When learning how to hit a forehand in tennis, prominence is often given to the positioning of the racquet or how to hold the grip and what type of swing to use. Often overlooked though is the importance of your stance.

This needs some consideration because the position of your feet at the point of making contact with the ball can make a substantial difference to the outcome of your shot.


Generally, there are three stances used in tennis: the ‘open stance’, the ‘neutral stance’ and the ‘closed stance’.  These stances relate to the position of your feet relative to the baseline when you come to hit the ball. There are also varying degrees of these three stances in between the different positions.

The closed stance isn't recommended as a choice of position when hitting a forehand. It can limit full movement and rotation of the hips as well as making it more difficult to recover after the shot. You should only resort to the closed stance when you're on the run, forced off court or out of position.

When preparing to set yourself up for a closed stance forehand, it's probably easiest to think about your position in relation to the baseline. So for a right hander, your entire body will be side on with your left shoulder leaning well forward and aimed towards the net. At the same time your feet will be parallel to the baseline. For instance, imagine standing side on to the net with your feet spaced evenly apart. If you drew a line between your feet, you'd make a right angle to the baseline.

Now, to put yourself into the closed stance position, step forward even further with your left foot so it's crossing in front of your right foot. Quite often you'll be leaning forward or stretching so your left knee will be bending and taking most of your weight. So when you're running or stretching towards a ball on the forehand side, you'll turn side on to the net while stepping forward onto your left foot as you swing your racquet back in preparation for the forehand. After hitting the ball, follow right through across your left shoulder while swinging yourself round so you are now facing the net. From here you can recover back to the center.

The closed stance forehand is the traditional position for hitting a forehand. However, among today's professional tennis players, you won't find too many using this. Instead they tend to opt for the more natural open stance position which doesn't require as much preparation. This could be because the overall speed and power in today's tennis matches has become so much faster than it once was and players don't have time to position themselves for a closed stance.

So whether or not you prefer to use the closed stance forehand, it’s certainly worthwhile spending some time practicing hitting with it. After all, you never know what shots are going to come your way in a match and the more variety you have in your range of stances, the greater your chances of winning.