I just got home after playing tennis, and I am absolutely feeling dejected. My backhand is a weapon. My serve and volleys are getting better. But my forehand is broken! I’ve completely lost confidence in it—I even run around the ball to hit a backhand instead. And if I have no choice but to hit a forehand, I do it without any pace. I just hope it goes over the net!
I was intentional about learning tennis. I purchased online courses, took plenty of videos of my technique, worked with a local tennis coach consistently for 2 years (about 3–4 times a week, 2 hours per session), hit with different players, and played plenty of matches. I even have a journal on what I learned, on how I played, etc.
What went wrong? I was taught the wrong forehand! The tennis coach I worked with was a high-level player, but looking back, I don’t think he was a good coach. Case in point—my backhand. My coach has a single-handed backhand, and since I wanted to stick with a double-handed one, I had to learn it myself while he fed me tennis balls. He tried teaching me a double hander but he looks like he doesn’t know what he is talking about! So I simply mimicked what I saw on YouTube or from local players and naturally developed the backhand motion.
It was different with my forehand. I guess all beginners start by learning the forehand, which was the case for me. He began by describing the different stages of forehand execution—from the start of the motion, to the take back, racket lag, contact point, and follow-through. “Draw a big letter C,” he would keep repeating to me.
As my game matured and I started playing with intermediate and high-level players, my forehand lacked natural motion. I was overthinking all the steps he taught me! Plus, I have a very exaggerated C-shaped takeback. If a tennis ball comes very fast, it’s hard to time it right when my mind is focused on drawing a C!
Now I have to unlearn my forehand and copy what I do with my backhand—a simple takeback and hit. Takeback and hit. One–two. It’s that simple!
To be fair, I blame myself on why my forehand is broken. I should have sought other coaches. I should have asked more questions.
I overcomplicated my forehand. Now I need to fix it.