Do you struggle with that knock-out punch on your forehand down the line?
Well, I’ve got something fun to show you today.
Something that Rafa Nadal does that few people know about.
Hi, this is Jeff Salzenstein, USPTA Elite Professional and founder of Tennis Evolution
and I’m really excited to bring you today’s lesson, because I’m going to show you a fun, cool trick
on how you can use the buggy whip forehand finish
on your down the line forehand to completely dismantle your opponent.
So, let’s go ahead and get to that lesson right now.
Alright, the buggy whip down the line winner is a fun shot that you can develop.
Most of you out there are just swinging normally. That’s fine.
You can keep doing it on your down the line, you can go over the shoulder, or you can turn the hand.
When you’re on top of the baseline, and you swing fast with a lot of racket head acceleration
turning the hand is usually the better shot to hit, the better finish to use, when you go down the line.
Now, I like the buggy for a couple of different reasons.
First of all, I’ve watched Nadal very carefully, especially the last couple years
and his down the line buggy whip forehand is probably one of the best shots in the world, bar none.
And it’s the shot that can devastate opponents.
If you’re used to going cross-court and hitting this shot with a buggy whip
imagine what it’s going to look like and what it’s going to feel like
when you go down the line at the last second and your opponent can’t read it.
That’s why I like using the buggy whip down the line is that element of disguise.
So, let’s assume that you’re in a cross-court rally, and then all of a sudden, it’s time to hit the down the line.
You’re going to use the buggy whip finish, and you’re going to use the open stance footwork. Here we go.
I’m here
and you just can’t read that at the last second.
Most players, they’re going to think as soon as they see this
they think the ball is coming off the racket cross-court
but it’s actually going to be going down the line right by your opponent.
So, some of the things to look out for is, again, you want to be driving this ball first.
So, get out through the ball before you come back with your hand.
I like to finish with that hand above the forehead.
So, that’s a good little cue for me when I hit this shot:
my hand is above the forehead right above the head like this, tip of the racket is backed towards the fence
I’m in drive mode.
If I want to hook it and angle it, I go like this. If I want to drive it, I finish more like this.
Now
once you get the hang of this, you can let the hand go a little bit more.
So, you don’t have to keep the hand in that position.
You can swing, and then you can let your hand go
but make sure you get here first and then you bring it back slowly.
The mistakes players make is that they come here too fast.
Okay, so you’re going to hit, and you’re going to go slow. With the footwork, it’s simply coming out of the split step
and then a nice cross-over, a nice load, and then as you swing, you’re going to be shuffling the feet.
If it’s a higher ball, you’ll use the outside hop.
But this is generally a lower ball, where you’re going to stay low at the end.
So, I’m going to cross-over and load, and then I’m going to finish an open-stance.
Make sure that your chest and your shoulder is facing the direction of where you want to hit the ball.
So, I’m not going to over-rotate here, okay?
I’m going to keep my chest and my shoulders facing in the direction of where I want the ball to go
I’m going to finish in a wide base so I can push off and recover
I’m going to have my feet in a neutral position
knees bent, upper body upright, holding this position for my down the line winner.
Make sure that you aim just past the service line, and that you hit the ball through a lane.
I think that’s really important: to have a nice, safe lane to hit your down the line
and you don’t want to aim too deep, and you also don’t want to hit this ball too high over the net.
You want to hit this ball low enough over the net so that it gets to your opponent fast
so you can hit that winner, or create a forced error.
Now, this is a pretty advanced tip to help you with your down the line forehand
but if you’ve been struggling with it, I really want you to give this a try
because you’re going to clear the net, and you’re going to have more consistency and spin when you need it.
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