There's the modern forehand, and there's the Monfils forehand.
1. Shoulders
This is one of the most extreme forehands you’ll see. There’s so much rotation in Monfils’ shoulders that you would think he has ball bearings in his chest. By the time he finishes his stroke, his hitting shoulder points at the net. Club players won’t be able to rotate like this. Monfils is a rare athlete with incredible flexibility. Still, this photo shows us the importance of shoulder rotation in the modern, open-stance forehand.
2. Arms
When you look at Monfils’ arms, the word “powerful” comes to mind. While he is plenty strong, the better word to describe his arms is “limber.” His grip is just short of a full Western (for more on what this looks like, go to TENNIS.com/grips), but notice how loosely he holds his racquet. If you watch Monfils long enough, you’ll see that he doesn’t muscle the ball. His arms are like rubber bands.
3. Follow-through
This is the forehand followthrough of our time, down and across the body rather than over the opposite shoulder, the way textbooks used to teach it. Monfils catches the throat of his racquet with his off hand for good measure, but that’s more a flourish than an essential element of his technique.
4. Knees
I like the bend in Monfils’ knees. Many club players hit with straight knees, but if you keep them straight, you can’t rotate your hips. His legs are relaxed.
5. Feet
You can see how open Monfils’ stance is and how far apart his feet are. While this works well for him, I wouldn’t advise a stance so open or so wide for the club player, whose shoulders won’t rotate enough to compensate. He also jumps far more than any nonprofessional should. Don’t worry if you never leave the ground. You can still learn to hit an excellent forehand.