For these reasons, we are seeing the two-handed backhand outnumber the one-hander on the order of 10-1 on the tour these days for both men and women. The fastest tennis ball ever hit was done by Sam Groth at the 2012 Busan Open Challenger Tennis but unfortunately, it wasnt recognized by ATP. This guy earned more money than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lebron, this should tell you something. It basically means the player starts their swing (whether it be forehand or backhand) with the racket away from their body. People should demo racquets and buy what makes sense to them. Everybody knew about speed too, but that didn't stop you from commenting on it. Very little separates the speeds of deep forehands for Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Grigor Dimitrov who all come in at 79 mph. Manage Settings Grand Slams seem to be measuring the speed of each and every groundstroke to provide us with stats on averages. They are great consultants. Actually, in my opinion, its more important on the backhand side and a little more difficult to do. it's been gradually more and more common to show the speed measurements of isolated groundstroke winners. Usually, the faster the service, the weaker your opponents return will be. The combination of these three aspects together into one fluid stroke, make for powerful forehands and backhands. Yes, but There's a Catch (2023 Rules). For example, at the 2014 French Open Madison Keys had recorded the fastest average groundstroke speed for both men and women at 127km/h, topping Novak Djokovics average speed of 124km/h which was the fastest on the mens side. A graphic was shown in one of the matches. I also want to make something clear about the one-handed backhand. ://twitter.com/Lewis_Carroll32/status/928304634804015105. The men are relying more on muscle. Dominic Thiem led the current Top 10 with average backhand speed at 67.4 mph, followed by Djokovic (67.3 mph) and Alexander Zverev (67.0 mph). Materials, tension, hybrid. It turns out that our brain automatically predicts where the ball is going to be, providing us with accurate measurements. Currently, Im teaching the pendulum to most of them all of the girls and most of the boys. , there's no way aga can hit that kind of shot against anyone else though, she pretty much completely built off of maddy's pace combined with her flat follow through, Up 6-3 5-4 and about to serve for the match, then during the change over. I have tried to dig deep into my own game these last few months and I can not shake the feeling that I: 1. Swing weights are moving downwards on both tours, 2. Given the range of features, Cyclone is one of the best values in its class. This is because its more difficult to learn, more difficult to hit high shots, and does not provide as much stability as the two-hander. Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka are two other players in the above 80 mph club, with big-hitting Davis Cup hopeful Juan Martin Del Potro (who, sadly, only had 2 matches at the 2014 to 2016 AO) is just behind at an average of exactly 80 mph. And maybe next time I attend a high school varsity tennis match or tournament, I think I will strongly consider measuring the groundstroke speeds of the players using a calendar instead of a radar gun ;), Calvin,Great data!You mentioned the wide range of skills among the high school players you measured. The ball is simply coming too fast to hit with a long swing path. Lets summarize it all so it makes sense. The New Zealander coached world No.13 Nick Kyrgios for 18 months before linking up with former US Open champion Stosur in mid 2014. Doubles players use racquets with a higher static weight but a more head-light balance than ATP singles players. And some of thats universal in terms of how I try to go about doing that. Yes, but There's a Catch (2023 Rules), link to The Main Reasons Why NFL Season Is Short (2023 Edition). Federer was around the middle of the ATP pack, averaging 66.1 mph. See our Youtube channel for many more tips and drills to help improve your tennis game and conditioning. This week's Australian Open Leaderboard series returns to groundstroke speeds. Steve k, from Berkeley, California, My current racquet is a Pure Drive Plus strung with 17 ga. VS at 54 lbs. Good luck, and let us know the results of your experiments. Reporting for ESPN, Greg Garber wrote that Keys backhand and forehand speeds ranked seventh- and eighth-fastest among all players faster than most men. As its not so easy to find, we created this graphic to show the difference. These are somewhat broad generalisations but over the years I have found them to ring true. Agassi was around 74-75 mph on all of his shots, Safin was like 75-77 mph but went up to the high 80s when going for a winner. Rafael Nadal, ranked fifth, averaged 119km/h. But its just an illusion. The bounce is so low, like on a hardcourt. Note that they can be hit with extremely varying degrees of slice or spin to surprise the opponent. The racket thus acts like a slingshot and the head of the racket moves to the inside of the players body (if only for a fraction of a second). And what would be a tuning option for a Pure Drive that suits a flatter game style? Yastremska in China last year (can't remember which tournament) did a 160 km/h return of serve in one match, and later (I think in the same match, but I may be mistaken) hit a winner that was over 170. What does this mean for you? serveandvolleytennis.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. rublev average forehand speed . The average speed of the second serve is somewhat slower, around 110 mph. The average serving speed for top WTA players is 120/mph. A forum community dedicated to Tennis players and enthusiasts. It took me years of studying stroke anatomy and watching the men and women on tour hit in slow motion to formulate my ideas. Over the course of their careers, their forehand speed averages are the same, 79 mph, slightly faster than Federer at 77 mph. For beginners and club level players, I highly recommend bringing the racket to the inside, like the WTA women, as it supplies the most power. People often point to the fact the men play a heavier game than the women. Having measured, using a RADAR gun and video analysis, the serve speeds of several Division I male players (from one team), I'm surprised that the average first serve speed you found for Division I players is just 90 mph. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. In this article, Ill be taking a look and ranking my Top 5 most powerful womens forehands currently on display within active players of the WTA Tour. The reason the men do not bring the racket to the inside is because they dont have the time. Do Tennis Players Need to be Tall? 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. so the question is simple - is Agatha Radwanska's GOAT 159km/h (99mph) FH winner the fastest recorded groundstroke on WTA? The appointment of former Spanish female pro Gala Leon Garcia to the Spanish Davis Cup captaincy in September 2014 certainly ruffled a few feathers. The first serve is usually flat or sliced and therefore much faster. A short, compact stroke is all thats necessary on fast shots. The wrist lag that causes the racket to flare behind them gives the illusion otherwise. This would also explain why back spinning can throw off the opponent. Nadal at his best against Novak at Roland Garros attacks with his DTL forehand and hard, short angle cross court backhand. If you have any questions for me, please drop a comment below. Korda's average serve speed was Make yourself comfortable and lets dive in. The racket actually moves so far inside for some WTA players that the dominant arm will actually be touching the torso of the body. You have the ability to Master the first and second serves. It offers more power and is easier to learn. And if he leaves them short it gets him in trouble. Though there werent many deep forehand shots observed for American Jack Sock, he did have the highest average speed at 86 mph. I myself chose to hit a flatter game style. Inactive players on the sheet are not from the good old days, but a mix of players who retired in the last ten years. Bitttchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh You Better Pay It Honey! The average groundstroke is contacted 1.01m from the ground. I still feel theres an absolute premium on the womens game of being the aggressor and trying to look at ways and means to expose your opponents physicality. one match of some ATP tournament and you will quickly realize what I am talking about. Its more difficult to time a long, looping groundstroke than a shorter, more compact one. For some reason, a heavy spin serve doesnt wear out strings like a heavily topspun forehand (Andrei Rublevs, for example). Will Wimbledon continue the Russian/Belarusian ban in 2023? That extra half a second it takes makes a big difference to time the ball. Again, on the WTA tour, this move back to the outside will be much more pronounced than the guys on the ATP. Djokovic and Nadal speeds were quite comparable. In the last couple of years, we can see a significant boost in the number of women players hitting huge serves with a. ProfessionalsHQ is a participant in the Amazon Affiliate Marketing Program. My tuning option for a flatter game style is to use a lively multifilament such as Tecnifibre NRG2, in 17 ga. at about 57 lbs in a Pure Drive. Senior data scientist at Zelus Analytics, dedicated to using advanced stats to get more value out of performance analysis in elite sport. Except for the first, you also have the second service which takes place when the player faults on the first attempt. In most cases, the first serve is a very powerful shot to set up the point. Trends or stereotypes in mens and womens tennis can be bucked. 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. There is no one-size fits all in tennis. The trickier question perhaps is if the records only belong to him. Perhaps this is the reason Keyes has underachieved in her career so far (as of October 2018). thank you so much for your answer! Yet Federer FH arguably better than both. When the women move from inside-to-outside, they are completing a circular movement that relies on momentum, which is why its called a pendulum swing. All of them bring the racket far inside their body. M Continue Reading 30 4 5 Laurence Shanet Former College/Satellite Tennis Player, Tennis Coach, USRSA Certified Stringer Featured on International Business Times Author has 1.2K answers and 6.7M answer views Updated 3 y Related Now lets talk about the speed. But the gold? A player coming back from injury. Play better with a slightly lower swing weight than I thought (320-325), 2. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Essentially, it's a free way to add a few miles. Hi, my name is Jim. 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