Flexibility, How it Affects Your Game

I recently got this question from Chris in Maryland via the website:

"Flexibility: every time you see djokovic play, a commentator will mention how flexible he is and how much that helps his game. How do you think flexibility fits into tennis, and how could one work on being more flexible?"

Great question Chris. At first glance it may seem like the main purpose of achieving better flexibility would be to prevent injury, and surely that's a very important part of it. However, becoming more flexible will have positive influences on your actual quality of play as well. Lets talk about why.

ROM is King

Want more power, more spin, and more depth to your shots? Of course you do, that's what everybody is looking for in this modern day game of tennis. What does flexibility have to do with that? The more flexible your body is, the greater effective range of motion (ROM) it will have. Having great ROM is extremely vital to hitting high level shots, the reason being a long swing is necessary to create the kind of acceleration needed to create a big shot using your ground strokes, serve, or overhead.

The Equation for Power

When teaching somebody for the first time how to hit a ground stroke correctly I often tell them that the momentum on their shot will equal the length of their swing times the speed the racket was moving at contact. Do you have a short swing? Then you're going to have to try and accelerate the racket much faster over that shorter period of time than somebody who has a longer more relaxed swing to get the same results as them. The longer your swing is the greater your potential for power and spin. The more flexible your body is, the easier its going to be to obtain that length of swing.

What "Length" Really Means

So I'm imagining you sitting there thinking about making a huge, high looping forehand back swing in order to get more length to your swing, that's not exactly correct. "Longer" is a relative term. If you're already a 4.5+ player (which Chris happens to be) then you know how to hit the ball strongly and confidently, chances are you already use your ROM pretty well and other things are going to be a bigger determinant to moving up in level again. If you're a 3.0 player however, I guarantee that the way you're swinging now is very short and tentative in comparison, you will have to learn how to make a longer more aggressive swing if you want to improve.

What Part Needs to be Flexible?

Check out Djokovic in that photo at the top, he's demonstrating ridiculous flexibility there, it's really amazing. His stance is well over past a closed (right foot over across his left for a backhand ground stroke), and yet he's been able to fully rotate his shoulders forwards in order to make an aggressive swing. This is where being an incredible natural athlete and training day in and day out pays off on the court for a professional player, these are moves that the vast majority of us can only dream of.

So what parts of your body need to be flexible most for create length and strength in your swings? Core flexibility is huge, that's what Djokovic is demonstrating above. Also very important is the flexibility of your shoulders, forearms, legs and hips. I won't get into exactly how to stretch here, but maybe I can do a video lesson with Dr. Jack to show us how!