Forehand Can Be Weapon on Clay

By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, May 26, 2023

Coco Gauff isn’t psychic, but she’s playing with prescience in Roland Garros practices.

The 2022 Roland Garros runner-up knows the ball is coming to her forehand—and believes that barrage is making her weaker wing a weapon on clay.

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The sixth-ranked Gauff has seen a steady stream of shots to her forehand during this clay-court campaign.

Gauff has struggled to a 3-3 clay-court singles record this season, though she has gained valuable match play partnering Jessica Pegula to three consecutive WTA 1000 doubles finals in Miami, Madrid and Rome.

In singles play, opponents can rush Gauff into forehand errors as her expansive takeback requires time to generate her forehand in contrast to her more compact backhand backswing.

Additionally, Gauff’s extreme western grip on her forehand means opponent sometimes slide short slices and drop shots as digging out low balls can be challenging with that extreme grip.

Still, Gauff believes her forehand can be a weapon on clay for two main reasons:

1. She can play high, heavy topspin to back opponents up behind the baseline, that’s a significant advantage when many opponents hit much flatter and are uncomfortable fending off the high ball.

2. Knowing every opponent she faces is a massive edge, Gauff says, because she knows where the balls going before opponents complete their swing.

“I mean, obviously the forehand is something that I have to improve on, but on clay especially I feel like it’s one of my weapons,” Gauff told the media in her pre-tournament presser in Paris. “Last year, I mean, I have won a lot of points using that heavy forehand, and I think that that’s something I continue to do this year.”

After slamming Gauff, 6-3, 6-0 in Madrid earlier this month, Paula Badosa summed up her strategy simply: Make Gauff beat her with the forehand.

“She has crazy backhand, very good serve, especially first serves,” Badosa said of Gauff. “Of course going more to her forehand, most because her backhand is very good, and when you have like the spot there, you just go there, but I just tried to go to her forehand.

“Sometimes just give it to her and make her like do more what she can. And, yeah, that’s a little bit the tactic that I can say now. I hope she doesn’t read it.”

Hall of Famer Arthur Ashe famously said: “I never hammer a man’s weakness, you may play it into a strength.”

A year ago, an 18-year-old Gauff moved masterfully, mixed…