Forehand Lag and Snap - Tennis Forehand Lesson

Forehand Lag and Snap - Tennis Forehand Lesson. Should you snap your wrist on your tennis forehand? That is a question we get asked time and time again and in this video, Top Tennis Training coach Simon Konov will break down exactly what should and shouldn t be happening during your tennis forehand technique. Forehand lag and snap? There are quite a few video lessons online that advocate snapping the wrist during the contact zone on the forehand, which can be very misleading to the average tennis player who doesn t understand exactly what is meant to happen during the strike zone. Do tennis players snap their wrist on their tennis forehand? By using super slow motion footage, we can see exactly what the best tennis players in the world actually do. What happens is, prior to contact the racket will lag behind the grip of the racket and the hand/wrist, the wrist is laid back in wrist extension and will stay extended for the contact point for players who use the eastern forehand grip or the semi-western forehand grip. For players who use a western forehand grip, the wrist will start to return to a neutral position prior to contact which allows the strings to be facing towards their intended target. After contact the windshield wiper motion will start, this is where the tip of the racket starts to turn over from the right side of the body (for right-handers) to facing upwards towards the sky and then finally to the left side of the court. During this motion, the wrist will return to a neutral position, not a flexed position. If you "snap" the wrist during the contact zone and go from wrist extension into wrist flexion, you ll lose control of the shot and put a lot of stress on your wrist and elbow, which over time will most likely result in a serious injury. Being loose during the strike zone is very important and by doing so, you ll allow the wrist to return to its natural position, a neutral one. This works perfectly well with the windshield wiper action which will allow you to brush up the ball and generate a low to high swing path which is crucial for generating good levels of topspin but also net clearance.