On many of his forehands, Nadal reverses his finish.

By John Yandell

When people talk about Rafael Nadal's forehand they often notice his spectacular over-the-head finishes, which many coaches call the reverse follow-through, a term invented by legendary coach Robert Lansdorp.

But there is another finish he uses almost as much: across the body and around his torso at about shoulder level. The question is, which of these two predominate finishes does he use when? You might think it is related to the amount of spin he hits, but the data from high-speed video research show that the two finishes produce virtually the same amount of average spin, about 3200 rpm.

The answer actually seems most related to his position on the court. When Nadal hits inside out or inside in, he tends to finish most swings across the body. When he hits in the center of the court, he hits a slightly higher percentage of reverse finishes. When he moves wide or is on the run, virtually every finish is a reverse.

Nadal's other main finish, across the body at the shoulder level.

This makes sense because the over-the-head finish is used when players are forced on time and also for generating angles and spins from difficult positions, as Pete Sampras used to do on his running forehand.

Yet if you are looking to learn or copy Nadal’s reverse follow-through, don’t be fooled. No doubt he hits more reverse finishes than most pros. But the fact is, high-speed video reveals that he hits many of these shots with incredible extension. This means that his hand and racquet continue forward and outward toward the target for a great distance before moving upward and backward over his head. On many reverse forehands, the amount of extension is virtually identical to the extension on his shoulder high wrap around finish.

When he reverses his finish, Nadal still extends fully toward the target.

This may explain why he can drive the ball with so much power with the reverse finish when other players, such as, Maria Sharapova, tend to use it more defensively. It’s also a cautionary tale for club players looking to copy the pros. Nadal is able to hit through the ball and generate tremendous spin—in effect, have the best of two worlds in a way that few other players can at the pro or any other level.

At Tennisplayer.net, created by John Yandell, you’ll find hundreds of articles from top coaches on every aspect of the game—plus the largest digital stroke archive in the world with all the game’s top players.