bad to flick your wrist in tennis?

[howlame46]

So i've been playing tennis for the past 2 months or so and lately my wrists has been hurting after everytime I play. Today I played with one of my friend's who is more experienced and he said that I was flicking my wrist on my forehand, which is bad. He said that my wrist was hurting because of it. When i got home, I tried to google it but couldn't find anything on this. is it really bad to flick my wrist? and will it hurt my wrist in the long run or is it just bad technique?

[Headshotterer]

yes it is bad, this isnt badminton
flicking with such a heavy load can stress your tendons and wrist

[strahan918]

I think the word flicking your wrist is misleading. On topspin shots, you definitely do use your wrist, although you're using your whole body, not just your wrist, which you not be doing.

[0range]

Sometimes you do need to flick your wrist... such as when you chase down a lob and try to lob back (so you flick your wrist to hit the ball that's in front of you and "throws it back")

However my coach suggest that it's better to keep the wrist firm on all groundstorkes/volleys.

[howlame46]

mkay sorry for the confusion

my wrist kinda goes from right to left and i stop my swing like halfway

any tricks to fix this?

[ThA_Azn_DeViL]

that should be natural from my standpoint, just to be safe dont listen to me though =)

[howlame46]

well i just got back from playing today, and i guess i move my wrist from back to forward when i make contact with the ball

i tried to keep my wrist stiff but then i couldn't concentrate on the shot

[tennisfreak15347]

I think i know your problem. I had this before, and I was moving my wrist right and left. It would probably be due to your grip, as you've fallen into a grip crisis. Next time you're on the courts, look at your grip and make sure that your index knuckle and the palm of your pinky finger are touching the same bevel. if not, then your wrist will always twist and you will live with tendonitis. this is a big cause of wrist problems.

[mediabox]

what exactly is the "palm of the pinky finger"?

[halalula1234]

i use a little bit of wrist in my serve and i grip the raquet at the very end of it and a bit of my hand goes off it..basically a hammer grip low down...this whips the ball like a bullet when i serve. and it works a lot but sometimes it causes the ball to go long.. and trust me it gives good speed and pace

[5263]

that should be natural from my standpoint, just to be safe dont listen to me though =)

Why do I love post like this so much? God bless you.

Wrist movement in one axis is ok or even good in hitting topspin.

I get the feeling you are not hitting topspin yet and are using wrist movement in the wrong axis, along with not continuing with your follow through on your strokes. This can lead to a host of aches and pains.

[futuratennis]

yea mate, ive had the same problem, my coach told me (i already assumed this) this was because of not enough back swing, youre using your wrist to create your power, which can then lead to injury, just take a bigger backswing, practice and practice... yet i guess u know, sometimes you have to flick ur wrist to return the really fast hits, where you dont have enough time for a backswing

[futuratennis]

oh, and turn ur shoulders to, this will create more power, which will lead to great things! :D

[howlame46]

so i've been trying not to flick my wrist but i do it naturally, would it help if i taped up my wrist?

[futuratennis]

no, u just gotta practice, because when u go for a bigger backswing and turn ur shoulders, that habit will eventually go away, although u may flick ur wrist occasionally like me

[BU-Tennis]

so i've been trying not to flick my wrist but i do it naturally, would it help if i taped up my wrist?

If your wrist is naturally "flicking" then let it. This is where power and topspin come from in tennis. You should be swinging with no restriction on your wrist. If you're not getting the desired effect from your stroke right now then i would say contact point is an issue. You might need to wait a little longer so your wrist can't fully flex before contact (which can give you the feel of a whippy wrist).

[shwetty[tennis]balls]

Stay away from it, don't get too wristy. The only pro that I can think of that really flicked his wrist the right way was Pete Sampras. You're going to need tremendous eyes and hands to use this skill in a way that will benifit you more than disrupt you.

[TTAce]

Here we go again.