When we play a tennis match apart from the different techniques and tactics to apply to beat our opponent and your state of fitness is massively important to hit the ball hard. How to hit a tennis ball harder?
To be able to hit it harder you need to know when to hit it, at what height, and how to position your body to allow your arm to move faster and create more energy at the hit point.
HOW TO HIT A TENNIS BALL HARDER
There are different moments in tennis when you hit the ball, with your service, return, forehead and backhand so we will analyse all of them and try to understand for each of them how to improve the power of your shot.
How to Serve Harder
To start with the fundamental shot in tennis is to be able to command the game, your serve.
How to hit the serve harder?
Surely you need to use everything at your disposal starting from your arm and shoulder which have to be stronger but hit with your whole body will reduce in the long term the damage of tear and pushing.
- Prepare yourself in the position you usually serve
- Toss the ball around 2 meters above your head
- Move your racquet behind your shoulders and bend your back with the support of your feet to get the power for the movement
How to Hit Forehand Harder
The forehead is the more common shot in tennis and you should master it as soon as you start to play.
To improve the speed of it a lot of players use the swing to make it faster but you need first of all to use your body.
When the ball is coming your feet should follow the direction of the ball do the following:
- Bend your knees a bit
- Use your hip to get the power
- Accompany every time the movement even after you hit the ball.
Remember always to hit the ball with the right timing as this is even more important than the pace (hitting with the wrong time will make your shot too long or too short so an automatic point for your opponent).
How to Hit Backhand Harder
Another important shot for tennis that most beginners try to avoid moving as much as possible towards the left part of the court so they hit always with the forehead (the wrong thing to do) is the backhand.
Some players do it with two hands and others with one. The difference is quite insignificant in terms of speed but massive when we talk about control.
- Focus on control and use your feet to get the right balance for the hit
- For the one-handed, the position of the second hand you don’t use during the shot is fundamental for the balance and for the power to impress on the shot
- Keep your arm high and separated from your body when you shoot, try to follow the ball as much as you can even after you hit it.
HOW TO INCREASE YOUR TENNIS SWING SPEED
Having a good speed in your swing is dramatically going to change your game and the result of it. Some good drills to improve it are described here:
- Drill#1: Try to remove the net off your racquet, use paper inside and stick it with sellotape at the border of your racquet. Now, without a ball try to swing against the wind resistance, it seems hard and you seem slow but it increases your swing when you’ll remove the paper and get back to a normal tennis racquet as your arm.
- Drill #2: Find a partner. Ask him/her to stay behind you and toss a ball in your direction (you are giving him/her your back to make sure you visualize it) so your swing must be faster than usual as the ball is tossing away from you and not towards you. This way you train your whole body but especially your arms to be faster.
- Drill #3: Another good drill also with a partner, is to train the direct swing. This means you will anticipate the ball, positioning yourself in the middle of the court where normally any coach would suggest to not go and hit the ball before it bounces
- Drill #4: On the last drill, the exercise is simple. Hit the ball as hard as you can. Doesn’t matter if the ball goes out by 5 or 10 meters, the important is to understand your power in the court. So as soon as the ball bounce in your court, prepare yourself to rip it with all your power. Repeat it till you know where the ball reaches if you use 80% or 90% of your force.
WRAP UP:
We have seen how to hit a tennis ball harder and the ways to train it. If you are keen to improve your speed and power the above-mentioned drills are the perfect way to step up your level and become a more difficult player for your opponents. Nobody wants to play against someone with a top speed swing as the ball becomes faster to return and more difficult to place on the other court.
People Also Viewed:
