Richard / Hewitt comparisson

After watching your forehands on video, Richard I realized how similar they look when comparing it with Hewitt. Of course it is completely impossible for you to try and replicate exactly Hewitt's forehand and it would be counterproductive to do so since every player has his own particular and unique style to hit the ball.
However I do believe that you can understand much better Hewitt's way of hitting the forehand since you already have some common elements.

So where are the commonalities and the differences between these two swings?

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Both players start the unit turn with a big upward movement of the racket and right hand. They both bring their right elbows roughly at about right shoulder height with the right hand getting even higher than the head. So we can say both players start their forehand with a big swing.
A slight difference and probably not an important one is that Hewitt seems to elevate his elbow a bit higher and his racket tip is less vertical than yours (pictures 5 and 6). A major difference though can be seen comparing pictures 1 and 2. Hewitt achieved more shoulder turn on his power position which means that somewhere in your unit turn your forearm drove the racket back hurting your full turn. I had pointed out to you before that your unit turn can be improved. You have been improving it quite a lot in the last year and it is much better than what it used to be.


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When reaching the power position, Hewitt brings his left hand higher than yours and he maintains that throughout the swing. Your left hand is a bit lower and it gets lower by the time you reach the hitting arm position. (picture 4)
On the backswing Hewitt's hand and racket reaches further back and more behind the body while yours they stay more on the right side which is great as long as you improve your full shoulder turn (1, 2).

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Although your power position could have more full shoulder turn (back to the net), i think the major aspect to work on your game besides that is on the start of your forward swing till you reach the hitting arm position.
If you look at your picture number 9 and the at 11 you'll see a major drop of the elbow, right hand and left hand. Notice how the right elbow tucked in close to your torso. Comparing it with Hewitt's pictures 10 and 12 we can see how Hewitt didn't drop his hands and he still kept his elbow quite far from the body on picture 12.

Picture number 4 gives us the front view of the hitting arm position.
It is very clear that Hewitt is now roughly perpendicular to the net (3) and you have already opened your shoulders much more.


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At contact Hewitt is hitting the ball much more in front with the right elbow very far from the body. In comparison, your contact is much less in front and your elbow is very close to the body.
By hitting the ball more in front Hewitt has a natural extension on the followhtrough. His racket and hand rotates still with the elbow and hand quite far in front of the body.

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Overall I think your forehand is getting stronger. Turning more your shoulders during the unit turn and keeping your hands at the same height during the forward swing with the elbow further away from the body are two elements that you can improve on your forehand. The later one will make you hit the ball earlier, more in front which will naturally improve your extension.