two handed forhand

I am looking for infromation on two-handed forhands. Due to some trouble with my wrist, I think this would add more power to my very week returns. I use a two handed back hand but not sure how to add the second had to the forhand. Any ideas?

I use two hands on both sides. I just add my left hand on top of my right for the forehand and get great underspin. Of course, it looks awful, but gets the job done; almost unreturnable it bounces so low. Don't think this is the "right" way to do it, but who cares? Just do it like you're swinging a baseball bat left handed.

[diggler]

I've got a two handed forehand as well. You end up cross handed and lose a bit of reach. I'm not sure you'll necessarily get more power. I find I get more control. Players like Hewitt and Agassi have 2 handed backhands, but go to the 1 hand forehand for the killer shot.

Famous players with 2 handed forehands - Monica Seles, Gene Mayer, Fabrice Santoro, Hans Gidemeister. By gripping the racket firmly with the additional hand, you should be able to get some interesting spins through the bending of the wrists.

I personally don't play a wristy style, but it's definately a possibility.

On my high school team there is a really little player who uses a junior racket and has a two handed forehand. Amazingly he has very good court placement with a two handed forehand and I haven't seen him hit one off the court yet. He doesn't have alot of power even with both hands but he has great control.

[Seraphic]

I believe that if the two handed shots don't come naturally to you then you shouldn't use them. I have a single handed forehand and backhand - thats how I naturally began to play. I have developed a double handed backhand for certain shots (usually shots that come close to the body) but they are never as effective as the natural shot (in my case, the single hander). If you learn to play shots properly by rotating the body instead of putting all the stress on the wrist then you'll develop more power without the pain. I've had carpal tunnel syndrome operations on both my wrists and I've had to learn to hit shots with a less wristy action. It pays off.

I have observed pros using two-handed forehands and backhands. Of course you are going to get more stability and power, but this is going to come with a price unless you already know and have the ability to hit one handers. My philosophy in this arena is this: Don't adopt something you have either seen on tv or heard through the tennis vine unless you already have the basic techinques of tennis down. i.e. for a strong serve to be adopted, you should already have a very high percentage serve that you can always fall back upon for your second. Same advice works for all ground strokes, volleys and slice's.

There is a great article in Tennisone.com that talks about the two handed forehand (unfortunately you must be a member to access it). I adopted this stroke in the past year and had some pretty good success with it. My forehand was usually my weakest side. I constantly shanked balls left and right. With the 2 hands though, I have significantly cut down the number of tennis balls that fly (consistency has gone up for me). Luckily for me the transition wasn;t difficult at all. I know some people watch me play like I have an extra head attached to me cause to them it looks kind of stange.

I play with an eastern grip on both the forehand and backhand side. I will occasionally change the grip a little depending on the ball. I personally like the 2 handed grip but found that when I have to hit a one hander my mechanics have improved. I don;t shank the ball as much on 1 handed shots now too. Playing this way doesn;t hurt my body as much. The shock is transmitted to both arms vice one.

The only downfall that I can see with this stroke is that you have to be a little more speedy on the court. The amount of reach that you have is less than the conventional one handed forehand. But that just makes you have to work on the footwork more (which isn;t all that bad).

Thats my opinion on this stroke. And just a little back ground on myself. I started tennis 2 years ago and played using only 1 hand (and played horribly). But a wrist injury led me to the 2 handed system and I been using it since.

[kathyk]

I too find that practicing a two-handed stroke improves the one-hander. I always had a one-handed backhand. It used to be my better shot. But when I developed a big forehand, it atrophied because I began running around a lot of backhands to unload my big shot.

One day, just for the heck of it, I decided to see what a two-handed backhand feels like, so I started hitting some against a wall. I found that when I then let go, my one-handed shot was better. My preparation and footwork were better, my swing was straighter -- everything was better! To this day, when I start missing backhands, I hit two-handers for awhile to straighten my backhand out.

As for a two-handed forehand, I think it helps to keep in mind that you drive the racket through with the hand behind. For a right-hander, that would be your right hand on the forehand side and your left hand on the backhand side. So, on a two-handed forehand, you're still driving the racket with your right hand, not pulling it with your left.

What grip do you use for a two-handed forehand??

I use my right hand at the bottom of the racket, and the left hand on top for a backhand..is it the same for a forehand?

another reply would be helpful

[yingwang]

i just grab it like volley grip and then just alternate the top hand's grip. the bad thing about this is that you have to play with a hard hitter, this is because you mostly brush up the ball to stop it from going out. this is also efficient because you don't really need alot of time to get yourself into position.

wang THANK YOU SIR.

[yingwang]

i'm not sure if you can get use to it fast, it took me several days! but i like it

[Tprocurt]

The two handed forehand is obviously a rare stroke style, however if your successful, go for it! But remember, only a handfull of successful ATP pros have used it over many years so that should tell you something. If this type of stroke was all that, and had a whole lot to offer, there would be many more people doing it and pros teaching it! If you are injured and it is the only thing that helps, its better than giving up the game. Rock on!

I have just switch this week from a one handed forehand to two handed and loved it! It was so natural for me. Just to let you know that usually a set with my hitting partner lasts about 45 minutes or more because we are so evently matched - it's like a dog fight! 8 to 10 Deuces or more with each other are so common whenever we play each other. With my new two handed forehand, I beat him in less than 25 minutes. I was very pleasantly surprised that I had only 5 unforced errors in the entire set (a very rare thing for me).

My hitting partner was amazed that all shots that I hit with my two handed forehand went in. He used to hit to my forehand side all the time because he knows I will make unforced errors by hitting my one handed forehand long - not any more with my two handed forehand! Strangely enough, it didn't effect my reach at all.

FYI: I switched from a one handed backhand to two handed backhand a few months back and the results were great - balls land in most of the time. Playing two handed backhands and forehands for me is natural. I'm not a strong physically and with this two handed strokes I definately get more control and power.

I would only recommend two handed forehand only if it feels natural to you. Please ask your coach/pro.