Will Hamilton: I want to talk about the amount of shoulder rotation you get during the windshield wiper forehand.
Because, you are going to turn a little bit more on a windshield wiper then you would on a classic forehand. And, one of the reasons for that extra shoulder turn is that it allows you to decelerate the racquet smoothly.
On my classic forehand which is over to my right, when I hit, I bring the racquet up over my shoulder. And, because the racquet is over my shoulder, I can get behind me; it gives me a decent amount of time to slow the racquet down.
But on the windshield wiper, if I hit and then I stop rotating, the racquet and my arm are going to run into me, into my body, because I'm turning over and finishing low. So, what I need to do, my windshield wiper is over to my left here, is continue my upper body rotation and get my racquet to my other side, my right side in this case, as I'm a lefty. And, because the racquet is off to my side, I can get it behind me and give myself more time to decelerate the racquet.
So, if we now click to the side view, again same split screen relationship. On the classic forehand, the racquet comes up over my shoulder and it gets behind me, so I can decelerate it without having to turn because the racquet is over my shoulder. But on the windshield wiper, again as I hit and follow through, I need to continue rotating, so I get my racquet and my arm to my side, and give myself more time and space to decelerate the tennis racquet smoothly.
One final point I want to make about the windshield wiper forehand is that you can still hit this shot if you are unable to continue your shoulder rotation. But, you have to change your follow through and hit what's called a Reverse forehand. You are probably familiar with it because Nadal hits it all the time.
What happens is the mechanics of shot are the same as you swing up and make contact. But then as you follow through, instead of turning over, the racquet is going to release over your head, and that will give you some space and extra time to decelerate the racquet and again, not force you to essentially hit yourself, and have an uncomfortable follow through.
Behind me here, we've got a clip of me hitting a reverse forehand and as I come out hit again, because I can't rotate, my footwork in this case has prevented me from positioning myself in a way that allows me to continue my rotation. As I follow through, instead of turning over, the racquet releases over my head, and that's going to give me, like I've just said, more time and more space to decelerate the racquet smoothly.
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