That’s all it takes to get it back in play and your brain is very smart as it doesn’t want to use more energy than necessary because without energy we die. Extremely useful tip. 2. That means we must not lean and adjust with the upper body but instead do all the adjusting with our legs. That’s also a good mental image, Emanuele, “wheels” carrying your upper body in balance. This is an excerpt from 'Getting the Balance Right' by Sarah Brown. When we lean, that angle in the hand doesn’t change, but the actual racquet angle in relation to the ground does. Thanks for another great tip! Tennis is an impact game, and each time you strike or run for the tennis ball your body absorbs serious impact. I think that this is possible mostly by doing split steps and keep your feet moving and adjusting all the time. Thanks Thomas, fondamental elements of dynamic balance. Thanks for sharing, Graham. Power is all about balance. It isn't clear to the common person, and sometimes practitioners, what actually defines the "core" in an anatomical or conceptual sense. Please log in again. It takes some bravery to accept what you see.…, I was doing some homework on the unit turn, and found that focussing on the non-dominant shoulder gives that extra…, I laughed when you tried the stop-shoulder experiment with Peter. It’s basically saving you a lot of work using a ‘recovery step’. Put on some Latin music and see if you can move from shadow forehand to backhand strokes in perfect rhythm to music and with perfect balance. Once you distinguish these two, you’ll know much better when you’re off balance and you’ll have some feedback for the next shot on how to move better and in a more balanced way. Hitting a ball well when it comes right at you is one thing but to keep your balance and hit the ball well in difficult situations on the court is often what separates players at different levels! If you watch carefully, you will see that he maintains the upper body “tilt” even when he prepares for his shots – and from this side we can see that best when he prepares for his backhands. High speed braking is a main cause of injury for tennis athletes. Although we combine both speed and agility when training it is important that they are also seen as individual elements. Balance drills help tune up the body so it can land with proper weight distribution, while activating and properly sequencing deceleration muscles. My name is Osamu,I have played tennis for ten years. This pulls them off balance. This pulls them off balance. Aerobic Endurance is important not only in Tennis but to all the other kinds of sports as well. Your legs are like slaves doing all the hard work while your arms are like the queen, being very comfortable. That problem is controlling the ball. Keep experimenting. Great players like Roger Federer always seem to be in balance. First, a tennis racquet is placed on the center of the balance board so that it rests on the balance bar with the … I especially like the part about when we lean we tense up our leg to balance and it tenses up our upper body. It is evident how important balance is … Balance training also contributes to players’ agility. Nike is the title sponsor of the camps and has no control over the operation of the camps or the acts or omissions of US Sports Camps. With 18 years of head coaching experience at Duke University and a former All-American and US Davis Cup player himself, Lapidus has had time to observe players and notice where common mistakes occur. You … That means being on the ball of my feet and trying to move around smoothly. Correct, Ken, body always wants to remain in balance and it will tense up or relax certain muscles to achieve that regardless of what we want to do with our tennis strokes. Not sure this question really needs to be asked but balance is very important in tennis, more so than in many sports. Roger Federer maintains this posture throughout the rally. I Would really like to know your teaching about breathing then…, One more thing: I’m very tall and often coaches tell me to stay low… ... e.g. Thank you again, like always. These cookies do not store any personal information. That’s why I like to explain this as imagining Queen Cleopatra in Egypt being carried on a litter by four slaves. Do you? "What often happens is that players are moving all over the place while hitting their shots. I would add that in this image we have another key point for tennis: to be able to have the upper and lower body not moving at the same speed. 5) Long term health- Incorporating balance training into your exercise routine helps to maintain or improve your balance, which is needed to prevent falls and fractures. I believe it helps but somehow being “less” low and more in balance (as Fognini does for example) makes me more relaxed and effective… Even though I probably still have to get this better…. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Pay attention to the little feels of being off balance and work on eliminating them so that, as you move and set up for your strokes, you feel very stable and comfortable without any tension in your legs. Being balanced, also, helps you move faster on the court and reduce your risk of injury. Hi It is thought that during a match up to 48% of a players movement is lateral (sideways) so the ability to change direction rapidly and under control becomes an important skill. This usually helps a lot in maintaining balance and cleaning up your strokes.". Tennis requires Dynamic Balance. You cut back and forth across the court, lunging for shots, driving forehands down the baseline, and even sprawling to make backhand saves. Try hitting your shot and afterwards standing still on balance for about a second. Second, it starts to affect your upper body and arms, and you cannot swing smoothly anymore; therefore, you accelerate with a jerky movement and lose control of the ball. I wonder if the opposite holds true too? Beginners that come into our sport with good balance, coordination and agility will improve faster and see greater results. You cannot control this response; put yourself in a position at primary ‘risk’ (unbalanced head) and the higher level secondary task goals are diminished (bad lunging backhand)…, Oh – and another picture for this yin/yang being: think of a duck on water; appears top, calm, cool – nonchalant above; but below, webbed feet whirling about a mile a minute stabilizing everything…. Balance boards are a popular tool for taking measurements. Your instruction has really helped my game! Your body needs to contract these muscles in order to maintain the same position. Then they usually blame the stroke technique and look for solutions far away from the actual cause of the mistake. Polls on this site have also confirmed that speed and agility are considered the most important for success in tennis. Most players that I see are being way too upright and are therefore unable to accelerate quickly when the ball is short for example, nor can they control their balance when they run to the side and need to slow down for the shot. I am just beginning to learn Ti Chi and this video is just what our instructor emphasized. In order to avoid this you should practice hitting and finishing on balance. I love the way you emphasize these elements in all your lessons vs just static forms, Tomaz. As we age, our balance can deteriorate, something we want to avoid. The wrist is still in the same position relative to the racquet, and this is our main “sensor” telling us whether the racquet is open or closed. Why is Balance needed in tennis? A tennis conditioning program with strength training can improve your game. Hi and thank you for this useful video lesson…….have you heard about the Alexander Technique it relates very much to some of the information you have passed on. Osamu, I ’ m split stepping go to practice, I have played for... The shot you are able to generate more force you can try to feel that right now home! If we want to avoid “ thrown ” in the game of tennis while hand coordination... Is the ability to maintain your center of mass, knee and hip strength you emphasize these elements all. Do know that with better body awareness, we need to be in balance and having legs! 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