Bakchand - 3.A Flick of the Wrist

A Flick of the Wrist

Listening to TV commentators covering a tennis match, you might think the contestants were playing badminton. John McEnroe particularly likes to say that a player sends the ball crosscourt or down the line "with just a flick of the wrist."

Just how much wrist is used in tennis? High speed photography (200 frames per second) of world class players analyzed by John Yandell of www.tennisone.com shows that there is virtually no wrist movement on forehand and backhand groundstrokes. On a forehand the wrist is locked into a laid-back position at the end of the backswing and remains in that locked position until the end of the followthrough, at which point the muscles of the arm and shoulder relax and the wrist returns to its natural position. This occurs long after the ball has crossed the net. On TV and video replays (at 15 frames per second), it might look like a flick of the wrist, but it is usually a slight roll of the forearm with a firm, locked wrist.

Timing the shoulder rotation and the acceleration of the racquet arm through the ball on a good groundstroke is difficult enough; playing with a lot of wrist adds another, troublesome, variable to the mix. If you cock your wrist back as you prepare the backswing with the intention of uncocking your wrist upon ball contact (as a flick of the wrist implies), your timing must be perfect in order to have your racquet face flush to the ball. If your timing is off, you will mis-hit the ball. This is why most good players eliminate wrist movement in their swings. It gives them one less variable to contend with.

So what's up with McEnroe, one of the best players ever, saying that Agassi and others are making these great shots with a "flick of the wrist"? It's probably easier and more dramatic for McEnroe to describe such shots in this way rather than giving a long technical explanation (as above). It might also be a case of Mac not understanding the nature of the modern forehand, particularly those using semi-Western and Western grips. Look at old videos of Mac playing with his continental grip off both sides and you'll see that his strokes look strange compared to the modern forehands of Hewitt, Agassi, Federer, Haas, Ferrero, Roddick, Kuerten, et al. Mac's a genius on the court, but he hits a different groundstroke than the younger players of today. He, too, however, didn't flick his wrist.

Drive, he said

Want to ensure a successful groundstroke? Then concentrate on driving or hitting through the ball.

Driving through the ball means extending the racquet about two feet or so through the contact zone, with the racquet face continuing on a straight line, parallel to the net, and out towards the target. Many ground stroke errors occur when players abbreviate this extension by wrapping the racquet around their neck or shoulder too early. The "wrap" should occur naturally at the end of the swing but only after you have hit through the ball and your swing begins to decelerate.

You can learn to drive through the ball by practicing a couple of simple exercises. Stand about a foot away from the back fence with your shoulders parallel to the net. Take your racquet back on your forehand side until the head touches the fence. Standing this close to the fence you will only be able to take a fraction of your regular backswing. Lock your wrist and keep your elbow bent and in close to your ribs.

Now drop feed a ball and try to hit a forehand over the net and as deep into the court as possible. Swing high to low for a little topspin. Your racquet should be more-or-less vertical at the point of contact. Extend your forward swing for at least two feet after contact. Finish with your racquet on the right side of your body (left for lefties). I tell my pee-wee students to picture a big smiley face painted on their racquet strings and to let their opponents see that big smile throughout the swing.

A good cue here is the self of the palm of your hitting hand. The image you want is of your palm striking the ball and then pushing the ball straight forward toward the target. You might even put your racquet in your other hand and just practice shadow strokes with your palm to get the feel for hitting through the ball.

Unless you drive through the ball it won't clear the net, let alone land deep in the court. Concentrate on the face of the racquet (or your palm) remaining parallel to the net as it swings through the ball. Keep drop feeding yourself balls and hitting in this manner until you gain good consistency and are getting the ball deep in the court.

In this little exercise, the role of your shoulder is minimized. Your arm is doing most of the work. On a true forehand ground stroke, your shoulder would generate most of the power (coiling and then uncoiling), with your arm picking up the load from the point of contact onward. By limiting the role of your shoulder in this way, you can concentrate more on driving through the ball, which is the main task of the arm in a good forehand.

Another way to get the feel of driving through the ball is to stand about a foot away from the net, with your shoulders parallel to the baseline. Turn your shoulder to initiate your backswing and bring your racquet back until the butt of the racquet is perpendicular to the net. Keep your elbow bent and close to your side and lock your wrist. Now take a short step forward and turn your shoulders back toward the net, which should bring the face of your racquet flush to the net cord. Strike the net cord gently such that half of your racquet face extends above the net. Continue to push the racquet face against the net with your hitting arm, building resistance as your weight shifts forward against the net. Now raise your hitting arm slowly upward until your racquet is free of the net. Extend your hitting arm and let your racquet move forward toward the open court, keeping the face of the racquet parallel to the baseline. This will simulate driving through the ball.

You can also do backhand versions of these exercises. For a two-handed backhand, focus on the palm of your non-dominant hand to keep your racquet face parallel to the net and extending through the contact zone. Let the elbow of the non-dominant arm straighten out before finishing with the racquet around your neck or shoulder. If you are doing a one-handed backhand, you'll need to use a backhand grip. On the one-hander, visualize the knuckles of the hitting hand driving through the ball and out toward the target. This will help to keep the racquet face parallel to the net as it extends through the contact zone. For the one-hander using these drills, I suggest you exaggerate your sideways positioning to the ball so your hitting arm can swing freely from the shoulder joint.

Remember, the two feet of forward extension after contact, generated mainly by the arm(s), is critical. Shorten this important part of your swing by wrapping the racquet too quickly around your neck or shoulder and your shots will lack power and depth.

In practice sessions and match play, a good rhythmic mantra to assist in driving through the ball as described above is to say to yourself "bounce, step, drive."

Randy Cummings
Match Point Racquet Sports
http://www.racquetgear.com/