Biomechanical Characteristics

[gzhpcu]

A tennis pro friend of mine mentioned that what is missing is a way to physically measure the biomechanical structure of an individual tennis player (skeletal structure - is one hip higher than the other, movement limitations; flexibility - ability to stretch/rotate) etc. Then based on this information, the optimal technique for the player for the various strokes could be recommended (optimal power, low injury risk, etc.). He was going to work on this (I am talking about 15 years ago... but never did)

Just wondering if anyone has done any work on this idea? Seems pretty interesting to me.

[johnyandell]

It's interesting. For example people with less flexible spines have more trouble rotating fully on a closed stance. People with less flexible shoulders have a harder time with external rotation on the serve, etc.

It would be a real challenge to do the corelations though and I am not certain that this info would be necessarily more valuable than the analysis of a good coach. But it might help players figure out what they needed to work on physically.

[klacr]

Phil,

It sounds good. Very interesting. But one thing the biomechanical structure can't measure that is synonymous with tennis champions is character, intelligence, heart and willingness. I'm sure if certain players were measured by their physical prowess some coaches may have recommended them to participate in golf.

It would be a very cool thing if we could find out for all of our students what the maximum technique is for their body and strengths. But how much could that change throughout the years? If you measured a junior would you get the same measurement 8-10 years later? Sampras' two-handed backhand was his best shot as a young junior. But he switched to a one-hander. I'm curious to know what a biomechanical analysis would have suggested for Pete back then.

I have not done any work nor do I know of anyone that has in this area of study. It may be difficult to do on junior players because their bodies are quickly changing and maturing. For adult players it may be conducive but to what point? If they are adults and not already on tour, would they be willing to make a drastic change in their game that was previously ingrained from their years of lessons just because a computer told them and for how much improvement? For tour players, they may change their attitudes or work ethic, but those strokes may be tweaked or evolved, but rarely changed.

If anyone out there has done research or studies and can elaborate on the topic what Phil has brought up, I'd also be curious.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

Kyle, I was just wondering if some injury-prone professionals were aware of their biomechanical weak points which endanger their careers, would have, at an early point of their career, adapted their technique. Or at least known that certain movements cause them physical problems.

It might help find out in which areas physical training excercises might be benefical to help minimize injuries.

Every body will have physical upper limits and restrictions, which you can help to approach with targeted training excercises. I would think that muscular aspects can be improved, but certainly not skeletal aspects.

I remember discussing these issues with my tennis pro years ago, and he suggested certain tests to determine these various factors, and we started writing down his ideas, but lost touch with him and can no longer find my notes. Have been trying to track him down via internet to see if I can find out more. Have not seen any information of similar ideas on the internet up to now.

[johnyandell]

I'm not familiar with the specifics but I know USTA does something like this with juniors identifying weak areas etc and then adjusts the off court training.

[worldsbesttenniscoach]

Some expert coaches (e.g., Rick Macci) put electrodes over key parts of the tennis student's body, so it is possible to see & measure precise locations of all key areas of the student's body, during strokes. However, I noticed that often this information did the tennis teacher no good because the teacher did not really know the biomechanically best positions throughout the tennis swing (althought the teacher thought s/he knew).

Many people think we need to improve our technology in teaching, & i will not disagree. But more importantly, we need to improve our teaching, in teaching.

[gzhpcu]

Thing is the best biomechanical motion is specific to a specific player...

[klacr]

Thing is the best biomechanical motion is specific to a specific player...

Very nice Phil.

Everyone is a little bit different. Some taller, some shorter. Some thicker, some thinner. It is a good idea to know how to approach a certain student with a technical game plan based on their SWOT analysis and injury prevention. Technology in teaching would be great but I also agree with worldsbesttenniscoach in that some of our teaching needs to get better as well. There is no magic bullet that can fix or change everything. It's gonna take some innovation in the area of technology as well as some universal understanding and mastery of the basics by tennis coaches. As for the latter, It is still very early in the process but I know that one tennis organization is working towards improving this area. That's all I can say...for now.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton


Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[worldsbesttenniscoach]

There are certain biomechanical details that all good baseball players have in their swings, even though the swings are different & the players have different physiological dimensions. In other words, although swings of good baseball hitters differ from one another, there are crucial details in all those swings that are amazingly similar, almost the same. (Same goes for effective tennis technique.)

[gzhpcu]

Sure, just look at the variations on the backswing for the forehand, as John has been writing about, yet certain fundamentals are in common (Nadal being a bit more removed from the norm...).

I was just talking about the fact that while biomechanics of a sport concentrates on an idealized athlete, the ability to put it all into practice to achieve the maximum result is hampered by an athlete's physical constitution: assymetrical skeleton (one hip higher than the other), rigid back, etc. Muscular aspects can be improved (but do not change the biomechanical norm), flexibility can be improved (allowing more rotation, or stretch-shorten effects), but you can not improve skeletal restrictions.