i got tennis elbow mainly because of wrong grip size. No one told me about grip size and importance when i started playing tennis, neither the employee who sold me the racket nor my tennis instructor! I was also given a much lighter racket for my age and size (male/adult). Not to mention that string type and tension were completely out of the picture. After a few months of playing my arm was close to total collapse. A lot of ice helped, rest helped as well and then what changed completely the situation was "studying". I started watching similar videos, read a few related articles and realized how important it is to have the correct grip size, racket weight and then string type and low tension. When i got a 300gr racket, with the correct grip size and 'Tour Bite soft' at 22/21Kg (instead of no name strings at 26/25) then i became another player. Not only tennis elbow never returned but my game improved immensely! This year i play almost 4 times per week, 2 hours each time and i feel no pain. So for me, racket weight, GRIP SIZE, string type, and string tension were the most important factors to get rid of tennis elbow and improve my game. ps: i also changed from 98 to 100 head size, as mentioned on the video, it reduces percentage of mishits that increase vibrations on your arm. Do not look at pro players who play with 95 or 98 square inch head sizes, most of us are not pros. So, a larger head size helped me as well.
I got rid of tennis elbow after 2 years with pain. Went to a Wilson Clash, strings down to 45lbs tension but the worse thing for me, was technique. Many wrong videos out there about how to “pronate” on the serve as well as how to use the “wrist” for spin. Once I cleaned those up, no more pain.
I spent 250 bucks on the Wilson Clash and it made my elbow worse: zero free energy meant I had to hit so damn hard, especially on serve. Now I use the stiff, big head Prince O3. Pain gradually diminished as power increased.
@@carlodave9 lol then don’t use it. I’m my opinion stiff racket, flexible racket, Polly strings, natural gut, hybrid setups etc, it really doesn’t matter that much for me. We obsess over those things but It all comes down to technique.
@Supertico-zj7sg I agree with you, technique is main cause of tennis elbow. Currently I am having minor tennis elbow after watching too much wrong videos (for me) :(. One of them is windshield wiper motion to create spin during forehand. This kind of motion might work for pro level players because they have trained hard their hand and wrist muscle. On the other hand, as a rec player, I have not trained much on my hand and wrist.
@@juggernauts9880 I picked up tennis when I was 22 years old. I used to practice 300 serves in a practice session with horrible technique. I was young and lifting weights consistently at the time, so I never had an issue with tennis elbow until a few years ago( now 43) Which is another reason players don’t have many arm issues. They are at their physical prime and I’m not 😑
Hi Nick your video is an excellent explanation of the multifactorial variables that contribute to tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis). In 1979, there was a medical study that agreed with your assessment that novice tennis players are much more prone to tennis elbow than experienced and specifically elite level players. In 1994, there was a biomechanical study that explored this further indicating the main predictor of risk for tennis elbow is the position of the wrist at impact for players hitting a one handed backhand. Elite players are at a hyperextended wrist position at impact (ie strong grip) versus novice players are at a flexed wrist position at impact (ie weak grip). The hyperextended wrist position means the muscles involved in tennis elbow are contracted at impact compared to a stretched state for players who impact with a flexed wrist position. The muscle/tendon unit is much more durable and can withstand the stress placed at impact when in a contracted versus lengthened state. I am not sure enough players and instructors are aware of how important this distinction in technique is for preventing injury to the elbow. Thanks for your thorough discussion on an important topic for amateur players
I had bad tennis elbow once but it was around the time when I was hitting the gym hard. Working primarily on upper body. So be careful in the gym and don’t overdo it.
[This is a tip for those who suffer elbow pain from serving] Regarding the technique part, as a player who has only played tennis for one year, I can say that my elbow hurts when my racket hits the ball off centre on my serve (observed by my tennis buddy), and the pain is usually compounded by the fact that I don't load my body properly to help my arm out. I had nights where my elbow is in pain for hours after a serve practice session. The elbow pain goes away COMPLETELY once I start tossing the ball higher to buy myself more time to load the body and look for a cleaner contact point. (And I didn't change any set-up of my racket in the meantime) I can now serve one hour non-stop and only feel soreness on my feet due to the loading rather than my arm. So, if you have elbow pain due to the serve, please toss the ball higher!
Great video that I have watched multiple times. I stopped playing tennis shortly after highschool. I am now 41 and picked it back up in January since my now 9 year old plays. I am in the 3.5+ class at my club. I didn't put much thought into buying my racquet and I got a Pure Drive 100. I had it strung with Hyper G at 52lbs. I started to have arm/wrist pain. I went to the doctor and had physical therapy. I also had my racquet restrung with Hyper G Soft at 49 pounds. I used it twice and had very little if any pain. Today I decided to demo a Wilson v9 Blade 100 and I have a lot of pain in my elbow/forearm. More pain then I ever had! I think I will be sending that demo back. I have one more racquet I was going to demo, the Head Gravity MP 100 but maybe my Pure Drive with its high stiffness is fine for me. Switching strings and dropping the tension seemed to have helped. I might even drop it to 45 the next time I get it restrung. Thanks for the great content!
@@IntuitiveTennis thanks, I’m going to do that. I do think my tennis elbow is from my one handed backhand. I’m going to drop down to the beginner/intermediate class so I can work on the correct form for this shot.
Like you said I play with stiff racquets, with Kirschbaum Super Smash Orange but despite your advice I use 52 and 56 lbs tension. The trampoline effect is to heavy for me at low tension, under 48 lbs. I don't have any issues with my arm! Thanks for the time you put in the videos! 💥
Nice video, Nic. I used to play with the RF97 with lead tape in the head for a total of 364 g. When I turned 50, I switched to the Pure Aero 98 with no lead tape or customization and have not regretted the switch. I can now hit better one-handed backhands on the run and am not caught late.
I have been playing with the Babolat Pure Drive 98 for a while now and I also have a Pure Strike VS, which is super soft, and I have no problems with the Pure Drive, which most people say cause arm problems. I do string my rackets under 50 lbs and have no problems with control. I do use a string that marketing says its soft, but it's not that soft, still, I feel it is great on the arm: the Tecnifibre Razor Soft. Love your content.
I got it bad by having too high string tension then I went drastically down and slowly healed with exercises too and now I’m happy at 24/23 Alu power and I’m good to go. For me it was string tension only . Thanks again
All i can say is i agree with Nick. Experience and plenty of tinkering and trialing has told me so. Plus I’ve done some of that reading also and it makes sense. I found it best to keep away from any rehab weight bearing exercises and just let it rest (while still playing tennis of course 😂)
Regarding the last thing you said about tennis elbow due to other activities, I used to have a terrible wrist pain after I started practicing tennis again and I solved it by buying and ergonomic mouse for my computer.
3 years ago i started my tennis journey and got a wilson clash 100L in order not to get tennis elbow. The racket is really nice and feels good with fast swing and nice spin bad i had pain. It was both my bad technique and the vibration of the racket. I decided to go to a vcore 98 and after 2-3 months i got really better. Also the compression arm sleeves help. Not really tight but moderate support.
I used to suffer from tennis elbow when I was a junior and I played with a light-ish (285g unstrung) Price racket that was meant for power and spin. I left tennis for years and when I came back I had tennis elbow again. I did a strange move and I switched rackets to the Head Speed Pro 2020 version (310g unstrung, 20*18 and control oriented). That racket gives you less power for free and it's a lot flexible and my elbow problems completely dissappeared. Now I made the switch to the Gravity Pro. Even heavier and with a thinner frame. No sign of tennis elbow.
Thanks, you talked a lot about the equipment but not so much about the technique and its influence on this issue. I would like to hear about that part more. GFreat video as always
Stretching (yoga) and tai chi help a lot. I'm a 2 handed backhander. No matter what, there is always a solution. I used hockey tape to bulk up the grip. I have small hands, though. I'm using hyperhammer 5.3 and H2.
Advice needed 🙋♂️I started tennis after 15 years of no playing, I have pretty good technique. I started with Wilson PS v13 because I’ve played in childhood with the PS 6.5, but I’ve got shoulder issues from serving, I stepped down to 300g of Babolat PA 100 2023 and now I struggle with golfer elbow/biceps tendon pain. Maybe I’m not that young anymore at 31, so I need to adjust the technique to use more body power not just the arm, but i’m searching for a new racquet to solve the pain. 🤔 Should I switch to Wilson Blade 98, Head Speed MP or other? I still want to be competitive for amateur tournaments, thanx.
great video. Nick could you also make a video about tension explanation just like this video? For example Alacaraz plays I think with 25kg cross and 26kg mains and I would like to understand which tension to use when.
100% this was my issue in my teens, I played with radicals 98sq @65lbs and always had pain, in my 40s now been using Speed Pros @52-54lbs for years and no issues
Strengthening my arms, helped, switching to a tackier grip helped, switching strings and going to a lower tension really helped. (HEAD Lynx Touch or Technifiber Triax at 48lbs.) I may try 42 lbs next. Still working on my one hand backhand technique after 55 years playing! I can't seem to switch to two handed, just like you said Nick. Too old to change. 😢
I recently bought an Ps 97 because I just got back into tennis. At first I was excited because it was the lightest racquet I have ever owned. I used to play with a PS 6.0 85 head size when I was a junior. So weight really never bothered me and I was a small and skinny kid back then. Mistake 1 was not demoing the stick before buying because the ps97 is definitely not a beginner friendly racquet. I was framing about 60% of my returns. Swinging too fast and timing was off. After practicing at home with top spin pro, I did much better the next time on court. PS97 definitely rewards u when u hit the sweet spot. I ended up demoing the RF97 and that was better suited for me. I thought RF97 was a fan boy racquet so I completely ignored it without researching it from the start. That in turn lead me to educating myself more on racquet weights and lead tapes. Lead tapes definitely helped me out. My ps97 now is almost the same swing weight as the RF97 at 348 and about 12.5 oz. I think the day I can’t fully swing a racket is the day I will stop trying to play tennis altogether
One more that I want to add: The grip! Most amateur players that I know hardly change their grip and some even wait until the original grip starts to get damaged! And the problem with this is creating tennis elbow is that, the less the grip is effective, the more you have to hold your hand tight which is holding the racquet. If the grip got slippery and is not holding your hand enough, to keep the grip position in your hand tightly, you have to tighten your hand muscles, which means your arm as a whole will be more tight. Just try making a strong fist and you'll see that the muscles in your arm also gets tighter. Which means, when you swing the racquet while hitting, your hand should be loose enough to swing freely and just strong enough to hold the racquet in position while it hits the ball! And additionally, amateur players also mostly doesn't care about whether their racquet strings got old and tight or not, so that also I think has an impact on the arm.
Yes, I agree. wilson blade 98 V6 hurt my arm, but loved the stability. TIS2 16 x19 not enough spin, but weight is ok. T16 I used to love, but I haven't tried it lately. but I improved. Something in between might work like Instict, or Pure Drive team or a light of something. The 102-100 head is probably ok. I hate these things go on clearance, and in a few moments they are sold out. I hit too linear so I'm trying to hit consistent spin to not go over the back line. My pain is greatly nerve related radialneuropathic from neck to right arm all the way down.
Great video Coach. No bs, straight to the point, pure wisdom. I m also planning to acquire a pure drive, with Kirschbaum orange strings, as you recommended with low tension.
That's exactly the combination that works wonder for me. I had no problem with elbow, but I switched racquet anyway because as I got older, I started to feel the weight of my old racquet more the longer the match lasts, which means it took more effort to swing, which I didn't feel before but now with age I do. So although he said no need to switch if you don't have problem, I would say you should switch as you get older and start to feel it's harder for you to swing with your current racquet. Hopefully you can prevent problem before it starts.
My first good racquet was a Head Speed S. I learned to play with that one and I even won an amateur tournament. Then, my Fed Fan head made me change my racquet and I bought the light version of the RF black L. With a smaller head my game was affected. Even though I played with the racquet for four years. The result: bad performance and tennis elbow. Now I'm using Yonex VCore 100, head velocity 42 pounds and things are going better.
I think there is something to be said about frequency of restringing. Pros are restringing after several hours of hard hitting whereas most rec players, imo, use the same set of poly strings for months, long after they've gone 'dead'.
I had people who have never restrung their racket for years. As a stringer I would tell players to string every 6 months and preferably don't use polyester.
Luckily I have never had tennis elbow. Does the forehand GRIP have an influence on TE? I'm 56, probably 3.75 NTRP, played on-off, weekend types, for about 15 years. I'm "weak", no muscle. I'm happy to see this video as I am just changing my racquet to a stiffer, lighter and larger head from my RF97. I was worried that it may cause TE . This video helps!
Great vid. I experienced tennis elbow for the first time this year and was out for a month. I think playing too long with dead strings can also contribute as there is less elasticity and have to swing harder to get same power as before. I mean how players will go months using the same string waiting till it breaks
I believe it's all in the technique. I fixed mine by working on technique. working on the "kinetic chain"...I still suck but at least my arm doesn't hurt LOL
the comparison between the head instinct at 64 RA and the 71 RA one is false also, 64 is still mid stiffness a stiff racket the 71 RA larger head one is going to mess up your arm when you take a full swing and hit the frame to be honest both are bad you need a much lower RA below 60 to truly comfortable. 64 is not soft!
Play tested clash a couple of years ago when I had arm problems. After playing half an hour, I experienced pain I rarely had before. My anecdotical evidence supports your theory.
My tennis elbow was totally related to the racket I was using. I used a Wilson Ultra and constantly had elbow and wrist pain. Switched to a Yonex V Core Pro and the pain immediately went away. Haven’t had one bit of arm pain since the switch over a year ago.
I used to play with RF97. It gave me tennis elbow . After I stopped using it,, my elbow healed. I now play with the Blade 98 and string it at 50 and below.
Heavy soft racket ( gravity 305gr with ~ ra 62) and light stiff racket: technifibre 285gr with higher stiff (68ra), which racket better for arm(elbow), same string (hyper G soft 18kg)? Thanks coach!
IDK, I have Wilson 285gr 330mm balance point and 102in facesize as an emergency racket (simply because I bought it first and it didn't brake somehow) using which both me and my wife have pain in the wrist, but I never had any arm issues when playing even 315gr ezone 98, and all of my other rackets at least 300 grams and 320mm balance. So for me it's always been healthier to use heavy headlight rackets than light headheavy ones.
Hey Nick. In my experience weight distribution is key in comfort. I tried it in many different rackets that felt not comfortable. Adding a bit of weight in the tip and in the but cap makes miracles and the uncomfort disappears.
Good point at the end about tennis elbow possibly not being caused by tennis alone. I've read that less than 5% of tennis elbow cases are related to actual tennis. I play tennis and got tennis elbow but in my case I'm also a programmer typing all day and neglected my wrist pain.
Recreational players are generally playing with 270-300g racquets, that are almost always 330+ balance (strung). So they are playing with "sledge hammers". Mine is 310 strung, around 340g. Also, not many are doing the wrist lag. Meaning that they will try and control the racquet head and push it forward. The moment the ball hits the strings, that impact, if you don't whip the head of racquet, will go directly into your elbow tendons. I play now with a 18x20 racquet, with Poly Tour Rev and in summer, I string at 27kg. No pain. And I bomb the forehand. In the end, just a question of technique.
While the racquet presentation is accurate you've missed the Queen of arm friendly racquet : Volkl Classic V1 - 2023 edition just released. This racquet specs is identical to the original one launched 25 years ago (and all iterations since).
Hello. Love your content. Can you make a video about golfer elbow among tennis players? I've developed one from serving and I had to stop doing flat serves for a year and was only doing kick serves. Though I still feel pain if serving a lot. I'm pretty sure that happens often to rec players with fast flat serves. I also have some shoulder problems from serving (feels like i'm pulling my hand out and therefore overstretching shoulder muscles). Reason is obviously some technical deficiencies, but I can't really recognize them myself... I'm 4.5+ player with pretty decent technique.
I was suffering from elbow problems for 3 weeks after a long break where I never had tennis elbow before. I got fed up and tore one overgrip off my racket and IMMEDIATELY the pain stopped. By the standard grip size test the grip was acceptable but it was not working for me whatsoever.
There are some tips that work in general for your entire body. If a certain activity is giving you ackes because you are untrained, doing it improperly or your are doing it too much. You generally need to get better trained, work on your technique and change/ vary your load. If you run with improper technique, your form collapses because you stamina is too low, or you are running too much (simply put). You will be very susceptible to get shinsplints or runners knee's etc. Same goes with tennis. But the best advice is to not ignore the feeling once / if you get it. Letting it fester will just make it harder to get rid of.
Does the grip make a difference with Tennis elbow? Does an Eastern forehand grip increase the likelihood of Tennis elbow? Just curious. I use an extreme western forehand grip.
I use grip size 3 and my thumb goes a bit over my index finger. However size 4 is too big for me. Are there sizes in between or perhaps I should use 2 overgrips?
The average body can't handle stress as much. That also has to do with that we are sitting(not being active) now more then ever. I can honestly say I hardly see people at the recreational level warming up properly, yet want to pull of moves like Alcaraz or Djokovic.
Tennis elbow problem is not a complex problem. It does not have much to do with strings. It's an injury that comes from overuse of the tendon and therefore the extensor muscles. It can be either due to overstretching or putting too much stress by trying to handle the racquet head orientation with the forearm, holding too tightly or trying to stop the swing instead of letting go of the follow through. Players who do this would end with tennis elbow hitting through the air. Now, thisi is the 90%. The other 10% is the racquet + strings that sends vibrations and shock to the arm. Here, the stiff racquet is not the right choice. In any case, the racquet + string + tension combination feeds back in the the way of hitting, so again, the main thing is technique.
I believe that people who use mostly flat forhands have more chances to get tennis elbow than people which use top spin or slice. Especially when they hit with not straight hand. Very often beginners make flat returns when ball to close to body.
I get tennis bicep pain instead. I notice that I muscle the ball a bit on a running reverse forehand which transfers the shock to my bicep. When I relax, this doesn't happen like Nic says. Use the whole kinetic chain, not just the arm in isolation
I have golfer's elbow now for the past month or two. I can blast forehands all day without pain. Serves generally don't hurt either, but if I mis-time my one handed backhand (early), I get pain. A well struck backhand, no pain. I'm not sure how this happened or how to fix it but it sucks.
If you feel heavy vibrations on every hit, you will have arm issues. That's how I know something needs to change. Its a system between the racquet and strings/tension. Generally, stiffer racquet is associated with arm issues. Its not 100%. Use multifilament and mostly you will be fine.
Could you share your information about warming up the upper arm/shoulder? PS I had a tennis elbow for several months in 2022, but not from tennis. It is gone completely.
I used to have tennis elbow, because I my forehand teqnique used to be awful, because I used to have my body launch first rather than my hand so I was catching the ball behind my body, so my arm started to hurt.
Thanks for this video. I am currently using the Head Radical MP 2021 and I have a tennis elbow... I have not played for last 2 months and rested it out but it has not yet healed. I am 40 and I wanted your recommendation on which racket I should move to.. Thank you...
I didn't believe Nick was right on this but I tried his recommendation of Head Hawk at 40 lbs( in a Head Boom Pro) and its been great for my arm so don't knock it until you try it
Yeah, he recommended it in his video on top 5 strings for rec players ( ruclips.net/video/vs66tax0pCw/видео.htmlsi=r-w7WY4LsMqCyJ7F ). he actually said it could be ok to string at around 50 lbs but I've had a long time golfer's elbow injury so I went with 40 lbs and don't mind playing with low tension. What I found jived with what he said which is that the string is in his words 'responsive', I find it kind of launches the ball and so I don't need to swing super hard on groundstrokes to get good depth and spin. Also, another thing he said about the clash I found as well, I demoed it because I've had the golfer's elbow problem and I didn't find that racquet feel as easy on the arm as the head boom surprisingly, it was a demo so i dunno exactly what string/tension it had.@@dmf30
I play with a Wilson Blade Feel 100. Do you have any opinion on that one? I honestly can't find any information on the stiffness rating, though I did see some marketing stuff talking about how they achieve higher stiffness because of the materials used, so I'm guessing it has higher stiffness? It's the only racquet I every used, recommended by my former coach. I've also seen people recommend multifilament for weaker players, and tell them to stay away from mono poly. I honestly have no clue what even the difference is. I still have the same strings the racquet came with when I bought it in January, so it's probably high time I replace them. Don't have a clue what's currently on there, though - is there a way I can find that out? I do believe there is some writing on it (don't have it with me at the moment), but I couldn't really read it. I'd imagine the multifilament to be softer and the mono poly to be stiffer, but if lower tension is the way to go, don't you actually want the softer string to get even more power? I'm probably misunderstanding the physics here.
Timely, im out of action atm because of tennis elbow (i think). Never really had any issue with it other than when i first started but played through that, so strange i got it now and it being so painful. I couldnt use my arm after the set when i really damaged it with noticeable swelling on the outside of the elbow. All id done was change my grip ever so slightly, perhaps it was more a matter of over thinking and being late too often as thats when the pain really hits. Ive played with all sorts of injuries, hate letting them stop me but this has.
Thanks for putting this out there. I currently have golfers elbow and tried the clash, very bad experience as in addition to the low flex the unique technology was making my arm have to work really hard. Wilson triad five is very nice on arm, like the head heavy hammer and stiff thick frame tons of power but isozorb blocks vibrations. I thought multi and gut had more power than poly so confused on your string recommendation
the wilson clash you listed isnt the arm friendly one it is the v2 it is not comfortable at all. the v1 was the most arm friendly. the v2 is horrible the stiffer tip with the forty five tech has ruined it. yeah it performs better but it hurts your arm more, the v1 is the only real clash
Recovering from tennis elbow, what string you would recommend for a 2021 pure drive 300g? I was using hyper g soft but i played them dead for long time and i think was one of main cause of the tennis elbow, was using 23kg, now i just tried head velocity mlt 1.25 24kg and feels way more comfortable, but less control and spin then hyper g, what strings you would recommend? Thanks
@@IntuitiveTennis I love your videos, just bought the kirschbaum super smash 1.23 to use in my Wilson Shift 99, I think you should try this racket, similar specs as the pure drive with more technology, spin friendly, a incredible racket for beginners e intermediate players. Maria Sakkari WTA number 8 is using the Wilson Shit and playing great at 2024 season. ruclips.net/video/elJaAuqpHDY/видео.html
Pros have better contact point and kinetic chain and conditioning and recs dont. Since it will take the recs players 1000 hours to correct the contact point, kinetic chain and conditioning, the faster option is to take much lighter and powerful racket to be able to hit more relaxed. Sounds sad, but after 2 years learning tennis 2h per week with private coach and playing 4-5h per week with friends and my coach saying i have good swings, I have got to 4.0 and i have got tennis elbow now from furious swings and some gardening work. Now as much as i try playing with full body and working on my footwork to be better positioned, it is so much work and so slow improvement that i am thinking to try the pure drive vs my vcore 97 310 60RA racket and i think Nick is right.
One of the key drivers of tennis elbow is gripping the racket too hard, and it is so so difficult to correct this behaviour especially during official matches. Once the tennis elbow is there, it is there, try playing badminton backhands while with tennis elbow and you will feel as much pain, even though the badminton racket and impact is wayway less vs tennis. Backhands are the worst. I am trying to play ambidextrous for this reason, the forehands almost dont hurt and allow to continue enjoying the game.
It’s a mystery to me. I think it is caused by the service motion, but not necessarily due to bad form bc I’ve had it (I heard Isner has had it). In my case it was in 2016 when I switched to Pure Drive. It was excruciating pain on my serve, but after 3 month it disappeared and never came back (I continued playing with the same racquet and strings)
@@IntuitiveTennis thanks for the reply. Mine definitely started from my serve and then leaked into the forehand. I haven’t been able to shake it for a long time and have tried switching to a 2hfh, which helps.
Mine was directly caused by a single serve i did, literally felt it happen. I was a dummy trying to adjust my serve to toss way inside the court and hit a big flat serve. Arm extended and pronated into an unnatural position.
Coach: How tightly are you gripping racquet when testing for proper grip size? With the racquet in the video you first seem to grip it hard and the grip is too small. When you grip it looser it's too big?
the rackets listed are not arm friendly the only reason why they are used by old people because they arent taking full swings and playing doubles and volleying plus they are super oversize. try taking a full swing with these and hit the frame (which you're unlikely to do as the head size is so big!) the vibration is just as bad lol the information listed here is completely false it only applies for old people who take half swings and dont finish their shots properly
@@claudiow1129 nah, my overall technique was good enough. You always shank the ball, from time to time. Every frame causes small strain on the forearm, which tends to injury.
Good topic, its the tennis ball. High level player plays with new balls. Recreational players play with used balls. The bounce is not bouncing anymore. When you serve, never serve with used balls. Use new ball when serving. When using Used balls it is too dead, which makes you serve too hard. Now you f your arm up. That is why when you play with someone, use a fresh pack. Now for beginners like high school, they can f their arm up too with all the used tennis ball that is only available to them. Because they dont have the money to buy new fresh pack of tennis balls.
Completely missed the biggest cause which is age. As you get older your tendons stretch less well and you develop microtears instead which is basically what tennis elbow is (the re-tearing of those micro tears). Second reason is lack of fitness work to strengthen those muscles and tendons, particularly for those who haven't played tennis since they were young. Combine those two and that's your main reason. So why don't high level players get it? Because they are young and do a lot of fitness work.
Meh I had it much, much worse when I was in my 20s than I do now in my 40s and I was considerably fitter then lol. For me it was just playing with stiff polys strung too tight and then playing them until they broke ie they were dead cuz I didn't know any better
The Best Tennis Elbow Exercises & Stretches
👉 ruclips.net/video/DBgm5o0-C44/видео.htmlsi=7t437CCPB8fqJDBc
i got tennis elbow mainly because of wrong grip size. No one told me about grip size and importance when i started playing tennis, neither the employee who sold me the racket nor my tennis instructor! I was also given a much lighter racket for my age and size (male/adult). Not to mention that string type and tension were completely out of the picture. After a few months of playing my arm was close to total collapse.
A lot of ice helped, rest helped as well and then what changed completely the situation was "studying". I started watching similar videos, read a few related articles and realized how important it is to have the correct grip size, racket weight and then string type and low tension. When i got a 300gr racket, with the correct grip size and 'Tour Bite soft' at 22/21Kg (instead of no name strings at 26/25) then i became another player. Not only tennis elbow never returned but my game improved immensely! This year i play almost 4 times per week, 2 hours each time and i feel no pain.
So for me, racket weight, GRIP SIZE, string type, and string tension were the most important factors to get rid of tennis elbow and improve my game.
ps: i also changed from 98 to 100 head size, as mentioned on the video, it reduces percentage of mishits that increase vibrations on your arm. Do not look at pro players who play with 95 or 98 square inch head sizes, most of us are not pros. So, a larger head size helped me as well.
I got rid of tennis elbow after 2 years with pain. Went to a Wilson Clash, strings down to 45lbs tension but the worse thing for me, was technique. Many wrong videos out there about how to “pronate” on the serve as well as how to use the “wrist” for spin. Once I cleaned those up, no more pain.
I spent 250 bucks on the Wilson Clash and it made my elbow worse: zero free energy meant I had to hit so damn hard, especially on serve. Now I use the stiff, big head Prince O3. Pain gradually diminished as power increased.
@@carlodave9 lol then don’t use it. I’m my opinion stiff racket, flexible racket, Polly strings, natural gut, hybrid setups etc, it really doesn’t matter that much for me. We obsess over those things but It all comes down to technique.
@Supertico-zj7sg I agree with you, technique is main cause of tennis elbow. Currently I am having minor tennis elbow after watching too much wrong videos (for me) :(. One of them is windshield wiper motion to create spin during forehand. This kind of motion might work for pro level players because they have trained hard their hand and wrist muscle. On the other hand, as a rec player, I have not trained much on my hand and wrist.
@@juggernauts9880 I picked up tennis when I was 22 years old. I used to practice 300 serves in a practice session with horrible technique. I was young and lifting weights consistently at the time, so I never had an issue with tennis elbow until a few years ago( now 43) Which is another reason players don’t have many arm issues. They are at their physical prime and I’m not 😑
What adjustments did you make for your serve?
I am also having a lot of Tennis elbow when I serve and was seeing how to go about it
Hi Nick your video is an excellent explanation of the multifactorial variables that contribute to tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis). In 1979, there was a medical study that agreed with your assessment that novice tennis players are much more prone to tennis elbow than experienced and specifically elite level players. In 1994, there was a biomechanical study that explored this further indicating the main predictor of risk for tennis elbow is the position of the wrist at impact for players hitting a one handed backhand. Elite players are at a hyperextended wrist position at impact (ie strong grip) versus novice players are at a flexed wrist position at impact (ie weak grip). The hyperextended wrist position means the muscles involved in tennis elbow are contracted at impact compared to a stretched state for players who impact with a flexed wrist position. The muscle/tendon unit is much more durable and can withstand the stress placed at impact when in a contracted versus lengthened state. I am not sure enough players and instructors are aware of how important this distinction in technique is for preventing injury to the elbow. Thanks for your thorough discussion on an important topic for amateur players
💯 the one-hander with poor technique (wrist instability) is a tennis elbow nightmare
I had bad tennis elbow once but it was around the time when I was hitting the gym hard. Working primarily on upper body. So be careful in the gym and don’t overdo it.
Curls and barbell bench can be extremely aggravating for TE
[This is a tip for those who suffer elbow pain from serving]
Regarding the technique part, as a player who has only played tennis for one year, I can say that my elbow hurts when my racket hits the ball off centre on my serve (observed by my tennis buddy), and the pain is usually compounded by the fact that I don't load my body properly to help my arm out. I had nights where my elbow is in pain for hours after a serve practice session.
The elbow pain goes away COMPLETELY once I start tossing the ball higher to buy myself more time to load the body and look for a cleaner contact point. (And I didn't change any set-up of my racket in the meantime) I can now serve one hour non-stop and only feel soreness on my feet due to the loading rather than my arm.
So, if you have elbow pain due to the serve, please toss the ball higher!
Great video that I have watched multiple times. I stopped playing tennis shortly after highschool. I am now 41 and picked it back up in January since my now 9 year old plays. I am in the 3.5+ class at my club. I didn't put much thought into buying my racquet and I got a Pure Drive 100. I had it strung with Hyper G at 52lbs. I started to have arm/wrist pain. I went to the doctor and had physical therapy. I also had my racquet restrung with Hyper G Soft at 49 pounds. I used it twice and had very little if any pain. Today I decided to demo a Wilson v9 Blade 100 and I have a lot of pain in my elbow/forearm. More pain then I ever had! I think I will be sending that demo back. I have one more racquet I was going to demo, the Head Gravity MP 100 but maybe my Pure Drive with its high stiffness is fine for me. Switching strings and dropping the tension seemed to have helped. I might even drop it to 45 the next time I get it restrung. Thanks for the great content!
Go with the setup that allows you to play pain free
@@IntuitiveTennis thanks, I’m going to do that. I do think my tennis elbow is from my one handed backhand. I’m going to drop down to the beginner/intermediate class so I can work on the correct form for this shot.
Like you said I play with stiff racquets, with Kirschbaum Super Smash Orange but despite your advice I use 52 and 56 lbs tension. The trampoline effect is to heavy for me at low tension, under 48 lbs. I don't have any issues with my arm!
Thanks for the time you put in the videos! 💥
Absolutely correct, as always here! I always tell people with a tennis elbow that the problem is the imperfection in their way of hitting the ball!
For me it was always just the serve
Nice video, Nic. I used to play with the RF97 with lead tape in the head for a total of 364 g. When I turned 50, I switched to the Pure Aero 98 with no lead tape or customization and have not regretted the switch. I can now hit better one-handed backhands on the run and am not caught late.
I have the same story, switched to the Aero 100 and am crushing 1 handed backhands , zero arm issues. Wish I would've switched years ago.
I have been playing with the Babolat Pure Drive 98 for a while now and I also have a Pure Strike VS, which is super soft, and I have no problems with the Pure Drive, which most people say cause arm problems. I do string my rackets under 50 lbs and have no problems with control. I do use a string that marketing says its soft, but it's not that soft, still, I feel it is great on the arm: the Tecnifibre Razor Soft. Love your content.
What did you use before that string which has been in the market less than a year?
@@elchanclascocina I was using Luxilon Element before the Razor soft
I got it bad by having too high string tension then I went drastically down and slowly healed with exercises too and now I’m happy at 24/23 Alu power and I’m good to go. For me it was string tension only . Thanks again
Went from Wilson Pro Staff V13 to the 2015 Bablolat Pure Drive plus after seeing one of your earlier videos.
Instant elbow relief. Cheers Nik.
All i can say is i agree with Nick. Experience and plenty of tinkering and trialing has told me so. Plus I’ve done some of that reading also and it makes sense. I found it best to keep away from any rehab weight bearing exercises and just let it rest (while still playing tennis of course 😂)
Regarding the last thing you said about tennis elbow due to other activities, I used to have a terrible wrist pain after I started practicing tennis again and I solved it by buying and ergonomic mouse for my computer.
I spent 250 bucks on the Wilson Clash and it made my elbow worse: zero free energy meant I had to hit so damn hard.
3 years ago i started my tennis journey and got a wilson clash 100L in order not to get tennis elbow. The racket is really nice and feels good with fast swing and nice spin bad i had pain. It was both my bad technique and the vibration of the racket.
I decided to go to a vcore 98 and after 2-3 months i got really better. Also the compression arm sleeves help. Not really tight but moderate support.
I used to suffer from tennis elbow when I was a junior and I played with a light-ish (285g unstrung) Price racket that was meant for power and spin. I left tennis for years and when I came back I had tennis elbow again. I did a strange move and I switched rackets to the Head Speed Pro 2020 version (310g unstrung, 20*18 and control oriented). That racket gives you less power for free and it's a lot flexible and my elbow problems completely dissappeared. Now I made the switch to the Gravity Pro. Even heavier and with a thinner frame. No sign of tennis elbow.
That was my comment! So glad you brought it up in the video. My elbow is much better now, thanks for the great information Nick!
Thank you for that comment and this one
🙏🙏
Thanks, you talked a lot about the equipment but not so much about the technique and its influence on this issue. I would like to hear about that part more. GFreat video as always
I can go in more depth in a separate video
Stretching (yoga) and tai chi help a lot. I'm a 2 handed backhander. No matter what, there is always a solution. I used hockey tape to bulk up the grip. I have small hands, though. I'm using hyperhammer 5.3 and H2.
Thanks, just got tennis elbow so this video has come at a great time
🙏
Advice needed 🙋♂️I started tennis after 15 years of no playing, I have pretty good technique. I started with Wilson PS v13 because I’ve played in childhood with the PS 6.5, but I’ve got shoulder issues from serving, I stepped down to 300g of Babolat PA 100 2023 and now I struggle with golfer elbow/biceps tendon pain. Maybe I’m not that young anymore at 31, so I need to adjust the technique to use more body power not just the arm, but i’m searching for a new racquet to solve the pain. 🤔 Should I switch to Wilson Blade 98, Head Speed MP or other? I still want to be competitive for amateur tournaments, thanx.
great video. Nick could you also make a video about tension explanation just like this video? For example Alacaraz plays I think with 25kg cross and 26kg mains and I would like to understand which tension to use when.
100% this was my issue in my teens, I played with radicals 98sq @65lbs and always had pain, in my 40s now been using Speed Pros @52-54lbs for years and no issues
Strengthening my arms, helped, switching to a tackier grip helped, switching strings and going to a lower tension really helped. (HEAD Lynx Touch or Technifiber Triax at 48lbs.) I may try 42 lbs next. Still working on my one hand backhand technique after 55 years playing! I can't seem to switch to two handed, just like you said Nick. Too old to change. 😢
I recently bought an Ps 97 because I just got back into tennis. At first I was excited because it was the lightest racquet I have ever owned. I used to play with a PS 6.0 85 head size when I was a junior. So weight really never bothered me and I was a small and skinny kid back then. Mistake 1 was not demoing the stick before buying because the ps97 is definitely not a beginner friendly racquet. I was framing about 60% of my returns. Swinging too fast and timing was off. After practicing at home with top spin pro, I did much better the next time on court. PS97 definitely rewards u when u hit the sweet spot. I ended up demoing the RF97 and that was better suited for me. I thought RF97 was a fan boy racquet so I completely ignored it without researching it from the start. That in turn lead me to educating myself more on racquet weights and lead tapes. Lead tapes definitely helped me out. My ps97 now is almost the same swing weight as the RF97 at 348 and about 12.5 oz. I think the day I can’t fully swing a racket is the day I will stop trying to play tennis altogether
One more that I want to add: The grip!
Most amateur players that I know hardly change their grip and some even wait until the original grip starts to get damaged!
And the problem with this is creating tennis elbow is that, the less the grip is effective, the more you have to hold your hand tight which is holding the racquet. If the grip got slippery and is not holding your hand enough, to keep the grip position in your hand tightly, you have to tighten your hand muscles, which means your arm as a whole will be more tight.
Just try making a strong fist and you'll see that the muscles in your arm also gets tighter. Which means, when you swing the racquet while hitting, your hand should be loose enough to swing freely and just strong enough to hold the racquet in position while it hits the ball!
And additionally, amateur players also mostly doesn't care about whether their racquet strings got old and tight or not, so that also I think has an impact on the arm.
Yes, I agree. wilson blade 98 V6 hurt my arm, but loved the stability. TIS2 16 x19 not enough spin, but weight is ok. T16 I used to love, but I haven't tried it lately. but I improved. Something in between might work like Instict, or Pure Drive team or a light of something. The 102-100 head is probably ok. I hate these things go on clearance, and in a few moments they are sold out. I hit too linear so I'm trying to hit consistent spin to not go over the back line.
My pain is greatly nerve related radialneuropathic from neck to right arm all the way down.
Great video Coach. No bs, straight to the point, pure wisdom. I m also planning to acquire a pure drive, with Kirschbaum orange strings, as you recommended with low tension.
That's exactly the combination that works wonder for me. I had no problem with elbow, but I switched racquet anyway because as I got older, I started to feel the weight of my old racquet more the longer the match lasts, which means it took more effort to swing, which I didn't feel before but now with age I do. So although he said no need to switch if you don't have problem, I would say you should switch as you get older and start to feel it's harder for you to swing with your current racquet. Hopefully you can prevent problem before it starts.
My first good racquet was a Head Speed S. I learned to play with that one and I even won an amateur tournament. Then, my Fed Fan head made me change my racquet and I bought the light version of the RF black L. With a smaller head my game was affected. Even though I played with the racquet for four years. The result: bad performance and tennis elbow. Now I'm using Yonex VCore 100, head velocity 42 pounds and things are going better.
Instructions very clear. Will switch to big five 110” racket with natural gut!
I think there is something to be said about frequency of restringing. Pros are restringing after several hours of hard hitting whereas most rec players, imo, use the same set of poly strings for months, long after they've gone 'dead'.
I had people who have never restrung their racket for years.
As a stringer I would tell players to string every 6 months and preferably don't use polyester.
I got golf elbow from tennis, but fixed it pretty easily when I started cleaning my technique
Luckily I have never had tennis elbow. Does the forehand GRIP have an influence on TE?
I'm 56, probably 3.75 NTRP, played on-off, weekend types, for about 15 years. I'm "weak", no muscle. I'm happy to see this video as I am just changing my racquet to a stiffer, lighter and larger head from my RF97. I was worried that it may cause TE . This video helps!
Forehand grip doesn’t cause TE but wrong FH technique can
Great video. In my experience tennis elbow can happen with the 1HBH all too easily if you don't let the shoulder be the foundation of the shot.
Great vid. I experienced tennis elbow for the first time this year and was out for a month. I think playing too long with dead strings can also contribute as there is less elasticity and have to swing harder to get same power as before. I mean how players will go months using the same string waiting till it breaks
I believe it's all in the technique. I fixed mine by working on technique. working on the "kinetic chain"...I still suck but at least my arm doesn't hurt LOL
the comparison between the head instinct at 64 RA and the 71 RA one is false also, 64 is still mid stiffness a stiff racket the 71 RA larger head one is going to mess up your arm when you take a full swing and hit the frame to be honest both are bad you need a much lower RA below 60 to truly comfortable.
64 is not soft!
Play tested clash a couple of years ago when I had arm problems. After playing half an hour, I experienced pain I rarely had before. My anecdotical evidence supports your theory.
Great video Nick! 👍👍
Thanks!
My tennis elbow was totally related to the racket I was using. I used a Wilson Ultra and constantly had elbow and wrist pain. Switched to a Yonex V Core Pro and the pain immediately went away. Haven’t had one bit of arm pain since the switch over a year ago.
I used to play with RF97. It gave me tennis elbow . After I stopped using it,, my elbow healed. I now play with the Blade 98 and string it at 50 and below.
Heavy soft racket ( gravity 305gr with ~ ra 62) and light stiff racket: technifibre 285gr with higher stiff (68ra), which racket better for arm(elbow), same string (hyper G soft 18kg)? Thanks coach!
IDK, I have Wilson 285gr 330mm balance point and 102in facesize as an emergency racket (simply because I bought it first and it didn't brake somehow) using which both me and my wife have pain in the wrist, but I never had any arm issues when playing even 315gr ezone 98, and all of my other rackets at least 300 grams and 320mm balance. So for me it's always been healthier to use heavy headlight rackets than light headheavy ones.
Hey Nick. In my experience weight distribution is key in comfort. I tried it in many different rackets that felt not comfortable. Adding a bit of weight in the tip and in the but cap makes miracles and the uncomfort disappears.
Good point at the end about tennis elbow possibly not being caused by tennis alone. I've read that less than 5% of tennis elbow cases are related to actual tennis. I play tennis and got tennis elbow but in my case I'm also a programmer typing all day and neglected my wrist pain.
Recreational players are generally playing with 270-300g racquets, that are almost always 330+ balance (strung). So they are playing with "sledge hammers". Mine is 310 strung, around 340g.
Also, not many are doing the wrist lag. Meaning that they will try and control the racquet head and push it forward.
The moment the ball hits the strings, that impact, if you don't whip the head of racquet, will go directly into your elbow tendons.
I play now with a 18x20 racquet, with Poly Tour Rev and in summer, I string at 27kg. No pain. And I bomb the forehand.
In the end, just a question of technique.
While the racquet presentation is accurate you've missed the Queen of arm friendly racquet : Volkl Classic V1 - 2023 edition just released. This racquet specs is identical to the original one launched 25 years ago (and all iterations since).
Hello. Love your content.
Can you make a video about golfer elbow among tennis players? I've developed one from serving and I had to stop doing flat serves for a year and was only doing kick serves. Though I still feel pain if serving a lot. I'm pretty sure that happens often to rec players with fast flat serves.
I also have some shoulder problems from serving (feels like i'm pulling my hand out and therefore overstretching shoulder muscles). Reason is obviously some technical deficiencies, but I can't really recognize them myself... I'm 4.5+ player with pretty decent technique.
Golfers Elbow is tricky. John Isner had it. I’ve had it as well (it disappeared after a few months). Hurts the most on the serve
@@IntuitiveTennis I had it for nearly a year now, cannot rid of it any tips?
I was suffering from elbow problems for 3 weeks after a long break where I never had tennis elbow before. I got fed up and tore one overgrip off my racket and IMMEDIATELY the pain stopped. By the standard grip size test the grip was acceptable but it was not working for me whatsoever.
There are some tips that work in general for your entire body. If a certain activity is giving you ackes because you are untrained, doing it improperly or your are doing it too much. You generally need to get better trained, work on your technique and change/ vary your load.
If you run with improper technique, your form collapses because you stamina is too low, or you are running too much (simply put). You will be very susceptible to get shinsplints or runners knee's etc. Same goes with tennis.
But the best advice is to not ignore the feeling once / if you get it. Letting it fester will just make it harder to get rid of.
Can hitting tons of dead balls and using tight string tension be a factor for tennis elbow?
Does the grip make a difference with Tennis elbow? Does an Eastern forehand grip increase the likelihood of Tennis elbow? Just curious. I use an extreme western forehand grip.
I use grip size 3 and my thumb goes a bit over my index finger. However size 4 is too big for me. Are there sizes in between or perhaps I should use 2 overgrips?
I am getting a pure drive lite, what tension do you recommend? I am a beginner recreational player. Thank you
ruclips.net/video/vs66tax0pCw/видео.htmlsi=TJZVHf-miTztlu_9
The average body can't handle stress as much. That also has to do with that we are sitting(not being active) now more then ever. I can honestly say I hardly see people at the recreational level warming up properly, yet want to pull of moves like Alcaraz or Djokovic.
Tennis elbow problem is not a complex problem. It does not have much to do with strings. It's an injury that comes from overuse of the tendon and therefore the extensor muscles. It can be either due to overstretching or putting too much stress by trying to handle the racquet head orientation with the forearm, holding too tightly or trying to stop the swing instead of letting go of the follow through. Players who do this would end with tennis elbow hitting through the air. Now, thisi is the 90%.
The other 10% is the racquet + strings that sends vibrations and shock to the arm. Here, the stiff racquet is not the right choice. In any case, the racquet + string + tension combination feeds back in the the way of hitting, so again, the main thing is technique.
I believe that people who use mostly flat forhands have more chances to get tennis elbow than people which use top spin or slice. Especially when they hit with not straight hand. Very often beginners make flat returns when ball to close to body.
I get tennis bicep pain instead. I notice that I muscle the ball a bit on a running reverse forehand which transfers the shock to my bicep. When I relax, this doesn't happen like Nic says. Use the whole kinetic chain, not just the arm in isolation
Thanks a lot for the video, i get clear on the raquet matter but wish tension you recommend or range? Also where we can find those strings in usa?
Tsitsipas, Djokovic, Henin and many other pros have had elbow surgery.
Unrelated to tennis elbow
Yeah! Even Roger Federer !
Have you tried the BOLT racquet? Thoughts on their technology? Do you think it really helps with tennis elbow?
I have golfer's elbow now for the past month or two. I can blast forehands all day without pain. Serves generally don't hurt either, but if I mis-time my one handed backhand (early), I get pain. A well struck backhand, no pain. I'm not sure how this happened or how to fix it but it sucks.
If you feel heavy vibrations on every hit, you will have arm issues. That's how I know something needs to change. Its a system between the racquet and strings/tension. Generally, stiffer racquet is associated with arm issues. Its not 100%. Use multifilament and mostly you will be fine.
Could you share your information about warming up the upper arm/shoulder?
PS I had a tennis elbow for several months in 2022, but not from tennis. It is gone completely.
Tennis Warm Up Routine
👉 ruclips.net/video/T49azbMS6Ho/видео.htmlsi=32CbP7L667Kmompy
I used to have tennis elbow, because I my forehand teqnique used to be awful, because I used to have my body launch first rather than my hand so I was catching the ball behind my body, so my arm started to hurt.
Thanks for this video. I am currently using the Head Radical MP 2021 and I have a tennis elbow... I have not played for last 2 months and rested it out but it has not yet healed. I am 40 and I wanted your recommendation on which racket I should move to.. Thank you...
Follow the recommendations in the video. Look at racquet specs, strings, your technique
I didn't believe Nick was right on this but I tried his recommendation of Head Hawk at 40 lbs( in a Head Boom Pro) and its been great for my arm so don't knock it until you try it
Thats interestin as head hawke is a relatively stiff poly. I guess 40 lb is realy low
Yeah, he recommended it in his video on top 5 strings for rec players ( ruclips.net/video/vs66tax0pCw/видео.htmlsi=r-w7WY4LsMqCyJ7F ). he actually said it could be ok to string at around 50 lbs but I've had a long time golfer's elbow injury so I went with 40 lbs and don't mind playing with low tension. What I found jived with what he said which is that the string is in his words 'responsive', I find it kind of launches the ball and so I don't need to swing super hard on groundstrokes to get good depth and spin. Also, another thing he said about the clash I found as well, I demoed it because I've had the golfer's elbow problem and I didn't find that racquet feel as easy on the arm as the head boom surprisingly, it was a demo so i dunno exactly what string/tension it had.@@dmf30
I play with a Wilson Blade Feel 100. Do you have any opinion on that one? I honestly can't find any information on the stiffness rating, though I did see some marketing stuff talking about how they achieve higher stiffness because of the materials used, so I'm guessing it has higher stiffness?
It's the only racquet I every used, recommended by my former coach.
I've also seen people recommend multifilament for weaker players, and tell them to stay away from mono poly. I honestly have no clue what even the difference is. I still have the same strings the racquet came with when I bought it in January, so it's probably high time I replace them. Don't have a clue what's currently on there, though - is there a way I can find that out? I do believe there is some writing on it (don't have it with me at the moment), but I couldn't really read it.
I'd imagine the multifilament to be softer and the mono poly to be stiffer, but if lower tension is the way to go, don't you actually want the softer string to get even more power?
I'm probably misunderstanding the physics here.
Timely, im out of action atm because of tennis elbow (i think). Never really had any issue with it other than when i first started but played through that, so strange i got it now and it being so painful. I couldnt use my arm after the set when i really damaged it with noticeable swelling on the outside of the elbow.
All id done was change my grip ever so slightly, perhaps it was more a matter of over thinking and being late too often as thats when the pain really hits. Ive played with all sorts of injuries, hate letting them stop me but this has.
any insight on wrist pain?
Thanks for putting this out there. I currently have golfers elbow and tried the clash, very bad experience as in addition to the low flex the unique technology was making my arm have to work really hard. Wilson triad five is very nice on arm, like the head heavy hammer and stiff thick frame tons of power but isozorb blocks vibrations. I thought multi and gut had more power than poly so confused on your string recommendation
Has to be a responsive poly, not what’s used on tour
you need to add weight to the clash to get more power the other rackets listed are all super oversize
the wilson clash you listed isnt the arm friendly one it is the v2 it is not comfortable at all. the v1 was the most arm friendly. the v2 is horrible the stiffer tip with the forty five tech has ruined it. yeah it performs better but it hurts your arm more, the v1 is the only real clash
Recovering from tennis elbow, what string you would recommend for a 2021 pure drive 300g? I was using hyper g soft but i played them dead for long time and i think was one of main cause of the tennis elbow, was using 23kg, now i just tried head velocity mlt 1.25 24kg and feels way more comfortable, but less control and spin then hyper g, what strings you would recommend? Thanks
Head rip control is one of the few multifilaments with spin potential
@@claudiow1129 Probably my all time fave string all around if I could only pick one string in a full bed
Nick, what do you think about the new Wilson Shift 99? High stiffness and similar playability as the Clash, plus good control and spin.
Haven’t tried it yet
@@IntuitiveTennis I love your videos, just bought the kirschbaum super smash 1.23 to use in my Wilson Shift 99, I think you should try this racket, similar specs as the pure drive with more technology, spin friendly, a incredible racket for beginners e intermediate players. Maria Sakkari WTA number 8 is using the Wilson Shit and playing great at 2024 season.
ruclips.net/video/elJaAuqpHDY/видео.html
Pros have better contact point and kinetic chain and conditioning and recs dont. Since it will take the recs players 1000 hours to correct the contact point, kinetic chain and conditioning, the faster option is to take much lighter and powerful racket to be able to hit more relaxed. Sounds sad, but after 2 years learning tennis 2h per week with private coach and playing 4-5h per week with friends and my coach saying i have good swings, I have got to 4.0 and i have got tennis elbow now from furious swings and some gardening work. Now as much as i try playing with full body and working on my footwork to be better positioned, it is so much work and so slow improvement that i am thinking to try the pure drive vs my vcore 97 310 60RA racket and i think Nick is right.
One of the key drivers of tennis elbow is gripping the racket too hard, and it is so so difficult to correct this behaviour especially during official matches. Once the tennis elbow is there, it is there, try playing badminton backhands while with tennis elbow and you will feel as much pain, even though the badminton racket and impact is wayway less vs tennis. Backhands are the worst. I am trying to play ambidextrous for this reason, the forehands almost dont hurt and allow to continue enjoying the game.
Would love a follow up on golfers elbow and any poor technical elements that lead to it
It’s a mystery to me. I think it is caused by the service motion, but not necessarily due to bad form bc I’ve had it (I heard Isner has had it). In my case it was in 2016 when I switched to Pure Drive. It was excruciating pain on my serve, but after 3 month it disappeared and never came back (I continued playing with the same racquet and strings)
@@IntuitiveTennis thanks for the reply. Mine definitely started from my serve and then leaked into the forehand. I haven’t been able to shake it for a long time and have tried switching to a 2hfh, which helps.
Ah man that is bummer. I can’t give you any advice bc I don’t have enough info and no case studies with students. 🙏
@@IntuitiveTennis no worries, thanks again for the reply and best of luck keeping your students away from it
Mine was directly caused by a single serve i did, literally felt it happen. I was a dummy trying to adjust my serve to toss way inside the court and hit a big flat serve. Arm extended and pronated into an unnatural position.
Have you try yonex poly tour fire? They have high pitch sound but i am not sure is it meet your responsiveness stranded.
Have not tried it
Coach: How tightly are you gripping racquet when testing for proper grip size? With the racquet in the video you first seem to grip it hard and the grip is too small. When you grip it looser it's too big?
he is just demonstrating what it would look like. when testing grip size, you should grip the racket as you would normally when you play
@intuitivetennis @iagree4686 what do you teach students for proper grip strength if 10 is max force 1 is fall out of the hand
Grip pressure test ruclips.net/video/lCjJItssz78/видео.htmlsi=ddZpmlP0-du4CBkk
Did Nishikori and Djokovic suffered from tennis elbow?
No, they had elbow injuries unrelated to Lateral epicondylitis which is referred to as tennis elbow.
the rackets listed are not arm friendly the only reason why they are used by old people because they arent taking full swings and playing doubles and volleying plus they are super oversize.
try taking a full swing with these and hit the frame (which you're unlikely to do as the head size is so big!) the vibration is just as bad lol
the information listed here is completely false it only applies for old people who take half swings and dont finish their shots properly
I've got tennis elbow from pull-ups so is not always a tennis issue.
I switched from 1HBH to 2HBH. Simple as that.
So you were hiting the ball late with one hand.
@@claudiow1129 nah, my overall technique was good enough. You always shank the ball, from time to time. Every frame causes small strain on the forearm, which tends to injury.
Most people are saying that a stiff racket with stiff Poly strings are bad for tennis elbow, but you are saying the opposite. 🤷🏻♂️
Stiff rackets hurt my arm. Soft rackets don’t.
Actually the best method is to do upper forearm excercises and reverse grip excercises..
Can you talk about your thought on Yonex racquets in general
Possibly best quality control. I love them but can’t use them
@@IntuitiveTennis Why can't you use them?
@@TheMensCurlingChampHe hates the head shape I think. He said this in a recent TennisNerd video
Get the Flexbar = no more tennis elbow!
Yes!
Good topic, its the tennis ball. High level player plays with new balls. Recreational players play with used balls. The bounce is not bouncing anymore. When you serve, never serve with used balls. Use new ball when serving. When using Used balls it is too dead, which makes you serve too hard. Now you f your arm up. That is why when you play with someone, use a fresh pack. Now for beginners like high school, they can f their arm up too with all the used tennis ball that is only available to them. Because they dont have the money to buy new fresh pack of tennis balls.
Well, a lot of high level players do have tennis elbow now. More and more are getting it.
High Level player have elbow injures, but lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) is rare
Agreed totally. Even top pros. like Roger, Nadal, Djiocvic, etc. had to have the operation. So many can be checked online for elbow injuries!
Completely missed the biggest cause which is age. As you get older your tendons stretch less well and you develop microtears instead which is basically what tennis elbow is (the re-tearing of those micro tears). Second reason is lack of fitness work to strengthen those muscles and tendons, particularly for those who haven't played tennis since they were young. Combine those two and that's your main reason. So why don't high level players get it? Because they are young and do a lot of fitness work.
Meh I had it much, much worse when I was in my 20s than I do now in my 40s and I was considerably fitter then lol. For me it was just playing with stiff polys strung too tight and then playing them until they broke ie they were dead cuz I didn't know any better
Thickness of string is a big factor.
what would you say is the recommended thickness to prevent tennis elbow?
thinner is better for arm. it is softer@@umiii8541
my sister got tennis elbow from playing the violin
Wow
To cure tennis elbow buy playboy and exercise that wrist twice daily.
I got rid of mine wit diatomaceous earth. you're welcome.
Wait wut? I've only ever gotten rid of ants with it