February 19, 2018 - Forehands and Backhands: 1-2-3, not 1-2

Most players practice their forehands and backhands with a 1-2 stroke: backswing, forward swing. But think about it - how often would you do this in a game? Answer - never! In a game, after finishing a stroke, you would return to a neutral position, preparing for the next shot, since you don't know if it'll be forehand or backhand, or even what type of stroke it will be. So why would one practice doing a backswing immediately after finishing the forward swing part of a stroke?

Instead, practice using a 1-2-3 stroke: backswing, forward swing, return to ready position. This is what you do in a game, and so this is what you should practice. There's also a little nuance here in that with the faulty 1-2 stroke, you backswing directly from a forward-swing position, when in reality the backswing should start from the neutral position - so practicing this wrong leads to bad technique and poor timing in games where you have to do it differently.