Technique: Basic Terms and Principles in

Biomechanics
(The information in this article was taken or adapted from the High Performance Coaching
Program Study Guide.)

Biomechanics is the study of the causes of human motion, so tennis biomechanics is

essentially the science/ mechanics tennis technique.  When tennis coaches combine their
practical tennis teaching experience with knowledge of tennis biomechanics, they can
accurately analyze strokes, prescribe training and exercises, and maximize skill development
while minimizing the risk of injury to their players. 

Knowing the how and why of tennis motions is essential to prescribing the best possible
tennis instruction. It is important to know several biomechanical terms and principles to
better understand tennis technique:

 Forces and torques,

 Newton’s Laws of Motion,
 Linear and angular momentum,
 Center of gravity, and
 Kinetic link/ Kinetic chain

Forces and Torques

A force is simply a push or pull and it changes the motion of a body segment or the racket. 
Motion is created and modified by the actions of forces (mostly muscle forces, but also by
external forces from the environment).

When Force rotates a body segment or the racket, this effect is called a torque or moment of
force.

Example— Muscles create a torque to rotate the body segments in all tennis strokes. In the
service action internal roation of the upper arm, so important to the power of the serve, is the
result of an internal rotation torque at the shoulder joint caused by muscle actions (latissimus
dorsi and parts of the pectoralis major and deltoid).  To rotate a segment with more power a
player would generally apply more muscle force.

Newton’s Laws of Motion

Newton’s three laws of motion explain how forces create motion in tennis.  These laws are
usually referred to as the laws of inertia, acceleration, and reaction.

 Law of Inertia.  Newton’s first law of inertia states that objects tend to resist changes
in their state of motion.  An object in motion will tend to stay in motion and an object
at rest will tend to stay at rest unless acted upon by a force.
Example—The body of a player quickly moving across the court will tend to want to
retain that motion unless muscular forces can overcome this inertia.  Players should
 therefore build movement into their basic stroke production that takes them back
toward the center of the “hitting-arc”.
 Law of Acceleration. Newton’s second law precisely explains how much motion a
force creates. The acceleration (tendency of an object to change speed or direction) an
object experiences is proportional to the size of the force and inversely proportional to
the object’s mass (F = ma).
Example—If a player improves leg strength through training while maintaining the
same body mass, she or he will have an increased ability to accelerate the body using
the legs, resulting in better agility and court speed.  This also relates to the ability to
rotate segments, as mentioned above.
 Law of Reaction. The third law states that for every action (force) there is an equal
and opposite reaction force. This means that forces do not act alone, but occur in
equal and opposite pairs between interacting bodies.
Example—The force created by the legs “pushing” against the ground results in
ground reaction forces in which the ground “pushes back” and allows the player to
move across the court (As the Earth is much more massive than the player, the player
accelerates and moves rapidly, while the Earth does not really accelerate or move at
all).  This action-reaction also occurs at impact with the ball as the force applied to the
ball is matched with an equal and opposite force applied to the racket/body.

Momentum

Newton’ second law is also related to the variable momentum, which is the product of an
object’s velocity and mass.  Momentum is essentially the quantity of motion an object
possesses. Momentum can be transferred from one object to another. For tennis coaching,
you need to know two types of momentum:

 Linear momentum, which is momentum in a straight line.

Example— Linear momentum is created by the forward step in a square stance
forehand. 
 Angular momentum, which is rotational momentum and is created by the rotations
of the various body segments.
Example—The open stance forehand uses significant angular momentum. The
tremendous increase in the use of angular momentum in groundstrokes and serves has
had a significant impact on the game of tennis. One of the main reasons for the
increase in power of the game today is the incorporation of angular momentum into
groundstroke and serve techniques.

In tennis, the angular momentum developed by the coordinated action of body segments
transfers to the linear momentum of the racket at impact

Center of Gravity and Balance

Understanding the concepts of the center of gravity and balance is enormously important if
you are to coach tennis successfully. These concepts are interrelated and have a profound
effect on the success or failure of stroke production.  Loss of balance or poor balance is one
of the single biggest causes of errors in tennis.

Center of Gravity
The center of gravity is an imaginary point around which body weight is evenly distributed
The center of gravity of the human body can change considerably because the segments of
the body can move their masses with joint rotations. This concept is critical to understanding
balance and stability and how gravity affects tennis techniques. 

The center of gravity of a tennis racket is a far simpler process and can usually be found by
identifying the point where the racket balances on your finger or another narrow object.

Balance

Balance is the ability of a player to control her or his equilibrium or stability. As a coach, you
need to know and understand two types of balance:

 Static balance: The ability to control the body while the body is stationary. 
Example—A player uses static balance when she or he prepares for a serve.
 Dynamic balance:  The ability to control the body during motion.
Example—A player uses dynamic balance when she or he changes direction after
hitting a shot.