Federer and Nadal have two of the biggest forehands on the tour. Federer's forehand is probably the greatest single tennis stroke in the history of our sport. If we watch both Nadal and Federer, we see that they have much straighter arms than other players on many balls. Therefore...everyone should hit with a straighter arm! The logic seem reasonable, but is it?

There are some challenges in developing a straighter armed forehand. First of all, a straighter arm on the forehand involves some serious strength. Try teaching a kid to hit this way and see what happens. Good luck. Tennis players start out playing as children, and we just can't teach this straight arm forehand to them. Of the four contact points on the right, which one could a child replicate? That's problem number one with the straighter armed forehands. And it's the reason you see so few pros hitting this way. They have been playing tennis typically since they were four or five years old. The technique has to be developed early on. This is also why the one handed backhand is not very common on the women's pro tour. It also involves a straight arm and lots of arm/shoulder strength that kids simply don't have.

Problem number two is that by shifting the contact point farther away from the body, it makes "finding" the ball so much harder. It is much easier to manipulate objects that are closer in to our bodies. The farther out your contact point is, the harder it is to get it right on every ball. Try grabbing two objects, one that is far away from your body and one that is in close. Which is easier?