Two-handed Forehand Revisited

Although that Wimbledon is long gone, who will not forget that chirpy French girl who got to this years final, with an array of unusual strokes, but strokes that obviously worked.So it was nice to receive an article from Dave Smith author of Tennis Mastery with his views on her double-handed forehand, a shot that a few years ago he wrote about.
Four years ago, I wrote two articles on the two-handed forehand (The Two-Handed Forehand and the Two-Handed Forehand: Learning Tool—WEAPON) for TennisOne describing this unique stroke as both a learning tool and potential weapon for suitable players and within many learning situations. Those two articles continue to generate significant interest and dialogue among players, coaches and teaching pros alike! Similar to what we saw of the two-handed backhand of yesteryear, the two-handed forehand has been looked upon with a gamut of impressions and intrigue; among other things, its use has invoked slander and ridicule, interest and curiosity, acceptance and rejection by both those in the teaching arena as well as those who enjoy playing and watching tennis. With Marion Bartoli reaching the final of Wimbledon, (losing only to Venus Williams 6-4, 6-1), and beating the world’s number one player, Justine Henin, the world was reintroduced to the two-handed forehand, reminiscent of Monica Seles a decade and a half ago. Certainly, unless Bartoli, or any other two-hander, can continue to make it deep into the draws of significant tournaments such as Grand Slams, I doubt that too many people, let alone teaching pros, will take the two-handed forehand seriously. However, in my 35 years of teaching tennis, I have discovered the value and the potential of this fairly ‘unconventional’ shot.


It would be both erroneous and irresponsible of me to label the two-handed forehand as a shot that everyone should use, or a shot that is destined to be a common replacement for the conventional one-handed forehand as the two-handed backhand has done over the last thirty years for a high percentage of pros and recreational players. The one-handed forehand is a weapon for not just the pros, but most recreational players also do fine with hitting the traditional forehands usually with a relatively high degree of success and minimal difficulty in hitting an effective one-handed forehand. However, it is not only common to discover many players who find difficulty with the conventional one-hander, but also, after seeing the pros use the shot at the world-class level of play, it certainly is not the limiting shot that so many uninformed pros and players claim it to be. Let’s consider that if the pros can use it at the speeds associated with professional-level of world-class competition, then certainly the average Jane and Joe at the local club or city tennis courts should be able to execute the shot within the parameters of play in those locales with relative success as well. In addition, those who indeed learn tennis with a two-handed backhand, are already conditioned to use two hands and execute movements relative to those associated with two-handed strokes.Perception on the Teaching CourtInevitably, a student who asks their teaching pro if they should or could learn the two-handed forehand (presumably after seen the pros hit it or reading about it in articles such as this one!), the common reply by many pros is: “Why would you want to learn THAT?” They usually add their take on the stroke as being limiting, weak, a ‘girly shot’ and other subjective and usually negative thoughts. It is not uncommon to discover that the vast majority of teaching pros have never even tried teaching the two-handed forehand. And, it is even more uncommon to have a pro offer to teach something they know nothing or very little about. We encountered the same level of distaste for the two-handed backhand in the early 70’s. Common remarks heard about that shot included: “There is no reach” and “It’s a woman’s backhand.” Even after Borg, Connors and Evert demonstrated that the two-handed backhand could indeed be taken to the highest level it was still a shot that would take nearly 20 years before acceptance bore out a significant number of pros who would emerge using it. Consider that tennis-legend Jack Kramer labeled the two-handed backhand in the early 1950’s as a shot that “Limits your power and gives your opponent a psychological advantage.” It is not uncommon to hear pros label the two-handed forehand in the same light. Even the great Wayne Bryant said this about the two-handed forehand: “Don’t want it, don’t need it.” Where Bryant may have trained his twin boys, Mike and Bob to become the world’s best doubles team, I suspect he has not had many opportunities to train hundreds of young children. If he had—and if he had tried teaching the two-handed forehand for any period of time—he would have seen that the two-handed forehand offers not just a tool for many to master the forehand, but he would recognize that many simply do better with the shot. Less wrist, more stable swing pattern, a repeatable, reliable swing path, emphasis on better footwork and less lazy tendencies are just a few of the stroke characteristics that make the stroke valuable to a large number of beginners and players looking to improve an existing—but flawed forehand stroke. As many saw at Wimbledon last month, the two-handed forehand is not just a stroke for beginners or to improve an existing flawed forehand, (even though both these applications are excellent uses of the shot, too!). One of the beauties of the shot at the pro level is in the ability to take balls on the rise earlier as well as direct balls down the line with an aggressive stroke. Certainly the stroke discipline, the ability to reproduce the same stroke pattern—a staple of pro-level swings—is facilitated at this level too. Today, we are finding more and more top ranked juniors using a two-handed forehand. Obviously, I am not the only one promoting or developing this shot! Many Asian players can be seen using the shot and even here in the United States, we are seeing many top-ranked junior players developing the shot In addition to Bartoli, China’s Peng Shuai, Japan’s Akiko Nakamura, and France’s Fabrice Santoro are just a few of the two-handed forehanders on both tours.
I don’t believe we will see the shot make as big of difference in the game as the two-handed backhand has done over the past thirty years. However, if what we are seeing both at the junior level as well as what we are seeing today at the pro level, people can’t dismiss this shot much longer!Dave Smith author of Tennis Mastery