G’day,
Watching two Rafa’s spank forehands instead of one is simply mesmerizing!
Stromotion and Simulcam are two very cool tools in the Dartfish suite that I don’t typically use a lot. But these videos of Rafael Nadal practicing in Rome in 2021 seemed like a good idea!
The Simulcam tool puts two Rafa’s on the court at the same time. You get a much better feel for the repetition he craves to make the forehand as clean and potent as possible. You see the same footwork and the same preparation again and again and again.
The Stromotion tool leaves a still frame of Rafa as he moves to hit his shot. It’s a frozen moment in time that isolates all the intricacies of his preparation.
So let’s dive in!
VIDEO 1 – Simulcam Run-Around Forehands (61 seconds)
Turning backhands into forehands in the Deuce court is the beating heart of Nadal’s baseline strategy. Coach Francois Roig is feeding balls from the other side of the net and Rafa is practicing moving to his right and hitting the ball inside-out back cross court.
LET’S IMPROVE YOUR FOREHAND!
Webinar 7: Baseline Strategy & Patterns
Webinar 22: Run-Around Forehands
Webinar 33: First Strike Tennis
Webinar 26: ABCD Baseline Locations
VIDEO 2- Simulcam Forehands 2 (95 seconds)
Coach Roig is now feeding balls out wide to Rafa’s forehand in the Ad court. Rafa then recovers back to the Deuce court and then chases the ball down again and again and again. Notice the early racquet preparation. The hands get prepared so early.
VIDEO 3 – Simulcam Run-Around Forehand 1 (13 seconds)
These are two separate forehands Rafa hit out wide in the Deuce court. It’s stunning to see them presented this way as the swing path of the racket is identical in both forehands.
VIDEO 4 – RunAround Forehand 2 (10 seconds)
Again, we are looking at two separate forehands – that look absolutely identical! This is what mass repetition for decades gives you. The best forehand in the game.
VIDEO 5 – Stromotion Run-Around 1 (11 seconds)
This video highlights the early preparation of the racket up beside Nadal’s head.
SUMMARY
Enhancing videos with Simulcam and Stro Motion tools brings to life the subtleties of Nadal’s forehand. You get to drill down on racket preparation, swing path, balance, energy, contact, and the coiling follow through.
I hope you gained a new appreciation for this stunning shot and something to add to your own game.
Best,
Craig
TWO FREE WEBINARS FOR YOU!
Webinar 5: 2022 US Open Alcaraz v Sinner Analysis
Webinar 18: Djokovic 2023 Australian Open Analysis