Basics of Tennis Biomechanics
To grasp the importance of tennis biomechanics just think about the challenge of hitting a tennis ball for a moment.
First of all we have to see the ball coming off the opponent's racquet. Then, in order, we have to judge the speed,spin, trajectory and, most important, the direction of the tennis ball. We then have to adjust quickly and move around the ball. As we prepare to hit our body is in movement, the ball is moving and maybe spinning, and the racquet is also in motion.
We need to coordinate all these movements in approximately a half a second so that the ball is struck near the center of the racquet in a manner to produce the desired spin,speed and direction for our return. A mistake in any of these movements can create an error. Historically, all tennis players were taught to execute their strokes in a certain way. This was meant to reduce injury.
A tennis player would stand in a way that would allow him or her "to step into the ball". This is done by placing the foot opposite to the dominant hand slightly in front. As the tennis player hits the ball and steps forward, energy is transferred from the back foot forward to the ball.
This photo is a common example of the inefficient use of biomechanics. This player is hardly using the transfer of energy from larger to smaller joints because of her incorrect left foot positioning before contact with the ball. She is "arming the ball" which can lead to muscle strain injury in the hip as well as in the lower back.
In tennis, we strive to tranfer the energy from our body to the ball via a tennis racquet to create for velocity and spin. To simplify the tennis biomechanics let's think of the body as a series of linkages connected to one another and affecting each other in a specific sequence.
For example, the foot is a link, which is connected to the leg by the ankle joint, which is in turn connected to the thigh by the knee joint and so on.
During the initiation of a forehand ground stroke the feet are oriented for either an open stance, where both feet are aligned parallel to the net; or semi-open stance in which the closer foot to the hitting zone is slightly behind the other; or the traditional square stance position when both feet are aligned perpendicular to the net.
The finish of the stroke using the latter stance like in this photo is with a fluid body weight transfer into the ball and good balance.
Being fluid means loading and unloading energy by precisely timing our different parts of our body to the ball.
There is, however, another way of positioning your feet to produce the forehand stroke:
The closed stance, in which the front foot is crossed in front of the back one like in this picture. This type of forehand is less effective and is used only in emergency situations such as:
The use of proper biomechanics can be taught at all levels. The following links will illustrate the tennis biomechanics of the most commonly used strokes which are: Backhand, Serve, Volley and How To Hit a Modern Forehand.
We aspire to hit the ball with smooth efficiency, proper timing and a relaxed, fluid motion This is essential not only to excel but also to prevent injury.
This is the essence of Tennis Biomechanics
Back from Tennis Biomechanics to TennisMindLearning |
