question on hip rotation and outside foot.

[visit_faraz]

Hi,
I am posting here for the first time and am a little confused about this hip rotation thing among the top players.

OPTION A
Sometimes i see that when hitting a shot( i am talking about the forehand), so when hitting they stay on their outside foot ( or the right leg for right handed players) while hitting .i.e. their left leg is in the air and all the weight is on their right leg when they are hitting. So no hip rotation in this .


OPTION B
But in other shots i see them start with their weight on their right leg and then rotate hips i.e. they sort of push back with their right leg so that the right leg is in the air and their weight is on the left leg.

So, what i want to ask you is that is there some specific shots for which the players use an option A or option B???or is it just whatever one wishes to do??

or better to ask if it is just due to lack of time that they do that that is not rotating their hips and staying on the right leg or maybe they could not get to the ball earlier???

I am really confused and dont even know if my question made sense but i really need to know this. actually tell me which one should i opt for?? and when to use which one??

waiting for the answer

bye,
faraz

[John Yandell]

faraz,

I think you can stop stressing about it. In my opinion if you take care of the feet and the shoulders the hips will take care of themselves. I honestly can't tell from your descriptions which forehands you mean. Do this. Copy the URL from the Stroke Archives page and paste it in. If you give me a few examples I will comment on them directly.

John Yandell

[visit_faraz]

the video clips are in this post. John.

okay. this clip shows the forehand that i described in option A. option A forehand

In this forehand agassi's entire weight is on his right leg and the right leg is fully straight, when he is hitting and his left leg is in the air.


the other clip i.e. option B. option B forehand

In this clip agassi's left leg is firmly on the ground and straight as he hits the forehand.

so could you please tell me why this difference and is there some specific purpose to this or some specific shots which he wants to hit maybe he chooses one of these when he is about to rip a winner .

I have seen many players do this sometimes option A & sometimes B.

So i am confused as to which one should i focus on or maybe when to hit which one.

please reply soon

bye,
faraz

[visit_faraz]

i just read the step ,step ,rip article by michael friedman. and the option B forehand that i am talking about is the step, step, rip style. So does agassi use this only when he wants to hit winners. and otherwise he hits the option A forehand.

Am i right??

was i able to describe properly the forehands . and could you please explain to me which to use when.

bye,
faraz

[John Yandell]

fraz

I still need to see some urls.

john

[visit_faraz]

click on the option A and OPtion B forehand to see the clips.

okay. this clip shows the forehand that i described in option A. option A forehand
In this forehand agassi's entire weight is on his right leg and the right leg is fully straight, when he is hitting and his left leg is in the air.


the other clip i.e. option B. option B forehand

In this clip agassi's left leg is firmly on the ground and straight as he hits the forehand.

so could you please tell me why this difference and is there some specific purpose to this or some specific shots which he wants to hit maybe he chooses one of these when he is about to rip a winner .

I have seen many players do this sometimes option A & sometimes B.

So i am confused as to which one should i focus on or maybe when to hit which one.


the option B is the same as the step, step , rip. as written michael friedman.
So does agassi use this only when he wants to hit winners. and otherwise he hits the option A forehand.

please reply soon

bye,

[visit_faraz]

i have attached a pic of the option A forehand i am talking about. In this pic you can see the position of sampras doing it.

[John Yandell]

faraz,

First of all I always reply as quickly as I can. Asking me to reply sooner is not going to make it any faster. So please be more polite.

Second, I can see now what you are asking about. Good job there. The clips are clear and there is no big mystery. The difference is in the ball height.

The similarity is the coiling with the back leg and with the shoulders. Although I'm sure there are some that will disagree, my opinion is that the upward swing to the higher ball naturally causes the player to uncoil more upward and into the air. On the low ball the player naturally stays lower. I'd work on the Turn the Coil and the finish and let the rest happen. Don't try to jump or throw your hips thru the shot. Those are more consequences than causes.

[visit_faraz]

still a little confused.

Hi,
sorry if i have offended you in any way. but i am just used to writing --- "please reply soon" in any sort of letter where i expect a reply. it was just a sort of my practice in letter writing , just that. still, very sorry.

and i really cant believe if it is really that simple. I mean just a change in ball height can make such a difference. I mean in one forehand they stay on the back leg and in the other weight is transferred from the back leg to the front and this is just due to height.

actually i was thinking that maybe they do this to stop their lateral movement.i.e. since they are moving towards the right and then to suddenly move their weight forward , maybe they have to use it as a brake

Well, anyways could you tell me what should i tell my students to do .i.e. should i tell them to transfer their weight to the front leg or should they stay on their back leg.

thanks for the reply.

[John Yandell]

No problem, but as you can imagine I get many requests for many things. Consideration is important.

Again, I think what you should be emphasizing is the back leg set up and the turn. The transfer to the front foot should be conscious when the player hits neutral stance. That of course presupposes you teach that and also some type or reasonably mild grip. If you look thru the clips you'll see that if the ball is low or the players want to hit on the rise, they will step in with the front foot. Normally in the open stance the weight will just naturally go to the front foot after the hit--if the ball isn't super high. If the ball is a lot higher or they are trying to top the hell out of it, then you may see the back foot come around and thru.

Mike F. has correctly identified some of these patterns and you can study them and follow them. And I really really agree that the players need to keep their feet moving. You asked my opinion however and I feel that in many cases if not most teaching too much rigid structure and following nmechanical hip and footwork patterns regardless of the ball can be quite counterproductive.

If you want it to be more complicated you'll have to make it that way yourself. What I see in observing a lot of lessons is that the problems with footwork and body position after the hit stems from problems before the hit.

I'd highly recommend the articles on the Modern Forehand in the Advanced Tennis section, because they show the preparation phase in so much detail as well as talk about the relationship between the Turn and the back leg set up.
Think it will help your thinking a lot.

[visit_faraz]

thanks John

Thanks John for your knowledgable reply and for patiently answering my queries.

bye,
faraz

[John Yandell]

No probelmo. good luck with your students!