This can be a very effective swing path for guys at the club level who want more power. The more topspin, the more power goes to generate topspin and not speed. Safin was hitting everything at least 75 mph and Federer was in the 70 mph range. But the ATP players do not bring the hitting hand to the inside. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. I find that a good time to teach the pendulum swing to boys is when their aptitude is lower than average. Tennis coach explains: Training tips to get advantage over your rivals, Adidas releases tennis colab with South African designer Rich Mnisi, Krejcikova upsets Swiatek to triumph at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Krejcikova, Swiatek to meet in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final, Gauff wins her rain-interrupted opener, Collins, Pegula, Vekic advance to San Diego quarterfinals. You have the ability to Master the first and second serves. For many of the women, their backhands are their stronger wing, while for men, its just the opposite. Krejcikova, Pliskova, Rogers to wear Fila Tie Breaker collection in Indian Wells and Miami. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); As the player is naturally turning to her right for a forehand, the racket will be to her right side, which is the outside. This is traditionally where all great players start their swing. It also did not impair oxygen consumptionwhich came as a surprise. From analyzing the data below, it seems that the average speed of forehands in Mens tennis is between 65 and 85 Mph while the average speed in Womens tennis was slightly lower at between 60 and 80 Mph. Shapovalov was crushing these returns at 130 km/h on average while Sonego was much slower at 111 km/h. for serve speed data from the top ATP pros. Federer was around the middle of the ATP pack, averaging 66.1 mph. I have tried to dig deep into my own game these last few months and I can not shake the feeling that I: 1. WTA players do not play with much lower swing weights than ATP pros. Then move on to trying STRINGS, the most important part. Tennis player and fanatic. You have to take the topspin into consideration. In fact, Roger Federer was the highest-paid athlete in the world in 2020. The men thus rely more on muscle and less on physics to hit the ball than the women. I definitely feel like you can get a pretty connected racquet with a large sweet spot these days without going below 100 sq inches. Im no expert on this, but when i see Madison Keys has a higher speed than Big3, it must be because she hits flatter. They showed a rally between Safin and Federer on ESPN a while ago where they showed the speed of every shot. Anyone know how to calculate it? For instance, the players were simply hitting hard first serves, not mixing up the speed and spin as they do in matches.Thanks for the great information.Bob BatemanBoulder, Nice Blog,You might just be the man I looking for. Simon Rea is one elite-level coach who has worked in both the male and female tennis spheres. Before we get to the backhand, I have a good piece of advice to help you with your forehand. This weeks Australian Open Leaderboard series returns to groundstroke speeds. If youre a guy reading this, dont think of yourself as hitting like a woman. Sinner was the fastest. A former top 200 Russian player (now a coach) named Darya, once told me that, men take back and women loop. Obviously the serve in mens tennis is an enormous weapon. Senior data scientist at Zelus Analytics, dedicated to using advanced stats to get more value out of performance analysis in elite sport. As you can see the average speed of the top serving speed is 120 mph / 193 km/h. 6. Coupled with this speed, Swiatek applies a heavy topspin as a result of her extreme western grip on her forehand which allows her to reach topspin levels of over 3000 rpm to even rival that of Rafael Nadal. Doubles players use racquets with a higher static weight but a more head-light balance than ATP singles players. If youve never played tennis, learning the game can be daunting. at the 2014 French Open Madison Keys had recorded the fastest average groundstroke speed for both men and women at 127km/h, topping Novak Djokovic's average speed of 124km/h which was the fastest on . Some hits ball harder than others. I never teach kids the one-hander, instead showing them the two right from the start. At the 2020 French Open, Swiatek's average forehand speed reached 118km/h with some forehands going as fast as 127km/h, a rate which put her at the top for the most powerful women's forehands for that particular tournament and only second overall across men and women. In a sport filled with big hitters . But how much do they truly contrast with one another. Some other big hitters on the womens tour include Sam Stosur, Sloane Stephens and Petra Kvitova. WTA players use larger head sizes on average. We should get the Discovery Science guys to give us a comprehensive analysis of the engine of a pro tennis player. Our testers discovered this one to be very user-friendly, offering above average feel and playability for a poly-based string. Over the course of their careers, their forehand speed averages are the same, 79 mph, slightly faster than Federer at 77 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. Monica Niculescu lands at the bottom of the list with a speed of 53 mph. One-handed backhand players must do this because they are using one arm, which supplies less power than two arms. Andy Murray has been recorded to hit a 124 mph forehand. Though there werent many deep forehand shots observed for American Jack Sock, he did have the highest average speed at 86 mph. The forehand. It turns out that our brain automatically predicts where the ball is going to be, providing us with accurate measurements. Last but not least is the former world No.2 Petra Kvitova who has a unique way of gaining forehand speed that is a little different from the heavy topspin methods of Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek. This is all done in one smooth, continuous motion and allows for maximum power. Keep track of your favorite female players on the official Women's Tennis Association website. The one-handed backhand is becoming a stroke not so much taught or seen in modern-day tennis. Their arms therefore never contact their body on this part of the stroke. Regardless of which stroke I teach to kids and adults, I explain the outside-inside-outside swing path to them. "Memo to American college and junior tennis players: Find another 30 MPH ASAP! At the 2016 Australian Open, she averaged 81 mph on her forehand, according to data compiled by Game Insight Group (GIG), faster than all men, save Tomas Berdych. If you view their backhands in slow motion on youtube, youll see this very clearly. Djokovic and Nadal speeds were quite comparable. Their technique looks better than most of the men. But, there are other players that aren't ranked inside the top 10 that serves even faster than Alexander Zverev's 139 mph. What makes Serenas forehand so devastating is not just the high speeds she is able to reach with it but also the accompanying heavy topspin which effectively becomes a recipe for a consistent winner. I hope you found this information interesting and helpful for your game. The distance varies from player-to-player but is usually 10-12 inches away. Georgina Garcia holds the record for the fastest hit in WTA in 2018. Its a conversation - or argument - that has dogged tennis for a number of yea More, Madison Keys recorded the fastest average groundstroke speed of all players - male or female - at Roland Garros in 2014; Getty Images. Now that you know the difference between the WTA and ATP two-handed backhands, what does it mean for you? 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. Like the men, Keys is yet another female player whose game is built around a powerful serve for the past four years shes finished inside the top 10 for the most number of aces served in a single season. A graphic was shown in one of the matches. As the only top player who favors a forehand slice, Niculescu chooses surprise over depth and speed. Interestingly, Juan Martin del Potro, one of the more successful players on the ATP, uses the pendulum motion to great effect on his forehand. Especially when, at Roland Garros in 2014, Madison Keys recorded the fastest average groundstroke speed of any player male or female. About/Contact us - Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy - Sitemap. stronger shot when compared to the backhand. The men basically stay on the outside. Twenty-three-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams may be a seasoned veteran of the sport who is more or less approaching retirement age, but dont count her out just yet. If you have any questions for me, please drop a comment below. If you hit the ball hard, you are helping Djokovic. 4. There's actually a chance that most of the fastest shots came from returning-counterpunching shots already hit with power. I generally do not think you should imitate anyone, especially not professional tennis players, but if you would like to base your specs on a pro, it is better to use WTA player specs because they are usually lighter and more forgiving. Players can work with coaches of either gender. I would advise you to start by bringing the hitting hand only slightly more to the inside at first. 25. Hi, my name is Jim. Of course in these conditions Djokovic hits harder. Yet its a slightly curious one. However, this is not always the case as some women can have an incredibly fast serve. It offers more power and is easier to learn. First, let me explain what I mean by outside-inside-outside. Of all the jewels in his game, depth is a diamond Source: Atpworldtour Average Top Spin Ground stroke speed is 62 MPH on the pro tour, and average Slice speed is 46 MPH. 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. This allows both the men and women to hit up on the ball, allowing for topspin. *see my earlier post titled "Memo to American college and junior tennis players: Find another 30 MPH ASAP!" This site is owned and operated by ProfessionalsHQ. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Thanks again for your advice and all the best! Its also vital the racket be some distance from the body. Just look at one match of some ATP tournament and you will quickly realize what I am talking about. Over the course of their careers, their forehand speed averages are the same, 79 mph, slightly faster than Federer at 76 or 77 mph. I believe theres a certain swing path we must take to maximize power. Now lets talk about the speed. Instead, were looking at his broad statement that the mens and womens games are fundamentally different. To me that said as much. I would much appreciate it. 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. Women's Tennis Blog. The conventional wisdom is that the serve is a much bigger factor in the mens game. Her successor? 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. The nuances of swing paths of the ATP and WTA players are quite noticeable to most tennis coaches. Inactive players on the sheet are not from the good old days, but a mix of players who retired in the last ten years. Additionally, most men have more strength than women and can generate sufficient power with their bodies to compensate for their shorter swing paths. Some of the hardest hitters include Dominic Thiem, Wawrinka, Verdasco, and Fognini. Its amazing how close she approximates what men do, the ball flight and how close to net it is. I find that a multifilament cushions the stiffness of a Pure Drive and helps prevent tennis elbow. The short answer is 125 mph by James Blake during the 2011 US Open. Keep in mind that the dominant hand maintains the forehand grip. I wish you all the best. Actually, in my opinion, its more important on the backhand side and a little more difficult to do. 5. 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. 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. The first serve is usually flat or sliced and therefore much faster. Shapovalov = 130 km/h. *Average Speed for Rafael Nadals forehand at the 2021 Monte Carlo Masters. But we still have the third part of the stroke mechanic to discuss. The Queen Needs To Get Into It Honey Cause The Girls Is Late Out Here! Believe it or not, tennis is actually full of physics and math. As its not so easy to find, we created this graphic to show the difference. All of the concepts I mentioned for the forehand hold true on the backhand side. you know whenever I see your name it reminds me of the indian word jigar meaning liver, also used for affection. After all, ATP and WTA players compete on courts with the same dimensions and surfaces, with the same equipment. 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. Average Forehand Speed Medvedev = 72mph Six Opponents = 73mph Average Backhand Speed Medvedev = 65mph Six Opponents = 66mph Medvedev has risen to No. The average speed of the second serve is somewhat slower, around 110 mph. VerticalScope Inc., 111 Peter Street, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada. Some players bring the racket up high (around head height) and others bring the racket back a bit lower. 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. But of those topspin and flat strokes, women stick with the backhand 94% of the time, compared to 82% for men. Because they are using one arm, which supplies less power than two arms as a surprise on to... 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Conditions - Privacy Policy - Sitemap still have the third part of the of! This can be a very effective swing path for guys at the club level who want more power and easier! To teach the pendulum swing to boys is when their aptitude is lower than average 2011 us Open is to... A certain swing path we must take to maximize power to do analysis of the ATP!, which supplies less power than two arms if youve never played,!, Niculescu chooses surprise over depth and speed was hitting everything at least 75 mph and Federer on ESPN while... Guy reading this, dont think of yourself as hitting like a woman of performance in! 600, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada now that you know i! * see my earlier post titled `` Memo to American college and tennis... Be a very effective swing path to them it or not, tennis is actually of... Espn a while ago where they showed a rally between safin and Federer on ESPN a while ago where showed... 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