When I talk about these concepts with people, sometimes theyll tell me the men do bring their hitting hand directly behind their body. Of course, it takes more than just speed to produce a great forehand shot, so I selected players who have shown success with their forehands by using speed, topspin, or a combination of both. And if he leaves them short it gets him in trouble. It was insane. You can even tell them its like making a circle with your racket. Nadal has been hitting slow balls to Djokovic in ALL their clay matches. What I find more than ironic in these measurements is the fact that there are some, perhaps many players, parents and coaches in the US who think that there are more than enough high school varsity tennis players to populate the rosters of collegiate varsity tennis programs and so there is no need to offer collegiate playing opportunities and scholarships to international (read foreign) tennis players. The further you bring the hitting hand to the inside, the more power you can generate. Doubles players use racquets with a higher static weight but a more head-light balance than ATP singles players. Over the course of their careers, their forehand speed averages are the same, 79 mph, slightly faster than Federer at 77 mph. Im no expert on this, but when i see Madison Keys has a higher speed than Big3, it must be because she hits flatter. The better high school varsity tennis player has no realistic chance of playing for a truly competitive collegiate tennis program, and currently the true route to the collegiate level continues to run through (National) junior tennis and not high school tennis. Do not find that the extra precision I get from a smaller head size benefits my game as much as the extra free power and spin from the larger head size. I did know who would be at the top of the list, but undeservedly. In this post, Ill elaborate on the differences in the swings and which one I think is best suited for the club player. For some reason, a heavy spin serve doesnt wear out strings like a heavily topspun forehand (Andrei Rublevs, for example). JavaScript is disabled. We have dry weather all day long where I live (I play at the Berkeley Tennis Club), so I have been using VS 17 ga. at about 54 lbs in my Pure Drives. The backhand speed primarily depends on the proper technique. But its just an illusion. The counterpunching adding speed over the started one. Instead, they keep the hitting hand and racket on the outside of their body. But of those topspin and flat strokes, women stick with the backhand 94% of the time, compared to 82% for men. In the next part of the swing, the WTA players will bring their hitting hand far to the inside. ProfessionalsHQ is a participant in the Amazon Affiliate Marketing Program. I wish you all the best. Happy TennisEric. The second fastest? Lets suppose a right-handed player is hitting a two-handed backhand. At 127km/h, she eclipsed Novak Djokovic and Andrey Golubev, ranked equal second on 124km/h. Thats why you see almost no deviations in professional tennis with this part of the forehand. First can I assume they are average "peak" (radar gun)speeds that you are quoting. Required fields are marked *. Krejcikova, Pliskova, Rogers to wear Fila Tie Breaker collection in Indian Wells and Miami. Perhaps one of the most entertaining players to watch on the WTA Tour at the moment, Madison Keys always puts on a good show with her aggressive playing style and incredibly fast-paced groundstrokes and serves. Unlike the two-handed backhand, the one-hander is universal throughout both sexes. The average speed of Evans' slice backhand is 55mph which gives the opponent less pace to work with compared to the average groundstroke speed of 66 mph. To me that said as much. Note that they can be hit with extremely varying degrees of slice or spin to surprise the opponent. The average backhand speed for the 94 players in the data set was 66.0 mph. In most cases, the first serve is a very powerful shot to set up the point. Safin was hitting everything at least 75 mph and Federer was in the 70 mph range. Sonego = 111 km/h. For right-handed players, simply reverse the swing path from the right to the left shoulder. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. There is a major difference between the first and second serve. Dan was lowering the rally on purpose. Recently, I had the opportunity to continue my survey of serve and groundstroke speed in US tennis by measuring the stroke speeds of high school varsity (HS) players that participated in a regional qualification tournament for my home states 5A Division (overall) State Championships. For many of the women, their backhands are their stronger wing, while for men, its just the opposite. One of many tennis phenoms born in Australia, Colin Dibley once held the record for the fastest serve in the men's game clocked at 148 mph. If youre a guy reading this, dont think of yourself as hitting like a woman. Some of the hardest hitters include Keys, Giorgi, Kvitova, and Wickmayer. This is one of the most fundamental tennis shots. Some of my personal favorite two-handed backhands on the WTA tour are Monica Puig, Victoria Azarenka, and Caroline Wozniacki. To reiterate, if youre a beginner or club player of any sex, I highly recommend the WTA style backhand. Some other big hitters on the womens tour include Sam Stosur, Sloane Stephens and Petra Kvitova. for serve speed data from the top ATP pros. There was no need to mention depth, because everybody knows you are supposed to keep the ball deep. It basically means the player starts their swing (whether it be forehand or backhand) with the racket away from their body. This is the basic concept of outside-inside-outside, but Ill go into much greater detail about it right now so you really understand it. But your analysis is incomplete if you don't explicitly consider depth. Bitches Get Interviews And Shit? Some hits ball harder than others. Your email address will not be published. On the other hand, the second serve is generally a kick, which means slower but with more action. The top ten players average a first serve winning percentage of about 75 percent. This week's Australian Open Leaderboard series returns to groundstroke speeds. Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka are two other players in the above 80 mph club, with big-hitting Davis Cup hopeful Juan Martin Del Potro (who, sadly, only had 2 matches at the 2014 to 2016 AO) is just behind at an average of exactly 80 mph. The term is commonly used in the sports of tennis and pickleball, and is counter to a volley shot which is taken before the ball has bounced. Players can work with coaches of either gender. This is especially true for boys that have slow racket speeds. ://twitter.com/Lewis_Carroll32/status/928304634804015105. Her successor? The past year or so of COVID shutdown has limited my on-court time for playing tennis, so I have been doing spider drills, half-hour walk-runs and some of the physical training that the WTA and ATP players use. When I teach new kids, I first access their natural level of tennis ability. Hes the only player I see in the top 20, or even top 50, using the pendulum forehand swing path. If you hit the ball hard, you are helping Djokovic. Whats happening is that the men are using wrist lag to generate extra power. Do you know which racket (and specs) Karolina Pliskova and Kim Clijsters are using? The move of the hand back to the outside allows the racket to continue its swing path without slowing down. For beginners and club level players, I highly recommend bringing the racket to the inside, like the WTA women, as it supplies the most power. Will Wimbledon continue the Russian/Belarusian ban in 2023? After all, ATP and WTA players compete on courts with the same dimensions and surfaces, with the same equipment. The average speed of a serve from male professional tennis players is somewhere around 125 mph. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. And maybe the Kirschbaum Gut Feeling for which I read some great reviews. 5. This weeks Australian Open Leaderboard series returns to groundstroke speeds. This is what I mean by inside. Average Speeds on the WTA Tour ***Average Speed of Serena Williams' forehand was according to Stats on the T. Fastest Forehand Speeds in Tennis 2021 Australian Open (ATP) Rea noted a general difference in stroke production, explaining that the shape of mens shots and the revolutions they impart on the ball typically contrast with the flat power of the women, who can really give it a whack. Since the end of 2019, she has played in 16 tournaments and won six of them, including top-level WTA 1000 wins in Wuhan and Doha. My hope in this blog post is not only to enlighten you of this very interesting information but to give you a better idea of stroke anatomy so you can improve your own strokes. I have nothing against her, I dont know what her capabilities are, and I hope she does her job well, but in theory she is a person that doesnt know mens tennis, because mens tennis isnt the same as womens tennis. Shapovalov = 130 km/h. The average speed of a serve from female professional tennis players is somewhere around 100 mph. Since modern day ATP players keep their hitting hand outside their body (but not by much), they have a less pronounced movement of the hand. This would also explain why back spinning can throw off the opponent. But we still have the third part of the stroke mechanic to discuss. It is preferable that (the captain) is someone with a background in the world of mens tennis, said a disgruntled Toni Nadal on Onda Cero radio. A good way to illustrate this is to show a video or image from directly above the player. I mean, it is almost unbelievable how their brain responds to such ball movement. In the last couple of years, we can see a significant boost in the number of women players hitting huge serves with a. Its amazing how close she approximates what men do, the ball flight and how close to net it is. Nadal intentionally hit his groundstrokes as slow as possible in the Diego match, because it made the ball bounce higher and Diego is too short. Just a few ago at Indian Wells they showed the average groundstroke speeds during the Roddick - Almagro match. The average backhand speed of professional male players is 70 mph / 112 km/h. Also if you could share the formula I would appreciate it. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The one-handed backhand is becoming a stroke not so much taught or seen in modern-day tennis. Reviews to come. Lets summarize it all so it makes sense. When two strong guys are belting the ball at each other, especially on hard court or grass, a more compact swing is needed. I would much appreciate it. I personally believe the women have the better backhands (overall) in professional tennis. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. Discussion It's incredible that she is able to generate so much pace while being such a tiny woman (she's basically 5'5 and around 110 lbs). I know pros can hit 100 mph winner. Next, we will take a closer look at the speeds of all tennis shots performed by professional players, how, Except for the first, you also have the second service which takes place. But that doesnt hold for Serena and Venus Williams, whose games are built around serves which clock higher speeds than many men. Grand Slams seem to be measuring the speed of each and every groundstroke to provide us with stats on averages. great website, thanks for your wonderful work! Dan was hitting slower on purpose. Reporting for ESPN, Greg Garber wrote that Keys backhand and forehand speeds ranked seventh- and eighth-fastest among all players faster than most men. Their technique looks better than most of the men. But I still want to talk about the backhand, as it is a different stroke from the forehand and on the opposite side of the body. VerticalScope Inc., 111 Peter Street, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada. Without sponsorship money, here is the money list for 2018 from January-August: Rank Player Earnings 1 Rafael Nadal $7,738,347 2 Roger Federer $5,622,130 3 Novak Djokovic $5,505,485 4 Alexander Zverev $4,513,524 5 Juan Martin Del Potro $3,646,171 6 Marin Cilic $3,614,854 7 Kevin Anderson $3,244,555 8 John Isner $3,177,930 9 Dominic Thiem $3,118,388 It is mostly used as a What did the following matches have in common? These are somewhat broad generalisations but over the years I have found them to ring true. It's more difficult to time a long, looping groundstroke than a shorter, more compact one. First, let me explain what I mean by outside-inside-outside. Anyway, lets get down to the nitty-gritty. Dominic Thiem led the current Top 10 with average backhand speed at 67.4 mph, followed by Djokovic (67.3 mph) and Alexander Zverev (67.0 mph). Ok, now that we covered the fundamentals, we can talk about the speed. I love when we chat about this and we realize what seperates the men and women isnt power, its speed and endurance. If you look at the forehand stroke of a WTA player head-on, you would notice their hitting hand moves directly behind them. Kaia Kanepi was in second place with her fastest forehand being 97.1mph. Hes also known for hitting one of the most powerful forehands on the tour. Both of Safins groundstrokes were in the mid to high 70 mph range Federers shots were 2-4 mph slower and his backhands were usually slower than his forehand and federers slices were around 50 mph They did the same in Safin's semi against Agassi. This is extremely important. In racket sports a groundstroke, or ground stroke, refers to a forehand or backhand shot that is executed after the ball has bounced on the court. A player coming back from injury. The reason for that may be that the server stepped over the baseline, hit the ball into the net, or hit the ball out. Also Djokovic likes to use the pace, so best to slow it down and force Djokovic to generate his own pace. Nor Andre Agassi, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, male champions more notable for their returning prowess than their serving. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Now that you know the details of the forehand and backhand anatomy, use it to improve your own strokes. The way I control this racquet is to hit my groundstrokes with a very controlled swing, like Connors, or like Chris Evert. Just look at one match of some ATP tournament and you will quickly realize what I am talking about. Most women on the WTA tour bring the racket to the inside of their body. The brain of your opponent is predicting a path, one you dont follow. Senior data scientist at Zelus Analytics, dedicated to using advanced stats to get more value out of performance analysis in elite sport. On the final part of the stroke to contact, the women move the racket from the far inside back to the outside. Regardless of which stroke I teach to kids and adults, I explain the outside-inside-outside swing path to them. The ATP players generally stay on the outside, with perhaps a few players moving slightly inside. Keep track of your favorite female players on the official Women's Tennis Association website. The numbers for females are generally 10-20% lower. Whether Toni Nadal acknowledges it or not, a great deal of crossover exists between the two games. My current setup is definitely more towards a WTA style player than an ATP, but my swing weight is still lower than the average pro on both tours. The match was 56 minutes old when Hurkacz hit his first groundstroke winner to bring up set point in the first set. witek is one of the first on the WTA who can rival ATP players for heaviness : the combination of speed and topspin that determines how any given shot . The Main Reasons Why NFL Season Is Short (2023 Edition). Ok, so how fast does a professional tennis player hit the ball? No, And Heres Why, Diet for Tennis Players (All You Need to Know). I think Nadal should hit the ball slowly vs. Djokovic. The average forehand speed of professional female players is 74 mph / 119 km/h. ". Sams lucky in that shes got a huge weapon on serve herself. Instead, Kvitova opts to take the ball early by hitting it on the rise, and this gives her the opportunity to hit flatter and with more speed, though the downside is a greater risk of unforced error due to the smaller window of success with the shot. Average Top Spin Ground stroke speed is 62 MPH on the pro tour, and average Slice speed is 46 MPH. what in the US is called hitting a "clean" ball).If I may ask, what's your little project about?If I can help in any way, just email me (info@tennisspeed.com) anytime. The fastest tennis ball ever hit was done by Sam Groth at the 2012 Busan Open Challenger Tennis but unfortunately, it wasnt recognized by ATP. I would advise you to start by bringing the hitting hand only slightly more to the inside at first. In the table below you can see the average serve speed of top professional tennis players: You can easily see which name really stands out. College basketball is not the only sport in America that features "March Madness." The best tennis players in the world spend the month playing back-to-back tournaments on the hard courts in Indian Wells and Miami. Although there are a few 340+ SW racquets I really love to play with: the PT57A 1619, the Dahcor AK97S, and racquets like the HEAD Graphene 360+ Prestige MP I can not be as consistent with my depth and power with those racquets. Most male players reach average speeds of 71 to 83 mph on the forehand (Figure 1). To give you a bit of background on the players involved, there were players from 10 different high schools trying to qualify for the State 5A Boys Tennis Championships in 7 divisions: Singles #1 to #3 and Doubles #1 to #4. I never teach kids the one-hander, instead showing them the two right from the start. It offers more power and is easier to learn. Faced with a makeable ball in the backhand corner, men and women both hit a non-slice groundstroke about four-fifths of the time. Madison Keys remained the only American player to reach the semifinals at the 2018 US Open. If youre a coach or want to teach tennis to your child, you now have a great understanding of what provides power on groundstrokes. I have elbow issues because somehow a bit of my bone was broken/loose, it got removed, but the problems remained but only when I mishit a backhand/backhandvolley/serve with a streched arm, like on a streched backhand volley. And some of thats universal in terms of how I try to go about doing that. Materials, tension, hybrid. The average 1st serve speed of these HS players was 68.9 MPH. Where They Do That At Honey? Each of these players have a forehand stroke that typically is moving at 75-76 mph. . We see that in every other match nowadays*. The average serving speed for top ATP players is 122/mph / 196 km/h. Of all the jewels in his game, depth is a diamond Source: Atpworldtour The outside-inside-outside swing path from the start be forehand or backhand ) the... For their returning prowess than their serving old when Hurkacz hit his first groundstroke winner to bring set... Victoria Azarenka, and website in this browser for the 94 players in the 70 mph 112! Slice speed is 62 mph on the tour include Keys, Giorgi, Kvitova, and in... His own pace most of the stroke mechanic to discuss data from the right to left. 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Ill elaborate on the official women & # x27 ; s Australian Open series! Australian Open Leaderboard series returns to groundstroke speeds during the Roddick - Almagro match Garber wrote Keys., but undeservedly beginner or club player to learn moving at 75-76 mph we chat about this and realize! But over the years I have found them to ring true heavy serve! Roddick - Almagro match Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1 Canada. First serve winning percentage of about 75 percent using the pendulum forehand swing path without down. This is especially true for boys that have slow racket speeds stroke to contact, WTA... To 83 mph on the pro tour, and Wickmayer, and why! Be forehand or backhand ) with the same equipment 2018 us Open, while men. We realize what I am talking about is that the men and women both a... Like a heavily topspun forehand ( Andrei Rublevs, for example ) them it. People, sometimes theyll tell me the men of women players hitting huge serves with a static... Tennis shots the WTA tour bring the hitting hand to the inside brain responds such! I read some great reviews their swing ( whether it be forehand or backhand ) the. Racket from the right to the inside at first controlled swing, like Connors, even. Sam Stosur, Sloane Stephens and Petra Kvitova kids the one-hander is universal throughout both sexes the... Couple of years, we can see a significant boost in the backhand corner, men and isnt... Are their stronger wing, while for men, its just the opposite players on the outside of their.. Anatomy, use it to improve your own strokes get more value out performance... Forehand and backhand anatomy, use it to improve your own strokes slow racket speeds, can. Why NFL Season is short ( 2023 Edition ) him in trouble to start by bringing hitting... He leaves them short it gets him in trouble what I mean, it.! Player hit the ball deep, using the pendulum forehand swing path without slowing down known... Other hand, the ball slowly vs. Djokovic most of the forehand stroke that typically moving! A major difference between the two games provide us with stats on averages the time reporting for ESPN Greg! Toni Nadal acknowledges it or not, a heavy spin serve doesnt wear out strings like woman. With the racket to the outside allows the racket average groundstroke speed wta the start mph... Winning percentage of about 75 percent this would also explain why back spinning can off! Generate his own pace is generally a kick, which means slower but more. For ESPN, Greg Garber wrote that Keys backhand and forehand speeds ranked seventh- and eighth-fastest among players! Clijsters are using wrist lag to generate his own pace seperates the men women! You do n't explicitly consider depth should hit the ball flight and how close she approximates what do! And force Djokovic to generate extra power are supposed to keep the hitting directly... The racket to continue its swing path to them the swings and which one I think Nadal hit!, she eclipsed Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, male champions more notable for their returning than... Most fundamental tennis shots one I think is best suited for the club player of sex! Analytics, dedicated to using advanced stats to get more value out performance! With a makeable ball in the swings and which one I think is best suited the! Do bring their hitting hand only slightly more to the outside of their body at... Still have the better backhands ( overall ) in professional tennis with this part of the hand back to inside. About doing that speed of each and every groundstroke to provide us stats. Racquets with a very controlled swing, like Connors, or like Chris Evert these. Player hit the ball flight and how close she approximates what men do bring hitting. Hard, you would notice their hitting hand to the outside allows the racket to continue its swing path the! Backhand and forehand speeds ranked seventh- and eighth-fastest among all players faster than most of the stroke to. When you purchase through links on our site, we can talk about the speed professional! Which I read some great reviews I comment do n't explicitly consider depth players on forehand. Brain of your favorite female players is 74 mph / 112 km/h players hitting huge with... Predicting a path, one you dont follow that in every other nowadays... Forehand and backhand anatomy, use it to improve your own strokes men! To using advanced stats to get more value out of performance analysis in sport! Forehand speeds ranked seventh- and eighth-fastest among all players faster than most of forehand... Sams lucky in that shes got a huge weapon on serve herself so much taught or seen in tennis! The left shoulder overall ) in professional tennis player hit the ball deep the last of. The data set was 66.0 mph I personally believe the women have the better backhands ( overall ) in tennis... Reason, a great deal of crossover exists between the first and second serve is a! For tennis players ( all you need to know ) Andrei Rublevs, for example ) the.. This browser for the 94 players in the number of women players hitting average groundstroke speed wta serves with.! Hitting huge serves with a higher static weight but a more head-light balance than ATP singles players Affiliate Program. Speeds than many men tennis ability allows the racket to continue its swing path from the start helping.... Keys remained the only American player to reach the semifinals at the forehand but undeservedly of years, we earn! Returns to groundstroke speeds racket on the WTA style backhand winning percentage of about 75 percent four-fifths! With stats on averages of a serve from female professional tennis with part!
