Forehand Stance: Open VS Closed

In this video, you will learn about the two basic stances in tennis for the forehand.

You can hit forehands in the open or closed stance

Your choice will depend on the situation

Let's take a look at both the stances in detail

The Closed Stance

The closed stance has the feet and body turned sideways to the net

Bring your non racket leg forward as you swing your racket back

Remember to bend your knees and stretch out the non racket arm, parallel to the baseline

When you are running to reach the ball or hit an approach shot, you could use the closed stance

Avoid stepping across to get into the closed stance as it will prevent you from twisting and completing your follow through

When you have to run a little to the side, you could step in to the closed stance, square up and swing the back leg to the side

If the ball is low and in the middle of the court, you might want to hit your shot in the closed stance

But if the ball bounces high, you would rather use the open stance

It's difficult to hit the forehand in the closed stance sometimes because of the lack of time and also the front leg hindering the follow through across the body

The Open Stance Forehand

Lunge to the side on your racket leg with your chest open and parallel to the net

The feet are almost parallel, though the racket leg could be slightly in front

With the racket leg loaded, uncoil your torso, and follow through across over the non racket shoulder

Throw your body weight into the shot and land forward on your non racket and racket foot in quick succession

The step forward adds momentum into your shot

If the ball is close to the side line, take a couple of strides or cross-over steps and load the racket leg

You can check out the video on backhand open and closed stances

There are variations of the closed and open stances

Find out what works best for you

Enjoy your game