Deontae Harper

Everyday day I ask myself why tennis is underrated and I never could get the best conclusion. Tennis is not an easy sport to play, especially when you are playing the right way. I would like for just anybody to come out and play tennis and master the sport like Rafael Nadal and Rodger Federer does. Now these guys can hit amazing shot none stop as if it was the easiest thing on earth. The way they make a forehand shot look so fantastic is phenomenal. The reason the tennis forehand shot is astonishing is because, it allows the player to maintain control over the game and their opponent, it is the most comfortable shot in tennis for most players to use when rallying during a match, and it blows your opponents’ minds with the different types of spin that you can apply to the ball.

For starters my favorite forehand shot is the running forehand shot because it allows me to apply tons more power to the ball then I would from a stable open stance forehand shot. For instance Russian tennis player Vera Zvonareva, who now holds the highest percentage of this shot in the women’s professional stats leads with only 47% out of 100, this shows the difficulty of the shot. Although I like this shot, this shot isn’t an easy shot to accomplish because, you have to keep your body balanced throughout the shot because if not you most likely will shank the ball out the court. One author explains that Vera says, “I like to use what I call a buggy whip swing with lots of upward and forward movement,” (Rolley 39).

There is a big component to the forehand shot that has a tendency to get overlooked. This component is the mental focus to hit the ball accurately, maintain control over the game and your opponent. I have the skill to do this when I choose to sometimes , but sometimes I just let my opponent get into my head and blow the match out of anger. Many people who have this skill wins outweigh the ones who have short tempers according to the stats of sports psychologist Sian Beilock: “A player who has this skill ask themselves after every point where am I going to play the next ball to either maintain or take control of the game.

Next is the comfortability of the forehand shot. Most players like to relax as much as possible when hitting this shot so that they would not mess up the shot due to tension in the body. No player like to hit a forehand that they will regret in a match because that’s usually where a player shines on the court while performing this shot. Whenever I drop a forehand into the net due to and correctable error that I mad I flat-out yell at myself for giving that point away. In comparison to my forehand shot a professional tennis players is exceptionally off the charts better than mine. Look at men’s professional tennis player Gael Monfils’ forehand, he has way more control and power than me. Gael stats that there is five basic components to the forehand shot that he uses, which are the Shoulders, Arms, Follow-through, Knees, and Feet. All these components to Gael Monfils’ forehand allows him to maximize the ultimate comfort ability that he needs to stay ahead of himself and the game. “ There’s the modern typical forehand, and there is Gael Monfils’ forehand,” says Tracy Austin.

Last but not least we have the spin to apply to the ball when striking a forehand shot. There are several different types of spin that you can apply to the ball. The common spin that most tennis players use is the basic topspin shot. A topspin shot means that you basically close the face of your racket and brush up on the backside of the ball to create that simple spin. “ I love to hit a deep topspin shot that hits the ground and takes off due to the spin which causes my opponents to struggle with their returns to this shot,” says outstanding tennis player Rafael Nadal ( Burwash 22 ). Another great spin to develop is this slice shot which simply means to cut through the ball, but at the same time push outward with the ball evenly. This also is a hard shot to hit because your timing has to be right and at the same time you must have the control to do it , but when you develop this shot you will become a much greater tennis player on both sides of the ball because this slice shot makes the ball leave the path of the opponents which plays in your favor most of the time.

In conclusion to my research over the diversity of the tennis forehand and how it enhances the positive outcome of the game, I would like to close with saying that with out the tennis forehand I think that the intensity in tennis would be taken out because only thing that’s left is the backhand and the serve. Although the backhand and the serve are big components in tennis, the forehand excels pass them because its more popular. The reason the tennis forehand shot is astonishing is because, it allows the player to maintain control over the game and their opponent, it is the most comfortable shot in tennis for most players to use when rallying during a match, and it blows your opponents mind with the several different types of spin that you can apply to the ball.