Top 10 Tennis Players With the Best Forehand
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player, currently world No. 1 in men's singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals. You won't find it difficult to see a player with depth and pace in their groundstrokes in any era, but Rafa's forehand is something really, really special. He hits it with so much spin and high accuracy. Rafa can make magic with that kind of shot. His "banana" down-the-line forehand is unique. No one can hit it as many times as Rafa.
Rafa is the King of Clay. But in my mind, Rafa is the King of Tennis. No one could have such an amazing career like him, not to mention the countless hours he has spent in the hospital treating his injuries.
Vamos, Rafa!
Roger Federer (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 3 in men's singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in history for a male tennis player. He has held the world No... read more The amount of topspin is not the only factor, nor a decisive one, in determining who has the best forehand. Even if it were, Nadal would be number one, but Federer would probably be in the top three.
That said, Federer is top class when it comes to attacking with his forehand (topspin, flat, inside-out, inside-in, down the line, running forehand either cross-court or down the line, drop shot, passing shots, angles, deep, short, attacking lobs, volleying, half-volley). He can also use it with the same efficiency when defending, from flicks and half-volleys to defending lobs. I've seen him use these shots in countless games with extreme accuracy and consistency. If I've left out a shot, he can probably do it as well.
He's called Forehand-o Gonzalez for a reason. Gonzalez provides great topspin as well as stunning power with his forehand. He's great on the run, can spin it, and can drive it extremely flat. He almost has Federer's variety.
Gonzalez's forehand is the best ever, without a doubt. It's such a sheer beauty to watch him hit it, with full power released from the body to the forehand. He hits it flat and clean.
Gonzalez also has a very fast forehand, but it is not the same as Tsonga's or Del Potro's because it relies more on topspin power.
When Del Potro is in good form, nobody can outpower his invincible forehands. He hits them with ultimate power and speed.
Del Potro's forehand doesn't have a lot of topspin. It is very flat, but it is one of the fastest.
It is the fastest forehand in tennis at this moment. It just requires more consistency.
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No.1 in men's singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals. His forehand is underrated because his backhand is so highly rated as the best ever. His forehand may also be the best ever. Early in his pro career, his forehand broke down at times, but that is clearly not the case since 2012 or so.
One of the biggest forehands I have ever seen live. The crowd literally gasped when he unloaded on a few of them. Basically, a missile with topspin.
Verdasco's forehand has a lot of topspin and speed, and he uses a lot of slice.
Pretty damn fast. Generates more speed and RPM than Nadal.
Nicholas Hilmy "Nick" Kyrgios is an Australian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world no. 30 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals. He is currently the highest-ranked Australian in the ATP rankings.
Gaël Sébastien Monfils is a French professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 6 singles ranking on November 7, 2016. Greatest forehand in the world!
Nobody can reach his speed.
Monfils's forehand is very solid and fast.
I love his forehand. If he practiced like that in every training session and match, he could be back in the top five.
He hits the ball so hard with so much topspin. It lacks regularity at times, but altogether it's a stunning groundstroke.
Roddick's forehand from 2003-2005 was one of the biggest weapons on the tour, right behind his serve. However, after he dropped Gilbert as a coach, his forehand became a lot more spinny as he turned into a more all-around player.
Andy Roddick has a hard forehand when it's high in the air, but when it's low, he's good at picking it up. For example, when someone hits a slice, he brushes it up and makes them consistently.
I believe Blake has hit the fastest forehand ever recorded.
One of the best flat forehands in the open era. He has great technique and doesn't need to use much power to make a very fast strike.
Milos Raonic is a Canadian professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals world No. 3 singles ranking on November 21, 2016. His inside-out forehand is a fearsome weapon: great angles and power. The only issue is covering the court he leaves exposed, not producing the stroke itself.
Maybe the second-best forehand when it's on and when he gets a good look at the ball, only coming after Djokovic. Nadal and Federer make their forehands seem better because they are such great movers and receive the ball so well, but they do not have the forehand quality of Djokovic or Tsonga.
Tsonga's forehand is really similar to Del Potro's. Tsonga hits it harder, but Del Potro's is faster.
Tsonga's forehand is not at all similar to Del Potro's. Tsonga has a pure flat forehand, much more similar to Gonzalez's.
He is very underrated. He deserves to be ranked higher. His forehand was deadly.
His forehand is wicked. The topspin and power he generates for a small-framed guy is amazing. He really pulverizes the ball on the forehand wing.