Develop a good forehand backswing

underspinTopspin wrote: Hi All, Over the years I have developed a nasty habbit of not taking proper backswing to prepare forehand loop. Instead of rotating with hips and waist I tend to bring back (and also sometimes up) my elbow. As you can imagine - this really messes the forehand consistency, but also seems incredibly hard habbit to break. I think I know what to do when having a chance to practice at the table, but looking for advices for drills at home. Do you have suggestions on drills or exercises without table to develop good hip and waist rotation and also help to ingrain it into muscle memory?

hi underspin

I would suggest start with the feet and basic fh first:-
Righthander
assuming you are crouching in ready position facing opponent with both toes facing forward, when the ball comes put your right knee and shoulder behind the line of the incoming BALL and bring your head close to the contact point (this helps to lower the centre of gravity and bring the rest of the body Into position), so that your weight is on what is now your back foot. executing wil mean using the legs to drive weight upward and forward.

Doing this is the vital prep for both counter and loop shot and will help a lot.
Probably yr right foot which is now pointing to the side should be about in line with the heel of the front (left foot)
Note that this is a very open stance. To get into a completely a completely sideways stance before stroking is a mistake.
Getting the right knee and shoulder in a comfortable position behind the line of the ball is essential.
A good drill is to have somebody block you to 3 positions continuously

eg:
BH, Middle, Fh, Middle, BH... continuous
and practice warmup forehands from each position, lining up correctly with shoulder and knee each time. Because you will be going side to side this will develop your stance in both directions.
If done correctly You should feel that though you are only playing a gentle counterhit that you have the potential to throw your weight into a full drive or kill at any time.
If you do a full drive that is when you might become more sideways as you throw your weight forward    

good luck

Edited by pingpongpaddy - 05/25/2023 at 4:02pm

Hi All,