There was a tennis book years ago with the title, Watch the Ball, Bend your Knees, That will be $20 Please! Well, today its more like $60 Please, but the bend your knees part is even more important today. In todays modern tennis game the forces involved require good players to bend the legs for several reasons.
The first reason is for stability. The body is more balanced when its center of gravity is lower to the ground. Balance and stability are vital for power and recovery. The body must be stable before changing directions. Moving is caused by instability. If you are moving in one direction, your body must stop the instability before you can change directions. This requires your body to become balanced during a change of directions. Bending the legs is a good way to regain your bodys stability.
The second reason for using your legs is power. In order to hit a tennis ball with maximum power, one must coil their body like a spring. The body will twist more with less stress when your legs are bent. Try standing straight up without bending the legs, now twist one direction and feel the tension of the muscles as the body turns. Now try twisting to one direction while bending the legs. You will find that the body is able to turn farther thus providing more coil power for your swing.
The third reason for bending the legs is power absorption. When a ball is hit hard at you, bending the legs will act like a shock absorber. The body is more stable and more able to recoil from the power. By bending the legs on balls that have a lot of speed, youll be better able to take that power and reverse it back into your return.
One thing you will notice on all the professional tennis players is their sturdy, strong legs. People will admit that tennis players have nice legs. This is because tennis is played from the ground up. So get your legs in shape for better tennis or play tennis to get your legs in shape!
Doug Hofer, USPTA October 11, 2004
WEEK
ARCHIVE INDEX