the more i play tennis the more i understand my flaws and more i found myself (doing mistakes described) in your videos. key to success is in realizing what you are doing wrong and detecting those problems. unluckily, a lot of times we are focused on final product (lack of power on the ball, ball going too short or too deep...) but we are not able to detect things in core. thank you for pointing those problems out, i can literally say that i made half of my tennis progress by detecting mystakes and then find the solutions in your videos
Hi Tomaz. Thank you for another fantastic video. I am surprised that it has not many views comparing to your other videos. This video is a basics of basics and needs to be studied many times. So many errors in any stroke is actually caused by not rotating hips. Thank you for your talent and your work.
Really nice instruction video Tomaz! I am an average recreational club player, playing tennis for 25 years and I tried this today on the tennis court... It is really amazing how much more control I felt, even with the mini tennis warming up (as you predicted). It feels pretty different to me, but much more relaxed . I feel I do not need to generate power with my arm muscles any more . I now have to get this in my automatic technique and get the timing/coordination of the total motion under control. Thank you very much for sharing!
Great to hear, Jim, and thanks for the feedback! Yes, the strokes can feel very effortless when it comes to arm muscles. Just keep rallying and put in the repetitions. Don't play many matches in this period because you will tense up again in matches. So the ratio of free hitting vs matches should be at least 2:1 if not more. When I was starting my tennis journey my ration was probably 9:1 in favor of free hitting.
Hip rotation is fundamental, in classic as in modern strokes. It allows you to push off from your legs upwards, getting your weight into the shot. If not, you're only arming the ball. Or you have a minimum rotation of your torso. With hip rotation you have weight into the ball, torso rotation, and then your arm finishes with acceleration through the shot. The famous kinetic chain. "Hips Don't Lie!" (Sorry. I had to say it before anyone else did).
I really don't like that way of describing it as "pushing off from your legs", since you can move your hips without any assistance from your legs. As Tomas says in the video, your hips should be the boss and they just drag your foot with them due to the rotation. There's definitely some feeling from your hitting leg but I believe it's mostly from the ankle providing a balance point and resistance for your hips to engage off of. I find that consciously thinking about pushing off from the legs oftentimes confuses people and distracts them from the core rotational aspect necessary in a stroke.
Agree, when I try to focus on foot drive to engage hips I end up not driving the hip forward as it is easy to start arming the ball in a match. When I start with hips as long as I give myself enough space and dont overcook the ball, keep my upper body over the ball as I rotate hips forward not up, much better shot !@@drdickenbalz
Tomaz, thanks so much for the explainer! - So as we coil up > left hand releases the throat of the racquet > strings face downward > what initiates the stroke? The hips followed by the shoulders, dragging the arm with them? Thanks!
A lack of rotation in the hips can also lead to injury, typically on the outer side of the calves, as they will then get the brunt of the rotational force. I've just had a pulled muscle in the outer part of my left calf, and my physio attributed this to an impingement in my right hip. So it's important to practice exercises focusing on hip abduction.
Thank you coach. A great valuable lesson. When rec players think of rotation, usually they only rotate their shoulders or move the racquet across their body without much rotation anywhere.
I find it easier to do the "pro forehand" that fires the hip first. It is essentially the same action as throwing a ball to your side, or skimming a stone, which is something I have been able to do since I was a little boy. Obviously you are holding a tennis racket not a stone so you come into that throwing action a little differently and you have a big follow thru at the end but the middle bit is basically the same. If I just remember that it's actually easier to do then anything else as it's ingrained into me. I don't think it leads to over powered strokes - I can throw a ball harder or softer too.
we had like more videos about the two handed backhand different styles and more technical explanations in detail on the rolles of the non dominant hand and backswing how to release the Racket.thank you in advance for all your awesome videos you are the best teacher
Good stuff. Hip rotation *should* happen naturally. If you're advanced enough, you've learned to keep the arm as loose/relaxed as possible. To initiate the swing, you then HAVE to use your hips.
Yes, it should happen naturally but because 95% of the players prepare too late they only have short time to move the racket forward and they can do that only with their upper body and arm. So 95% of adult rec players that I work with do NOT use hip rotation as part of the whole body rotation so I correct that almost every week for the last 10 years with every tennis player I work with. ;)
@@feeltennisI get it lol. I grew up playing. Hard to teach adults all this. Keep up the great videos by the way. You break things down very well and don’t over complicate things.
Thanks Tomaz, great video as always, I have a doubt about this, when you are swinging to hit the ball, you should start the rotation from the shoulders, lagging your arm and then the hips start to rotate as a consequence of the shoulder rotation, am I correct?
No, not correct. The body uncoils from the bottom up. Legs drive the hips, hips drive the trunk and then upper body / shoulders and then the arm comes through.
@@feeltennis Thanks for the answer Tomaz, so let's suppose that I am fully loaded to hit a forehand, with unit turn complete and and the knees bend, which is the first move that should initiate the stroke? The legs drive or the hip rotation?
The legs and the hips are pretty tightly connected so you can't really separate that action. They will work at the same time, you can visualize a movement like an upward spiral - like a screw.
@@feeltennis So, once the forehand is fully loaded and ready to hit, the leg drive, hip rotation and shoulder rotation will happens almost simultaneously, only the arm and racket will have a clear delay, right? Sorry but I am having a hard time trying to figure out how to initiate the stroke properly.
You cannot execute the stroke that analytically while every single ball that flies towards you is different and the ball flight takes 1.5 to 2 seconds. You need to do simple exercises to program the basic movements of the stroke. I suggest you start with the Universal Swing drills and see how it goes: ruclips.net/video/GeElHXkCG7g/видео.html
If you rotate hips, you do transfer weight too. But many recreational tennis players transfer weight without hip rotation, meaning the right hip (for righthanders) just stays back...
Once you integrate hips into your body rotation you don't need to think about them anymore. Better to think "still head on contact" as the only thing you focus on.
@@feeltennis Yes thanks very helpful. Since I've kept my head still its all been getting much cleaner. No more side spin on backhand from opening too much.
In your other video, you stated that there’s a linear phase before into rotation. If you engage hip turning, then it’s not a linear swing anymore. What am I missing here?
@@bournejason66 Yes, pros use linear phase on "normal" strokes (so not short cross court or some variation), see here: ruclips.net/video/gyZxjDlmp2I/видео.html
Of course there is hip rotation on the backhand but there is way less of it than on the forehand. You probably have a wrong idea of the one-handed backhand...
BLOCK THE HIPS = to do this successfully!!! your "blocking" point is where your imaginary "belt buckle" is pointed directly at your TARGET = the kinetic chain then keeps going and your coil (your torso/shoulders receive the energy transferred by the hips and you CAN allow it to flow (via the chain) into the LOOSE arm, through the loos hinge of the wrist into the racquet, into the ball. VOILA!!!!
I love it when someone can explain the technique in a very simple language.
Good to see you posting . You have the best vids on tennis instructions here period so pls continue
Tomaz is by far the best tennis coach on RUclips for recreational players. Always on point.
the more i play tennis the more i understand my flaws and more i found myself (doing mistakes described) in your videos. key to success is in realizing what you are doing wrong and detecting those problems. unluckily, a lot of times we are focused on final product (lack of power on the ball, ball going too short or too deep...) but we are not able to detect things in core. thank you for pointing those problems out, i can literally say that i made half of my tennis progress by detecting mystakes and then find the solutions in your videos
Thanks Tomaz. The tip really worked.
Hi Tomaz. Thank you for another fantastic video. I am surprised that it has not many views comparing to your other videos. This video is a basics of basics and needs to be studied many times. So many errors in any stroke is actually caused by not rotating hips. Thank you for your talent and your work.
Best tennis lesson ever posted on youtube, very detail with dementstation. This video deserves more likes.
Thank you. You are my good teacher in this matter!
Great distinktion between recreation and proteknik. Bedst fundament lesson .Thanks a lot.
Really nice instruction video Tomaz!
I am an average recreational club player, playing tennis for 25 years and I tried this today on the tennis court...
It is really amazing how much more control I felt, even with the mini tennis warming up (as you predicted).
It feels pretty different to me, but much more relaxed
. I feel I do not need to generate power with my arm muscles any more
.
I now have to get this in my automatic technique and get the timing/coordination of the total motion under control.
Thank you very much for sharing!
Great to hear, Jim, and thanks for the feedback! Yes, the strokes can feel very effortless when it comes to arm muscles. Just keep rallying and put in the repetitions. Don't play many matches in this period because you will tense up again in matches. So the ratio of free hitting vs matches should be at least 2:1 if not more. When I was starting my tennis journey my ration was probably 9:1 in favor of free hitting.
Thank you very much!
Hip rotation is fundamental, in classic as in modern strokes. It allows you to push off from your legs upwards, getting your weight into the shot. If not, you're only arming the ball. Or you have a minimum rotation of your torso.
With hip rotation you have weight into the ball, torso rotation, and then your arm finishes with acceleration through the shot. The famous kinetic chain.
"Hips Don't Lie!"
(Sorry. I had to say it before anyone else did).
I really don't like that way of describing it as "pushing off from your legs", since you can move your hips without any assistance from your legs. As Tomas says in the video, your hips should be the boss and they just drag your foot with them due to the rotation. There's definitely some feeling from your hitting leg but I believe it's mostly from the ankle providing a balance point and resistance for your hips to engage off of.
I find that consciously thinking about pushing off from the legs oftentimes confuses people and distracts them from the core rotational aspect necessary in a stroke.
Agree, when I try to focus on foot drive to engage hips I end up not driving the hip forward as it is easy to start arming the ball in a match. When I start with hips as long as I give myself enough space and dont overcook the ball, keep my upper body over the ball as I rotate hips forward not up, much better shot !@@drdickenbalz
Tomaz, thanks so much for the explainer! - So as we coil up > left hand releases the throat of the racquet > strings face downward > what initiates the stroke? The hips followed by the shoulders, dragging the arm with them? Thanks!
So many good tips. Thank you you are very good at explaining. Regards from Sweden 🎾
A lack of rotation in the hips can also lead to injury, typically on the outer side of the calves, as they will then get the brunt of the rotational force. I've just had a pulled muscle in the outer part of my left calf, and my physio attributed this to an impingement in my right hip. So it's important to practice exercises focusing on hip abduction.
Very good point. It takes a long time for a player to develop sound movements that will not lead to injury and still get topspin, power and control.
Thank you coach. A great valuable lesson. When rec players think of rotation, usually they only rotate their shoulders or move the racquet across their body without much rotation anywhere.
Well said!
I find it easier to do the "pro forehand" that fires the hip first. It is essentially the same action as throwing a ball to your side, or skimming a stone, which is something I have been able to do since I was a little boy. Obviously you are holding a tennis racket not a stone so you come into that throwing action a little differently and you have a big follow thru at the end but the middle bit is basically the same. If I just remember that it's actually easier to do then anything else as it's ingrained into me. I don't think it leads to over powered strokes - I can throw a ball harder or softer too.
Good insights as usual
Always the best videos on youtube
Awesome lesson Tomas -- I think this is a major tip to improve one's game
i've never stared so closely at a man's hips. thanks for the great lesson.
You forgot to say ‘no homo’
Thankssssss... Perfect video
Thank you very Much Tomas, very interesting class !!
we had like more videos about the two handed backhand different styles and more technical explanations in detail on the rolles of the non dominant hand and backswing how to release the Racket.thank you in advance for all your awesome videos you are the best teacher
More to come, planned for the future!
I believe with the timely weight transfer from right leg to left tbe need for moving right leg dissapears.
Thanks, Tomaz, for the holiday lesson! All the best to you and your family.
Great video coach
COACH PETE
Always the best. Than you
Good stuff. Hip rotation *should* happen naturally. If you're advanced enough, you've learned to keep the arm as loose/relaxed as possible. To initiate the swing, you then HAVE to use your hips.
Yes, it should happen naturally but because 95% of the players prepare too late they only have short time to move the racket forward and they can do that only with their upper body and arm. So 95% of adult rec players that I work with do NOT use hip rotation as part of the whole body rotation so I correct that almost every week for the last 10 years with every tennis player I work with. ;)
@@feeltennisI get it lol. I grew up playing. Hard to teach adults all this. Keep up the great videos by the way. You break things down very well and don’t over complicate things.
Excellent Content, Thx.
Good stuff.
Thanks Tomaz, great video as always, I have a doubt about this, when you are swinging to hit the ball, you should start the rotation from the shoulders, lagging your arm and then the hips start to rotate as a consequence of the shoulder rotation, am I correct?
No, not correct. The body uncoils from the bottom up. Legs drive the hips, hips drive the trunk and then upper body / shoulders and then the arm comes through.
@@feeltennis Thanks for the answer Tomaz, so let's suppose that I am fully loaded to hit a forehand, with unit turn complete and and the knees bend, which is the first move that should initiate the stroke? The legs drive or the hip rotation?
The legs and the hips are pretty tightly connected so you can't really separate that action. They will work at the same time, you can visualize a movement like an upward spiral - like a screw.
@@feeltennis So, once the forehand is fully loaded and ready to hit, the leg drive, hip rotation and shoulder rotation will happens almost simultaneously, only the arm and racket will have a clear delay, right?
Sorry but I am having a hard time trying to figure out how to initiate the stroke properly.
You cannot execute the stroke that analytically while every single ball that flies towards you is different and the ball flight takes 1.5 to 2 seconds. You need to do simple exercises to program the basic movements of the stroke. I suggest you start with the Universal Swing drills and see how it goes: ruclips.net/video/GeElHXkCG7g/видео.html
Is hip rotation the same as transferring your weight forward?
If you rotate hips, you do transfer weight too. But many recreational tennis players transfer weight without hip rotation, meaning the right hip (for righthanders) just stays back...
Would it be accurate to think move the hips but keep head on contact?
Once you integrate hips into your body rotation you don't need to think about them anymore. Better to think "still head on contact" as the only thing you focus on.
@@feeltennis Yes thanks very helpful. Since I've kept my head still its all been getting much cleaner. No more side spin on backhand from opening too much.
In your other video, you stated that there’s a linear phase before into rotation. If you engage hip turning, then it’s not a linear swing anymore. What am I missing here?
Linear phase comes after the rotation as you start aiming towards a target.
Feel Tennis Instruction why the need for the linear phase? It seems pros don’t use linear phase. Am I correct on that?
@@bournejason66 Yes, pros use linear phase on "normal" strokes (so not short cross court or some variation), see here: ruclips.net/video/gyZxjDlmp2I/видео.html
19:51 - No hip rotation on your single backhand... so... u're teaching something that u're not using... Am i right or wrong?
Of course there is hip rotation on the backhand but there is way less of it than on the forehand. You probably have a wrong idea of the one-handed backhand...
Some coaches said its played with the arm only
@@chafiqbantla1816 Their coaching licence should be taken away.
@@feeltennis you are such a laugh, mate.
BLOCK THE HIPS = to do this successfully!!! your "blocking" point is where your imaginary "belt buckle" is pointed directly at your TARGET = the kinetic chain then keeps going and your coil (your torso/shoulders receive the energy transferred by the hips and you CAN allow it to flow (via the chain) into the LOOSE arm, through the loos hinge of the wrist into the racquet, into the ball. VOILA!!!!
I'm Single 😍😥
You play singles?