How to Swing a Tennis Racquet Faster
Swinging a tennis racquet faster can give additional velocity and power to tennis strokes. The key is maintaining control while swinging so the ball finds the intended target. Generating a faster swing is not a simple as swinging the arm faster. There are many components to the tennis swing that contribute to a faster swing.
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Instructions
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Develop a slow consistent swing. This sounds contradicting, but in order to control a faster swing, it is imperative to control a slow swing and develop the swing as naturally as possible. Keep the back swing fluid and simple while maintaining solid wrist control. The less that can go wrong in a slow swing, the less will go wrong when the swing is sped up.
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Remove any hitches from the stroke. A hitch is a stop in movement that re-starts a moment later. In a tennis stroke, the biggest problem areas for a hitch are in the back stroke at the point where the racquet will need to change direction. So in the forehand, the player takes the racquet back then stops before starting to bring it forward. That is the hitch and stops the velocity that already exists and needs to be regenerated (usually not as accurately as one would like).
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Improve core strength with abdominal exercises. The core is the strongest set of muscles in the body and contribute to being able to generate upper body torque that is controlled and powerful.
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Improve strength in the thighs to improve balance and forward thrust into the ball at the point of contact. This will increase the forward momentum of the racquet.
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Continue the follow-through as far as the arm will let you. Many pros wrap the racquet around their heads as they finish the stroke. Allowing it to go all the way around will keep the player from trying to stop the stroke, which slows the racquet swing.
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Snap the wrist through the ball by taking the wrist back and flicking it forward as contact is made with the ball. This is something that requires exceptional timing and strong wrist control as it can slap the ball 50 feet long with 1 cm error. When done correctly, it generates enormous racquet speed and adds spin on the ball for control.
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Tips & Warnings
Saying "swing the racquet faster" is a bit misleading. A person can swing harder and faster without much effort, but never get the ball where it is intended. Generating velocity on the ball is a much better way to think about the swing and how the entire body affects it which is what this article covers.
