Monthly Archives: January 2022
Rafa Nadal Top Spin Forehand versus intermediate player.
If you are a tennis player, you have surely spent time watching your favorite tennis player and trying to emulate some form of their game in to your own game. The Rafa Nadal topspin forehand is a shot of beauty and pure animalistic power. I thought I would take a look at my own forehand on video and for some reason I thought it might be a good idea to compare my forehand with the 20 time grand slam champion Rafa Nadal. The video details the beginning of what I believe will be a long but yet fulfilling journey to truly try to emulate the great Rafa Nadal topspin forehand. I only say trying because Rafa Nadal is a once in a generation player and no one on this planet can hit a forehand like him.
There were some interesting takeaways from the video that I found. My take back of the racquet took way too long making me hit the ball late. I was striking the ball at or even with my body, meaning I was restricting my own power and top spin by not getting the full momentum of my racquet swing. I also found I was not bending my knees during the racquet take back sequence meaning there was no use of my legs to coil and uncoil during the shot. This is also a major flaw in developing any type of repetitive power and a solid topspin forehand. Lastly my follow through was around my body, except Nadal’s follow through is more pronounced straight up above his head with a helicopter motion as his follow through. The last finding was my left arm was not distanced as far from my body as Nadal’s, meaning he is picking up even more power and speed with the “whip action” of the forehand.
More articles and videos will follow as my journey continues.
Top 5 solutions for relieving Tennis Elbow discomfort
In this article, we will look at some off the shelf products and remedies that will relieve the discomfort of Tennis Elbow and get you on the court sooner than later. Once again, I am not a doctor, but a tennis player who has experienced this injury myself. Any continued pain or discomfort should be cause to see your doctor right away.
- Get some rest and particular your elbow. This is tough for tennis fanatics, but it is a necessity. Sometimes you just have to give the elbow some rest, mixed in with some ice to keep the swelling down. This doesn’t mean to completely go away from using your elbow, some slight to moderate usage is recommended, but stay away from the tennis courts until the elbow starts feeling better.
- As mentioned in number 1, ice your elbow. When you are relaxing and watching some TV or listening to some music, elevate your arm (like on the arm of an easy chair, or pillow in bed) and place some frozen vegetables or some other edible from the freezer that won’t get ruined if it thaws a bit. I will put a washcloth on my elbow and place the frozen veggie bag, or ice directly on the swollen portion of the elbow.
- NSAIDS. Non Steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ( Ibuprofen ) can do wonders to reduce inflammation and take some of the pain away. Again, see a doctor if you are taking any medication, especially for prolonged periods. These are ideas to treat your pain and swelling. Now if you insist on getting back out on the court, once again, start slow. Don’t rush back on the court and pick up where you left off. Spend some time reviewing my top 5 causes and make sure you have at least double checked those potential causes before you jump right back out on the court.
- After concurring with your doctor, it may be helpful to restrain the wrist and forearm while sleeping, thus not causing any additional damage to the inflamed tendons.
- Again, start by asking your doctor, but there are hundreds of tennis elbow braces and bands available on the market today. These braces and bands all do pretty much the same thing. They are worn just below your elbow a little above your forearm. Other more advanced braces are made of neoprene, with adjustable tension straps, and still others are copper compression sleeves. When you put one of these on, you will almost instantly feel some relief. The bands take pressure off of your tendons in the elbow and provide some added support.
Tennis Elbow, Top 5 causes
Tennis Elbow is a frustrating and painful injury. The causes are many and we will look at the top 5 tennis causes of Tennis Elbow.
Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is a painful condition that occurs when tendons in your elbow are overloaded, usually by repetitive motions of the wrist and arm.
Despite its name, athletes aren’t the only people who develop tennis elbow. People whose jobs feature the types of motions that can lead to tennis elbow include plumbers, painters, carpenters and butchers.
The pain of tennis elbow occurs primarily where the tendons of your forearm muscles attach to a bony bump on the outside of your elbow. Pain can also spread into your forearm and wrist.
Rest and over-the-counter pain relievers often help relieve tennis elbow. If conservative treatments don’t help or if symptoms are disabling, your doctor might suggest surgery.
I have suffered this injury several times and I can state several causes from my own experience as well as multiple players complaining of this injury.
Cause #1: Wrong type of strings. I was playing maybe 4 or 5 times a week and NTRP tournaments once a month. The commitment you make preparing for tournaments is grand, but the strain on your equipment is also very large. I was using a polyester string that had sharp edges that would literally cut into the ball and create some amazing top spin. Of course my favorite professional player was using this same string and so I had to use the same. Plus the string was pure black and it looked awesome with my yellow Babolat frame. To gain even more spin I went with a 17 gauge string and the ball would just pop off my racquet with crazy spin. Of course I was breaking strings often, but I didn’t really care, I was hammering that forehand all over the court with some awesome spin.
Then one day it happened. I noticed a large bump on top of my outer elbow and it hurt to touch it. I started noticing the pain in my elbow more pronounced while playing. I would come home from playing and take a few aspirin and put some frozen vegetables on top of my elbow. After some time the pain and swelling just wouldn’t go away. I decided to take some time off. I took a few weeks off, picked up the racquet and within a few days the pain was back. I started reading articles on my strings and found that many other players suffered from tennis elbow with the same string I was using. I was not happy, but I knew I had to change strings. I went to a pro stringer and discussed the problems I was having. He also said he had many players complain about the string. He switched me over to a blended string of Babolat VS gut on the mains and Babolat RPM on the crosses. I noticed the difference right way. The strings were smooth and I could instantly feel the difference. I also didn’t have that crazy spin on the ball, but at least I was playing pain free.
Cause #2 String tension was wrong. The other string related cause to tennis elbow was the string tension. I had my strings strung around 63 pounds. The added tension certainly added some control with spin, but at what price? I had the tension reduced to 57 pounds and with the new string combination, I was back to playing painless tennis.
Cause # 3. Wrong Grip Size. I had never really measured my hand for proper grip size, but I was mostly using a 4 5/8 grip which is pretty large. As I was converting to more of a semi western grip on the forehand, that grip just became too large and caused extra strain on my wrist and forearm causing discomfort once again on the elbow. I changed the grip to 4 1/2 and noticed immediate improvements. Today I still play with 4 1/2 but I have been experimenting with an even smaller 4 3/8 grip. I will make sure there is no elbow pain if I make that change.
Cause # 4. In-correct form. I was in the middle of converting my two handed backhand to a one handed backhand. This was.a year long effort, but through the process I was not using good form on the one hander and started to develop elbow pain. I was in the middle now. I was no longer using the two hander, and my one handed backhand hurt. I almost went exclusively with the slice backhand during this transition period. The good part about using the slice backhand, there was no pain, good control and the ball stayed nice and low for my opponents. The other good part is that I have now developed a very good one handed backhand and if I want to mix in some variety, I have the consistent slice backhand to keep my opponents off balance.
Cause # 5. Wrong racquet for your style of play. I was demo testing another racquet and within 15 minutes of play my elbow started to hurt. Instantly started to hurt. I put the demo racquet away and used my normal racquet and no pain. From my pro stringer and others, they say the swing style of the racquet did not match up with my swing style and therefore caused me pain. I had to agree with them, because as soon as I changed to my racquet the pain went away.
These are certainly some causes and cures, but if you are experiencing continued pain, I would recommend seeking out a doctor who can correctly diagnose your causes.
See you on the courts.
Increase power on your forehand and backhand.
Are you lacking power and accuracy on your forehand and backhand. First check out my article on getting the right grip. I referenced an eastern grip for the backhand and a semi western for the forehand. Both of these grip types will ensure you have the racquet turned correctly to impart spin and power, but the grip alone will not generate consistent power on your forehand and backhand. To do that, you will need to generate power from your racquet take back which includes the shoulder turn and thereby the waist turn. Several aspects not reviewed in this article is the importance of the knee bend and utilization of your large leg muscles, arm, elbow, wrist, footwork, open or close stance to name a few. There are many coordinated actions that must take place to hit a clean, smooth, spinning and powerful ball. Today we are only looking at the take back and follow through.
See the slow motion video below as I take the racquet back on the forehand first and then the one handed backhand. I slowed the video down so you can see my non dominant hand, ( my right hand ), grabbing the racquet throat before I take the racquet on the backswing. As I take the racquet back, my non dominant hand gets pulled backward with my racket, forcing my shoulders and waist to to rotate or coil with the backswing. You can see my back at the top of the backswing right before I begin to uncoil for the forehand or backhand.
Just as important as the shoulder turn and waist coil on the take back of the racquet, is the acceleration of the racquet head as you uncoil your waist and step into the shot. If you look at the video again, you can see after the shoulder turn my non dominant hand comes off the racquet throat and swings forward creating more uncoiling action as the shoulders, waist and hips create a kinetic chain with your bent knees also springing up, causing the racquet to accelerate at the contact point creating an enormous amount of spin and power on the ball.
The last part of this article will focus on completing the swing. I can’t tell you how many players who do the first 2 parts of this swing satisfactorily but don’t finish the swing by not not following through. They actually slow the swing down or stop mid swing after contact! This will ruin all of your efforts of the shoulder and waist turn and the uncoiling of your shoulders and waist, only to stop the swing before completing the kinetic chain. All of your power and spin gains will be lost as well as the control aspects. Take one more look at the video and observe the end of the forehand swing. The racquet comes all the way across my body and finishes somewhere around neck high behind my head. The one handed backhand finish is even more pronounced with the racquet finishing high above my head racquet head pointing to the sky. The follow through is what will separate you from the pack. Please don’t try to force the racquet finish by flicking your wrist or twisting your arm. This will quickly lead to arm and elbow injury and not give you the desired outcome.
To find out more about the forehand and backhand swing, stay tuned for more follow on articles and videos. Also coming this spring is the Tennis Basics guide to better tennis. Available for free.
In the meantime practice your grip, shoulder and waist turn, uncoiling and follow through, and in no time at all you will see big improvements on your forehand and backhand power and spin.
See you on the courts.