Biomechanical Principles of Tennis Technique: Using Science to Improve Your Strokes [Paperback]

Duane Knudson PhD (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2006

The science of tennis technique is explained in this guide that practically applies the lessons learned from studying the forces and motions of tennis strokes. Through the implementation of six basic biomechanical principles players can make subtle adjustments to their strokes, creating stroke variations that not only improve their game but also reduce their risk of injury. Detailed line drawings; stroke analysis and sequence photos of top touring pros; action photographs and high-speed video images; and an exploration of the benefits of video replay provide players with a variety of useful techniques.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Duane Knudson, PhD, is a professor in the department of kinesiology and an associate dean of the College of Communication and Education at California State University–Chico. A world-renowned expert on the biomechanics of tennis, stretching, and qualitative analysis, he has served several terms on the Sport Science Committee of the United States Tennis Association. He is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD), and the author of Fundamentals of Biomechanics. He lives in Chico, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Usrsa (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972275940
• ISBN-13: 978-0972275941
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,257,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Precious little useful information, June 26, 2006

By 

Just Asking (Palo Alto, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Biomechanical Principles of Tennis Technique: Using Science to Improve Your Strokes (Paperback)

I very rarely write reviews, but felt compelled to review this book. This book is basically useless. You will learn precious little to improve your tennis game. It is poorly written, and consists mostly of a lot of hemming and hawing about how few proper scientific studies have been conducted on this or that aspect of tennis. I got a lot more out of Cross & Lindsey's Tecnical Tennis, from the same publisher.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good general overview, May 1, 2008

By 

Pica Sticks of Doom - See all my reviews

This review is from: Biomechanical Principles of Tennis Technique: Using Science to Improve Your Strokes (Paperback)

I never write reviews but thought I'd add one since the only other one was negative and I quite liked this book. I haven't read any other biomechanics books and can't do a comparative review, but this book is definitely "Biomechanical Principles of Tennis," so I can see how this would be old hat if you've already read someone else's version.

This book is a mix of "general introduction to biomechanics applied to tennis" and "practical tennis stoke technique". It begins by describing some common mechanical principles that apply to all strokes, such as balance and inertia, and explains how these forces work and how they're produced. Then there's a chapter on injury prevention -- how various injuries are caused and how to avoid them. Finally, there are chapters breaking down in detail the biomechanics of the serve, forehand, backhand and volley. Throughout, the author summarizes existing academic research and cites the relevant studies, with charts and photos.

Now, these sections aren't detailed prescriptions for how you "should" hit these strokes, but that's what I liked. This dude isn't a tennis coach, he's an academic kinesiologist. A lot of coaches advocate techniques, but this guy is more agnostic and doesn't advocate so much as describe. In explaining principles like how the legs, trunk, shoulders, arm and wrist coil and then uncoil into a shot, the author separates the fundamentals of technique that are important from motions that aren't, while debunking some of the standard tennis pro wisdom as either wrong or not supported by research (i.e., details of the follow-through motion -- if you're trying to copy Rafa's or perfecting your window-washer, you're probably wasting time).

For instance, the author does a good job of explaining the tradeoffs between hitting the forehand from a square vs. open stance or serving from a feet-together vs. feet-apart -- how they affect preparation, static and active balance, stroke power, accuracy/time racket's in the hitting zone and recovery. In these explanations, he differentiates between players at the pro and rec levels (in terms of power, prep time etc., since academic motion studies are done with at different force levels and speeds), and there are some important distinctions there.

Personally, I gained several insights that I think will help my game and in other ways the book underlined things I've heard from coaches or read in tennis instruction books, which is useful in itself -- underscoring what's important and exposing what you can happily ignore. When you read about what individual muscles are doing, realizations like "Oh, that's why I'm not supposed to squeeze my racket and all that stiff wrist stuff is bollocks" pop to mind. Techniques go in and out of style, but the fundamentals of the human body's mechanics do not.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Better to Look Elsewhere, September 29, 2009

By 

John Kim - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Biomechanical Principles of Tennis Technique: Using Science to Improve Your Strokes (Paperback)

I must say that I can follow any given technical manual but this book just does not motivate me to do so. The book is rather dull and requires work to follow, and I din not feel that it would be worthwhile to find out what was awaiting at the end of each chapter. It is rather thin, and tries to cover the topic of tennis mechanics, but in my opinion does a poor job.

I am a solid 4.5 player and this book did not help me to fill in any missing holes required to move on to the next level. This book might be helpful to a 3.0 to 3.5 player who still need to see another perspective on understanding the mechanics of a tennis swing. There are much easier ways to achieve this, however. Lastly, the illustrations seemed distorted and this was really annoying to me. I would have rather seen a live model demonstrating these points.