Perfect balance makes this powerful shot a winner.

At times in the past, Venus Williams’ forehand has failed her, but in this sequence she’s at her best. The four-time Wimbledon champion uses great footwork, superb balance, a good shoulder turn, and a long follow-through to confidently put away this short ball.

1. Williams is in a very aggressive position here and has many options. This is a put-away shot, so she is using a closed stance, and her left and right arms are perfectly balanced around her upper body. I mean perfectly balanced. The racquet face is closed and slightly above her head, and because she’s well-positioned she has time for a long back-swing. Williams can either bring the racquet head down and flatten out the shot, like Andre Agassi would have, or drop it lower and then brush up for topspin. Clearly, she’s not thinking about hitting another ball—this is it.

2. Again, Williams’ arms are ideally balanced. The ball is high, so she’s straightening her knees as she begins her swing. Her racquet head is now perpendicular to her body, and she’s going to hit this ball flat and hard. Notice the shoulder turn—that will be her main source of power. While Williams is in great position, a shot as flat as this one is dangerous because there’s no margin for error. If I were working with a 3.5 or 4.0 player here, I would have her close the face a little more and shorten her take-back for a higher-percentage shot.

3. People rarely think about the function of their non-dominant arms. See how both of Williams’ elbows are bent? It’s not quite a perfect W, but again it illustrates her upper-body balance. The racquet head is just below the point of contact and her shoulders have rotated from perpendicular to the net to nearly parallel with it. Williams’ eyes remain on the ball and her wrist is firm, which is another good lesson for recreational players: Keep your wrist fi rm at contact.

4. When I examined the first three pictures here, I thought Williams was about to hit a typical inside-out forehand to her opponent’s backhand side. It turns out that she’s going cross-court. Look at the way her racquet comes through the ball. For a long time, teaching pros talked about catching the racquet with the non-dominant hand after your stroke, but in the modern game the frame follows through across the body.

5. Williams’ forehand often goes sour in matches, but mechanically this one is a solid shot. She looks a lot like Roger Federer does on his forehand. Her head has remained relatively still through the entire stroke. Look how you can draw a straight line from her chin to the toes of her left foot. It appears that this forehand will be a winner, but she’s keeping her eye on the ball just in case.

6. Right about now Williams knows she can relax because the ball isn’t coming back. But if you’re in this position, stay ready in case your opponent tracks the ball down. If you maintain your balance, you’ll be prepared to hit a put-away volley.

Article by Cliff Drysdale, Photos by Tommy Hindley/Professional Sport – Tennis.com