Above all, the following are important
Grip
The first step to hitting the ball correctly is the grip. When hitting forehand, there is quite a lot of force on the racquet during the bounce and rotation of the ball, so a stable and firm grip will break the resistance.
Position
It is best to stand fairly in the middle of the court to cover most of it. By standing in this position we have a chance to cover about 70% of the court with the forehand alone. Taking the starting position, the racquet should be in front of the body with the head pointing upwards. At the same time, the left hand supports the neck of the racket to stabilise the position.
Footwork is one of the most important elements in tennis.
For the forehand, you should position yourself sideways to the stroke.
Preparation
Before the ball reaches you, you should perform a "split step", i.e.: a jump in place muscle boost, which gives us the possibility to immediately change direction, no matter in which direction the ball will fly.
Once the ball is heading towards us, turn your upper body to the right. At this exact moment, the right hand with the racket is extended on a bent elbow.
Rotate the left hand until it is parallel to the service line. The left hand should be pointing at the incoming ball, and we also bend our knees so that we have something to release energy from for the hit. The gaze should be focused on the ball at all times.
Swing
The next step is to lightly carry the racquet away on the right side of the body. We try not to let the racquet go too far behind us, because then we lose valuable time to execute the stroke.
Hit
When the ball bounces off the court, then we are free to start hitting. At first, we slightly lower the racket to gain speed. A relaxed wrist is important.
While hitting, we turn our upper body to the left. In this way, we gain speed not only from the arm itself, but also from the whole body. We do not need to use a great deal of force when striking, but it is important that the technique is correct.
Contact point
In tennis, there is such a thing as "timing", which means hitting at the right time, not too early and not too late. Hitting in "timing" means that the place where the ball meets the racquet should be exactly in front of the body, not level or behind the body.
The distance to the ball must be optimal, a ball hit from very close will not perform technically because we will hit on a bent elbow... too large a distance will prevent us from hitting the ball with the centre of the racket, it will only allow us to flick the ball.
When making contact with the ball, the racket should be parallel to the net. When hitting a forehand with an overhead rotation, we hit as if, at the moment the racket makes contact with the ball, we lift the racket with a slight upward motion.
Always try to hit the ball with the centre of the racket so called: (sweet spot).
Continuation
After hitting the ball, continue the swing by bringing the racket behind you. It is important not to stop the racquet after contact with the ball, but to guide it away in such a way as to "close" the racquet's head.
