Shoulder turn vs hip turn in forehand topspin
maurice101 asked 5 years ago
I am of the upstanding to keep a strong core to transfer hip rotation to shoulder rotation in the forehand stroke. This protects the lower back as the shoulders do not rotate more than the hips.
One coach wanted me to add extra shoulder rotation at the end of the stroke for extra power. It does add extra power but I wonder if it is good for my lower back.
What is your view on this topic?
Dan Academy Coach answered 5 years ago
Hey Maurice, yes hip rotation and having a strong core is very important to the forehand topspin. I do agree that you don’t want to over rotate with the shoulders and not too early in the shot either. However adding shoulder rotation is part of gaining more power and getting the whole body working together and generating power, as long as you are adding this after your legs and hips have done their work. So you can think about with a forehand topspin the power is coming from the ground up so starting with the legs and body then through he shoulders and arm right down to the wrist and fingers at the end. This is called the kinetic chain and will help you to be more fluid and relaxed if you can get it working well.
So definitely add shoulder rotation just be sure to twist back well on the back swing and don’t over rotate as it will then be hard to recover for the next shot.
