I´m going to cover some of the basics for beginner-intermediate players and by basics I mean gold! The forehand is a really popular stroke and something you want to hit well!

1. B A C K T O B A S I C S
T H E
F O R E H A N D
B Y R H O N D A C O S T A
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2. I'm going to cover some of the basics for beginner­intermediate players
and by basics I mean gold!
The Forehand is a really popular stroke and something you want to hit
well!
It’s typically cracking our 1st forehand that sends us over the moon about
tennis and all we want to do is figure out how to crack the next one.
You want to feel confident, balanced and in control. And further down the
line you’ll want to have it as a weapon.
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3. Grip
Stance
Shoulder rotation
Contact out in front
Extension
Finish
Let´s get moving!
I'll cover:
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4. 1# THE GRIP
The Grip we’ll cover is Eastern, where we literally shake hands with the racquet
and the racquet face is flat on contact.
This continues to be a great grip for beginner & intermediate players as it’s the
cleanest way to make contact with the ball. You can move your hand over from
there when you’re ready to start applying spin.
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5. Today’s debate? Open stance vs neutral stance. Modern tennis primarily teaches
open stance.
Hitting in neutral stance is a more traditional stance – that still applies!!
Neutral Stance Open Stance
2# THE STANCE
I prefer to teach neutral stance
to beginners as it helps them to
keep their balance, turn their
shoulders & understand weight
transfer moving forwards
through a shot.
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6. In ready position your
shoulders begin parallel to
the net, as the ball
approaches you have to turn
your shoulders
perpendicular to the net
while taking the racquet
back low. As you finish the
stroke your shoulders & hips
turn again to face the net.
Don’t forget to take the
racquet head back low, while
rotating the shoulders.
A full shoulder rotation is what gets
the hips turned giving you a good
source of control and power.
3# SHOULDER TURN
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7. Super important! And something I
see very little from players. Here’s
what it looks like in simple
terms. The non­dominant hand (left
for right handed players) set in front
of your body helps track, balance &
facilitate the shoulder rotation.
Yet again, basic yet gold! We see junior & professional players use it
without fail but getting adults to add this is a little bit trickier and takes some
convincing!
4# HITTING THE BALL OUT IN FRONT
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8. When I was a kid my coach used to
have me point at the ball out in front
and when it was close enough to catch
it, is when I had to hit it. This helped
develop the correct habit of hitting
the ball out in front of the body.
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9. Hitting the ball out in front allows for a nice full extension through the
ball. With long extensions you’re able to hit deep balls.
In tennis, you
always want
deep balls in the
court – not short
ones
Out in front Extension
5# THE EXTENTION
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10. 6# FINISH
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Lastly, keep it simple. Finish above the
opposite shoulder At the end of that shot
you should be able to kiss your bicep.
Now you’ve got hopefully clean contact
with a ball out in front ­ a beautiful long
extension and a deep ball in your
opponent's side of the court. What more
could you ask for?
As you progress you’ll move into more funky grips, topspin, windshield
wiper finishes, open stance and maybe even kick serves. But for now, keep
the game simple and learn the forehand technique well.

11. Tennis is already one of the
most athletically challenging
sports out there. It’s also called
a lifetime sport – for a reason.
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Rhonda Costa is the Tennis Director at
Costa del Tennis, a tennis company
based in the Canary Islands. Rhonda
lives in Spain, where she and the other
half of Costa del Tennis, Janaina,
continue to receive players from all
over the world, who return time and
again forging new friendships.