In what manner are female strokes usually different than male ones?

[sureshs]

DP has the natural advantage of height, which gives him a different trajectory on his shots. He doesn't have to put too much topspin. On the other hand, his wrist injuries may be related to how he hits the ball, so I don't think he is good to emulate.

[dominikk1985]

Originally Posted by MikeyBigShot

What would stop a guy from developing ground strokes like Sharapova or Serena? I know that most guys here probably try to coordinate their undies with whatever ATP players have under their shorts, but seriously what aspect og Serena/Sharapova's strokes aren't applicable to amateur men?

I doubt most amateur men need a WW FH to control their self-perceived massive FH.

amateur men don't but the pros are really a lot stronger even then serena or kvitova. they need a lot of spin to keep the ball in. 20 years ago when the best men hit about as hard as serena does now they could swing flatter but now they have better technology, weight training and steroids so they need a safety seatbelt (spin) to keep the ball in.

BTW: even most women use WW forehands now but they don't brush up as much as men.

the most "manly" FH on tour is certainly stosur:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_mNZ...eature=related

[Limpinhitter]

Originally Posted by dominikk1985

the main reason is that women hit flatter because they don't have as much RHS. thus they need to hit more through the ball because if they hit with the same spin as men their balls would be "sitting up".

there were some women who hit spinny (sanchez, sabatini, schiavone) but most of them don't hit hard. there were very few women who were strong enough to hit hard and spinny (henin, stosur, mauresmo).

men on the other hand are so strong that they have to hit spinny to keep the ball in.

Have you ever seen Sabatini play? If you tried to come to net against her, she could bounce the ball off of your chest with impunity.

[TCF]

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[tricky]

Female-style stroke.

1) When you setup the unit turn, the racquet tip is straight up. There may be some layback in the wrist.

2) Optimal stance is neutral rather than open.

3) As you take the racquet back, you aim at the ball with the finger tips or palm of your oft-hand.

4) As you swing forward, pull from the buttcap to the ball.

5) In terms of muscles, you're swinging with mostly your triceps and upper pecs.

6) Finish over the shoulder.

[ATP100]

Easy Answer: They are not that different.

Look at a 100 random female/male pro's, they are pretty close.

The biggest difference I have seen/felt, is the weight of shot/ball.

[TennisCJC]

WTA has bigger swing on FH and BH - examples: Wozniacki and Danara Safina - they take racket higher and further back than most ATP pros. ATP has more compact FH swing - examples: Federer, Agassi and Ferrer. Henin was an exception as others have noted, she proved you do not have to have a huge FH back swing or loop to generate loads of pace and spin.

I think WTA players might learn bigger swings to generate pace and spin when they are juniors and need the big swing to hit the ball hard and/or deep. Personally, I think it is a detriment once they are on WTA as they have less time to swing and too much racket head movement is just more things to go wrong.

Some ATP players do use big swings too - example: Soderling had a huge FH swing.

[TCF]

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[dangalak]

Originally Posted by Tcbtennis

I have a boy and a girl who both started playing at the same time with the same coach. Though they started at the same time and were taught the same technique, their paths diverged. My son hits with heavy topspin with a compact backswing and my daughter hits flatter with a much larger backswing. In fact we are working to shorten her backswing because it way too big.

I think that you are right in that my daughter's forehand was attackable until she developed a flatter and deeper ball.

Wouldn't it make more sense to have a compact swing for a flat ball and a long swing for topspin?

Originally Posted by Limpinhitter

I don't know why you would think that. I'm guessing you haven't seen what genuine old school, wood racquet, strokes look like. Del Potro's forehand is far from old school. He hits way out front with a huge upward trajectory and big upper body rotation. None of that is old school.

In any event, you can confirm how much spin he hits just by looking at how hard he hits and the flight of his ball. He couldn't keep the ball in the court without a huge spin rate.

Eh, he finishes close to his shoulder.

Originally Posted by dominikk1985

the main reason is that women hit flatter because they don't have as much RHS. thus they need to hit more through the ball because if they hit with the same spin as men their balls would be "sitting up".

there were some women who hit spinny (sanchez, sabatini, schiavone) but most of them don't hit hard. there were very few women who were strong enough to hit hard and spinny (henin, stosur, mauresmo).

men on the other hand are so strong that they have to hit spinny to keep the ball in.

Mauresmo hitting hard? Always thought she was considered underpowered and her forehand sitting up a lot.

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by dangalak

Wouldn't it make more sense to have a compact swing for a flat ball and a long swing for topspin?


Mauresmo hitting hard? Always thought she was considered underpowered and her forehand sitting up a lot.

1. For the same person, yes. TCB was talking about a male and a female.

2. Correct. I remember Navratilova commenting about Amelie's weak forehand and blaming her Western grip for it.

[Limpinhitter]

Originally Posted by dangalak

Wouldn't it make more sense to have a compact swing for a flat ball and a long swing for topspin?



Eh, he finishes close to his shoulder.



Mauresmo hitting hard? Always thought she was considered underpowered and her forehand sitting up a lot.

3 strikes! YER OUT!

[dangalak]

Originally Posted by Limpinhitter

3 strikes! YER OUT!

[Geology_Rocks!]

''Serena is stronger than most male pro tennis players.''

Thanks, that's what I needed to turn off my laptop and start studying.

[nat75]

Originally Posted by Limpinhitter

Have you ever seen Sabatini play? If you tried to come to net against her, she could bounce the ball off of your chest with impunity.

Gaby used to swing a racket that weighted over 400 grams. Both Seles and Capriati described Gaby's balls as very difficult and heavy. Chris even said she trained with men to prepare for the matches against her.

[Limpinhitter]

Originally Posted by nat75

Gaby used to swing a racket that weighted over 400 grams. Both Seles and Capriati described Gaby's balls as very difficult and heavy. Chris even said she trained with men to prepare for the matches against her.

I'm just trying to make it clear to some of the posters on this board who, apparently, have never seen world class tennis, men or women, that it's a fallacy to think that the WTA women don't hit the crap out of the ball. They do. The biggest difference between the men and women is their movement and athleticism, and to a lesser extent their serves, not as much their ground strokes.