thoughtful instruction. Thanks.
One drill i like is to practice is shadow swing strokes with a tennis ball placed in the throat of the racket. This adds a little bit of weight and help me feel the racket and lossen the wrist, shoulder, and better time legs/hips. It is a good warm up activity too.
Back in the day, we took practice swings with our wooden racket with the head cover on. Talk about wind resistance!
Tom this looks great but you already got my forehand in amazing shape so I refuse to think about it any more...just want to ingrain what you already taught me! In fact you explicitly said not to tinker with it. I'm taking your advice.
Good luck to everyone else
You're one of the lucky ones that get personal advice. The rest have to just guess if it's appropriate for them
great lesson , when i play i tell myself "CATCH - RELEASE"" .. eg CATCH the ball with my left hand for distance and unit turn and then RELEASE as if the racket was being released from hand and flying away -- that's all good but then there's timing which i'm crap at. WOO!
Really interesting and useful lesson - I don’t think I’ve ever heard any tennis coach mention the use of (even) fingers before on a forehand - but it makes total sense. One comment relating to your observation about the closed fist beginner shadow swings vs advanced player - beginners often don’t separate the index finger on the racquet to get that leverage from the index finger - which really only comes into play when you rotate / release the racquet.
I am the old dude that introduced myself to you yesterday on Tuesday. I certified with Oscar Wagner and he has been teaching about finding the ball with the hand and the racket is an extension of the hand. Even in my old age, I get plenty of power when I want it. However the harder I hit, the flatter I hit and the lower the projectory of the flight of the ball. Right now I am on a really dismal fixed income. I am thinking about trying to go back into the workforce and if I do, would like to get some continuous consultation. Oscar and his assistant Lucille actually had me hitting the ball with elevated height and lots of spin, when I went out to California to do the practicum part of their online certification. I try that technique here and there when I'm practicing, but I always revert back to hitting the ball flat. As it is said: "It's hard to teach an old dawg new tricks".
Agree, I feel it's like "throwing" the racket but tethered to your hand and allowing the flow to release into its natural swing.
I can rerease the racket like you...although I wish! I drop the racket and the index finger hurts! where am I wrong?❤
One of the best forehand insights I've watched, by far! thanks!
Excellent video! Explaining the chain of events from the shoulder, forearm/elbow, wrist & fingertips is one of the best examples I've seen. Also you can put a counter weight on an old racquet that I find better than a golf club.
Excellent! I've felt this before wirhout trying and I remwmber it gave me effortless power and topsin and my body was balanced. Hopefully I can replicate that feeling again thanks to your vudeo
I really like the pink socks.
Fundamentals! Thank you. Just would like to add the following. Do not be afraid to shot long when you practice to find the feeling Tom is talking about. And try to use for practice a heavy racket ballanced in the head if you have one.
Always follow your advices , you are a blessing to my tennis, you have a friend for life ❤
Unreal, no bullshit and simple explanation…This is possibly the first video I’ve seen on TH-cam that is completely on point with my thoughts on the ‘release’ and simple. I literally do the putter swing when I’m on the golf course and think ‘this is a great training tool to learn a good release’
Hi Tom, great content. I lived in Spain for some years and the Spanish say "Mueve la Mano", move the hand through contact, which is exactly what you are explaining. Vamos Tom, great videos, Thank you
Interesting. Would like to know more about this
Quite good video, Tom. I remember my first coach telling me: Let the racquet do its job and help you.
High level squash player here just into my second year of learning to play tennis, and loving the challenge. Of all the video's I've found on TH-cam yours have been the most helpful in understanding good technique.
I've videograbbed the below extracts and watch them on loop, and slowed down, before going to a hitting session to remind me of the technique. It's reall helping me improve.
th-cam.com/video/gaZuZjngkys/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/WznrnmtDX14/w-d-xo.html
Do you hit backhands without ever having your non dominant hand on the racket? That’s super annoying haha.
@@TomAllsopp If you mean because I'm principally a squash player, absolutely never. It just doesn't feel natural.
Before a tennis session I always warm-up on the squash court, solo hitting for 15 minutes. When I then go straight to the tennis court I can immediately switch to tennis technique mode. There's absolutely no squash technique carry-over whatsoever.
Way to go! Great video. Pleasant to watch without too much intensity or verbose instruction. Very practical and approachable. Thanks!
Thank you!
Nice socks! And good discussion.
This is a great discussion of a bit of nuance that is usually glossed over in most technique discourse. I've noticed this difference in reviewing practice footage, where my best forehands clearly have this easy "release," and forehands where I was rushed or out of position usually don't, they have a locked wrist position through the followthrough. It's a difference that was easy to see but difficult to describe or analyze. I like that this lesson gives a clearer way to discuss it and a clear way to FEEL this difference, to make it more repeatable and purposeful. Guess I'll go get a cheap putter! Thanks, coach.
Thanks for the great comment
@@TomAllsopp thank you for the great videos!
Great point. This is the type of stuff that is hard to understand and explain and so I think a lot of coaches don't go near it. But it's the good stuff!
Hi Tom. A very good episode again👍👍👍. For me it's so much about the weight of the racket which allows me to swing freely. For the last 20 years I played with heavy rackets (around 330 gr.).
Since I'm in the mid 50 now, I changed to a 295 gr. racket and it's a fight against the missing control. My muscle memory still nows how to swing freely but with the light racket (by the way it's the Wilson Pro Staff 97 L with a semi-leathered grip) it is twisting in my hand so much more. How can I overcome this problem?
this is great and very simple and well explained! thanks!
What tension you use on racket? How manny grams have your racket? What is the proper racket weight?
OH NO, I need a GOLF PUTTER :> :P
"Analogy of different levels mimicking racket with the hand....Sick!"
Yeah that was awesome
Release the wrist and hand is done after contact, right? But isn’t the ball already gone?
Good points. I used to get sore wrist when I started playing until I realised I need to use my wrist and not have it stuff or flopping but intentionally engaged in the shot as if I were hitting the ball with my hand like you mentioned
I should’ve released my wrist in that game of 9 ball we played Saturday😂
Other idea for training loosing the grip instead of golf Club:Take an old racket and tie a hammer on it with tierap.....weight garantee
Been struggling with a proper release for 50 years 😅
You see there's true Tennis passion involved when you watch a dude on a Tennis court which is not even close to be completely dry 🤩
I release by pronating my arm to see my wrist watch’s face on my right wrist.
"How would I swing this if it was heavy"--I like that way of wording it
great stuff esp putter drill
Thank you very much, you are the only man who explained all secrets of forehand to me. Now it's time to go to the court and start to train!
As always, an excellent video. But the video is forehand-centric. I'd be really interested to see the backhand version of this topic.
Getting to it
@@TomAllsopp Stan.
@@TomAllsopp if possible, a video covering one hand and 2-handed backhands would be awesome. Thanks for this great video!
Great video Tom! But we still need to keep the wrist firmly at before and at the contact point, then accelerating racket head speed by pronation the forearm combining with the hip, shoulder and weight transfer right?
If you accelerate after contact and the ball has been sent already, you receive no benefit. This is why you must begin to accelerate thru contact on most shots. Stay firm when receiving very hard shots that you are trying to redirect and control
you're a golf guy so you will like this world long driver has a clubhead speed of 150 mph. Hand speed? 26 MPH All the side on sports are the same
love it!
In other Videos you recommend to Lead with your Body and lead with your hips. Now you say: follow the racket Head. What ist right ?
Both right. Before contact and after contact.
agree with this. the best shots happen when you engage the hand/wrist/fingers
I really appreciate the way you instruct ..
I like the flow effect..
Well done...JH
Thanks!
very good instructional video! What racquet is that? A ProKennex?
Yes
Great breakdown. Makes it very easy to understand. (Had to get the golf club in there, eh?!)
haha had to
Hi Tom, do you watch any of Chuck Quinton’s (rotary swing) golf instruction videos on TH-cam? If not I think you’d really enjoy. He’s been talking about the importance of release with hands (dominant hand mostly) of late and I find the similarities to your instruction fascinating and incredibly helpful for both my tennis strokes and golf swing. I’m sure most the concepts are same for two handed backhand release but if there are some small differences w both hands on the racket I’d love to see you do a video on that! I assume swinging a heavy racket or golf club w 2 handed bh stroke will create the proper feeling of release. Thanks for your teaching! Big fan!
I haven’t. I’ll check it out. Thanks!
Long video but really good…
th-cam.com/video/w9PICdZAh6A/w-d-xo.htmlsi=guhIZfHgsrq5oztf
Brilliant teaching technique and lesson. Too many instructors teach techniques that MIMIC what should be done instead of getting the player to FEEL what to do. You don't. I noticed your finger is a bit separated too...I'm guessing that allows you to exert a little extra topspin?
Its All about creation of racket extraweight (dynamic weight) and transferring it to the ball efficiently. Its all about not only swing shape/style, but utilization of weight and enertia. We must learn to feel our bodies to develop our individual approach to control and hit the ball in different situations and conditions. If we rely only on external things like swing style/path, we cant be effective enough. So, this is thing that TPA tennis shows us. A way to feel what we do. Thanks.
I’m at beginner level with 2 private lessons with a coach. He taught me how to do footstep, swing, rotation of hip, extension of forearm with an exact angle and finish racquet on shoulder. Tedious😂 I see you are relaxed without those steps, Maybe I can follow?
my racket is like 12 points HL, I have a lot of difficulty releasing it because the weight is concentrated on the grip. Should I consider a racket with less HL?
How does it works with the one handed backhand?
I was about to ask Tom the same question.
It would be excellent to have the same level of detail.
I hope, Tom will show us this.
I’ll try to do it for next week
That grip on the golf club looks thicker than normal. Is that just plenty of overgrip or something else? I have a putter that I picked up from a thrift shop and the handle just feels way too small.
Thanks for the video, Tom. One thing I found very useful is to try to copy the way high level players play mini tennis during a warm up. Since they're not trying to hit the ball deep, the shoulder doesn't get involved much at all. They hit with a very sharp turn of the forearm and the wrist and hit shallow but still with topspin - basically very hard to do it while not releasing the racquet. In fact you can often see the release motion happen in real time with some players, where the hand seems to pause briefly after the contact before the follow through.
I HAVE BEEN WATCHING YOUR VIDEOS A LOT. I USED TO PLAY TENNIS. 🎾 BUT A FEW YEARS BACK I SUFFERED A BRAIN STROKE AND I AM RECEIVING FROM IT. CAN YOU RECOMMEND SOME WAY TO COME BACK TO TENNIS.
Thanks a lot for making this simple and easy. I have trained with many coaches and most of them don't cover all these details which matters a lot. But you did and in a simple way.
Great logic. Terrific commentary. An effective coach I'm sure.
great video - thank you
pro kennex redondo 98
Very nice video thx 😊
👍👍👍👍👍👍😊😊😊😊😊
Great lesson! Thank you!
Amazing tip
Thx u ❤️🩹
Thanks so much for this video sir! 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks for your first comment. Keep commenting!
This is the last piece of the puzzle for me I think. My forehand looks great right up to contact where I do that thing where it moves together
I can do shadow swings perfectly. But once a ball is hit to me I revert to the stiff flat shot I've always hit.
Should i release right after the impact?
If you create lag it will release before impact
@@TomAllsopp it will release through impact just like a golf club
It starts releasing before because the angle between the racket and arm at impact will be less than at full lag
@@TomAllsopp thanks i got it now
Should we add lead tape to the top of the frame to feel the weight more?
It works for shadow swings and controlled situations, but personally when I use heavier rackets I squeeze too tight to try to control the weight instead of letting it go
Enjoyed it but would have liked to have seen some balls hit and how they flew.
Nice socks :)
What if you get a high bounce ? A straight arm is the only way I can hit them
absolutely the best lesson!!! thanks~ from seoul korea
I wish I could have a golf lesson with you ! I am making steady progress with tennis - and understanding more and more. But I just cant get golf. I have a suspicion you could get me out of a golf rut - which a professional golf coach hasn't been able to do.
Send me your swing
Nice tip here Tom, do you think you could use a club to practice the serve as well?
Golf club? Check out the video where he uses an axe for that !!!
@@bigeasybri hahaha yeah
I’d hit the ball with the side if the axe
If you were smart you would change your racket handle.
To what?
The idea of the putter was nice the truth is its hard to get arm straight
@@jmberille1 your arm doesn’t need to be straight. Mine doesn’t straighten
@@TomAllsopp thanks for the answer
Thank you for the video.
Thank you very much.
I wish you wouldn’t say “relax the hand”. Relaxed wrist, relaxed arm, yes. You have to feel the weight of the racket - a very lose grip makes that impossible.
At what point in the video did I say relax the hand? I certainly didn’t say loose grip.
@@TomAllsopp you say it at 2:15 but after rewatching I see that you say that in conjunction with “manipulate racket head” so I see what you were getting at. Apologies but I still think it should not be said. I spent months with this loose grip idea (not from your videos) and it is incorrect and should be talked about more.
Bring back the axe :)
great instruction!!!! Thanks!
excellent explanation
Amaizing. Thank you.
whippy
Tennis gud
Great tip! Thanks!!!
too much talking & no application !!!
Go applicate it. How many times you need to see me do it?
Great stuff
When Federer “releases” the lower part of the arm it is anywhere from .03 to .06 seconds after the contact point. So the release has nothing to do with racket speed. The pros do NOT release their forearm or wrist to hit the ball. They release the lower part of the arm to relax the muscles in the arm and slow the racket down after they contact the ball and NOT to hit the ball. This was proven by Vic Braden decades ago but this information is still around. And please do not say that this is the “modern” forehand and Vic didn’t understand the modern forehand. Trust me he did!! The two aspects that govern how a tennis ball is hit are the dimensions of the court and physical law, not some coaches unique opinion. Read or listen to anything by Vic Braden or Steve Smith for a science based approach to truth in tennis teaching.
The things you see after contact are a result of what happened before contact. But you better focus on after contact if you want to have it happen before contact. This is why Tiger Woods focuses on finishing with his hands low to hit a stinger and hands high for a high shot. It impacts the shot. The release happens coming out of the lag. Make a video showing me where I'm wrong.
No you’re absolutely wrong. Two things that govern how a tennis ball is hit is the dimensions of the court and physical law and not your personal opinion.
Sorry, but it is NEVER the wrist.. It is pronation. Wrist is locked.
The wrist shouldn’t be locked. That’s ridiculous
@@TomAllsopp agree
👍🕺👍🎾💃💃
This will not make you hit like a pro
Haha. Good luck finding a video that will
Long and dull
Seems like people disagree. But you are a guru though.