How To Hit Your Tennis Forehand Like Nick Kyrgios
How To Hit Your Tennis Forehand Like Nick Kyrgios
The forehand in tennis is the most important shot after the serve and return, many players struggle to generate effortless power with their forehands, but not Nick Kyrgios! Kyrgios has one of the biggest forehands on the ATP tour and can smash forehand winners at will. Kyrgios’ forehand is very unique, he has an unorthodox swing path and in this free video lesson, coach Simon Konov of Top Tennis Training will break down and analyse exactly what makes Nick’s forehand so effective.
Nick Kyrgios Forehand Grip
Nick uses a hybrid tennis forehand grip, between a semi-western and full western forehand grip. The grip plays a vital role in his swing, as you’ll learn in this lesson. There are three main elements of the Kyrgios forehand that we’ll look closely at
- The role of his right elbow in the swing and preparation phase.
- Where the tip of his racket is pointing during the swing.
- The unique swing path he uses.
The Elbow
Nick Kyrgios starts his forehand swing by lifting his right elbow up to shoulder height, very much like Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi who all used this method in the ’80s and ’90s. By lifting the elbow, the player creates space between the arm and body, space that gives the player more room to accelerate the racket head and also helps to stop the player from being jammed up at contact.
The Racket Tip
At the start of Nick Kyrgios’ forehand swing, the tip of his racket is pointing towards the net, down the court. This is different from players like Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka who will point the racket tip up to the sky at the start. When Nick reaches the back position, the racket tip will then point towards the right side of the court, increasing the range of motion in the arm and racket and allowing him to really crack the racket like a whip.
The Swing Path
Nick Kyrgios uses a very unique swing path on his tennis forehand, often he’ll use a high to low swing which is the exact opposite of what many coaches teach on the forehand, which is the low to high swing path which helps players generate topspin by brushing upwards on the ball.
