Ryan Harrison has described his relationship with Donald Young as almost irreparable after... More, Roberta Vinci appeared on Italian TV and was put to the test - were the grunts she was hea... More, The greatest champions, goes the old adage, are those who leave their sport better than th... More, Tennis is a funny old game. Explosive strength is generally trained using lighter resistances (barbell jump squats, power snatch/clean etc.) Notice that the player on the far right has more difficulties compared to the player on the left. To be able to serve fast, you need solid throwing mechanics. It is much easier to develop power after you have developed placement as opposed to developing placement after you have developed power. Like I said, keep it free-flowing. While that makes it sound like an endurance sport relying primarily on the aerobic energy system, maximal – or anaerobic – energy production is required at many points during a game. The serve is even more important in the power era. For this reason, along with potential injury risk, throws should be monitored and used with caution. Tougher tools Developed between 1859 and 1865, tennis is a sport played between two players (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). People love you one minute and then want to drop you the next;... More, As artistry evolves so too do players hard-hitting weapons. Think about it. Some researchers then, theorize that throws may benefit the serve as well. Control rackets, on the other hand, are all about ball control. Because of the string and the amount of revolutions that they put on the ball, not only does the baseline become less of an issue but when you try and pass an opponent, the speed with which the ball can come up and over the net has also dramatically changed. This is critical for a number of reasons. A real secret to speed and power is relaxed muscles. There are countless others that can be used effectively to increase max power output. After all, we derive most of our power from the ground. Your first encounter with tennis strategy and tactics probably happened early in your tennis career. Where players like Albert Costa or Sergi Bruguera – clay court specialists of the 1990s – had a lot more shape in their strokes. They can be on the dead run, and you’ll see players nearly doing the splits and creating incredible power from the back of the court. This ‘put away’ ball is usually struck somewhere between the baseline and service line. Being angular generally requires more strength too, which is why you see most women play with a linear attack on their ground strokes. Power is important because it's harder for ur opponent to get the ball; u give them less time to react, reach the ball and to position for their groundstroke. It is a global sport. The other weapon of choice today from this part of the court is the drive volley. We’re not able to use the speed component of the force-velocity curve, which limits power output - the goal of this type of training. Players tend to become too focused on stroke technique and look for explanations of inconsistent play in technical flaws of the stroke. If you can throw well and you can replicate those mechanics with a racquet in your hand, then you’re naturally creating racquet head speed. Children, teens, parents, grandparents and great grandparents play. The ball is fast off the racquet and jumps off the court at the other end – this is what’s known as today’s ‘heavy ball’. We saw earlier that explosive … Weigh up your options Today’s game incorporates both elements – that is, speed and spin. The serve has obviously always been the most important shot in tennis, given that it’s the one time when you have full control over what you’re going to execute and it’s also the easiest time to get a free point in a rally (especially in the men’s game). This deceleration component requires a high amount of eccentric strength, balance and stability to control a max effort throw. A grip that goes too far, such as the western grip, makes hitting the ball flat when required generally more difficult (especially at end range). Agility Training For Tennis A racquet sport training programme has to meet the demands of an all-round physically challenging sport. Second, because more musculature is generally involved, these exercises require greater recruitment and activation of type 2 muscle fibers - those that are linked to explosive actions. It’s not easy but experienced coaches can see whether a med ball, for example, is too light or too heavy for an athlete. A fast arm For a long time, I thought that keeping both feet on the floor was very important for hitting consistent groundstrokes. 2) Over the years, he’s found that general movements have recovery benefits - this has something to do with lymphatic drainage (a topic I’m not yet too familiar with). The power racket is suitable for players more concerned with adequately getting the ball over the net, rather than with the nuances of advanced tennis like spin and placement. Look at the dotted line - generally, max power is achieved when both force and velocity are moderate. Some Balls. Scott Draper was a top-50 player on the ATP Tour, achieving fourth round finishes at the French Open in 1995 and 1996, as well as the US Open in 1997. In fact, a 2015 study (Kara et al) used throws in a med ball circuit routine - these elite players saw significant increases in serve speed after 6 weeks of training. The tallest players – think Juan Martin del Potro at 198 cm or Mark Philippoussis at 196 cm – tend to have longer swings and aren’t quite as rotational as the smaller players who are generally more angular in their attack as opposed to the linear styles of longer limbed players. Although the mechanisms for this are not fully understood, many elite coaches believe this is due to both neuromuscular and hormonal factors. Nobody does that anymore. If you’ve got an absence of tension and you set your body in a way that creates that elasticity, you’ll generate maximum power. Players will grip too tight; they’ll force too much. Insufficient training will lead to a player’s inability to return the ball on the opponent’s court. At first glance it may seem like the main purpose of achieving better flexibility would be to prevent injury, and surely that’s a very important part of it. The more spin on the ball, the slower the ball travels through the air. Put simply, power comes from the ground up. or via traditional plyometric activities (jumps, bounds, sprints etc. In other words, your legs. Add strength training to your arsenal. He's unable to coordinate the throw effectively, forcing him to 'muscle' the throw. Tennis can be played as a sport or as a recreational activity with friends and family. When there is a short ball, they can put it away. Even if you were a boxer, it was more about using the jab to set the opponent up for the swinging hook. Racquets and strings have taken tennis to a new place. remember this concept from a previous post. If throwing mechanics change, something has broken down. Some of them play all sorts of shots with sometimes awkward, sometimes funny movements and yet they win matches. The origins of the game can be traced to a 12th–13th-century French handball game called jeu de paume (“game of the palm”), from which was derived a complex indoor racket-and-ball game: real tennis. What we’re more concerned with is MAXIMUM POWER - this is the quality that helps when exploding into a big forehand or going for an all out first serve. As a double-hander, you start with both backhand and forehand grips ready. Tennis is an impact game, and each time you strike or run for the tennis ball your body absorbs serious impact. June 29, 2017 Flexibility: The sit and reach test can be done for lower back and hamstring flexibility. 13 14 15. Add These Movements to Your Warm-upFor potentiation purposes, these exercises may help improve power during matchplay. Initiating your legs start a kinetic chain, from which your technique basically unravels. The player on the left is more efficient and coordinated with his throw - you can see his lower body loading first and then releasing this energy into the throw. Greater ball speeds place more pressure on an opponent by decreasing the time needed to get to and prepare for the shot. You can really take some cuts at the ball and be offensive off the return. For example, a soccer ball, volleyball, basketball etc could all be appropriate depending on the age and power/strength level of your athlete(s). Success in the game largely comes down to how the racket is wielded. Having great ROM is extremely vital to hitting high level shots, the reason being a long swing is necessary to create the kind of acceleration needed to create a big shot using your ground strokes, serve, or overhead. power is essential in mens and womens tennis.. the ability to hit the ball hard and clean when u have to go winners.. and the ability to hit the ball deep to keep your opponent … Research on the topic agrees. Note that the lesser the player, the harder it is to incorporate legs in the swing, especially the serve. Play Better Tennis With Proper Placement Not More Power Tennismindgame.com would like to thank Scott Baker from Tennis4You.com for this excellent article regarding developing your strokes and of course tennis strategy. Lets talk about why. In this case, the load is probably too heavy for him and should be adjusted. It’s the speed from which the whip moves up and down that’s going to make it crack. You can hit … The game, once upon a time, was more artistry. You don’t have to necessarily rest for 2-3min (you can if that’s what you need) but the feeling should be, "I’m ready to throw the ball through the rough". Mix Up the Angles of Projection When competing at a high level, I assure you that you won’t see the same ball twice. Consider that elastic band effect, players like Djokovic hitting the ball at ridiculous speeds in the splits position. You start the point with a serve half the time. Think of cracking a whip. Comparing tennis today to the game of the past is like comparing a boxer and fencer. This isn’t surprising as using 1 arm is more specific to tennis - and science has proven that specificity is important - this is based on the SAID (specific adaptation to imposed demands) principle. It is a racquet that is the jack of all trades. These days, players can take huge cuts at the ball, so the ball is faster off the racquet. With the return of serve featuring more dominantly in today’s game – keeping the opponent from attacking the serve is critical to preventing one of the modern weapons from surfacing. Many coaches and players often speak of the importance of power in tennis. Using the proper progression is a necessity. if power not then not good game play. "Balance is a key element for any good tennis shot," he explains. At the same time, accuracy and a sustained ability to slug a ball from corner to corner needs to be extremely good. (Message automatically replaces this text), Check out this post for a comprehensive analysis. Performing power exercises the day before (or even the day of) competition, can have tremendous performance enhancing benefits because of hormonal factors. In tennis, sport-specific technical skills are predominant factors, although a complex profile of physical performance factors is also required. In the past, surfaces were faster and the balls were too. Tennis can be played for life because it is a low-impact and non-contact sport. They have shaped tennis through their deeds, their example, their behaviour (for better or worse), their playing and personal styles and their character. Don’t have tension in your upper body (only a strong core) – the arms come along for the ride, Practice hitting with different speeds/spins/ trajectories to see where your balance point is between hitting it hard and hitting it in. 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