0:00 Federer Forehand Problems 0:56 Preparation 1:48 Racquet Drop 4:27 Keeping the Head Down 6:35 Extension 9:37 Solutions

Hands down best technical coach. I'm recommending you in all my comments. Also, you have an uncanny way of coming up with new videos without repeating yourself. Instead, you know what's going on in the world of online recreational improvement and correct it. Impressive.

Federer's and Nadal's tabletop/pat-the-dog racket drops are physically impossible for me to reproduce. I've tried many times. My body naturally goes for a Thiem-like bigger backswing. I agree with Nik, your body knows what's best for you. Pay heed and copy your idols' tactics instead... Alternatively you could choose your favorite player based on how close their strokes look to yours!

Wow, one of the most fluid, clear and informative videos I have seen online

I agree. Every time I try to explain something on the forehand and somebody says "but Federer does it this way", I have to shake my head. One thing I would add is that the grip make a big difference in the positions and angles. Most recreational players use a semi-western grip whereas Fed uses an eastern grip.

Love this video! Can't count how many times my adult students have come to me with problems arising from blindly copying technique. This is exactly what I tell them!

Thank you, this is such a great video. It helped me tremendously particularly with the arm extension!

This answers so many questions I wondered myself. 1000 thanks really really instructive and relevant advices

Really, really great content, Nico! So methodical, precise and thorough! Thank you!

It’s a coincidence for me that you post this video just now. I just recently watched a video where a guy is imitating many of the top players in how they serve and return / rally. I made a comment about how they are all great players but they each have they’re own unique strokes and way of playing.

sooooo true!!! i suffer sometimes from spaghetti forehand!!! i gave up very soon copying federer but i did try a lot to copy his loose forehand even today and it never works well....when i play good tennis then there is some easiness in it but not loosenes.

Excellent material...thanks!

I have been with a few coaches. I have seen a lot of video teaching. I believe you are the only one who can teach forehand skills correctly. Your teaching solved my problematic forehand which trouble me many years.

These are such key problems on this stroke. Thanks!!

Thank you, Coach Nik. As a Fed fan, I have watched so many slow-mo YT vids to try and copy his FH, I lost count. And, I couldn’t ever get the contact I wanted. Thanks for your coaching re: kinetic chain and that my personal style is good enough for my game.

I've started to improve my forehand back at 2017, applying a few steps and now I have the forehand like him basically and full natural. Love it!

Nikola, yet again fantastic job. Everything on point. You are by far the best on YT💪🏻👍🏻

Great summary at the end!

This is a magnificent video, so clear and useful.

Thank you. A really great video analysis of the impact of trying to copy another player's natural style. As an aging rec player I can testify to falling for many of these 'errors' in attempt to model the Fed FH. The result I see when I try to do this is that my strokes become more erattic - occasionally I will hit superb strokes, but overall my consistency declines. The best thing for me is that you've given me confidence to pursue my own approach to hitting the FH, in line with best practice and independent of the some of the specific Fed idiosyncrasies that I am unlikey to ever be able to emulate.

Another great video. Substance is always over the form.

Ironically this forehand technique is what’s most natural to me

This video has really helped me, I was been obsessed with the idea of having to drop my racket in this manner and it destroyed my forehand!

Very very helpful nice video , sir. Great. I am thankful.

Thank you for 3 fundamental skills. That work with me very well.

Federer's forehand strings together many difficult elements and somehow creates the best groundstroke of all time. Great breakdown video.

Thanks. A useful video again.

That's all true points! 👏👏👏

Thanks coach

Great advice!

Great tip coach and it's time to say something directly related with this topic and that is of the utmost importance. In the recreational tennis level, we never have to try to copy the pro tennis players technique, because they start to play very early in their life at 6 or 7 years old, and since then they are playing and practicing and improving every single day, so his technique is the best achievement after years of practice. And of course, we recreational players cannot afford that kind of dedication to this sport, so we better try to do every thing the simplest and natural way possible, and I beleive there is the secret of our success.

This so applies to me! Lol. I am obssessed with federer's forehand..

Great video Nick!

I learnt for hand with the continental grip in the 80s. Now playing eastern FH. I naturally hit with a straight arm and a stiff wrist - with a freely rotating forearm. It feels natural to me to pull my arm around using body rotation but I feel it works best with a heavy racquet. I agree 100% with this vid about not copying the tennis superstars but finding your own style.

Nice and clear explanation. I like to teach my students a compact forehand stroke and therefore I work on the "right" or "better" wrist position a lot . I personnaly like to teach my students a mix from "tabletop postion"(Strings facing the ground before the mainstroke like federer) and the "Del Potro" style( open racket). When u got a semi -western grip its more natural to put it on a tabletop postion or at least a 45 degree angle of the strings, so the strings are showing 1 or 2 m in front of your feed instead of open(to the other side of the net) I show them both styles and together we decide which of the ways is better for them individually. Main goal is that the movement of the whole racket should stay on the stroke side for better timing and more acceleration "without even trying". To get that, the players need to have the dominant should in front and a nearly straight arm imo. Of course its genetic and a bend arm is sometimes normal. To teach them to look to the ball like Federer is a nice drill to make the students selfcheck if they hit the ball in front of there body or if they hit the ball bit too late. Love your videos. Keep up the good work Coach

Excellent discussion of biomechanics! And I’m a PT.

You are so true, great video! I did the exact thing with the racquet drop and destroyed my forehand - no right wrist lag, exactly how you are showing :/

Great video and some excellent advice, but i must disagree with your point about keeping the head down. I copied fed’s forehand swing i think quite succesfully, but watching the contact point does not come naturally and I’m still working on it. However when i am able to do it the difference is tremendous and very obvious. Much cleaner contact, and hitting the sweet spot a much higher % of the time. When i don’t watch the ball well i have a lot more mishits and errors especially since i use an advanced/unforgiving frame the pro staff 97 v13. I’m a 4-4.5 level player

Once again, magnificent attention to biomechanical details. Quite unique?

Something that helped me was to use my left arm to follow back with my back swing and my racquet face automatically drop down. I had a coach teach me that when I was about 17 years old. Great job on the video my friend.

I tend to turn my head forwards too fast, to look at where I want to hit the ball in the field, while the ball hasn't hit my racket yet. This results for me in more miss hits and I feel less balanced during the stroke. So I am trying to keep my head a little longer downwards until contact is made but it's harder than I thought. And although I did learn a lot from Federer as an example (most used with other YT trainers) I adjusted the style to what my body did more fluently by itself (using Semi-Western grip), which resulted in more Thiem's style.

In my experience, I've found that "keeping the head down" helps you recognize how the racket looked during the swing. Sure, you can't see the exact moment when the ball was struck, but you can identify the orientation of the racket and how far forward the racket was during the swing. I bet rec players who are refining their forehand will benefit from looking at their swing more than the head rotation benefits them. You usually don't need that last drop of kinetic power that the head rotation gives you.

Perfect tip,thank you,my body turn was to big,i realised that as im mis hitting in matches.

Good observations!

I thought this video was excellent and covered some very important stroke check points that need to be met. I have also come to my own conclusion that every junior player in the 9-12 year old range is going to gravitate to a semi/western grip as so many shots are played above their shoulders.

Hi Nik, As an online coach as well, I am compelled to reach out and say this was a terrific video! I spend a lot of time trying to get people to not hit the Federer forehand and try the lag and snap techniques that ruin a lot of recreational forehands! Best, John

I love you being chill sitting on the bench talking some conclusion, makes you feel like an alpha (you are) I try very hard (even now) not to play like Roger(I know it doesn't suit me, I have to build my own technique) , finding a way to accelerate racquet easier for me.

Great video

My son started playing at age 11, and from the beginning he wanted to imitate RF, and the truth was he did it and his forehand, but the problem is that in Peru the championships are played on clay and the false bounce of the ball is very bad for this way of hitting, so today at the age of 15 he has had to modify his forehand to a style more similar to Agassi or Del Potro. He enjoyed that hit a lot when he was playing on a hard court, in clay is complicated. Great video!

Conclusion : Recreational player's had better not to imitate Federer's forehand 😂 (me included)

Awesome video and great content. Do you cover how to hit higher bouncing balls from the base line on your forehand and backhand in another video? I feel like that's a struggle for many beginner/intermediate players.

Once again Nic, what a ruthlessly iconoclastic analysis. Yes, we shouldn't necessarily try to copy young, male tennis professionals at the rec level. They have enough strength, athleticism and TALENT to compensate for any stylistic idiosyncrasies of their strokes. We would be MUCH better served (pun?) by sticking with simpler, easier to reproduce fundamentals that provide us with the most consistent and reliable RESULTS. Unless, of course, that's what motivates you: to be out there pretending you're hitting the ball like Roger Federer. Honestly, that's what I see, especially older recreational players, they prefer to play make-believe than win to tennis matches. Me personally, I don't get a huge thrill out of winning some tiny and insignificant tennis match. But... *I HATE LOSING* them! I don't like getting dominated or underperforming, especially to someone who I believe has a worse game than me.

A great channel Nikola! Hvala for great explanation! Greetings from Moscow

I think that the flat faced-down racket drop is very related to the full arm extension. I'm one of the guilty party who tries to imitate everything that federer does, and as soon as I started doing that faced down racket drop, the full arm extension, which I've been trying to force for months, came naturally to me immediately.

Conclusion: I will continue trying to imitate the Forehand, the backhand, the volley, and the serve of Roger!! LOL. Anyway, your advises are very useful, to keep trying to imitate Roger. For example, when i watched the ball when I hit it, normally I fail. Now I know why!! LOL. Thanks a lot. Excellent Video!!

Great video! Can you make a video about how to hit short angles? I noticed in your match play videos that you use them alot to set up or hit winners. Thanks!

Regarding watching the ball, I’ve had a revelation recently. I used to try to watch the ball, un-intuitively, because of some video on KZfaq. It was not helpful, or I’d usually forget to anyway because I was aiming somewhere way over on my opponent’s side of the court. BUT I realized something: while it’s very hard to aim to hit somewhere far away on the court, it’s much MUCH easier to aim to hit somewhere ON THE BALL! like hitting a cue ball with a pool stick. Since this revelation, I never forget to watch the ball, because I have an actual reason to. Not because I’m “supposed to”. and I’m vastly more consistent. In fact, I’m downright good at tennis now.

Would be good to talk about other aspects - if you're getting the table top to lag, the acceleration is so strong that unless I consciously think the brush up motion I go long. And I respectfully disagree that fed's feet are not moving during warm up. It's amazing how much of shuffle and unit turn he does.

It takes one shot with straight arm for me to hurt my elbow, though my grip is very similar to Federer's. I really appreciate this analysis. Great pleasure to watch your videos.

Hey Nic, VERY nice finish to that video - surprisingly eloquent, damn near poetic! You slippery rascal, who knew you were hiding the heart of a gushing wordsmith behind that taciturn Teutonic exterior, haha! Keep up the great work - JD, Canada

yes, too many people think it's the best way to copy someone.. you have to naturally evolve your own style, and change just a few things which can improve the impact of your stroke, not overcompensate or just copycat someone

as a recreational player and FedFan. The journey of copying his technique is the most fun I have had. I know I'm not going to be 100% look like him (never going to happen), but I feel like a Federer every time I step on the tennis court.

Great vid… it’s a high-level skill to be able a grip on the tennis racquet while maintaining a lose wrist. This takes years of training, working with the stroke to develop this ability. Most novice players can’t do both and the result is minimal lag if any. I think this is especially difficult if you’re coming from an older grip style like conventional where you firm up your wrist on the FH. This is just developing lag; forget about copying how Fed. does it. Disagree regarding stillness of the head.. this is a learned part of his swing and not having to do with physical ability. But this too is a high-level skill. It is very hard for players to resist the temptation to look up at the shot. It means you are committed to executing the mechanics of the stroke. The head does release and turn with the body once the shoulders and racquet come through the ball, which all average players can do. But it signifies years of training to build this technique into the swing. Other players have the lift off build into their swings but they watch the ball well enough to hit it before letting their head rotate. The novice player will lift off prematurely. This principle of “head down” through contact exists in all hitting sports like golf, baseball, and all other racquet sports as part of the proper technique.

Nice overgrip! :)

I also noticed his left arm is extended across his body. I rarely see rec players gauging ball distance with the arm. If they do it drops to their side. So they are either jammed or too far from the ball.

When it comes to imitating Federer, I’m way up on the imitation ladder!!🤣🤣😂. Then I started to develop problems with it. So much so that I dropped it and came up with my own unique way of hitting a forehand. 🤗. But I must not have completely abandoned his style of hitting because I see bits and pieces of his technique migrated into my own forehand. I pay close attention to whether the racquet is on edge or open during the unit turn and if the racquet is vertical or horizontal when I take it back. I have a bent Forehand.

I think the one thing all players should try to emulate is Feds footwork and his wide stance leaning forward

Classic mistake of latching onto style vs substance. Great video..I’ve fallen victim to keeping my eyes where I hit the ball.

Hitting high balls using an eastern forehand grip is a challenge as well; mainly if you are 1.72 tall (5' 7"). I use a semi western and now I hit those moon balls cleaner.

On keeping the eyes on the ball isn’t it really keeping the head still that matters? If I allow my head to move forward with the rotation of my body it doesn’t end well.

Варёное свари professional understandable and very useful thing you very much hl2 students think

Finally figured it out, haha I now look like Federer, feels great.

ㅁWow! We've been on a tennis lesson trip since last week looking for professional coaches, and we really want to go to your court.

sometimes it comes natural for me to keep the head down at the moment of contact. And man when it happens the ball becomes a bullet

Best channel

great explanation! btw, which pro players' forehand are easier to copy?

Excellent video! Thanks for addressing this. Everybody has different DNA for musculoskeletal development and body mechanics... Roger's just happens to be stylish and effortless! I have a student who came to me with serious issues including this one, but with additional take-back too far and arm extension way behind the body. We have worked hard on this hitch and have gotten rid of the take-back and extending issue, but he still flattens the racket face toward the ground. When he contacts the ball @ waist height, correctly out in front, his racket is always at around 4:00 or 5:00 (butt cap facing the sky) instead of a more horizontal 3:00 (butt capp facing the belly button). Any advice?

If you’re going to copy any professional players forhand I recommend Del Potro my forehead is very similar to his other than the Griff I use a between a Western and a semi western grip.

regarding the racket drop: he drops it around 5 o clock after the turn. he does not drop so much in front as you seem to suggest. am i correct?

As a former Federer forehand copier, I slowly moved away from it for most shots, but I still use it for really low, slow balls in the forecourt

I think I finally cracked the code, I can hit Federer's forehand now :D

Hi Nik, thanks for the tip. Does eastern forehand still relevant in today's tennis or should I switch to semi western for better rpm?

Hey Nick, what do you think about copying Djokovic forehand?

I used to have this technique but have lost it after not properly training for months maybe my timing and my footwork have worsened and and they don t let me get in the right position to do all these steps in the preperation stage

is this forehand only possible with eastern grip?

Is your racquet length extended?

I feel so much better about my "rec level" forehand now. Back to Thiem and his shut eyes....

To my opinion, watching too much slow-mo is also very “dangerous”! 3.5 and under, beware!

Federer said as much and that people shouldn’t try to copy his FH but recommended looking at Delpo. Regarding wrist lag, how much wrist flexibility a player has is vital and often overlooked by coaches. Average is 75degrees of wrist extension. If you have less, lag for racket acceleration will be less and in extreme cases, virtually impossible.

What do you think of Rick Macci's instruction for the forehand: "Elbow up, elbow extension"? Think he also claims its similar in all high level players. Am I missing something or are you dissagreeing with him?

On the subject of most copied shots, you have to mention John McEnroe's unorthodox but signature, sideways, back to the court, service motion. Back in the 80s I saw tons of kids trying to emulate that service motion. The majority failed. I think that McEnroe's serve, Federer's forehand, Nadal's forehand, Borg's hanging backswing two handed backhand, should all be classified as "kids, don't try this at home". They're idiosyncratic of those players and don't work for others. I've always said that, if you want to copy some contemporary strokes, Djokovic is more apt to copy. In my opinion Sampras was more copyable then Federer.

Can you develop the loop part?

Does the racket drop when the string point down help for topspin?

All of this seems spot on except keeping the head down. Perhaps the exaggeration of this move is the problem. Other videos have emphasized not taking your eyes off the ball too soon as you end up lifting your body and head to see where the ball is going, thereby not hitting the ball in the sweet spot of the racket.

Verdasco’s was pretty similar imo

but is there really a reason for playing tennis if you are not striving to copy federer? :)

I live in California, I like to get a lesson from u !!

Can you blame people for copying the 🐐😆 Would absolutely love to hear Roger’s reply to this video? 👍

But for Eastern grip, if you want top spin, you need to get strings facing to the court. It is better grip for top spin if you hold the racket semiwestern grip or Western grip. Like I said, for Eastern grip, you need strings facing to the court.

So what would my racket drop look like if it’s not federer’s