On Court with USPTA: Improved Forehand Technique with Rick Macci

Summary

In this tennis instructional video, coach Rick Macy demonstrates his methodology to master professional player forehand technique. He analyzes common problems like taking the racket too far back, advocates for reducing range of motion while increasing speed, and provides a step-by-step breakdown. Macy emphasizes proper elbow positioning, tapping an imaginary dog to get the correct wrist angle, driving forward with the hips to let the racket flip into the slot, and rolling the forearm for topspin. He aims to efficiently create maximum racket head speed for power.

Takeaways

• 😀 The forehand swing needs to evolve to adapt to the faster pace of modern tennis
• 👌 Studying pro players' strokes with 3D and MRI technology informs teaching methodology
• ✂️ The key is reducing range of motion while increasing racket speed
• 🤸‍♂️ Having the elbow elevated sets proper joint angles for efficient stroke mechanics
• 🐕 Tap an imaginary dog on the head to get proper elbow extension and racket positioning
• 🚀 Driving with the legs and hips makes the racket flip into the slot for maximum racket head speed
• 🎯 Elbow passing by the trunk enables hitting through the ball in a straight line for consistency
• 🔁 Rolling the forearm after contact induces topspin
• ⚡️ It's all about producing maximum racket head speed efficiently
• 🧠 Even if you don't master it, trying this technique can still improve your current strokes

Q & A

What is the main goal when hitting the forehand as outlined in the video?

The main goal is to reduce the range of motion on the backswing and replace it with faster, more efficient muscle mechanics to increase racket head speed.

What should the elbow position be when taking the racket back?

The elbow should be elevated and away from the body, with the forearm parallel to the ground.

What is the importance of 'elbow extension' in the forehand technique?

Elbow extension helps set the proper joint angles so the stroke is more efficient. It leads to increased racket head speed and power.

What is meant by 'tapping the dog' in reference to the forehand?

This is a teaching cue to get the player to achieve elbow extension with the palm down and racket head externally rotated, as if tapping a dog on the head.

How does the 'flipping' action of the racket occur?

It occurs naturally when the elbow is extended and the legs/hips drive forwards causing the racket drop down and flip back into the slot.

Why is it important for the elbow to pass by the body on the forward swing?

This allows for maximal racket head speed and facilitates applying topspin to the ball.

What is the benefit of reducing the backswing motion?

It speeds up the stroke for better timing while still allowing complete energy transfer for power.

How can you create topspin on the forehand finish?

Use a rolling motion of the forearm and turn the wrist over as if turning a doorknob.

What is the kinetic chain referenced in the video?

This refers to the sequence of momentum transfer from the legs to hips to trunk to arm that allows for optimum stroke power.

What is the main focus when changing a forehand technique?

The main focus is on the stroke mechanics - adjusting motions like the elbow position rather than footwork or strategy.

Outlines

00:00

😊 Introducing the federer forehand technique

Rick Macy introduces the federer forehand technique which focuses on reducing the range of motion of the swing and replacing it with faster muscle mechanics to produce more racket head speed. He explains how researching with 3D technology revealed adaptations top players make and outlines the key aspects of the new methodology.

05:05

😃 Elbow position is key for efficient stroke

Rick emphasizes keeping the elbow elevated on the takeback and elbow extension on the forward swing. This sets the proper joint angles, engages the shoulder more and enables a more linear stroke path for power. He cues tapping an imaginary dog's head to get the right finish position.

10:07

😉 Reducing range of motion but not power

Rick explains how keeping the elbow elevated reduces the circularity of the stroke path allowing cleaner contact and more consistency without losing power. He has the student try some reps holding the elbow in the right position on the takeback to ingrain the new mechanics.

15:08

🙂 Dialling back effort level to nail technique

Rick notices the student muscling the ball when trying too hard. He explains overcooking shots when lacking confidence and cues dialling back effort level to focus on the new framework with elbow extension. This allows ingraining proper technique.

20:08

😊 Concluding with key concept summary

Rick summarizes the federer forehand method which reduces range of motion and develops faster stroke mechanics for efficiency. The key is elbow elevation, extension and getting the racket in the slot for maximum racket head speed.

Keywords

💡forehand

The forehand is one of the two main groundstrokes in tennis, hit from the forehand side of the body with the palm facing the direction of the stroke. The video focuses on improving the forehand technique by reducing the range of motion while increasing racket head speed.

💡range of motion

The range of motion refers to how far back the player takes the racket on the backswing. The video advocates reducing this to enable a more compact, efficient stroke while still generating power.

💡racket head speed

Racket head speed is a key factor in generating power on groundstrokes. The video aims to improve forehand technique in a way that produces faster racket head speed through the ball.

💡elbow extension

Elbow extension on the forward swing is emphasized as a key part of the modern forehand technique. This contributes to increased racket head speed.

💡joint angles

Proper positioning of the joints, including the elbow angle on the backswing, is essential to an efficient modern forehand technique with a short backswing.

💡linear stroke

The video advocates a more linear forehand stroke path (straight line motion) enabled by correct elbow positioning. This produces consistent power.

💡muscle mechanics

The coordinated sequence of muscle movements is optimized to achieve compact, fast strokes. New 'muscle mechanics' can be learned through repetition.

💡topspin

Topspin is essential in modern power tennis. The video focuses on technical elements like shoulder/wrist rolling to impart heavy topspin on forehands.

💡timing

Compact strokes with less backswing can improve timing as there is less to coordinate. This allows aggressive play.

💡repetition

Developing new muscle mechanics requires extensive repetition to reprogram the brain and nervous system. Thousands of practice strokes may be needed.

Highlights

Learn to hit the Federer forehand by going over 7 key aspects of the shot

Using 3D technology and MRI to study pros' strokes; centered method around reducing range of motion but replacing it with faster mechanics

Keep the elbow elevated on the backswing, away from the body; this sets the proper joint angles

On the forward swing, go through elbow extension like tapping a dog on the head, which causes the racket to flip into the slot

Let the racket find the dynamic slot on its own by tapping the dog, pulling the hand, and driving the legs and hips

Having the correct elbow position enables you to engage the shoulder more, adding power and hitting the ball in a straight line

Reducing swing radius and replacing it with faster mechanics creates more racket head speed and a heavier, more consistent ball

On the finish, roll the forearm to induce topspin instead of manipulating the wrist

It will feel weird at first after hitting thousands of balls the old way, have to build new muscle memory

Goal is getting maximum racket head speed efficiently while keeping ball in court

Even if not fully mastered, these mechanics are likely an improvement over your current stroke

Pure stroke mechanics for more efficient power

Game getting faster; players constantly adapting swings

Stroke aims to be more linear, elbow passing by trunk on forward swing

Repetition in controlled environment key before fully ingrained

Transcripts

[Music]

in this episode uspta master

professional rick macy will show you how

to hit an improved forehand by going

over seven key technical aspects of the

shot

learn to hit the federer forehand

hi there i'm rick macy uspta master

professional you want more pop on your

forehand you want to hit the true heavy

ball and get a lot of explosiveness why

can get you that forehand plus i can do

it reducing the range of motion let's

get started

[Music]

the game has gotten so much faster

and the players are constantly have to

make adaptations in their swings through

the years brian gordon

has really studied exactly what is going

on out there on the pro tour and from

his findings doing all this with the 3d

technology

where cameras are set up and you

actually take an mri an mri of someone's

stroke like an x-ray through all this

research

brian and i have put together a

methodology

pretty much on the forehand and backhand

and the serve

the three real big ticket items in

tennis

where

it centers around reducing the range of

motion that means how big someone's

stroke is

but you've got to replace it with faster

quicker muscle mechanics it's really

programming the muscles to make these

movements so players can evolve into

this technique that we're teaching

what's probably the biggest problem on

your forehanks i've never seen you hit a

ball so what would you say the biggest

problem be on your forehand i tend to

have a pretty big evac swing and i take

it back bingo first off i'll take the

temperature and i want to see exactly

what's going on all right so just do

your thing you're going to hit your

forehand and i'm going to start putting

your elbow and your racket in certain

position and we see if we can get that

forehand cleaned up so hustle back there

and let's tee it up what i'm talking

about is pure stroke mechanics

a more efficient way to hit the tennis

ball

to produce more racket head speed

[Music]

good i like your wheels i like your feet

attaboy a few more

not bad

that's it i like your feet keep popping

the popcorn

that's all right

a few more drew

hustla

your unit turn is pretty good what i

mean by that you turn the shoulders and

you get the racket back you know right

away so i really like that

take the racket back as one piece

racket head the tip's going to be up but

we want to have that elbow elevated

almost like you're nudging someone we

don't want that elbow tucked in so one

piece

racket head up

elbow back

that's the preparation

but here's where you're getting into

trouble come on up here a little bit go

ahead and turn sideways now when you

take the racket back you have your elbow

way too close to the body

and what happens is when the elbow is at

close to the body almost every single

time when you go into this looping

action when your elbow is close you have

a tendency to take the racket back into

this position and if you notice where

your elbow is see how far it is behind

your body

okay now

here's going to be the game changer when

you take the racket back okay

you're going to take the racket back but

i want your elbow to be elevated

you want to make sure there's some type

of elevation away from the body you want

that left elbow up a little bit you

don't want that joint angle down here

you want that right elbow elevated

elevated a little bit

and the angle at this position

forearm would be parallel to the ground

okay that angle would be straight down

the elbow would be straight back to the

fence

when the elbow is elevated and away from

the body that's the first thing that's

going to set these joint angles in the

right position now from this position

you're going to go into this movement

here

where the racket you see where it just

went

once that elbow is elevated when you go

into the back loop

we want elbow extension

elbows up

elbow extension

this stroke's really simple it might

sound complicated but it's really this

elbow up

elbow extension

elbow up

elbow extension now am i saying make

your arm stiff no am i saying try to

straighten it out absolutely this is the

key because most people when they take

it back they go here

okay

and then they open this up and the elbow

comes back in when that happens

the elbow goes much further back in the

stroke

now you get to circular movement and

it's not going to be efficient it's not

going to hit the ball consistently that

you can extend through the contact point

elbow up elbow extension as you start to

go in to tap the dog then you're going

to start your swing

after elbow extension

the racket goes into a position where

the palm is somewhat down

the racket head is to the outside

the wrist is up you want to get that

elbow extension like you're tapping the

dog on the head pretend there's a dog

back at a diagonal the hand would be in

this position

you wouldn't take the hand and the

racket and have it too much on the edge

or have it open you definitely want to

be in a position where

you tap the dog on the head now you can

say palm down that's effective but one

of the best teaching cues that we've

learned is when i tell them

after elbow extension tap the dog it

really sinks in

and what happens then it causes the

racket when you drive your legs and hips

the racket's going to go down

okay as you keep driving the racket will

go back okay and it's okay to have the

racket there we want the racket to get

in that position but here's the big

ticket the elbow it's going to be able

to pass through the trunk

okay when you hit the ball

because the racket's to the outside and

the racket head is above the hand

when you pull the hand and you drive the

leg in the hip the racket goes down and

back on its own and it goes very quickly

that's what we call the flip when you

pull that hand from the outside and the

racket flips it goes down on its own and

it goes back on its own it finds this

position where the butt cap is towards

the ball

a lot quicker there's a lot more

momentum which is going to create a lot

more racket head speed so you're going

to find the slot that dynamic slot a lot

faster when you go and tap the dog you

pull on the hand

and that finds the dynamic slot and

that's creating a lot more racket speed

and you're going to hit a heavier ball

in a much bigger ball

all i want you to do is make a forward

swing don't go back

okay you went back just a little bit

okay don't worry about the power you can

have your hand down just a little bit

more there you go just make a forward

swing that's all i want to see attaboy

again

just start from that position right

there

okay

but right now play a little more open

stance

just keep it there don't move it ah

that's that's a good try attaboy that's

okay

[Music]

again

get the right there just keep it there

keep it there

attaboy again

everything cross-court you're doing a

good job

that was healthy that was very healthy i

like that one again

good now

just so you feel a little more

comfortable in the relationship between

you and the balls better try to work the

feet a little bit more up and a little

bit more back i like on the rise i want

on the rise and you got to hit the ball

on the rise but never hit the ball on

the rise because you're lazy never hit

the ball on the rise because you don't

want to move not that i'm saying that's

going on but you'll time the ball a

little better if you adjust the feet

then push down

but the main thing we're working on with

this forehand for right now this

progression you already got elbow

extension and your racket's to the

outside

doing great doing great now very seldom

have you ever heard you're doing great

when you hit it in the bottom of the net

like that but the stroke the way you did

the mechanics that was healthy i like it

i like it again

nice and true again

good again set the racket see where you

put your left arm across

now keep the elbow right there keep it

on that side

better

so you're not going to take it back the

back's going to occur on its own attaboy

the racket's flipping too

again slow down just a little bit take

your time take your time again all right

come on up here hustle hustle

[Music]

coming up learn the key to reducing the

range of motion to hit that heavy ball

[Music]

the elbow is the the key element to me

in this whole thing because that's the

first thing that breaks down in the

kinetic chain

if you don't have the elbow

somewhat to a

and then when you go into your backswing

and here's the key when you go back

you got to keep that elbow up elbow up

elbow extension now after the flip that

elbow if everything was right that elbow

is pretty much on the hitting side of

the body and what that does that enables

you to engage the shoulder more that

means more juice you're pretty much

hitting the ball in a straight line low

to high if you want to go more topspin

you just swing more low to high okay

and you see this you see that extension

with the best four hands in the world

then you got options galore

if the elbow

goes back

okay or comes in

then what happens is the path of the

racket's coming more circular

you can still hit a pretty good shot but

it's not going to be the true heavy ball

it's not going to be dynamic did you

feel like you lost that much power just

from that position

no okay and see that's where this is

going to go because as long as i can set

these joint angles you're actually going

to get more power simply because i'm

going to be able to make the racket go

more linear and it's going to be able to

go more you can maneuver the racket up

to get more topspin now what i want you

to do it's going to get a little tougher

what i want you to do

is wait in this position okay so from

this position come on up here

grab your racket with your left hand so

the elbow is elevated so this is going

to be your new preparation elbow up

elbow extension as you start to go in to

tap the dog then you're going to start

your swing and what happens then it

causes the racket when you drive your

legs and hips the racket's going to go

down

okay as you keep driving the racket will

go back

okay and it's okay to have the racket

there we want the racket to get in that

position but here's the big ticket the

elbow it's going to be able to pass

through the trunk

okay where before

when you did your stroke

the elbow came from way around this way

and that's what caused you to be laid a

lot in a lot of mis-hits

we go into our forward swing after the

racket flips we want to make sure

it's almost like you're pulling a rope

here we want the elbow

everything moving in a straight line

there's going to be more of a linear

type movement that's made here if the

elbow goes back behind the body

everything's going to be a little more

circular and the elbow is going to tuck

in

so we already got turn the elbows a

little elevated excellent

better

great buddy again keep it up keep the

elbow up

again

keep that elbow up keep it up okay two

things now

mentally

i need you to scale it down a little bit

don't try to hit it so hard and the

reason why i'm saying that because when

you try really hard

to hit the ball

what you what you feel like you need to

do is you need to take it back a little

bit

you know a lot of times when people have

confidence it's a good thing but also

they can start overcooking the ball so

what i want you to do you can stay

aggressive but you got to stay in the

framework elbow up elbow extension boom

give it a shot drew keep it up here

that was great great miss buddy great

miss

better

better again

so in the game

totally different the radius of your

swing much different again

good

again go ahead and set it already have

get the shoulders turned all the way now

already have it all the way turn your

shoulder a little more

a little more

now from that position i want you to go

to the elbow extension

awesome you're doing great you're

picking this up drew with the new

forehand

again

doing better you doing better

got to give it up on that one

okay question you can say whatever you

can say whatever you want

does it feel different than your old

forehand yes definitely yes definitely i

like when the kids say that when they

say yes or yes definitely that means

something good is cooking so what did

you feel different

well it kind of fears it kind of feels

weird when you like keep the elbow like

so much forward

when you go through with the swing

but um

other than that it's pretty good for the

most part do you feel your stroke was

bigger or shorter shorter did you feel

the racket going faster or slower faster

and that's though that's what this is

all about we're

decreasing the range of motion and we're

making the racket go faster

remember what we're trying to accomplish

we're reducing the radius of your back

swing and replacing it with quicker

faster muscle mechanics

on the finish once this elbow passes by

the trunk you want to make sure you get

some type of rolling action on your

forearm here you want to feel this this

is how you're going to induce top spin

on the ball this rolling action you

don't want to manufacture the wrist at

the end

you get extension

turn the doorknob for a great finish

let's hit a few more you're doing great

you're doing great from that position

show me what's gonna happen next

okay

elbow elevated

[Music]

again

so good how'd that feel good

good or great great i like that better

here we go elbow up elbow extension see

one of the things i like what's going on

one of the things you're feeling and

that's why we got to do repetition

repetition repetition on on your stroke

mechanics here

you're feeling and you're convincing

yourself i don't need to take it back as

far

i'm still getting good power i'm

actually getting more top spin and

notice you haven't missed hit the ball

now

go from ready position this is where

it's going to get a little slippery here

we go showtime from the ready position

you're doing a great job buddy

good try again

not bad

again

attaboy good effort keep adjusting your

feet

hustle i like that i like that

you feel a difference yeah okay what's

the you surprised me because this this

is not easy i'm talking thousands of

balls you gotta hit a lot of repetitions

in a controlled environment okay before

you're gonna get this does it feel

different than your old stroke yes okay

kind of fill me in what what do you feel

is going on

um well i mean i'll have to take it back

like behind me and just keep it on the

same side

and so i guess that makes it easier as

far as the timing goes

because i don't have to worry about how

far i'm taking it back

and so i can make sure i get it in front

of me

and continue with my finish remember you

did thousands and thousands the other

way and your brain's telling your

muscles i want to go here

so you can just build up the confidence

and your muscle memory from the ready

position you're gonna go boom boom

opposed to boom

boom does that make sense

you did a great job

[Music]

let me frame this up for you remember

the concept what we're trying to do is

reduce the range of motion the radius of

your swing and develop quicker faster

shorter muscle mechanics

here comes the ball

i turn the shoulders

the great preparation

you want that left elbow up a little bit

you don't want that joint angle down

here you want that right elbow elevated

remember what i said

you don't want it too high that's going

to take too long to get this

accomplished

we're reducing the range of motion

and we're replacing it with quicker

faster muscle mechanics

so it's imperative elbow up

elbow

extension after elbow extension

the racket goes into a position where

the palm is somewhat down

the racket head is to the outside

the wrist is up you want to get that

elbow extension like you're tapping the

dog on the head

you want to drive the leg and hip that's

going to cause the racket to flip

power starts from the ground up we

always drive the legs the hips turn but

because of where my racket set it causes

the racket to flip

boom

the name of the game

is getting more racket head speed and

being more efficient

when you start your forward swing

the elbow then passes by the trunk and

this is how you're going to get that

all-important top spin you're going to

turn the doorknob or you're going to wax

on

wax off

good luck

what i'm talking about is pure stroke

mechanics a more efficient way to hit

the tennis ball to produce more racket

head speed because let's face it at the

end of the day that's what the game's

all about can i get as much racket speed

as possible

and still be effective and efficient in

keeping the ball in the court anybody

can keep the ball in the court going

like that but can you get it in there

with some juice on it

10 15 20 times in a row that's the key

not talking about footwork i'm not

talking about the mental part

purely stroke mechanics but if we can

give people

maybe i'm not saying a new a new toolbox

but maybe a little different way to look

at the ground strokes

especially as this game's getting bigger

and faster i think

all coaches

and players should really give this a

good shot because even if you're close

to getting it it's better than what

you're doing before for more help with

your game find a uspto teaching pro at

usptafindapro.com

[Music]