As a tennis technician, I am building the technical games of young players daily and always contemplating the future of tennis technique. I always try to teach the modern game that is played on tour, but lately I have been asking myself if I should attempt to teach future technique–trends that haven’t quite taken hold yet en masse on the pro circuit.
Here are some radical ideas on where I see the game going in the next few decades:
Two Forehands:
As shown in the videos above, there are already some examples of lower level tour players who compete with two forehands–no backhand. I think it may be possible to train more players to be ambidextrous from a young age which will allow for more singled handed two-forehand players to arrive at the pro level. All it takes is for one super talented player to break through on the big stage with two forehands and many young kids, parents and coaches will emulate this style.
Lefty and Righty Serves:
There have also been just a few examples on tour of lefty/righty servers like Luke Jensen. However, I also believe that this could be another major trend in tennis, similar to switch hitting in baseball. Switch serving could become more popular if a famous player in singles is able to do it.
Topspin volleys:
I got the idea from watching Soft Tennis, which is a popular tennis game variant in Asia that utilizes novel technical movements. Check out the volleys above: The players hold one semi-western grip and can hit topspin off both sides using a forehand and one-handed backhand swing, without any grip change
I could see this becoming a new trend for teaching net technique even though it looks a little weird at first! Gotta think outside the box on this one.
As tennis players become bigger and more athletic, I could see a future style of serve and volley, with powerful lefty/righty serve combos, and swinging topspin volley attacks. It would be really cool to see an ambidextrous athlete like Lebron attacking like this.
Future Tennis/Dual Hand Project:
I’m interested in experimenting with these future trends–and other creative ideas–with young players if parents are interested and have the vision. I have the idea to start a project where I take young players and teach them some futuristic techniques and we see where it leads us. Contact me if interested.
My Future Tennis/Dual Hand Project would promote ambidexterity training in youth players, experiment and build advanced futuristic technique incorporating ambidextrous skills such as lefy/righty forehand and serve combinations, topspin volleys, and other unique technical skills not yet commonly seen on the modern pro circuit.
Let me know your thoughts and any ideas you may have on ambidexterity and future technical trends in the game. Will the future of technique be the same as today, or will there be a cutting-edge player who breaks the mold with innovative and radical form?
Chris Lewit is one of the leading junior development coaches in the world–and he still plays pro circuit level with a good one-handed backhand! Old School!
Learn more about his philosophy and train with Chris in New York or Vermont.