The Biomechanics of Tennis

Levers

A lever is a biomechanical concept describing how the velocity and accuracy of a shot is improved with the use The principle of leverage states “Levers rotate about an axis as a result of force (Effort. E) being applied to cause of movement against a resistance or weight”. (R.T. Floyd, et al, unknown) This is clear in tennis with the load being the racquet, the force being the hand and the fulcrum being the hand, as seen to the left. “The velocity at the end of a short lever is faster than the velocity at the end of a short lever” (Hede et al, 2011) Maximizing levers in a game of tennis is essential to producing an accurate shot with great velocity. As seen in the image to the right, it is clear that my right arm is not fully extended, this then causes the shot to not be as fluent due to some jolting movements. As seen in the image of Novak Djokovic it is clear that he is maximizing his lever with a straight right arm making the shot not as jolty as my shot. My grip clearly shows he is not using the choking method and is holding the racquet at the very bottom of the grip, where he chokes the grip from the lowest point to maximize his lever, it is clear that don’t I choke the grip in my stroke as well maximizing my potential in my stroke maximizing accuracy and velocity in the backhand stroke, as the bigger the lever the more power is generated in the shot as more momentum will be clearly evident. The connection of the ball also contributes to the accuracy and power of the shot as the ball should be connecting in the "sweet spot" of the racquet, it is clear in my image that the ball is connecting at the sweet spot of the racquet, this is important in the Trajection of the ball as it gives the shot greater, in turn this then maximizes newtons 3rd law with the racquet being the action and the ball being the reaction, in turn the ball goes in the opposite direction, this being the reaction. As seen in the pictures and videos, it is clear that optimal stretch is required to play the best backhand possible. The lever represented in a tennis game is a racquet hence why the tennis racquet is long and is required to hold the grip at the bottom, this optimises the leverage of the racquet creating optimal power in the shot.