Ending the Wrist Debate?
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- čas přidán 18. 05. 2019
- The wrist is arguably the most important element of the kinetic chain. Before we discuss the nitty gritty, we must address the goal of the wrist - to increase racquet speed and focus that energy at a single point. Most players aren't able to do this for one key reason. Look forward to your comments below! Thank you and good luck on the courts!
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Best tip I've had in the last 5 years! Ignore the negative comments they're missing the point, you are 100% on the money. This is totally what the pros do, it's just hard to notice cause they're using their big muscles so effectively as well. I used to do this as a kid and somewhere along the way started locking up my wrist and losing racket speed. Thanks for the reminder, I started doing it again and now I'm cracking everything, thanks mate!
instaBlaster
Very well demonstrated. I totally agreed with you on using the wrist to add control. “
Use “shake the water bottle” exercise to train your wrist and fine consistency motion. Fill the water bottle halfway, then shake the bottle as fas as you can using whole arm and listen to the sound of water slogging inside. Next shake bottle just by twisting the wrist really fast going left right, left right…you’ll hear the water colliding louder but with more predictable
This guy gets it! This took me years to figure out and he explains it in a way I couldn’t quite put to words. Thank you!
A better presentation than what you will see at the national conventions. Well done!!
This is probably the most useful tennis video I've watched on YT (and I've watched A LOT) in terms feel and power. I the 20+ years I've played, I've had such occasions that all of a sudden I was getting a ton of easy power. I wasn't sure how to reproduce it faithfully. Now I do. THANK YOU!
One of the best online coaches!
I agree with you 100%
I agree!!
Very clear instructions . Thank you so much. Keep on producing more solid stuff.
I think it all comes down to the whip: you start turning in the center slowly and as you progress further into the whip = outwars = to the racket tip, the turn is getting faster and faster, thus the wrist as the last point of the "whip" has to move the quickest. If you look at golf shots in superslowmotion, you will see the same thing: right before contact, the racket gains most of its speed by the wrist letting the racket come forward out of inerta.
More than Anything I think I understand how to find and stay in the sweetspot after watching this video. Hard to explain, but when you said "feel the weight" I instantly thought of the feeling when you hit the ball in the sweetspot and thats when the weight of the racquet in motion lines-up perfectly with the weight of the ball , also in motion, on impact.
Great explanation with analogy 🙏🏽. Keep up the good work
I am a strong but stiff tennisplayer, trying to improve the wrist function for speed and efficiency (handy when getting older!).
I usually come too late at attacks on my backhand because of the learned long backswing: now more focus on short back swing with increaded wrist swing function
helps me to shorten the needed preparatiom time and therewith improve control over the movement: more time available and now producing easy and greater backhand speed!
Great coaching coach! As a student of technique in Taekwon Do, skiing and tennis, I love your honest insight a quantum leap above many other coaches on the web. Your openness to criticism is a testament to your lack of ego and understanding that there are many ways to skin a cat. Honesty in every lesson. Bruce Lee would have been proud.
Dude, I can't thank you enough. This has definitely become a heavy debate in the tennis world and you've broken it down properly enough that it couldn't better be explained and demonstrated!!!!
Mind Blown... I have to watch again a few times in order to digest the message. Thank you.
Amazing teaching thank you!!
Super lesson about one of the most neglected aspects of tennis. I'm a senior player and when I was young I was actually told that you Don't use the wrist in tennis but only in badminton!!! Great video. Well done! Tony Costa.
Excellent lesson. Thanks!
Love the technical break downs!!
Excellent instruction!
"Using" the wrist is a very tricky and dangerous concept. I think the worst thing you can do is to CONSCIOUSLY load up the wrist and then flick it forward in executing most of the tennis strokes (there are some exceptions like the backhand overhead). Inaccurate positioning of the racquet head by as little as a couple of degrees can cause a shot to go out or into the net. Consciously trying to square up or otherwise adjust the racquet head in the couple of milliseconds before ball contact cannot be done reliably by most people. That's why most players with very "wristy" strokes are inconsistent even though they can generate a lot of pace.
The pros generate pace by using the "big" muscles in the kinetic chain to swing the arm like a whip. They neither "arm" nor "wrist" the ball. Rather, the arm is shot forward by the uncoiling of the body--assuming that they keep the arm relatively relaxed, i.e., do not attempt to "arm" the ball. Note especially that the angular momentum of the arm, hand and racquet is much greater than that of the shoulders and torso just like the angular momentum at the periphery of a merry-go-round is much greater than near its axis. Think of a footrace on a circular track: the runner on the outside lane must run faster than the runner on the innermost lanes to catch up on the turns. However, if you "arm" the ball you destroy the whip-like phenomenon and then the arm, hand and racquet travels about as fast as the torso uncoils.
In a proper forehand stroke, in my understanding, the wrist is forced back (if kept relaxed) by the sudden forward momentum of the torso's uncoiling and naturally squares up the racquet head at the point of impact with the ball as the hand and racquet catch up to the shoulder. The player does not consciously try and control this adjustment because it can't be done reliably by most humans.
I agree with you that keeping awareness of the racquet head tip is very useful but, personally, I would not advise players to try and gain extra pace on most of their shots by consciously snapping their wrists forward
You're so spot on with this modern FH technique. The reason I think most pros don't snap the wrist forward is b/c it's hard to control the accuracy of the angle of the racket. This guy used Kyrgios as an example of getting pace by snapping, but how consistent is Kyrgios FH? The wrist should be mainly used to rotate the racket in the windshield wiper motion to generate the spin. This is what he should've clarified. You can snap the racket forward at first but must quickly change it to the windshield wiper direction. Otherwise you'd hit the ball long or in the net a lot.
Good response. I have been practicing the "whip" you are talking about. When I first start, I am consciously bringing the wrist through, but then I remind myself to relax the wrist and let momentum bring it forward. The result is a more powerful and generally accurate shot.
Great answer. Georges understands tennis biomechanics very well.
Exactly that conscious wrist or whatever bullshit tennis coacjs promote is what causes injuries .. these retards really think players think of 60 steps before hitting everyt shot haha it's insane
@@tehatte you should never think of any body part when hitting or else you get injured...
Awesome video. Thank you!!!
Great explanation. I've always been taught load the body legs, shoulders etc but with limited success.
good video , flexion into neutral position ( or even a little beyond ) is what we do as well in slice as in topspin but most trainers dont agree. i teach this already more the 20 years but even the trainers of the federeation laughed at me
Great work, Great insight, Great explanation.
Your great input totally contradicts my beliefs of keeping the wrist as stable as possible (while relaxed...🤣). Hence temptation to get deeper into this and try on the court. Thank you for your ideas. It sounds logical at least while I'm at the sofa. 👍
In my mind I make a distinction between stable and rigid. With a rigid wrist I am stiff arming the ball. A stable wrist is in motion during the swing but does not wobble at the point of contact.
Great new concepts you have given us! TY!
this video is wrong, don't buy it. he is just confused. don't let him drag you down.
Excellent video ! I’m a tennis coach and like you have a martial arts background . It’s always been a big debate regarding the wrist . I personally never teach to much wrist on ground strokes , just a very relaxed hand with the pronation of the forearm and it seems to take care of itself . Otherwise I find my clients just turn the wrist like a door knob but they’re elbows sticks to there ribs with no body rotation , but I must say it’s a great video 👍👍👍
One thing that i used to understand wrong was that the wrist lag was more related to forearm supination/pronation. Once i started using the wrist extention/flexion along with the rest of the movement, my forehand got much more powerfull...
It's kind of like the forward motion of cracking a whip. I say the FORWARD part of the whip cracking motion, because cracking a whip requires an ending pull backward motion to create the crack action. Interesting concept.
Hola, soy de Chile, Sudamérica. Soy un gran seguidor y entusiasta de tus concejos de técnica tenistica. He encontrado grandes concejos sobre todo en el juego con ambas manos en derecha y Revez. Te agradezco y sigo tus concejos...👌👌👌
This makes so much sense. And you explained it excellently. A lot of other videos I've seen showcase a lazier approach where they simply say "create wrist lag" and call it a day. Can't wait to hit the courts today and give some of this a try 👍
Nice video, thank u so much !
I used 2 coach 4 the City of Irvine and this young coach is spot on. Using the wrist is really counter-intuitive in that u must hit the ball very late rather than early. Watch Fed or Rafa and look where their head is at forehand contact--the right shoulder.
Really interesting. I played table tennis in college switching from baseball. I remember some of the changes I went through and they make perfect sense from this viewpoint. Although the big changes were in footwork.
thanks for this so well explained and important tip, I´m willing to go to the court and practice it :-)
Excellent. Takes the "lag and snap" concept to a whole new level. Your emphasis on feeling the racquet tip will probably change my game forever.
Be bolder and add 30 g to your raquet. 15 g in the handle then 15 or even 20 g to your tip and see how THAT helps.
@@daikayll1897 I will. By the way which strings are those green ones you and your hitting partner are using?
No idea Kenneth but it looks like a multifilament to me. Don't sweat the strings yet , just add the weight. Then feel that "plough through". THEN , look at the tension that will keep the ball from going through your opponenent, court fence , and into the car park beyond. Added bonus is no more elbow trouble but it may need a little work for your serve action. Watch your rotata cuff to start with. Benefits outway cons.
This concept is the most important thing to understand in tennis.
This is exactly the tutorial I needed, haven't come across this specific approach before. The struggle I've been having with my forehand has gone on for years, and I've taken lessons and tried multiple approaches. Your one-handed forehand looks great. But outside of this tutorial you use a two-handed forehand? I've thought about switching to a two-handed forehand because I struggle so much with my one-hander (my two-handed backhand, on the other hand, is my best shot). Would you mind explaining why you use a two-handed forehand over a one-hander and do you have any videos on how to hit that?
good stuff man.. much appreciated.
very good point about the grip!
This is a goldmine! I've been trying to fix my forehand for the last 6 months with my coach. We are moving from a western grip with full spin to a more controlled eastern. He always keeps telling to "explode with the racket head and let it guide your ending". I get it, but I don't get it. Your videos helped immensely to understand the power of the forearm and racket head momentum
good vid, btw your one hand forehand is great!
My take is that when you are learning to hit the ball properly, you must have a strong/firm wrist so that the ball won't fly, but once you have mastered the basics and can control the ball well, it is good/possible to use the wrist but not excessively lest you get an injury.
You gotta be really loose in the grip and arm to feel the weight/tip of the racket. It’s crucial. Very nice video.
It's very simple. If you stand at the base line hitting balls from the ball machine, you may first swing your racket entirely from your shoulder. You hit the ball and fine it has some pace, but not very much. It's a real struggle to develop pace just standing there swinging from your shoulder joint alone. Now suppose something like half way into your swing before contact you also flex your elbow joint. You have just ADDED racket speed: rate of shoulder flex + rate of elbow flex. They are additive. Now suppose just before contact you also flex your wrist. Same principle--the rate of wrist flex + rate of elbow flex + rate of shoulder flex == racket speed. This is far and away faster racket speed than you could achieve with just your shoulder. Now if you crouched down and twisted your torso away from the ball before beginning your swing, that's two more additive sources of racket speed if during your swing you extend your legs and twist your torso into the shot.
I have tried just what you said and it works for me. To bad who thinks that you make no sense. Thanks for the information
very nice explanation ... excellent vid quality
To me, a great example of what he is talking about here is Fognini on his forehand. He has such great effortless pop on it, and does not seem to use his legs nearly as much as other players. Certainly a player would like both al la Federer, but I do agree, mastering this wrist technique, where the weight of the tip of the racquet is always felt, is a most important portion of proper technique.
excellent tutorial, news things which nobody talks about !
Fantastic video!
I respectfully disagree with a lot of your explanation and understanding of the importance of the wrist. While the wrist is an important component of the forehand, by no means should it be treated as the primary source of power or the “secret” to a more powerful forehand. Players that believe this and try to hit a more “wristy” forehand usually lack consistency and are poor ball strikers. In my opinion (I’ve been teaching for many years and have taught many successful juniors) the best players utilize their legs, hips, and shoulders for the foundation for their groundstrokes (and their power). Improving your footwork and working on ball striking also improves power and consistency. Once I’ve got players to subscribe to this, the wrist is integrated to reinforce the finish of the swing and the completion of the kinetic chain (feet, legs, hips, shoulders, elbow, wrist, racquet). Great footwork, mechanics , and early contact provide more than enough power naturally. Teaching “wrist first” to juniors leads to many bad habits because it’s easy to generate pace during tossing and feeding sessions. Feel free to message me if you want. I’d love to discuss.
I disagree with you Sean. The wrist plays a big roll. He never said to wristy. He said use your wrist more efficiently
@@henrypacquette1489 In the first couple minutes of the video, he states that if you don't get it (the wrist technique) right, you won't hit the ball well. This is not true. There are many successful players that execute powerful groundstrokes and don't rely on their wrist action. Those players typically have fast hips, strong cores, and/or good timing/contact. The wrist is a tempting shortcut to get access to power without earning it through normal training progressions. These players usually pay the price with lots of shanks and tons of unforced errors.
He further tries to illustrate the importance of the wrist to generate power on the volley. Anyone who thinks you should use more wrist action on their volleys shouldn't be teaching. I can get friends of mine that play/played on the ATP tour to validate this. Quality volleys are made with footwork, high quality contact, a subtle stroke (less is more), and control over the firmness of the wrist. Volleys are about control and placement, not pace. Pace is a reward for doing everything else right.
She up smatass
I think if you get a good racquet lag, and then a nice circular windshield wiper stoke over the ball the correct amount of wrist will come into play without having to think about it. It is impossible to play tennis with a completely locked up wrist, a slight amount of wrist action will naturally occur. But, tennis is NOT racquetball, a heavy wrist snap is definitely not good.
Just finished looking at slow motion videos of top players hitting a forehand, they all have the excellent technique you nicely described but they all seem to also have some movement of the wrist, going from radial to ulnar deviation as they are striking the ball. I think it's just part of the total kinetic chain they do so well that hackers like me can only dream about lol.
I know you’re trying your best and trying to help people - you deserve much credit for that. Your ideas on the wrist could probably use more examination, though, because hitting like this over time will lead to injury (and muscle fatigue) and from a technical standpoint, there’s easier and smoother ways of employing the release of the wrist lag. As you mentioned, when people said it happens naturally, it didn’t make sense to you. That is very understandable because just because it feels natural to them doesn’t mean it IS natural. Most likely, they aren’t even conscious of why the lag is releasing and so can only say “let it happen naturally.”
I know from experience how arduous it can be to find out how that lag release works (I’ve got it now finally), and also how much tome it can take. So, instead of yelling at you of how to do it right, I’d just like to ask you to go back to your tennis life, experiment with how to create that release without muscling it, and then make another great video on what you have learned. Thank you for your hard work and asking important questions that most players have found the need to answer at some point in their tennis lives. 😝👍
he didn't understand because it requires a lot of physics knowledge which most tennis players don't have. It is one thing to "don't understand", it's another to spread harmful misinformation and refuse to learn and correct himself. I have the correct explanation and will share with you here:
Imagine you are driving a car at velocity v with one of the doors ajar, then you hit the brake real hard and come to a full stop, what happens next? The door flips open with tremendous speed! This is exactly what happens during wrist lag. If you further calculate the door speed it would be 0 for the hinge and 1.73v for the door edge, 73% higher than the car speed.
What happened is energy transfer WITHIN the racquet, not even through the wrist. Surprise!
Arctic Lake well, the road to better understanding is paved with with misinformation and mistakes, no? Hehe
I don’t think he’s trying to purposefully mislead people - he is searching for an answer that he understands, believes he’s found it, and wants to share it with others to better their games. Instead of it being wrong, it might be more accurate to say it is incomplete and his current wrist experiment could very much lead him and others to a better technique. Whether it will or not, him and everyone else has the freedom to explore either side for themselves. 🤷🏻♂️🤪
Arctic Lake I appreciate this simple model! 😝👍
@@seanr.8499 Thanks!
great video man!
One of the best tennis videos ever
very interesting. How about Alcaraz, with that powerful forehand? is this also a wrist movement together with the big muscles, or?
Gracia estaba pensando lo mismo.
Saludos a todos de se Cucuta N.S.
Felicitaciones. !!!
So good! Yes, the best tip, it's in the tip!!!
Well said Steven.
Amazing analysis, thanks! I am dealing with a wrist injury right now so I am hoping to use some of your advice to improve my forehand without causing further injury to my wrist.
Thanks.. and best of luck with your wrist. Idk your situation but I always tell my players to never break the wrist, only move from cocked to neutral if any. You can still get a lot of tip movement from using the forearm instead.. also really focusing on the sweet spot!
Thanks very much for your concern. I have a tear of the TFCC cartilage that runs across the wrist. Pronation of the wrist causes more pain. I like the concept of you telling your players never to break wrist, only move from cocked to neutral. Do you have any recent CZcams videos that would demonstrate this that you can direct me to? I definitely feel it is going to be necessary going forward for me to use more forearm in order to avoid re-injuring my wrist again.
Nadal has an amazing and unusual forehand loaded with topspin ( opposite of what is being depicted in this video ) that incorporates whipping the entire arm sweeping up over the head ( instead of finishing around the neck / front of the body while holding the racquet with a more beveled Eastern grip and loose wrist. I feel that the topspin generated helps propel the ball with more torque into the back fence ( watch some of his court level practice videos shot from behind ) . A flat shot employing 'the wrist' may have situational uses, but throwing in the Nadal forehand every once in a while, in the midst of a series of "conventional" semi flat forehands, tends to throw off an an opponents' rhythm and expectation of spin coming at them and they tend to hit it back long. Combined with a clay surface and lefty spin, I can see why opponents have trouble with Nadal's strokes.
While I think this a good point you are making, there are a few issues that you've covered in other videos that come to mind, esp. when advising players who have trouble putting away balls to focus on wrist action.
1) Big muscles to prepare, not to execute
To me, the main reason you focus on the big muscles, knee bend and proper shoulder rotation and unit turn (aso), is to make it as easy as possible to make solid contact, in front. Most players that struggle with putting away balls, are not in position nor in balance when starting the swing. Add to that they often also have an incorrect swing path (normally out-to-out, instead of in-to-out)
2) The connectedness of the kinetic chain
When your footwork and use of the big muscles become to relaxed or complacent, it often breaks down the connectedness of the kinetic chain. This almost always results in the arm (and wrist) initiating both the backswing and swing forward, unsynchronized with the rest of the body.
I know you've covered this in other videos, but I thought they deserved to be mentioned again in this context :-)
great job: everything is explained as clearer as possible. You gave me the confirmation I'm on the right path, as I've always tried to improve my wrist mobility at the crucial point of the kinetic chain (I tell to myself: "...release the sling!"). That is the most difficult part, to tell the truth, and the crucial point in which the Pros elevate themselves above us humans: to perfectly combine the phisical effort of the movement with the looseness and timing toward the ball...the more we get closer to that, the more we control the shot....and the more we get excited in playing this wonderful sport!
P.S. I own the same racquet and I find it the definitive one...would you agree with me?
I suggest sticking an inch of lead tape on the tip of the racket to get that feel then once you master that technique, you remove the lead tape and see if the technique is still there when you hit your shots.
Thanks
Excellent views!
I think that the wrist is built for fine motor movements. It’s meant to be used at the end of the swing, and so only a small amount of power will ever be added to the shot because it’s meant for fine tuning the contact point on the ball, to a very slight degree, in the first place.
If a player is good enough that they can add power by consciously adding extra wrist action to their shot, then they may gain a SMALL amount of power and subtlety to their shot but they have to already have a good swing going, so that by the time they want to add wrist power, the racquet feels so absolutely light in their hands that it takes almost no effort to add more speed. Otherwise they’ll end up with a sore wrist quite soon. If someone keeps muscling the ball with their arm and wrist, they’ll never get a powerful shot going because they’ve broken the kinetic chain in the arm or shoulder.
And it’s easy to see that the wrist is not really involved with most shots, on its own, the wrist movement is mostly a passive thing.
Another thing, players using too much wrist need to be checking that their grip may be too slippery and that they’re unconsciously holding it a little too tight. In order to hold it loosely, you need a fairly fresh or good quality grip. The grip is underrated, it needs to be right so that gripping the racquet is done with the fabric and not with overuse of the fingers and hand. This is so vital but means that changing overgrips becomes more common. But it makes a lot of difference.
Another great video. I play sometimes with two former badminton players trying to learn tennis with strokes that are wristy and not much backswing. However, they produce balls with a lot of pace but very flat and often end up in the net or out. It's a bit frustrating because you are always picking up balls. I think with the current racket technology you find tennis players using strokes from other racket sports like squash and badminton but these are specialty shots. You can't make them your bread and butter strokes. Even Kyrigios only uses that badminton shot at most once per match. The less backswing you have, the less spin the ball has. Good for short sitters but not good at the baseline.
You nailed it. 👏
purposefully using the wrist is something that can lead to stiffness in the wrist when hitting a ground stroke. The thing that I like to think of the wrist is that it moves as a consequence of the natural movements of your shot. it's part of the follow through, and a lot of the power generated is actually from the entire body turning the wrist into the final point of rotation. it's the chain of movements that produce the power, not just isolating a single part itself. if you relax your wrist, you'll understand that on your follow through, the wrist will naturally hinge, and cause your stroke to have the power of the pros. if you're too stiff, focusing on the wrist might make your shots clunky, and seem entirely disjointed. I think that the main thing to think about when hitting a shot is that you have to feel like you're grazing the ball, and sending it in the direction you want it to go. also, you have to think of it like you're bowling the ball in a sense. You have to hit low to high naturally because of the fact that the ball doesn't really see the court, all it sees is net. I mean, standing on the base line, me, at 6'2 can't see the other base line above the net. So I mean, based on this alone, you have to have something that pulls the ball down from a line that would naturally be going out if you're hitting at high speeds. back in the day, this was done just by using gravity. nowadays we have the capability of using technology to pull the ball down using the strings to grab the ball and engage spin on that ball while it's moving through the air. The magnus effect is what causes a downward force on the ball, and the main thing is that we can achieve a lot with this. so basically, you have to hit the ball up, and you have to use spin if you want power. the best way to achieve this it hit the ball in a way that goes low-high, and hits the ball on a vector that is fighting against gravity in a way that will allow it to get on the other side of the net. I know that this is pretty basic, but it's actually the thing that a lot of people think is so trivial that they don't think about it. What I, a college tennis player, have been working on is using my imagination to picture the vector that the ball is going to move on before I hit it. it's an interesting thing to think about when you're starting to get to the point of being so consistent that it forces you into a role of extreme control over your movements. The only thing that I'm not consistent on is offense, which is something that you need as a player at all levels.
Im gonna try that one drill with the racket kinda being back. I understand the wrist lag necessity, but I have trouble in games being able to execute it. I think I have a power source problem. I know you have to use body to generate the power, but sometimes things get crazy and I end up using arm or I just kinda return the shot if you know what I mean. Like I start out coiled up real nice and start to unload, but then its like I didn't calibrate right and now I have to like change my stroke, mid-stroke to a more safer shot with a bit more spin and a bit less penetration. But I get eaten alive by good players so I can't have this. Plus, I want to win the US Open one day so I need to get this down.
If you have any tips to keep using the body that would be nice. And btw, I can kill the ball on a ball machine, but it is match play where I mess up.
Great video.
I've found it to be totally true, and liked the observation about how to generate PACE against the slow, backspinny ball that has no pace....
Do you have a hand placement video for the 4.0 4.5 player?
This technique of using the wrist works particular well for me especially on short ball because I don't have a fast swing and it does create the extra spin to bring the ball down onto the court most of the time instead of over hitting and sail long. I understand that all the experts are talking about the kinetic chain and using the bigger parts of the body muscles to generate power from the ground up, but how the hell do you do that while running from side to side like a headless chook, of course the experts then will say you just have to improve the footwork and get into position quicker in order to prepare for the next shot and so on...Anyway, I totally agreed with this video about incorporating the wrist action (windshield wiper) with the ground strokes, but not with the volley. Thank you for all the videos you've put on youtube, keep up the good work.
this video is wrong, don't buy it. he is just confused. don't let him drag you down.
Nice video. The idea behind this theory is similar to basketball passing, or rope jumping, or drumming, or even fly swatting. There is a big difference between "hard" and "fast". Fast can be soft. And hard can be slow. Where is there more use of muscle energy?
Agree 100% ! Unfortunately I think the wrist movement and that kind of coordination between arm and wrist might indeed come natural to some people thus they don’t have to focus on that. Not me though.
Fantastic
Dang, a double handed forehand! Nice tutorial.
good stuff
Messing around with the wrist is a dangerous business. I changed my forehand to be a little more wristy. I admit i did get more spin and power but my wrist was hurting after like 2 weeks. Now i get more power from my legs and coil power from my upper body
What is that racket? Recently I had some luck trying a punching technique I learned in boxer Jack Dempsey's book Championship Fighting. I use a really loose grip then tighten my hand just before contact. It creates a natural wrist snap. I would highly recommend this book. I was surprised at what a great writer he turned out to be.
My cousin is a professional squash player and he told me something interesting about how he swings. When you watch him it looks like he's flicking his wrist super hard at the ball. What's really happening is his wrist is relaxed but not loose and when he hits the ball he's no longer accelerating his arm, sometimes he's even decelerating it. This makes it appear like he's flicking and gives him free power, he told me he's using his wrist and not using it at the same time. It's kind of like the stop and pop you talk about a lot.
It’s true that the wrist can add tremendous racket speed. But if you use your forearm to muscle your wrist, you’ll likely get tennis elbow. Instead have a loose wrist, move the wrist in the opposite direction of the swing before contact, use your big muscles to drive your whole arm, and just let the wrist go freely.
I’ve been watching videos for the past 5 years on CZcams. Literally everyone video posted I’ve watched. You are in my opinion the best coach I’ve ever watched. I want to fly you out to New York and come play with. I’m dead serious. Please DM me
Yes! I get it! Great video👍👍
I always thought I was a ninja on the court, but I might be a ribbon dancer. Who knew? The tip of the racquet is a novel thing to focus on. Good lesson.
Awesome
Now for a question. I define the sweet spot by the shot I am making. The sweet spot is the part of the racquet that is moving fastest. For the topspin, this is the outside bottom of the racquet head around 1:30. Generally, the fastest part of the racquet is different on my backswing. But the other day, I had a much more ornate stroke that was a lot of fun swinging. I realize what I was actually doing was keeping the same part of the racquet head moving fast throughout the stroke. Does that make any sense? It felt ultra smooth.
Thanks for the question.. I’m not sure if I understood what you’re saying but the way I use it is the middle of the strings.
On serve, line up your toes and toss arm with right net post. This will help you pronate through contact, so long as you maintain the 'L' between forearm and racket handle. Also, try to visualize your arms as octopus tentacles. Your hitting hand should undulate all the way to the tips of your fingers as you uncoil upwards. The result is effortless efficiency, smoothness, and great precision. See: Djoker.
Also, "feeling the tip" of the racket is one way to describe the wet towel teaching method. Find a small towel, fold it in half, twist it, then bind it at the head, middle, and loose ends. Dunk it in water, squeeze water out until damp. It should weigh about the same as your racket, length from butt to sweet spot. Practice the figure 8 racket swing with the damp towel, feeling its momentum peak at the top of service swing. It is actually possible to hit a serve with the towel - I've done it. You can also practice forehands and backhands with the wet towel. Makes for a very short back swing and a minimal shoulder turn.
The problem with teaching wrist flip is that it's not really a good description of the windshield washer swing, which is a blend of brushing past the ball and flipping through. How much of each? When to emphasize one over the other?
When Federer does one of his magical wrist flick shots down the line or cross court, notice that he's flicking the racket face open to the ball, not through the ball. The wrist flicks you're talking about are all full swings, quickly snapping past square with the target. Easy power comes from letting the racket snap outwards to square with the target, then carrying through as if you're hitting a string of balls in a line. See: Del Potro.
How do you do wrist lag ..can you pls explain
Very good, Just watch Federer, both his forehand & backhand use a lot of wrist movement and it's beautiful to watch.
A question, does more wrist lead to more tennis elbow injuries?
Can't wait for the next video :)
this video is wrong, don't buy it. he is just confused. don't let him drag you down.
First of all, I play with wrist, although I learned in the 80´s to play with a stiff wrist. Accelaration is much more higher, but compared to you in the US, in europe we play most part of the year clay court and the angle for wrist is often/mostly about the net-line. On hartcourt balls jump higher, so it is there easier to play. Also better mention, that you can play wrist-balls more or less only, when the forward-accelaration of the coming ball is already gone and he just falls more vertically in front of you....
Interesting food for thought. I definitely think we rec players do not have soft enough hands. The serve as an example, I find when my serve is loose and has a tad more pop than usual (more being a relative term LOL) I have a very loose grip as the racquet dangles and as it hammers up there is a slight tightening of the grip and a quick "pulse" of the wrist and hand so to speak prior to contact with the ball. The kinetic chain has to be in place, the big muscles working in a relaxed way and if the ball is not coming at you too fast or heavy, a slight quick twitch movement of the hand just before contact can help you to generate centrifugal force as you brush over the ball. Focusing too much on flexing the wrist and hyper-extending it will damage you however, so it is a subtle timing thing I think based on a variety of factors.
I hurt my wrist so I don’t use much lag. Instead I use my wrist for a more brush motion while using my shoulders to push the ball while my legs give me most of the power.
So true
Try looking at the Iron Byron golf machine, there is only 1 motor & that's not on the wrist. One cannot use the wrist reliably. It's a hinge & racquet is a whip.
This video made a ton of sense and eased my mind about my forehand issues. Excellent advice. And I can tell you from experience that most of the forehand shots are 70% wrist technique and 30% arm + body power. What was also accurate is you pointed out that players who have picked up the sport late in life (like myself who started in my late 20's), getting even a simple forehand shot right is a monumental task if the wrist technique is lacking. It all boils down to limbic memory i.e. muscle memory. That's why I'm so envious of young tots who have picked up the sport early in life. Their wrist muscles get formed early and stay that way. Unlike me who needs atleast 2 weeks for my shots to return to pure form, since everything in Tennis is wrist muscle memory. By the way most of the comments attacking your advice probably come from players who had the luxury of picking up the sport early in life, and hence not realizing how important wrist technique is. Ask the guys who picked it up late in life and then they will understand, how challenging it is to get the forehand shot right without concentrating on the wrist movement. Like you said, the kids pick up the wrist technique easily and unconsciously, but the later you start the harder it gets.
what you're saying amounts to heresy! an active wrist where you are timing the activation is very difficult. Aren't you supposed to allow the arm and wrist to be relaxed and use centrifugal force to accelerate the racquet?
Kathryn Egan yes.
Let your eyes guide the racquet to the ball! Trust it will happen once your core sets your body in motion. You're so right!
You are (although I don’t think the using centrifugal force concept is not very thorough - it explains how to create energy but not how to transfer that energy to the racquet head) but it’s a hard concept to understand and even harder to employ because it takes rather unintuitive timing - the chain of the body comes to a stop before contact and sends the racquet head into contact. So, at least to me, it feels like I’m swinging earlier than when I was swinging the racquet and body like a one piece club. Even while knowing this, I have moments where I don’t trust it. So it’d be rather tough for someone that has never experienced it to trust it, as well. Perhaps when they get sick of hitting the way they have been hitting, that wonderful moment of surrender will help them explore timing of the swing that seems somewhat bonkers. 😂
Kath you are right I'm all with ya. u know what I once thought it was the centrifugal force, and it could perhaps explain this phenomenon(with tremendous math), but now I have an easier approach.
I have the correct explanation and will share with you here:
Imagine you are driving a car at velocity v with one of the doors ajar, then you hit the brake real hard and come to a full stop, what happens next? The door flips open with tremendous speed! This is exactly what happens during wrist lag. If you further calculate the door speed it would be 0 for the hinge and 1.73v for the door edge, 73% higher than the car speed.
What happened is energy transfer WITHIN the racquet, not even through the wrist. Surprise!
I'm distracted by the car behind you with the lights on.
Omg me too
@@kyu5882 because you may not be concentrating lol
@@gprolee yes it was right after my tennis training and it was hot