Because the Federer forehand grip gets so much attention, let’s discuss it for a few moments. The grip is hotly debated by those who have analyzed it. Some claim it is an Eastern grip, others say an exaggerated Eastern, others call it something in between.

The best look at the Federer forehand grip seems to indicate that it is indeed an Eastern grip with a very slight twist. That is to say, he holds the racquet one bevel below the usual placement for a typical Eastern grip.

Learning the Roger Federer Forehand Grip

Despite what many might say about the Federer forehand grip, it is not simply an Eastern grip. To match the Federer forehand grip, you would have to place the top knuckle of your index finger on the right side of your racquet handle, not on the bevel above it. In other words, your knuckle would line up at 3 o’clock on the handle if you held your racquet out from your body and looked at it like a clock.

The normal Eastern grip would have the knuckle at 2 o’clock. Most players will find this grip quite extreme and uncomfortable. Undoubtedly, Federer practiced for many hours to hit a forehand with this unusual method.

Now to the actual forehand motion that makes Federer’s forehand so legendarily lethal. We will break down his motion into six steps, from initial preparation to follow-through, with accompanying comments on each stage of his motion:

Hitting Stances Used in Federer’s Forehand Grip

On a typical forehand, Federer stands in a ¾ open stance, which will guarantee excellent rotation of his corps for the shot to come. At the pro level, it is difficult to get into a closed position for full rotation of the body, there is simply not enough time. If you are playing someone who does not hit with much pace, you will have much more time than Federer to coil your body for maximum explosion through the ball.

If Federer and other pros took the time to close their stances and coil to the max, the ball would be in the hands of a ball boy standing behind them by the time they would have to hit it! In typically fine Federer form, his racquet head is pointed towards the back fence and the strings are facing downward, reflecting the famed Federer forehand grip. This is no problem for him, however, because the head will open up naturally as he begins his swing.

Federer’s Contact Point With the Forehand Grip

As Federer prepares to meet the ball, his forehand is usually noted for having an extreme acceleration in the last 18 inches before contact is made.

This is due in large part to the position of his wrist, which is bent almost entirely back from the racquet, ensuring another whip-like component that will add punch to the shot. That position of the wrist will also give Federer the option to hit his inside-out forehand if he so chooses.

Use of the Wrist in the Federer Forehand Stroke

In some photos, Federer’s racquet is at a 90-degree angle from his hand and the ball, quite a contrast to lesser-skilled players who sweep through the forehand as if holding a broomstick. Adding this extra wrist snap to your stroke will take lots of practice, but it is one of the main reasons why the pros hit the ball much harder than those of us in the amateur ranks.

As Federer’s wrist uncocks in response to the rest of his body rotating towards the ball and opening up (not hitting inside-out), he meets the ball at about a mid-thigh level. In order to place maximum topspin on the ball, the racquet face is vertical, ensuring a maximum brush of the strings against the ball.

Contact Height – An element of Roger Federer’s Forehand Grip?

When Federer takes the ball in different parts of the court and in response to different bounces, he might meet the ball above his waist, yet he maintains his almost-perfect form. It should also be mentioned that in any photo study of the Federer forehand, perhaps the body part that should be most closely examined is his head.

In photo after photo after photo, his head remains still, his eyes laser focused on the ball.

Not even the man who some people call the greatest to ever play the game can take his eye off the ball and hit a solid forehand. That’s important to remember for the average club player: head still, eye on the ball.

Federer’s Head Position On His Forehand

Just after the point of contact, Federer’s head is still stationary and his eyes peer at the point where his racquet met the ball for a split second. In some shots, Federer’s racquet has already risen about a foot, indicating that he has put a wicked topspin on the ball. This part of the Federer forehand represents another part of the motion that separates the pros from the average Joes. Many club players have little or no follow-through, which limits the power of their stroke tremendously and hurts their promising form. Practice your follow-through constantly to ensure full power behind your shot.

Wrist Position with the Federer Forehand Grip

The position of Federer’s wrist just after contact will tell us all we need to know about where Federer has hit the ball. Famous for his inside-out forehand, if Federer’s wrist remains cocked, you can bet your bottom dollar that he has successfully struck another inside-out forehand to his opponent’s backhand side. If the wrist is aligned with the racquet, then Federer has whipped it forward to match his excellent torso rotation and zinged another forehand that draws paint and left his opponent dumbfounded.

Roger Federer forehand follow through

As Federer continues his follow-through, he either has transferred his weight completely forward if his feet got into position in enough time, or he is hitting off his back foot in reaction to the type of heavy topspin that his mortal enemy Rafael Nadal offers.

If hitting off the back foot, Federer exaggerates the whip upward of his racquet to compensate for his lack of power by hitting off the back foot with extra topspin, a good tip for all players to note.

If his body is properly aligned and he has transferred all of his power from back foot to front foot, he has a much more normal follow-through with the racquet at about shoulder height shortly after striking the ball.

The unique Federer forehand starts with the famed Federer forehand grip, which is one small step beyond the standard Eastern grip.

If you want to completely mimic Federer’s forehand, you will have to hold the racquet in the same way. Another element of the Federer forehand that will be difficult to adopt is his wrist cock, which gives him added power and an easier ability to hit the inside-out forehand that has doomed many an opponent.

Learning the Roger Federer Forehand Grip and Technique

So, once you are holding the racquet in a way that feels right to you, then you can imitate the other elements of the Federer forehand that you can actually copy: head still, eyes on the ball, fairly open stance, racquet strings brushing the ball upward for topspin, full follow-through.

Federer arrived at his place in the tennis pantheon by spending hours and hours perfecting a forehand that he could hit in two directions starting from a near-impossible angle. It is probably too late for you to do the same, but with enough practice you can perhaps add a wrist-whip and more topspin so that you can approximate the fearsome weapon known as the Federer forehand. With enough practice, you can master the inside-out forehand as well and further confound your opponents.

Learn to Hit a Forehand Like Roger Federer

If you want to jumpstart your forehand and play like the PROS, check out my 70+ page Tennis Ebook that will immediately show you how you can take your forehand to the next level.

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Federer Forehand : The Roger Federer grip

Let’s start with the basics of Roger Federer’s forehand. His forehand grip is in some version of an Eastern grip, which is considered more conservative than the majority of the other players on tour. Federer is able to hit his forehand both with topspin and is able to flatten it out at times for a pure winner. Federer’s forehand is more versatile than most of the other pros on tour, which allows him to be able to use a variety of different shot selection as well as insane angles on the run.

Federer’s Forehand Preparation

When I began studying Roger Federer’s forehand in slow motion video, I was able to piece together the forehand and finally come up with logical and biomechanical principles behind tennis technique that produced better results. I knew that Roger Federer’s technique was made only through lots of practice and repetition plus refinement. Federer is hardly a muscleman, and it was clear to me that the power he was generating was not just a result of pure strength or muscle power. Instead, I realized that Federer’s forehand must be due to his flawless tennis technique that allowed him to produce the effortless and extraordinary results that amateur tennis players could not match without proper tennis technique.

What Roger Federer shares in common with the majority of the rest of the pros on the ATP tour is what I call “world class tennis forehand preparation.” Like most top pros and high level tennis players, Federer uses a “unit turn” to initiate his forehand stroke. Basically, a unit turn is a movement where the body turns and coils as one “unit.” Federer’s tennis racket, shoulders, and lower body turn together at the start of his forehand, in preparation to create the coil and store the energy for the swing. This means that as soon as Federer acknowledges the ball flight coming towards him, he does not immediately take his racket back abruptly in a backswing. Instead, what Federer does is he makes sure to get a full and complete unit turn where the shoulders turn sideways.

At the point of the unit turn, there is very little independent movement of the tennis racket, no immediate backswing and the racket “comes along for the ride” during the unit turn.

Roger Federer’s Forehand: The Fundamentals

Federer Forehand consists of a compact and fluid takeback that results in a clean and efficient swing. Federer possess equisite tennis technique that produces a great forehand even under pressure. His timing is also flawless. Roger Federer’s backswing is a relatively simple tennis stroke that starts with a good initial unit then with the left hand followed by the racket on edge until he reaches the height of the takeback.

Core Rotation

In the modern forehands on pros on tour day, it is increasingly evident that players are now using angular momentum to their advantage enabling them to generate greater power and topspin, a devastating combination that results in the high paced game of tennis we see on tour.

Not only do we see players hitting harder, but they are quicker and more agile. This is a primarily a result of racket head speed, which is partially contributed to the groundforce reaction created by the players. The pros are thrusting their bodies into every tennis shot and maximizing the torques with both upper and lower body rotation which contributes to the increased amount of power.

Roger Federer uses full upper body rotation in his forehand, meaning he engages his entire body in the motion. It begins once his body has coiled, moments before contact, Federer releases all of the energy Federer is not intending on taking a huge backswing, rather he is actually more concerned about getting a full “coil” during his unit turn, where he can then unleash all of that power into the shot later on.

Tennis Takeback and Backswing Shape

As Federer completes the unit turn, he makes sure that he is still not abruptly taking a huge backswing. Federer’s takeback resembles an upwards arc. The shape of his backswing is not loopy, or circular based as is on some of the other pro forehands on tour. Although, the shape of his backswing appears to be relatively high, he doesn’t take his racket back behind his body. The swing stays on the same side of the body. This type of backswing, where the hand and arm stays on his right side of his body gives him more efficiency and better timing.

Federer’s backswing can loosely be considered “whippy” as evidenced by the appearance of his stroke during the foreward swing. It resembles a “liquid whip” because federer utilizes a variety of mechanics that allow him to do this. This is explained further in my Optimum Tennis EBook. I go into more detail regarding federer’s backswing and some unique biomechanics he uses that are possibly responsible for the “loose whip-like” forehand.

Lowering of the Racket

Once the height of the takeback has been reached, usually the ball would have made contact with the ground. By now, Federer continues to use a relaxed wrist and arm. From the height of the takeback, Federer then lowers his racket arm on it’s own accord letting gravity do most of the work to drop the racket below the level of the ball (to impart topspin). A key point is that Federer’s Forehand is a backswing that stays on the same side of the body, and at no point in time does the backswing extend behind the back (as seen in some of the WTA players on tour). This is important from an efficiency standpoint as well as a biomechanically important structure that will allow Federer’s Forehand to achieve an incredible amount of racket head speed once contact is made. This is predominantly a result of the Stretch Shorthening Cycle (or SSC) at work.

Passive Stretch (SSC)

The main focal point in modern tennis technique, especially on the forehand side is the ability of players to generate both power and heavy topspin to create winning tennis shots as well as extreme angles. The racket head speed in today’s tennis is high velocity and this is mainly a result of player’s increased used of the stretch shortening cycle, particularly on the forehand stroke.

If we watch Roger Federer’s Forehand in slow motion, we can visualize easier how Federer’s backswing resembles a very loose “whip-like” swing. Rather than stiffening up, Federer is completely relaxed and this facilitates a very quick “whip” action at contact, allowing Federer’s forehand to brush from behind the tennis ball with tremendous force.

Essentially, the stretch shortening cycle is a passive stretch where the power is generated upon release of the stored energy. Think of it like a rubber band. If you were to pull on a rubber band, the energy would be passively stored from within the band. Once the rubber band is then released from your hand, all of the stored energy is then shot out

Contact Point

Roger Federer’s Contact point is relatively similar to that of the rest of the ATP tour pros. There are little differences here. Contact well in front of the body. The racket face is perpendicular, unless Federer hits a mishit. There are no magical elements on the contact point that are responsible for the unbelievable shots that he makes. Occasionally, Federer may utilize a straighter arm on his forehand but this is a result of the style of takeback and not anything to do with conciously forcing a straight arm.

The straight-arm forehand as it has been called, is a consequence and not a cause. Many tennis players attempt to model Federer’s forehand by replicating incorrect elements that become detrimental to their own tennis forehand. It needs to be noted that Federer’s straight arm at contact is a result, “cause-effect” of his backswing style and not by concious force.

Finish and Followthrough

Similar to the majority of pros on tour today, Federer utilizes what is commonly called the modern “windshield wiper” finish. This is where is commonly defined as forearm rotation. The right arm finishes across the shoulder and, rather than the traditional “over the shoulder” finish that is still commonly taught by teaching pros. Federer manages to get excellent extension and drives through the ball well, even though he finishes across his shoulder.

Federer does still utilize the classic “over the shoulder” finish on some returns of serve, but for most of the balls he hits on the baseline, he finishes across in a windshield wiper movement.

Should a tennis player attempt to model his/her stroke after Roger Federer’s Forehand?

Depending on the skill level of the tennis player in question, and their current needs and goals, most tennis players would not benefit from modeling their tennis forehand with Roger Federer until he/she is at a fairly advanced level. Since Federer’s forehand is more of an advanced stroke style, it is not recommendable that a novice or intermediate level tennis player attempt to model his forehand, until their foundation is solidly in place.

However, Federer’s forehand serves as a technically-sound model in his forehand, and due to his unique biomechanics he is able to combine many different powerful techniques that allow him to execute shots that many players before his time could not even imagine doing.

What Elements can we take from Roger Federer’s Forehand?

So, what elements can we take home from Roger’s unique and powerful forehand?

• First and foremost, his unit turn. This is the start of all good high level tennis forehands, and a commonality amongst all the top pros on the ATP Tour and some on the WTA tour.
• Versatility and Adaptability – Roger’s forehand contains no hitches and his forehand is fluid. This is something that everyone can immediately be sure to work on their own forehand technique. A clean, simple motion.
• Good strong posture, balanced through the entire shot.

Learn to Hit a Forehand Like Roger Federer

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Learn How to Hit a Forehand Like Federer, Nadal and Djokovic

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The Secrets Behind Roger Federer’s Forehand Technique

Roger Federer’s forehand is actually a very technically sound but yet simple & smooth stroke. Much to the surprise of many, Federer’s forehand is not difficult to model. Even club players and aspiring college and junior players alike can learn from Federer’s forehand to improve their own forehand technique. To begin, we will cover the elements of Federer’s forehand from the grip & preparation to the follow through of the stroke.

Roger Federer Forehand Grip

To begin, Federer’s forehand grip starts out with a conservative Eastern grip. Unlike many players in the modern game who advocate using the Semi-Western or even Full Western (like Rafael Nadal’s forehand), Federer’s forehand grip is actually quite conservative in today’s modern game of tennis. This eastern grip allows Federer to drive through shots more, while still producing adequate topspin for the “heavy ball” effect we will describe later on. This perhaps provides Federer the greatest amount of versatility and a blend of both topspin & power on his forehand.

Federer’s Forehand – Unit Turn

The unit turn in tennis is a key hallmark position behind the forehands of all top pro players on tour in the modern forehand. The “unit turn” as it is commonly called is a unitary body motion where the upper and lower body turns as one unit to initiate the preparation of the stroke. This means the focus is turning (or pivoting) the upper body and hips sideways as one unit, rather than just merely taking the racket back in a backswing independently. The key is all of the elements in Federer’s forehand starts out with him lowering his center of gravity and pivoting his right dominant foot and hips side ways and then allowing his shoulder to turn – which naturally brings the racket back.

This unitary body turn allows Federer to utilize the kinetic chain in his forehand, allowing the larger muscle groups to store passive energy later to be used to uncoil onto his shots. Most club players make the mistake of immediately taking a racket backswing without a proper unit turn. This will lead to a disconnection in the kinetic chain and poor power on the forehand.

Roger Federer’s Forehand Takeback & Backswing

The next key position to notice about Federer’s forehand after the unit turn has taken place is how Federer cradles the throat of his racket with the non-dominant hand and then initiates the takeback with the elbow leading. Federer keeps the racket backswing on the same side of his body, which allows him to take balls on the rise – and rarely gets caught hitting late. In the ATP style forehand, players do not extend the racket backswing behind the plane of their body unlike many WTA players ala Azarenka, Williams Sisters, etc…

This relatively compact swing allows Federer to be versatile in all areas of the court as an all-court player, unlike some less efficient swings where an elongated swing may cause a player to hit late on certain occasions.

Gravity Drop

Once Federer reaches the height of the takeback, he lowers the racket below the level of the incoming ball via gravity. There is no forced or wristy motion here. At this stage of the swing, Federer’s maintains a closed racket face angle which allows him to rapidly brush up behind the ball to create the windshield wiper forehand. Notice here, how Federer does not consciously exert any effort in the lowering of the racket, but gravity alone allows him to lower his racket whilst maintaining the correct hitting arm structure.

Hip Uncoil & Wrist Release

Federer’s forehand involves virtually perfect use of the kinetic chain. After the gravity drop is complete, Federer uncoils & opens his hips which brings his racket and wrist through and forwards into the contact point. Note here, that Federer’s hips are the driving force, causing the wrist to release and correct itself into the hitting arm slot. This motion is like a Nascar driver going from 0-60 MPH. The hips play a huge role as a the driver of the uncoiling motion, like the crack of a whip.

Commentators also note how Federer’s forehand appears “wristy” making him prone to injuries. Although his forehand appears wristy to the outside observer, there is almost no conscious manipulation of the wrist at this point. Federer is clearly fully relaxed and letting his body and racket do all the work in the kinetic chain. He almost never gets injuries, which is a testament to the efficiency of Roger Federer’s forehand.

Contact Point

Roger Federer’s forehand contact point is virtually flawless. Due to his impeccable timing, he is rarely caught off balance. His contact point is comfortably well out in front, with his hitting arm slightly bent or completely straight. Federer often utilizes a straight arm forehand contact point, whereby his elbow and arm is completely straight at contact. Other times, observers can find Federer’s hitting arm structure in the normal double-bend hitting arm position. Both are acceptable hitting arm structures – as long as players are using proper weight transfer and hitting the ball comfortably in front and not caught late or off balance.

Roger Federer’s Forehand Windshield Wiper Follow through

Once the contact point is complete, Federer rapidly brushes the ball in a windshield wiper motion. The windshield wiper follow through motion is synonymous with the modern forehand in tennis. This is a commonality amongst all top pro players in the ATP & WTA. Notice how Federer’s racket face transjectory forms a “rainbow” like arc as he completes the follow through.

The actual motion appears similar to the windshield wiper blades of a car, hence the term windshield wiper forehand. The key here is that Federer’s shoulder and upper arm is powering the windshield wiper forehand follow through, and not just the wrist alone. This is another common mistake some players make, is that they try to “wrist” the follow through artificially creating a weak ball, rather than allowing the upper arm to take control of the entire follow through motion.

Conclusion – Roger Federer’s Forehand Can be a Key Model for Players At All Other Levels of the Game

While many coaches and players often suggest that Federer’s forehand is too dangerous or difficult to emulate for the average player – Roger Federer’s forehand actually contains certain unique commonalities with all other top pro forehands on tour that are easily seen in slow motion. These unique commonalities are the EXACT elements that aspiring players can emulate and model to achieve better results on their forehand. While Federer does possess great natural talent, it is definitely possible for players at all other levels of the game to learn from Federer’s forehand technique

Learn to Hit a Forehand Like Roger Federer

If you want to jumpstart your forehand and play like the PROS, check out my 70+ page Tennis Ebook that will immediately show you how you can take your forehand to the next level.

The Modern Forehand Domination Ebook is guaranteed to improve your tennis technique, and increase power, topspin and accuracy of your tennis forehand!

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Learn How to Hit a Forehand Like Federer, Nadal and Djokovic

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