The Windshield Wiper Forehand by: Will Hamilton @ FuzzyYellowBalls.com If you've watched pro tennis lately you've probably heard of a "Windshield Wiper Forehand." This one particular shot seems to be the hot topic these days. Almost every pro utilizes the wiper forehand, and everyone else wants to learn to hit it. The windshield wiper forehand gets its namesake from its follow through. The path the tennis racket travels along during the finish looks very similar to how a wiper blade moves across your car's windshield. The similarity is created because of two factors: The racket's strings face the net the entire time during the follow through, and you finish much lower down around your waist, so the racket rises on the swing and then turns over and finishes down low. The forehands of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick are good examples of the windshield wiper. Before we describe the fundamental differences between the classic forehand and the windshield wiper forehand, let's first define what exactly the "classic forehand" is. When I refer to the "classic" forehand" I mean the forehands you typically saw ten years ago and before. Think Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi. You hit this forehand by striking through the ball and then following through with the racket higher up over your shoulder. Additionally, as you extend your arm and racket out after making contact the racket turned "on edge." That is to say that the racket is pointed at the net and was vertically on edge as seen from the opposite end of the court. This happens because you hit through the ball. The forward momentum of the tennis racket causes it to release into the court when you relax your arm during the follow through. The windshield wiper forehand is a relatively new shot. There are several instances in the past where players (such as Bjorn Borg) hit this forehand, but the racket and string technology prevented players from using it on a regular basis. Players had to hit through the ball much more to generate power than they do today. Nowadays, the rackets and strings are oozing with power. Because it requires less effort to hit hard, it becomes more important to control the ball. In other words, you need to hit with more spin. This also allows you to create more angles and move your opponent around the court. There is one critical thing that I must mention before going any further, and that is to talk a little bit about what exactly a follow through is and what it accomplishes. The follow through itself is not something that you should be actively be trying to change. How you follow through for any shot in tennis depends on how you were swinging prior to and at contact. Simply put, this means that you absolutely cannot take "classic forehand" swing mechanics and then just tack on a windshield wiper finish. We've established that the follow through on any particular shot is due to the swing mechanics before and at contact. Therefore, the reason your racket moves like a car's wiper blade on a windshield wiper forehand is because of how the racket was swinging before you hit the ball. Almost all of the fundamental swing mechanics are exactly the same on a windshield wiper as on the classic forehand. The key difference is how you swing up at the tennis ball. On the classic forehand, you swing pretty much straight through the ball. There is some upward movement of your racket (meaning you will generate some topspin) but not a huge amount. However, on the windshield wiper you swing up on the ball much more aggressively. When I hit this shot, I like to imagine that I am trying to attack the tennis ball with the top of my frame (almost like I was trying to frame the ball). This will get your racket moving up across the tennis ball to a much greater degree than on the classic forehand. It also means you will not swing through the ball nearly as much As of result of your upwards swing direction, the racket will be moving upwards much more at and just after contact. Also, because there is much less of a forward component to your swing the racket will not release into the court nearly as much. This means that the racket will not end up "on edge" like it does on a classic forehand because you are not swinging "through" the ball and pointing the racket at the net after contact halfway through your follow through. So we know the racket will be travelling upwards at and just after contact on a windshield wiper forehand. Because of how your arm and shoulder are built, it is unnatural and uncomfortable to continue to extend upward to decelerate the tennis racket. Instead you need to turn the racket and your arm over, using your shoulder, so that you have more time and space to slow the racket down. This movement creates the windshield wiper effect on the follow through. Again, it's worth noting that the windshield wiper forehand's follow through itself has nothing to do with how you hit the tennis ball. The ball is already well off your strings by the time your racket arcs over in that windshield wiper motion. It's what was going on prior to and at contact that affects the tennis ball. The wiper finish is simply the smoothest way to slow the racket down given how you were swinging earlier in the shot. Visit Fuzzy Yellow Balls for free video tennis lessons!