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From: FYB2007
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  • Hey, to anybody who is willing to answer/read this comment, I have a question about modern form.

    When an older coach (he hits classic) was looking at my form, he told me to not raise the my racquet head above the point of contact ever, but when a younger coach (college student, modern style) looked at it, he told me the opposite, saying that starting my backswing with the racquet head higher would help to generate racquet head speed.

    What's your opinion?

  • @rebelian7 I'd go with the younger coach's opinion, just be careful not to have the take back too long otherwise you might end up hitting many balls late and I recommend watching the 'Improve your forehand in 45 minutes' video from FYB, you can get it by subscribing to the e-mail newsletter on their site, if I remember correctly. Hope this helps :)

  • Do you just use the same grip? And which?

  • @sejfyr22 If your grip ranges from eastern to western you should be capable of using the WW FH without any trouble. The grip you use determines how easy it is to brush up on the ball vs hitting through, the swingpath determines how much % of the racquet head speed you generate is directed towards the spin you generate or pace that you hit with. Hope this helps :)

  • Now im going to fade out lol thats cool.

  • can you use a eastern grip with the WW forehand?

  • @puntzpatz007 Yes.

  • this windshield Wiper is a total bullshit, look at the professionals if you want to learn something, such as Federer, Jockovich

  • @autovlru that's in a completely different league you're talking about. This is a basic technique and some pro's actually do use this. And its spelled djokovic.

  • can u use the windshield wiper forehand with any kind of grip? to be more clear, can i use the WW forehand with a semi-western grip??

  • @Y3ll0wBr1anPass10n yes, almost all good modern players use semi western grip, and pretty much all of them use WW forehand, although they dont think of it that way, they just think of it as a forehand haha.

    so in short yes, semi western with WW forehand is what almost all good players use.

    so the short answer is yes, almost all good modern players 

  • so... can you use an eastern grip with the windshield wiper swing? can you use a semi western grip with a classic forehand?

  • Mr will, about the windshield wiper forehand, a bent arm or straight arm at contact is better?

  • @TennisRocks01 Large part of the pros use a bent arm because it allows them to control the point of contact better, but the straight arm focuses more on power and is rarely used by pros although it works well for Nadal and Federer. Federer's forehand is often either very good or misfires a lot because of this but not Nadal because he hits with so much spin, not that Federer hits with much less but he definitely puts more emphasis on pace than Nadal. In short you can use either bent or straight.

  • @TennisRocks01 It's sort of a Control vs Power scenario. Hope this helps :)

  • Thank you for these videos, they are the most detailed tennis videos and are the best.

  • why are you choking up your a big boy

  • isnt this the same as top spin fh?

  • i use the windshield wiper forehand when the ball is higher to hit with a classic forehand... is that right?? it just works well

  • DO YOU SAY PENETRATE

  • boringggg

  • Nice, I am gonna try this next time on the court. Thanks.

  • hitting the bottom of the fence and loosing pace after the first bounce? If you whip your forehand and try to produce spin you should be hitting the top quater of the back fence, that ball you hit is flat.

  • So clear, so logical.

  • this most helpful video i have ever watched.

  • will, i love your videos soo much and my game has improved ten fold because. my forehand is nice but im loosing time on teh take back any suggestions

  • If there is one thing I absolutely love, it's to stroke fuzzy yellow balls.

  • Is there is a difference in grip between the classic and windshield wiper forehands?

  • i might need some help.. people tell me i have a big back swing.. .and they mean big. and they tell me its probably 80% of the reason why my shots dont go in as much as it should.. any help?

  • is he playing eastern forehand?

  • Comment removed

  • @haedulus He appears to be using more of a semi-western grip on the WINDSHIELD WIPER examples. I froze it at 5:43 where his racket hand is in front of him, and his racket face is more closed (facing the court). If it was more eastern, the face would be more perpendicular to the court. 5:44 shows when he's drawn the racket back and is ready to drop. Note where his knuckle and base of his palm are. They seem to be about the 4th bevel, maybe even between that and a full western. My guess..

  • Thanks

  • x24BMX24x cuz not everyone lives in countries that have four seasons... r u that retarded?

  • your explanations are always the BEST I can't catch on web (and also from real teachers)! Thanks & Regards!!!!!!

  • will i grow taller if i play tennis regularly ?

  • Andy Roddick does this too much!!!

  • Will, my FH is horrible(so bad I had to switch to a 2HFH). I use an eastern grip and always hit flat shots long. I also have a habit of bringing the racquet over my head which produces a lot of unnecessary topspin. This works great for doubles because it makes really short angles. For singles though, the ball always gets smashed in my face. Any suggestions?Thanks in advance.

  • can somebody please explain me the difference between the traditional top spin forehand where the swingpath ends over your shoulder and the windshild wiper forehand?

    whats the pro´s and con´s or is it the same?

    thx!

  • @bingobongo0711 the difference between the traditional top spin forehand and the

    WW forehand is that your swing paths are completly different. the traditional is a relatively horizontal shot, aka your swing goes back but then does not go down then up nearly as much as the WW forehand, the pros of the traditonal is that you will get more power, but the con is less consistancy, the pros to the WW forehand is its more consistant, but less power hope this helped!! :)

  • it seems like roddick is hitting all the time a whiper windshield. is that correct?

  • @bingobongo0711 his forehand is much more due to his extreme grip which adds a ridiculous amount of top spin to the ball, not technique so much.

  • thanks for this tips!

    i'm going to try this next week!

  • WILL, I AM 14 YEARS OLD. I HAVE GOOD FUNDAMENTALS BUT SOMETIMES I DONT CATCH THE BALL WITH THE MIDDLE OF THE STRINGS. WHAT I NEED TO DO TO STOP FRAME THE BALL??? ANSWER PLEASE, sry for my bad english!

  • @serbtennnis3 you might wanna watch the ball lol :)

  • @serbtennnis3 i think u should look at the ball closely so that your contact point is at the correct spot..this was said by my coach to me..when i always hit on the frame..

    i hope i help you ^_^

  • @23remoh Thanks a lot!

  • @serbtennnis3 It's basically a consistency issue. Watch the ball more and get to the ball earlier. Watch the ball until it makes contact with your racket, then keep your eyes on the contact point until you finish your swing. Work on your footwork and timing, so that you make contact with the ball in the same position relative to your torso, as much as possible. If there is a lot of variation in your contact point, then there will be less consistency in your shots.

  • @serbtennnis3 I'm not a tennis instructor, but you might want to keep your head down for an extra sec, even after you hit the ball. Watch a video of federer, he's good at this, he keeps his head down well after the ball has left the strings.

  • @serbtennnis3

    Point at the ball with your left arm (if you are right handed) and don't loose from your sight until contact. This should help, everything else is practice practice practice :)

  • @serbtennnis3 Try Changing Your Grip. The Motion In which You Hit The Ball Also Matters, and of course Your Timing.

  • @serbtennnis3 u just need to focus and take your time.

  • @serbtennnis3 You need to watch the ball as close as possible. You also need the ball around eye level when you can get it there - bend your knees. You could also film your forehand and see what you need to do with your wrist: Is your racquet completely parallel to the floor? If it is, you need to make it more "open", so the ball has much more chance of hitting the strings instead of the frame. Someone like Federer hits his forehand with a very open face, have a look at his. Hope this helped!

  • @serbtennnis3

    bend your knees and hit up on the ball. Make sure you position yourself correct.

  • @serbtennnis3 where are you from?

  • @TheComicalUsername From Serbia, But Love Roger :)

  • @serbtennnis3 oh wtf me too! except i like djokovic

  • @TheComicalUsername look at the pros, they ALWAYS watch the ball onto the racquet.

  • @MrOssumAnt what the hell are you talking about? when did i say anything about watching the ball?

  • @TheComicalUsername oh sorry, I was meant to say it to someone else. nvm :P

  • @MrOssumAnt oh hahaha its fine i was just confused d:

  • @serbtennnis3 Most likely your eyes aren't focused enough on the ball leading to your head to move during a stroke and thus not letting you get a clean contact point. Or you're brushing too much up on the ball and not hitting through the ball enough while hitting the WW FH.

  • great video!

    is this the normal top spin forehand? seems to be different in terms of the swingpath. in an top spin forehand wouldn´t you start much lower under the ball and would end by having your racket over the shoulder? this windshild wiper forehand seems to me much more appropriate for an attack shot closer to the net, where you want to put a bit more top spin on the ball for net clearance but on the same time don´t want to hit it to far to the back line, maybe some short cross court ball.

  • wow, now I know why I have been doing this wrong...this man is good!

  • i thought that was topspin??

  • online asian wives #lushfmlk.info#

  • For examples you guys should check out Richard Gasquet's forehand.

  • @nendzzz Go check out KEI NISHIKORI also.... he is a big time western user and also wiper user.......

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  • I think his mommy still dresses him, do your button up and fix your collar!

  • I just want to know why anybody would wear short shorts like you? No disrespecting its your style but im just wondering why, if your not gay then you dont need to be showing off your legs to anyone and nobody wants to see your legs. This is the stuff thhat people stereotype on about tennis. Short shorts, men hitting balls, and gay dudes. I play tennis and i dont wear short shorts, why do people wear them then? Just wondering

  • so basically, this is a forehand forcing topspin (brushing up on the ball)... a shot tacked on with the name "windshield wiper forehand," makes it sound more complicating than it really is, but the speaker explained the mechanics well, clearly and simply

  • In a line follow through you have very small risk of hitting with the frame, however with this type of follow through the risk is much higher.. how do you eliminate this? I have a student that uses the windshield wiper forehand but very often hits with the frame of his racket.. thanks

  • What grip is he using?

  • what if i have a western ??

  • @cjppsb123 you can still do the same thing, just make sure u can see through the strings at all times, it might be a little harder for you though, you might want to consider learning the nadal forehand

  • @nabindahouse i based my forehand off nadals

  • MY FAVORITE FOREHAND TO USE XD nice vid :)

  • so me again nadal is so guilty. doing windshield wipers. the only thing is he makes his racket go more diagonal (i can still see true it) and gets his racket up to his head to add more spin. ill start it easy since im not a lefty. but do you have any tips to become a lefty faster, cause i love tennis but since i got an injury right handed play is shut down, and i wanna be high leveled again soon so maybe. this is quit a weird question but, how do i become a lefty real fast? and once again thx!!!

  • this is what nadal does right? i've this bad injury on my right wrist s i tried playin with my left hand doing that i could only hit -with a semi western grip- slow balls so i tried copying nadal cuz he is a lefty (u know that ofc.) the point is it didnt work out as i hoped (i got it right some times) this might be the key. anyways thx for the vid this was my subscribe and im now gonna watch a nadal slowmotion vid too chek this out im pretty darn exicted thx to you :)

  • which level? oh yeah, the next level!

  • Hi Will! First of all, i got to thank you for your great explanations of how to play a great tennis! But, I'm here to ask you, just for curiosity, wich grip you use in your forahand? We, viewers, are always seeing you explaining, and seeing some of your pratical explanations, but we're not seeing how is your game, in fact, what i wanna say is, wich are your choices in your game. The grip, for example, wich grip you use in your game to hit a forehand? Grtz from Portugal

  • will i gotta ask how would u extend as far as u can as u would for a classic forehand, while hitting with as much topspin as the windsheild wiper. my coach said when i hit i would be adding too much topspin by swinging too veritcally. how do the pros extend as far as they can while adding the mind-boggling spin? whats your take?

  • Hi will ; what kind of forehand and grip nadal uses?becuse his forehands seems like a combination of both forehands ; awesome work greetings and thx from peru :D

  • @luiskateruardo I think Nadal hits with a semi-western right now.

  • u sound like a douche.

  • good video.. this forehand is more like nadals's forehand.. thx i'll try it on court!

  • Hey Will is this at memorial park in houston?

  • Your balls can penetrate my court anytime you want.

  • Hey thanks a lot for these videos, they have helped me coach myself from just starting out and knowing nothing but what I watch on television to being a legitimate, quality player.

    Is it a bad thing that I've basically been using the windshield wiper forehand throughout my career? I modeled my forehand off Rafael Nadal which looked like the majority of the motion in the forehand is upward as oppose to through the ball, but I'm not sure if a less experienced player should just stick to basics.

  • good work!

  • FYB i just love your videos, they are informative and are also really helpful. :D

  • hey i use a continental grip and i create alot of topspin do you think i should keep on using this grip?also how come not that many experienced players i know dont use continental grip?

  • I have two big questions and please give me the answers:

    1) why the doesn't winshield wiper backhand exist?

    2) why we must be in the open stance at forehand and we must be in the neutral stance?

    P.S. sorry for my poor english

    !!!please answer my questions!!!!!!!!!!

  • Andy Murray uses the "windshield wiper" quite often, but mostly ends up short and easy for the opponent to hit back HARD

  • Great job. I really like your video and the explanation of the game. Keep it up.

  • this american freek is taking tennis so serious

    its just a sport, u people try to make money out of nothing

  • @f11R2 what is ur definition of serious exactly? hes taking his time to help out people and give them well thought out instruction

  • @f11R2 You're a donkey! Tennis isn't "just a sport" for some people - its their life purpose :) Its one of the fastest growing sports in America too. I have friends who are tennis coaches and I'll hopefully be one by the end of next month too. There is good money in tennis coaching. Although you only get around 10 hours per week, you get £20/hour which is great money. Sure beats the hell out of working as a shop assistant or waiter for minimum wage!

  • so again, why did you call me a donkey

    I didnt get it

  • Will, its great to see how popular FYB has become. I was watching your videos back when you would have 2 or 3 comments on a video. Im from the UK, I used to be an ok player but I didn't know any fundementals or methods but after watching your videos I've become quite a good player, all my shots have improved greatly. Thanks for putting so much effort into your videos. :)

  • hi will, i was wondering after watching your videos, i compared roddick's bent elbow forehand to federers. A friend of mine ssaid that i hit my forehand like roddicks and force excess topspin like his forehand during 05-08. He suggusted that i extend as far as possible, meaning hit with a straighter arm for more power into my forehand. Is this true? i'm having trouble endding points with my current forehand, its consistent, i can't dictate points with it

  • If you want to become a GREAT MATCH PLAYER go to my channel ( 2knowfun2 ) and watch two videos: World class tennis (part1/2) and (part2/2) . My two videos will teach you how to become a great match player... my two tennis videos have covered pretty much everything that is important in tennis...from "how to hit high quality groundstrokes" to "match play"... Everything important about tennis is compressed in my two tennis videos... Watch and become a Great match player

  • Is this at IMG

  • whats the difference between them???

  • Thanks for the vid, very well explained

  • Great video, but I have to laugh at how inaccurate the subtitles are..."it now becomes natural from Iraq it to release" lol

  • Congratulations, your videos are quite professional. I have used your explainations working with high perfomance juniors with very good results. Is the best approach to a kind of "cientific tennis" ever. Keep feeding us with videos, please.

  • of all the guys they could pick for the video they chose a left hander !!!! maroons .. FAIL

  • @Pandorum4000 Watch it in a mirror.

  • So on the windshield wiper forehand you still use the same fundamentals as far as the same turning of the body and stepping forward?

  • fabulous, dude

  • ... if you're doing this right you can generate a heck of a lot of racquet head speed. Now, add that torsional action into a full swinging forehand and that torsional "whip" will be added to the racquet head speed generated through the body rotation / arm swing. Watch one of the Federer slo-mo clips and you'll see the ridiculous amount of torsional action he adds to the swing. The Windshield path just represents this torsional rotation.

  • Very good description of the windshield wiper forehand (WWF) here, but he's missing the key mechanical difference in this stroke vs. the classic forehand. It's essentially a pro-nation motion, similar to the torsional action of the arm for a properly hit serve, that provides the additional spin and pace to the shot. Try a drill - hold a racquet to your side with a straight arm. Now, try to hit a forehand as hard as you can, without swinging your arm, rather through torsional rotation...

  • Is the grip of th Classic Forehand and the grip of Windshield Wiper Forehand the same? You are using Eastern Forehand if i am not wrong.

  • Will Hamilton is invisible .. Just letting you know.

  • The grip that you are using in this demostration is actually the size you use ?? is not too small ?

  • 6:25...so, this ball really penetrates the court... LOL? xD

  • Ok. I can hit those , no problem! You dont really hit winners with this shot (WW) . Its not hard to hit...western or semiwestern grip, hit the ball early (in front of you), works well for high bounce balls, but not much power. Good margin of error. I get to hit different shots with different grips and movements. If i get the grip slightly wrong then the shot is no good. So...do you stick to one type of grip and shot or do you change grip and swing and shot randomly?? how do the pro's do it?

  • i totally didnt know anything about the windshield wiper....so thank u for this informative video...NOT

  • What I don't like about the classic forehand is that it is harder to hit if someone is giving you high bouncing topspin shots, better for low balls. The WW forehand does allow you to make sharper angles. I try to do a kind of hybrid and it works for well for me.

  • Hey Will. The WW forehand is a very good rally ball because you get much more variation and leeway but do you still stick to it when you want to hit a powerful winner?  The WW forehand is good and all but its significantly harder to generate power on it.

  • @mikenger

    Speaking of myself, I used a modified windshield wiper motion to hit all my flat balls and being aware of how Nadal or Federer hits their shots, I must tell you that it's not unusual.

    What ever the grip you have, there 3 things you must do to hit an attacking ball this way:

    1- change your swing path and make it more horinzontal;

    2- get in your shot: you must let your arm go all out;

    3- in your follow-through, you want to end-up like Federer and wrap your chest with your arm.

  • 'half the pace"

    I think that's a huge exaggeration. The fact is, Rod Laver and Jimmy Connors would easily be in the top 10 today.

    But the point is, if you're starting out, you'll do better with a classic forehand. And avoid anything fancy. In tennis, what you're striving for is consistency. By hitting shots with a lot of wrist, like this windshield stuff. Your consistency is gonna go down.

  • I disagree strongly. I'm sure you've heard before the tragectory of your conventional topspin shots: it is hit up and the spin brings it down. That is how you get the ball over the net: over the net, then onto the court. When you're advanced enough to hit a windshield wiper forehand, you can achieve more spin potential. If you're talking about mishitting the ball, then obviously you're not good enough to hit a windshield wiper forehand yet. I'm no master of this shot myself, so I stay classic.

  • I wrote a lot of stuff. If you could specifically explain to me what it is you so strongly disagree about, maybe I could explain myself.

    But what I'm getting at is basic fundamentals. You can't go wrong with that. I can hit this windshielshield wiper thing, but why? I get all the topspin I need, plus control with a basic low to high stroke. Read any tennis manual. You'll never read anything about some windshield wiper stuff.

    Beware of new fads, and stick to the basics.

  • @theriokid lmfao I get whut your syaing and all, yea more consistancy doign the basic stuff, buh lyke Roger said, " There is no finish line." If yu juss stick with the basics, it's not good. Yu have to learn mroe fancy stuff and keep on going improving the consistancy on new things yu learn, never stick tio the basics, once yu got the basics move onto fancy stuff.

  • You guys don't seem to understand that tennis is a fast and furious, very complicated sport thats about quick reactions. Once you start adding windshield here, classic there, you start making an already complicated sport more complicated. and then what happens? Errors and bad habits, Jimmy Connors was the most basic player I've ever seen. racket straight back, straight thru. And he made it to the semis at the USO at 39! So why add ww crap when you're already winning with the classic game?

  • Buh yu dun't understand the fact that in lyfe yu can try so many things -.- So lets say a perso playing with the classic forehands and he practice that lyke a million times. He trys Windshield wiper forehand and MAYBE that forehand is better for that person? God yu gotta know, everyone has their own way of playing and if they try new forehand and it works better tahn their old one then wth? So if he trys WW forehand and it doesnt work out then he'll stick with his old one.

  • Yes, try different things, but some things are bad. i can see that shot is bad. By whipping that topspin you're going to mis hit a lot, the shot is also bad for your wrist, and you're gonna break more strings than normal. Also, it's a tough shot to hit when you're under pressure because it increases your margin for error.

    Whether you hit the shot or not, those are facts.

  • omfg yur such a retard seriously. I understand what yu are trying to say and all, buh stop being stupid. Listen. Read this slowly if yu have to understand. IT DOESN'T HURT TO TRY NEW THINGS. IF YU STICK WITH OLD THINGS IN YOUR LYFE YUR BLOCKING MANY DOORS IN YUR LYFE. Even if this forehand turns out abd YU CAN JUSS SWIITCH BACK TO THE BASICS IN LESS THAN A SECOND. IT DOESN'T HURT TO TRY A NEW TENNIS STROKE LYKE WOW.

  • Okay, first off, before you start calling people stupid, LEARN HOW TO FUCKIN SPELL!!! It's not LYKE, OR LYFE, IT'S LIKE AND LIFE!!!

    Now read the first four words of my last post. I said something about trying different things. I guess you just missed that?

    How old are you, 5? You can't spell, you can't read. Your overall grammer is fucking shameless. Instead of tennis, try the 1st grade. Like you said, "try new things" I mean lyke totally wow!

  • Well thing is, you should know that i'm styll young, and it's the way people in this generation talk lately, so idonno why yur lyke spazzing about my grammar and crap. Yur obviously knowing your wrong to cahnge the subject. Yu said trying something new is bad yea yea Buh sadly, srwie to break it to ya, trying a forehand can't be bad. It might not work out for the first few times yu use it, so whuts the pain in that? And yu have some mental problems thinking a gr 1 can type lyke me.

  • are you trying a new approach to spelling? lmao, seriously. people take you a bit seriously if you can spell basic words correctly.

  • @theriokid Buh really, the basic topspin forehand in my opinion, Is muchh better than the windshield wiper forehand , buh it's good to learn both ya kno, it doesn't hurt to try x]

  • I think this WWF is hard to hit because it more likely to hit the frame, but I think it would be better if u just combinded it with traditional forehand half way. I think this forehand i say would created spin on the ball and also have power too.

  • r u kidding me? federer and almost all the pros use this forehand. do all of them have arm problems? i don't think so.

  • Feds a pro maybe he does, I dunno, but Pete Sampras and Ivan lendl had the two best forehands in the last 25 years and they were also technically sound: looped backswing, low to high follow through. You'd never see those guys try no windshield wiper crap, lol.

    Also, theres another disadvantage to hitting that shot: with that whipping topspin, you'll break a lot of strings.

    So stick to basic fundamentals and you'll not only keep your stringing bill down, your arm will be much happier too.

  • a couple decades ago tennis was half the pace is is now. and no, most pros on tour play with polys and can last through a whole set of racquets in one tournament. They'd probably only switch because of the tension dropping. Look at Roddick who i think is one of the heaviest topspin forehand hitters on tour. He uses the "windshield wiper" another reason why older players couldnt hit this much spin and pace was because they were swinging racquets that were 14 oz stock.

  • from the way you are hitting those ww forehands, how am i suppose to hit it from mid court and maybe even on the service line? Cause usually my shots are going out on those easy balls

  • Good video mate, I'll have to practice the WWF a little more.

  • Do you use the eastern grip or should I be holding it western?

  • I'm closer to an eastern. I'd recommend you stay away from a western. Semi-western works fine though.

  • You're using an eastern grip in these videos?  Looks extreme eastern, just wondering?

  • why do you recommend staying away from western?

    is it because the player is more susceptible to injury?

    that's what my friend's coach said.

  • well i have a westeren and i have won 3 tournaments and have never lost a singles match so far

  • after switching back to a traditional forehand to get more power, i switched back to WWFH but now, im hitting to high with good amount of topspin but its not going in the court. it always lands long, do you have any tips for this?

  • @FYB2007 Hey Will would you sell any of your nblades?

  • @FYB2007 will, i use the western and i'd like some of your opinion on the western cause i dont know if its best for me, though i do win matches w/ it

  • @FYB2007 I use semi as a default and western for big topspin

  • For the windshield wiper, i use it as my approach shot to the net, sometimes i use a full western grip which creates HUGE topspin when combined with a windshield wiper

  • Would this be a good shot to hit for high balls rather than the traditional forehand?

  • its very effective against balls that goes as high as your chest to your shoulder...you can hit a regular ball around the waist to the ribcage but to my experience its very effect against chest to shoulder balls =], hope that helps

  • VERY well explained. Great Video.

  • you couldnt have explained/demonstrated it any better. ill definitely try this the next time i play tennis. thx.

  • Comment removed

  • What can i say ? Awesome work, man, excellent ! :)

  • wow i have noticed a big difference in my matches using windshield thx