Have Tennis Coaches Failed Female Athletes?

Garbine Muguruza's forehand is typical of many top women on tour. Many followers of professional tennis have noticed systematic differences between the way men and women execute strokes. Much has been made of this in recent times especially in certain sectors of the tennis world. In 2010 I published several articles on Tennisplayer highlighting the different swing types on the forehand. (Click Here.) /category/biomechanics/ The types were divided into three general classifications. The primary apparent difference between the types relates to the position of the hitting arm and racquet at the end of the back swing. The images below show this instant for the three types described. The Type III has commonly been referred to as the ATP style and the Type II the WTA style. The Type I swing is normally seen only in juniors during the early development stages. Type I: Early Development Type II: WTA Type III: ATP Why Does it Matter? The main focus of the Tennisplayer.net articles was not to show that differences exist, but rather for the first time to explain the biomechanical properties of the ATP style forehand. I pointed out several biomechanical (kinematic and kinetic) advantages of the ATP forehand discovered through...