Nadal Forehand Analysis: Follow Through

The following post was contributed by Luis Duco. Luis is a USPTA and PTR Certified Tennis Instructor and was a national finalist in the USTA National Campus Championships while playing at UCF.

Rafael Nadal’s forehand is one of the most fierce weapons on the men’s tennis tour today. At any moment he can hit a lighting fast  forehand and finish the point from anywhere on the court. He unleashes wicked spin and power from unbalanced positions. There has been a ton of noise made about how different his forehand is and how he has ushered in a new form and technique to tennis. I particularly agree and disagree with this sediment. First off, as you can read in my previous article, his start and preparation is fundamental and the exact same any great forehand there has ever been. Secondly, his follow through, which allows for him to hit incredible angles and spin from anywhere, is something that has been long taught by Robert Lansdorp. Lansdrop has taught this fundamental finish since the mid 1980’s to many famous players, including Pete Sampras and Maria Sharapova. I completely agree that Rafael Nadal has made this type of follow through extremely popular and he has help make it an essential technique that young players must learn.

The fundamental follow through which most tennis players know is to finish over the opposite shoulder, or a regular follow through. This is still a very fundamental and essential element of tennis. The picture below is of Nadal using this type of finish.

As you can see his left hand finishes over the right shoulder. A very easy way to learn this technique is to remember to always kiss the bicep of your racket hand. This finish is still very important in two areas; when moving foreword and hitting flatter balls.

The reverse follow-through is when you finish your swing with the racket over the same shoulder the racket is in, pictured below:

There are several reasons why you want to learn to use this type of follow through. The first is the ability to generate more spin verse the traditional follow through. The second is the ability to hit extreme angles from all areas on the tennis court. The last major advantage of a reverse follow through is the ability to hit a powerful shot when off balanced.

 

For the video of Rafa Nadal’s forehand follow this link: http://ubersense.com/video/view/R84C5uUm/rafa-nadal-forehand

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Rafael Nadal Forehand: Unit Turn Analysis

The following post was contributed by Luis Duco. Luis is a USPTA and PTR Certified Tennis Instructor and was a national finalist in the USTA National Campus Championships while playing at UCF.

Rafael Nadal has revolutionized the game of tennis with his physical and aggressiveness style of tennis. His forehand has redefined what it means to put spin on the ball and hit angles from all over the tennis court. Nadal’s forehand, his best stroke, is one of the best in the game and it is fundamentally sound from the beginning to end. If you have ever watched him hit multiple forehands in a row, the first thing you will notice is how every forehand looks the exact same.

Nadal has mastered the unit turn, the most fundamental preparation movement when getting ready to hit any stroke, forehand or backhand. The movement begins with a ready stance and shoulders parallel to the net as in the picture.

The next step is turning at the shoulders so that they are perpendicular to the net. The turn should come from the waist and the hands should follow the natural progression. As you can see in the picture below, his eyes remain on the tennis ball the entire time. When you turn the shoulders, you should shift the weight to the outside leg, in this example it is his left leg.

As you can see from the picture above, his hands follow his shoulders and his eyes remain focused on the tennis ball. His shoulders are perpendicular to the net and the baseline and his weight is loaded on the outside leg. His racket is shoulder height, which allows him to adjust to any sudden miss bounces.

This is the fundamental movement in preparing to hit a phenomenal forehand. A great way to practice this is by using a mirror and see if you can do the unit turn the same way ten times in a row. Odds are that if it is your first time, it’ll be pretty tough. Don’t worry keep practicing it in the mirror until it becomes a habit and then you’ll see the major difference on the court.

To view Nadal’s forehand video please follow this link: http://www.ubersense.com/video/view/R84C5uUm