Tennis forehand: check your form with your phone
The forehand is the stroke most players hit most often and trust most, and it is built on the same few things: an early turn, contact out in front and a full finish. A topspin drive uses a low-to-high swing to keep the ball in the court.
No equipment needed. Practise at home. Just do the swing properly in front of your phone. No court, ball or shuttle is needed, and a racket is optional: the coach judges your movement, so a shadow swing at home in a hallway or garden is enough.
What good looks like
- Turn your shoulders as soon as you see the ball is coming to your forehand.
- Set your feet and load your weight onto the back leg, racket up and back.
- Meet the ball out in front of your body at about waist height, arm extended away from the body.
- Brush up the back of the ball and finish across your body over the opposite shoulder.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Hitting it late, beside the body
The arm gets jammed. Turn earlier and meet the ball further in front.
Swinging with the arm only
The legs and trunk rotation supply the power. Start the swing from the ground up.
Stopping at contact
Without a full finish the ball loses depth and spin. Follow through.
What Formanti checks on your forehand
At the moment of contact, on every swing you take.
- Contact in front: hand clearly in front of your shoulder. meet it in front of you, not beside or behind
- Contact height: about waist height. the height this shot is usually hit at
- Arm height (only if far off): 30–140°. Contact in front of body at hip-to-shoulder height
- Elbow (only if far off): 90–185°. Slight bend at contact, full extension on follow-through
- Body at contact: legs not locked, no leaning back. a stable base to hit from
Your ready stance
Hold still between swings and the coach talks you into position.
- Knees: 115–165°. Soft, bent knees let you push off in any direction
- Back lean: 0–30° forward. A little forward: not upright, not hunched
- Feet apart: 1.2–2.2× shoulder width. Feet wider than your shoulders, for balance
What your report looks like
When you finish, you get a report like this one.
- How many swings were in range, out of how many.
- The one thing to work on next, then the next, each with a drill.
- Every swing as a picture with your skeleton on it: ticked, or flagged with what was off.
What you hear and see when you are off
Hitting it too close to you
The coach says: “Meet it further out in front.”
On screen: Meet it further out in front.
Drill: Shadow swings, freezing at contact: your hand should be clearly in front of your shoulder before you swing for real. If the ball is too close, move your feet, not your arm.
Hitting it too high
The coach says: “Let it drop. Meet it lower.”
On screen: Meet it a little lower.
Drill: Shadow swings with your knees bent, freezing at contact at the right height, so your legs do the lowering and your arm stays quiet.
Hitting it too low
The coach says: “Take it a bit higher.”
On screen: Meet it higher.
Drill: Shadow swings freezing at contact at the right height, then feed yourself a ball and take it on the rise.
Arm too low
The coach says: “Get that arm up a bit higher.”
On screen: Lift your hitting arm a lot higher at contact.
Drill: Shadow 10 swings in slow motion and freeze at contact: check where your elbow is before you speed up.
Arm too high
The coach says: “Keep that arm a bit lower.”
On screen: Keep your hitting arm a lot lower at contact.
Drill: Shadow 10 swings in slow motion and freeze at contact: check where your elbow is before you speed up.
Arm too bent
The coach says: “Straighten the arm more. Meet it long.”
On screen: Straighten your arm a lot more through contact.
Drill: Slow shadow swings, pausing at contact: your arm should be almost straight with a soft bend.
Arm locked straight
The coach says: “Keep a little bend in the elbow.”
On screen: Keep a lot more bend in your elbow at contact.
Drill: Slow shadow swings, pausing at contact: keep a soft bend and finish with a wrist snap.
Legs too straight in your stance
The coach says: “Bend your knees”
On screen: Bend your knees.
Drill: Hold a low ready stance for 20 seconds between reps.
Hunched over in your stance
The coach says: “Chest up, don't hunch”
On screen: Chest up, don't hunch.
Drill: Hold the ready stance with your chest proud for 20 seconds.
Drills you can do alone
- Contact freeze: shadow a forehand and freeze at contact. Your hand should be clearly in front of your hip.
- Wall rally: hit forehands against a wall at net height, concentrating on one thing per set, such as contact in front, then the finish.
How to set up your phone
Prop your phone up 2 to 3 metres away with your whole body in view, at about hip height. For the forehand, stand side-on to the camera on your hitting side: how far in front you make contact and how big your backswing is can only be judged from the side. It all runs on your phone and nothing is uploaded.
Guide values: where the hand should be at contact comes from coaching rules (Coaching consensus across the sport: contact in front of the body, at a height that suits the shot, compact where the stroke is short.) and has not yet been checked against real players. Contact point and backswing need you side-on to the camera.
Frequently asked questions
How can I practise my tennis forehand alone?
Shadow swings for the movement, and a wall for contact. A phone filming from the side shows your contact point and finish.
Where should I hit a forehand?
Out in front of your body, around waist height for a topspin drive, with the arm extended rather than cramped.
More tennis practice
Backhand · Serve · Volley · Overhead smash · Slice backhand · Lob · Drop shot