The star of last year’s U.S. Open shows off her sweet swing.
1. Contact
Oudin’s contact point is perfect. When searching for the ideal contact point, think about comfort. You don’t want to have to reach for the ball. Instead, your arm should be loose and slightly bent at the elbow, as Oudin shows here. You don’t want to let the ball crowd you, either. Oudin makes contact out in front and brushes up on the ball as she hits through it. She hits this ball dead center on the W of her racquet strings.
2. Feet
Oudin hits from an open stance, but she’s hardly back on her heels. To hit a killer forehand, you have to throw your weight into the shot, as Oudin does here. In other words, the old rules of tennis still apply. It’s tempting for club players to see the open stance as a quick fix that will make bad habits, like leaning back while swinging, irrelevant. It’s not that simple. Balance and weight transfer are musts.
3. Shoulders
On great forehands, the shoulders lead the way. Oudin began with her left shoulder pointed toward the net. At contact, her shoulders are parallel to the baseline and her body faces straight ahead. You can see from the flex in her right bicep and deltoid that she’s rotating through the shot with great speed.
4. Left Arm
Your off arm shouldn’t dangle during a forehand. Oudin’s left arm is level with her right arm and bent at the elbow. This helps her maintain her balance. Imagine walking on a balance beam. If you held out one arm and let the other drop, you’d tip to one side. In tennis, that’s how errors are made.
5. Core
If you want a top-notch forehand, it helps to have a core as muscular as Oudin’s. Tennis is a twisting game, so strong core muscles are essential. Because Oudin is so fit, she can rotate quickly and powerfully while maintaining her balance. Her body is in sync from top to bottom.
Tracy Austin, a former world No. 1, is a commentator for the BBC and Channel 7 Australia.
Originally published in the September/October 2010 issue of TENNIS.
Source:Freeze Frame: Melanie Oudin's Forehand
