If your kid only ever learns one shot properly, make it the forehand. It’s the stroke juniors hit more than any other — most kids will run around their backhand just to hit one. A reliable forehand keeps them in rallies, wins them points, and builds the confidence everything else grows from. A broken one means short points and frustration, no matter how good the rest of their game looks.
Here’s the good news: the forehand is also the most natural stroke to learn, and the easiest for a parent to actually see and help with. You don’t need to be a coach. You just need to know what a good one looks like.
What you’re watching for: 6 checkpoints
Stand behind the baseline (never right next to them — you’ll distract them and they’ll perform for you instead of playing). Watch for these six things, in order:
1. The grip is right. Most juniors should use what’s called a semi-western grip — the base knuckle of the index finger rests on the lower-right bevel of the handle. In plain terms: it naturally closes the racket face so the ball gets topspin without the kid having to force it. If your kid holds the racket like a frying pan (an eastern or beginner grip) past age 9 or 10, ask the coach about it — it’s the single most common grip issue we see.
2. The unit turn happens early. Before the ball crosses the net, your kid’s shoulders should already be turned sideways, with the non-hitting hand stretched across the body. Coaches call this the unit turn — the whole upper body rotating as one piece. If the racket is still pointing at the net when the ball bounces on their side, they’re late, and everything after that is rushed.
3. The racket drops below the ball. On the way forward, the racket head should dip below the level of the incoming ball, then brush up the back of it. This low-to-high path is what creates topspin — the thing that keeps hard-hit balls inside the court. Watch from the side: you should see a loop, not a straight chop.
4. Contact happens in front. The ball should meet the strings roughly beside the front foot — out in front of the body, not beside the hip or behind it. Late contact (ball beside the body) is why so many junior forehands spray wide or dump into the net.
5. The swing goes low to high through the ball. At contact, the racket should be traveling upward, brushing up the back of the ball. A good mental image coaches use: the strings should “wave goodbye” toward the target after contact — finishing up and across, not yanked sideways.
6. They stay balanced. After the shot, your kid should be upright and stable — not falling backward, not stumbling sideways. Balance at the finish tells you everything about the setup. If they’re falling over, the problem started three steps earlier, in the feet.
The 3 mistakes almost every junior makes
Mistake 1: Preparing late. The racket is still coming back when the ball arrives, so the swing is a panicked swipe. The fix: the split step (a little hop as the opponent hits) plus an early shoulder turn. Make it a game: count how many times they turn before the ball bounces. Reward the number, not the result of the shot.
Mistake 2: Arming the ball. All arm, no body — the shoulders never turn, the legs never drive, and the kid tries to muscle every ball. It works against slow balls and falls apart against pace. The fix: the “freeze the finish” drill. After each forehand in practice, they hold the follow-through for two seconds. You can’t freeze a balanced finish if you armed the ball — the body tells on itself.
Mistake 3: Hitting flat with no margin. Everything is drilled hard and low over the net. Looks great until it doesn’t — flat balls have no safety margin, so one slightly mistimed swing ends the point. The fix: aim higher. Have them aim three feet over the net with topspin for a whole practice. It’ll feel wrong to them. That’s the point — they’re learning what margin feels like.
What’s realistic at each ball stage
- Red ball (ages 4–8): Forget technique. If they’re making contact and laughing, it’s working. Short rackets, big foam balls, tiny courts — just let them swing.
- Orange ball (ages 8–10): The unit turn starts here. Don’t lecture — use the “show me your back” cue (turn so the opponent sees your back). Grip checks start now.
- Green ball (ages 9–12): Topspin gets introduced. The low-to-high swing path is the whole lesson. This is where the grip really matters — check it.
- Yellow ball (ages 11+): Full technique, and the forehand should start becoming a weapon, not just a rally shot. If the mechanics aren’t sound by now, fixing them gets harder every year — but it’s never too late.
Watch and learn: 4 video lessons
These are real lessons from working coaches — watch them yourself first, then watch with your kid. (We’re parents, not coaches — these videos are by third-party coaches, and we link them because they’re good, not because we made them.)
- Amazing Tennis Forehand in 5 Steps — Top Tennis Training (Coach Alex Slabinsky). Beginner. Stance, unit turn, takeback, contact point, follow-through — the complete foundation in one lesson.
- Make Your Forehand AWESOME With These 3 Tips! — 2MinuteTennis (Coach Ryan Reidy). Beginner–Intermediate. Three specific checkpoints: hand and elbow height in the turn, dropping the racket, and the non-hitting hand’s job.
- Hit The Perfect Forehand in 5 Steps — Masterclass — Top Tennis Training (Coach Simon Konov). Beginner–Intermediate. The grip lesson every parent should watch: eastern vs. semi-western vs. western, and why it matters.
- Hit Perfect Forehands in 5 Steps (ATP PRO) — Jeff Salzenstein (former top-100 ATP player, USTA high-performance coach). Advanced. A frame-by-frame breakdown of Marin Cilic’s forehand — for the kid who’s ready to study the details.
Next in the Stroke Library: The Backhand — the rally shot that decides matches once juniors stop being able to run around it.
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