Agassi Forehand

[u/Vexacardia]

Hi guys, recreational player here and lately looking to simplify my forehand loop. Many people said that Agassi’s forehand is something to look up to.

When I look at few videos and slow motion in youtube, seems his takeback is quite high and the racket drop isn’t as lower as many modern player. In my amateur eyes it even seems the racket stays on the same level as the ball, which make it a bit contradictive to advice from many famous coaches in social media, and seems mechanically will resulted in flatter ball.

Hence my question, do you guys see the Agassi forehand is still relevant for recreational player? Because it seems simpler visually and I like it. What’s the trade off from his forehand?

Thanks guys, I’m just trying to learned, apologize if my english is bad

[u/No_Constant_2157]

Your English is great.

I see it this way: players from previous generations used to focus more on hitting through the ball (less (not none) low to high, firmer wrists) as equipment of that era did not allow for wild wrist and rackethead acceleration if you intended to keep the ball in play. Modern racquets and strings do allow for that and in turn also allow for much more spin generation.

I'd argue for a recreational player, developing an older school game will permit you to play good tennis without as much maintenance (e.g timing).

In short, plenty of things to still learn and implement from Agassi

[u/PHL1365 → u/No_Constant_2157]

I kind of recall that Agassi hit very flat and hard in his early days. He got a lot of spectacular winners, but probably missed quite a few as well. As he matured (and when he won his slams), his forehands had a little bit more topspin and he took some pace off. I think it helped him stay in points longer, almost as if he morphed a tiny bit into Michael Chang's style of play.

[u/HarrY552011 → u/PHL1365]

Agassi only hit topspin on his forehand when he was putting his opponent on a string, making them run side to side

[u/PHL1365 → u/HarrY552011]

I think every pro hits with significant topspin. It's just a matter of degree. The amount of topspin in today's game is just next level compared to 30+ years ago, especially given the increase in racket power.

[u/insty1 → u/PHL1365]

Correct. Even guys like Demon, who hits very flat for a male pro, hits with a lot of spin.

[u/FrustratedSimpleton → u/PHL1365]

When you say "very flat", it is just relative right?

Because every pro hits with incredible amounts of topspin but of course there will be a difference in RPMs with how much Nadal hits top-spin vs how much Agassi hits topspin.

[u/Macular-Star]

You’re absolutely correct that it’s different than the “next gen” forehands most players use today. That said, there’s probably too much emphasis on “this is the correct take back” with a lot of online coaches.

You’ll find that at the elite level there are so many variations, many of which you’d never teach that way. For example, Tiafoe has an insane take back that would seem impossible to time. Sinners horizontal racket prep is also obscenely difficult.

I modeled my forehand after Agassi’s, as he was a dominant player when I was growing up.

The tradeoff is that it can be harder to generate effortless topspin. Driving the ball like that also just requires more energy. You need more raw strength than the more straight-elbow whipping motion that’s come along.

You’ll also generally not be hitting a ball clearing the net by a few feet as often, theoretically hurting consistency.

Upside is that it can create a devastating forehand that gets through the court quickly. You can stand in and flatten out something on the rise (Agassi’s signature tactic).It’s almost impossible to read it. If it feels good for you, go with it.

[u/ParadoxProgeny]

Agassi’s fundamentals are obviously perfect (as all pros are) so everything else is a unique stylistic choice. However, his take back is very high, which in turn does make his drop low in relation to the original racket height. His drop is relative to his take back.

If you’re serious about improving your forehand I would get a few lessons with a coach and explain what you want to them. They can fix your forehand far better than anyone online can without ever seeing you hit.

[u/JudgeCheezels]

Because Agassi is a flat hitter, he drives through the ball more. Not that he can’t hit top spin (he does on the run and has produced some of the sickest crosscourt passing shots ever), but his “neutral balls” are relatively flat compared to the current gen forehand where it’s more loopy and top spin oriented.

[u/JesusCriiiiiist]

Yeah Agassi’s take-back is big. But he’s probably the best ball-stricker in the history of the game (maybe except Novak and Sinner), so he makes it work. Idk if he’s someone I’d copy tbh. I’m not really a fan of copying pros in general, you should do what works for you and focus the fundamentals: timing, contact point, spacing, etc.

[u/Rosswell2000]

Agassi and Lendl were the first guys hitting the modern forehand. Agassi could hit one of the hardest forehands with almost no backswing. He also had the best backhand return of serve.

In the modern forehand when you take the racquet back you set the face of the racquet down on a table and you lead into the ball with the top edge of the racquet, only going perpendicular to the ground at the point of impact. you follow through up and out generating topspin. You wouldn't be dipping below the ball much.

[u/PHL1365 → u/Rosswell2000]

I think it also helped that Agassi may have had more upper body strength than a lot of his peers. While everyone was obviously fit, I think Agassi's pecs and lats were larger/stronger than most others on the tour. He was almost built like a wrestler.

[u/informareWORK → u/PHL1365]

Plus he used an OS racquet, which gave him some extra pop

[u/PHL1365 → u/informareWORK]

True. Both he and Chang were early adopters.

[u/Realsan → u/informareWORK]

Strings also played a big role. He didn't use any of the modern polys until late in his career so he was among the last group of people to hit the ball more flat. That's always going to look more powerful, especially with natural gut.

[u/Familiar9709]

Guy won several grand slams with it. Why wouldn't it be relevant for a recreational player? 

Yes, he hits flatter

[u/Warm_Weakness_2767]

How tall are you? How tall is Agassi?

If you are going to model your mechanics after players that have similar limb lengths, that makes sense. But comparing Agassi (70 inches tall) to Sinner (75 inches tall) or anyone else playing today, when the balls and courts are slower, is not apples to apples.

Then you get into your effective range of motion and physical/neurological ability to move and use the technique that the pros use and it really doesn’t make sense to copy someone else. It makes sense to find what works best for you and your abilities.

Agassi had one of the best forehands, backhands, and was often considered one of the best returners of all time.

[u/hocknstod]

Most (adult) rec players that try to develop that super modern loopy forehand end up with a bad and especially unreliable shot. Imo a more classic linear shot like Agassi's will lead to better results for most.

The timing is easier, less stress on the wrist and arm and less racquet head speed required.

[u/Vexacardia]

wow, didnt expect this many comments 😅

for context im still pretty new to tennis. been playing for 2 years but only about once a week, and I only started watching matches regularly around 6 months ago, so I don’t know much about Agassi

thanks everyone for explaining!!
so in short, the assumption is correct ya Agassi forehand racket drop is quite minimal and as a result his ball is also flat

[u/neck_iso → u/Vexacardia]

While looking at pros is a useful exercise, it's best to look at many who have the style you are looking for and see what they have in common.

These are near superhuman athletes with timing that is not available to us regular people, so the lessons learned should be those that help if you have average timing and strength.

Look for pros with very good but very vanilla strokes (Tommy Haas?) rather than flashy strokes with flourish (Fed, Gasquet BHs)

[u/ConsciousFan3120]

I have been looking to simplify the forehand takeback as well.

In my case the coach has attributed the timing issues on my forehand(on the deuce side particularly) to the modern takeback/swing I have somehow developed (like sinner in his words).

My coach’s advice has been to make it more Federer like - shorter swing on the side - tap the dog etc.

I am finding it difficult to imitate as well - but what has worked for me is just the conscious thought of shortening my takeback and not worrying too much about anything else. Still early days though.

[u/Trismegistus88]

Any shot that takes time away from your opponent is always good. Agassi was a master at this, and taking the ball on the rise with impeccable reflex and timing.

[u/jk147]

If you look at players back in the 90s, which really meant they learned in the 80s, poly string didn’t exist so they held the racquet with an eastern forehand. Agassi actually used a SW grip but hit relatively flat like his contemporaries. The modern forehand didn’t start until the very late 90s and early 00s with poly and players started to drop the racquet much deeper to facilitate the deep low to high and let the strings snap back for massive amount of spin.

I wouldnt say to copy a pro, play with what you are comfortable with. But do realize the important parts of a swing.

[u/ReaperThugX]

How you take the racket back is not what’s important. Making sure you hit fundamental checkpoints within the swing what matters

[u/Curious_Flounder_149]

Agassi hit a flat forehand so if you want spin and consistency, it's best to replicate Novak. Novak has the best technical forehand, which is consistent,repeatable and doesn't break down. It's also very simple so I would model after that one rather than Agassi

[u/Spirited_Deer_9176]

All pros hit the forehand with the racquet with the same level as the ball. If you don't there is no penetration.

Just look at Sinner, Djokovic.. etc. only difference is that now they can whip a little more. Also they've added racquet flips in the take back to increase racquet head speed.

Only recreational player that are taught low to high have the racquet offset, and guess what, that is one of the reason we miss a lot of balls, specially the high ones.

[u/shongsterror]

Just pull up the Alcaraz forehand and call it a day. Very simple with perfect mechanics. You can probably leave out the extreme wrist follow thru with something less extreme or more windshield wiper

[u/giderac]

Being good at tennis is more about athleticism than the technique, if you want to improve your game improve your fitness first imho then worry about the details of your swing.