A forehand is a type of stroke in racket sports like tennis, pickleball, or badminton where you swing your racket across your body with the palm side of your hand facing forward. If you're right-handed, you hit a forehand on your right side; if you're left-handed, on your left side.

Picture a tennis player winding up and swinging their racket from their side across their body, making contact with the ball in front of them. The palm side of their racket hand faces the direction they want the ball to go. This is the forehand, and for many players, it's their strongest, most natural shot.

The opposite is the backhand, where the back of your hand faces forward during the swing. Beginning players usually learn the forehand first because it often feels more comfortable and powerful. When coaches say “nice forehand!” they're praising both your technique and the shot you just made.

In table tennis, players often have a dominant side, and you'll hear commentators talk about a player's “strong forehand” or how they position themselves to hit more forehands than backhands.