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Tennis - Body Rotation

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Doug Kegerreis: Hi! I am Doug Kegerreis, President of Chantilly International Tennis, and today you are learning how to play tennis.

Right now, we are working on the essentials of the forehand and backhand, and in this essential it is your power sources. It is body rotation which should be your primary power source when you hit forehands and backhands.

Many people believe that your primary power source is your arm and taking your racquet back and swinging forward and that can indeed be a power source, but your primary power source and your most efficient power source is your shoulders and your hips. You access that power by first getting sideways to the net. We refer to that as coiling your shoulders and hips and then as you swing, your shoulders and hips uncoil and you are tapping into large powerful muscle groups and that is a very efficient source of power.

That also allows you to take a relatively short backswing because remember thats not your primary power source, shorter backswing makes it easier to time the hit, so you can strike the ball in the middle of the strings more often.

So, again on forehands and backhands, you coil your shoulders and hips. As you strike the ball right in sink with your hit, you will uncoil your shoulders and hips to provide the power on your forehands and backhands.

Next, well move on to some additional skills needed for the forehand and backhand, and that is, ball judgment, footwork and balance.

Expert: Doug Kegerreis

Doug is the President of CIT. With 25 years of professional tennis teaching and management skills to his credit, Doug is the consummate tennis expert. In addition to his duties with CIT, he is a physical education specialist at Oakton Elementary School, and fitness director of the 4-Star Jr. Tennis Academy in Merrifield. "CIT has at its core a commitment to develop players who will continue to play tennis." More »