Knowing that our forehand isn’t a great shot, we already start to tense up as we see the ball approaching.

We feel insecure, and our arm pushes the ball instead of striking it with proper determination.

These thoughts negatively impact your shot even before you touch the ball.

Always focus on what you want to happen. Don’t think about how not to make a mistake, because this will significantly increase the likelihood of making one.

Continuing to think that the forehand is ineffective for you won’t help.

Instead, think about this: if your forehand technically stays the same—but you change your psychological approach to the shot, won’t it improve?

With a positive approach, you’ll see that everything becomes easier.

So, the first step is to accept our forehand for what it is.

It’s not easy.

The next step is to evaluate our shot on a scale from 1 to 10.

Where does it stand? 5? 6? Now comes the crucial question…if you believe your forehand is a 5 now, what kind of forehands are you trying to hit? 9s? 10s?

You’ve surely noticed that the difference between the forehand you’re trying to play and the objective level of your forehand is enormous.

You’re asking too much of your forehand and yourself.

If your forehand is a 5, simply try to consistently make it a good 6.

Take your time; aim for improvements of 10-15% at a time.

And when your forehand is at a 6, you can start thinking about making it a 7.

In this way, you’ll manage to play several decently good shots (and not just an almost accidental great forehand) and these will stick in your mind. Thus, you’ll start to develop confidence in your shots.

Over time, you’ll gain more consistency by trusting to hit your forehands with more determination.

Another common way to deal with shots that don’t come off well is to avoid them.

If you’ve started using your forehand less since you realized it’s not your best shot, it means you’ve practiced it less often than your backhand.

Thus, you’ve trained it less, developing less feel and less precision.

Don’t blame your forehand if it’s not as effective as you’d like; if anything, blame the lack of training!

And to improve it, not words, but many, many, many biomechanically relaxed and fluid hits are needed.

For consistent and constructive training, what could be better than the faithful and precise “ball-launching machine”?