Basic forehand technique

 For every player, the starting point of their game is their forehand. The forehand should compose of 70% of your hits from the baseline and is to most people the easiest shot to make and master.

Step 1

To begin, make sure your your feet are lined up, parallel with the lines of the court and your knees are slightly bent. To start your swing, bring your racquet slightly back and drop the ball so that it bounces around waist level. Your weaker hand should try to shadow the right, keeping it up initially in front of your body for balance.

Step 2

 Next, keep eye contact with your shot and the ball and try to place the ball directly to the center of your racquet. If you are playing with a new racquet try to hit the center of the logo on the strings. Keep your swing low with your racquet pointed slightly down towards the court. Also bring your weak hand up with your swing, leaving the distance between the two hands about the same.

Step 3

Keep your head down, eyes on where contact with the racquet was made. Drive all the way through the ball and bring your racquet up towards your shoulder so that you lift the ball up and over the net. It is important that you keep swinging after hitting the ball. Don't half swing or stop after the initial moment of contact.

Step 4

Last, bring the racquet all the way up, over your shoulder and let your weak hand re grip the racquet. You should feel yourself being pulled into the court with this overall motion if done fluidly. Take one step with your back foot, moving forward, following that pull. I like to call this the momentum step.

Most importantly, practice! Learning this sport is all about repetition and learning from your mistakes! The more times you hit a shot the better you get at it.