5 Comments
Apr 11, 2022Liked by Hugh Clarke

Excellent article as per usual. I'd love for you to do an analysis of technique and biomechanics of players who are sub-6'0'' but have been able to maximize their ground strokes (serve, forehand, backhand, etc.). Two from the modern game are Kei Nishikori and Fabio Fognini. Both have been able to play aggressive counterpunching tennis with some big wins while being 5'11'' and 5'10'' respectively. Anyhow, continue with the great work!

Expand full comment
author

Thanks Tennis Fan. I'll put something like that in the pipeline for sure. Glad you're enjoying the content.

Expand full comment

I look forward to it. In particular, I wonder if certain biomechanics favor shorter players, particularly with the forehand. Both Nishikori and Fognini have modern extended-wrist forehands but the take backs are compact and they never break the plane, where their right wrist is aligned along the same plane as their right bicep (i.e., the comparatively "high" take back of Schwartzman, Nalbandian, or Agassi for instance). I'm curious if the "take back" affects consistency of contact with the sweet spot. Maybe Nishikori and Fognini have more explosive power but sacrifice consistency.

Fognini: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xii3n0XjNIs

Nishikori: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Paw1e6sIJkM

Schwartzman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2SYKCcSHsw

Agassi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UFua0A6lQU

Nalbandian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMbKKhuYVeo (starts at 1m18s)

Expand full comment

Do you happen to know how @Vestige_du_jour captured topspin speeds? Is that data available somewhere?

Expand full comment
author

Not sure sorry.

Expand full comment