The Importance Of Hip Rotation In Tennis Groundstrokes

The engagement of the hips or the pelvic region when hitting a forehand or a backhand is the key to power and control of a tennis stroke, yet failing to engage this area is one of the most common problems in recreational tennis.

Players tend to over-use the upper body and neglect (disengage) the lower pelvic region, which results in a biomechanically disconnected body. That leads to straining and tension while hitting the ball, which consequently results in poor shots.

In my work with mostly adult tennis players, I correct the lack of hip/pelvis engagement in 9 out of 10 players, mostly on forehands and two-handed backhands.

Why Is Hip Rotation A Biomechanical Fundamental?

One of the definitions of the word fundamental is “forming a necessary base or core; of central importance.”

Hip rotation is one of the bases or cores that drive a tennis groundstroke.

One way to illustrate that is this sequence of three pictures with four different tennis players who all hit their forehands slightly differently.

They can prepare the stroke slightly differently, they have slightly different grips, they swing in a slightly different way, and they have a different follow-through.

But they all engage hip rotation in the same way.

Their hip/pelvis engagement is always present, regardless of the style of the stroke.

That makes it fundamental, and it should be one of the main priorities when correcting tennis strokes.

With poor hip engagement, you cannot possibly play any decent level of tennis.

Images credit: All images and video clips of the pros in this article have been used with permission by Essential Tennis Youtube channel.

How Groundstrokes Are Affected Without Hip Rotation

To better illustrate how the stroke technique looks when the player is not engaging their hips, let’s take a look at a few examples.

In the forehand example, we can see that the left player’s hip is staying back while the shoulders are going forward. Compare that to my forehand, where my hips and shoulders are connected and in sync.

Next, let’s take a look at the difference in the two-handed backhands of a recreational tennis player on the left and a former pro tennis player on the right.

You can see the same problem – the left hip of the recreational player stays way behind the upper body and is out of sync with the body.

Tennis players have the most problems with the forehand and two-handed backhand strokes when it comes to hip rotation (pelvis engagement) and not so much on the one-handed backhand, where it’s less pronounced and also tends to happen more naturally.

Simple Hip Correction Exercise

One of the main reasons hips don’t rotate together with the upper body is that the back leg is holding them back.

I call this “the leg is the boss.” If the leg decided to get stuck on the ground and not move forward, then the hips are also unable to rotate forward.

But it should be exactly the opposite – the hips need to be the “boss,” and the leg needs to follow.

If the hips want to rotate forward together with the body, then the leg needs to let go and follow along.

When teaching this on clay courts, I tell players to drag the tip of the shoe on the ground and make a visible line in the clay/sand.

That helps the player feel and hear the action the foot makes, and they can also see the length of the line after they’ve hit the ball.

It’s important to stay in balance as you execute the stroke like that, as loss of balance will result in loss of ball control.

Another important point is that you should not over-rotate and step forward with the back foot.

It may happen when you observe the pros in competitive situation, but when we hit a forehand or a two-handed backhand in typical rally conditions, the back foot does not come in front of the front foot.

Demonstrating The Power Of Hip Rotation

I’ve asked my friend Peter to help me with a feel-based demonstration so you can better understand why hip rotation is so important.

When I hit Peter’s hand with my hand and do not engage my hips/pelvis at the same time, he doesn’t feel much power coming from the contact.

That’s how most players hit the ball, and that’s what the ball would “feel.”

But I can also hit Peter’s hand by sticking my arm forward and driving the hips forward, and this power is then transferred through my arm into Peter’s hand.

If you watch the video, you can see with how much force he is hit and how it pushes him backward.

That’s because he is now feeling the mass of my body pushing against his hand, creating a strong force.

When we hit an actual ball, we have already swung the racket before that.

Players tend to stop the hips right at contact because they anticipate collision with the ball and contract their muscles in expectation – even though the force of the ball’s impact is actually minimal to the way bigger mass of the body!

They may also be feeling a fear of missing as they hit the ball, so they hit it cautiously, which shows physically as holding back their body, especially their hips.

One way to work on correcting the lack of hip rotation is to visualize that your hips are moving continuously exactly as you are making contact with the ball.

I have already isolated a clip of Roger Federer in the video above when he is hitting the ball like that, but I suggest you also watch him play for a while in this complete video and focus your eyes on the red stripe on his shorts.

You will see how that red stripe moves continuously forward (actually in rotation, but you would need to be above Federer to clearly see that) as he is making contact with the ball.

The Hip Deceleration And Arm Acceleration Technique

Some of you who observe the top players well may have noticed that, in some instances, the players actually stop the hips (decelerate) before contact as that allows them to whip the arm very fast.

The top players are simply using the transfer of momentum effect that is used in many sports where the player wants to accelerate the arm.

This is used in baseball, golf, javelin and discuss throw and, of course, also in tennis.

The problem with this advanced technique of arm acceleration is that you need great body and hand–eye coordination and excellent timing.

I can demonstrate a stroke like that, and I know how it works. I can feel my arm whipping fast as I block the hips from rotating, but I can’t play consistent tennis like that because I make too many errors.

I haven’t practiced 4 hours per day for 10 years to master that kind of technique at higher speeds of hitting.

Actually, even if you try, you’ll likely do it the wrong way as you will stop the hips from moving too early and disconnect them from the upper body.

As I have shown with the Federer example above, even he executes forehands with continuous hip rotation as he is making contact.

How To Start Working On Integrating Hip Rotation Into Your Technique

I suggest you start working on hip rotation during mini tennis as you start warming up.

It’s actually quite difficult for many players to play mini tennis with good control as they are afraid (consciously or subconsciously) to rotate their body as they play at short distances.

They fear that they will hit too hard and too long if they rotate their body.

It’s an instinct or intuitive feeling as it makes logical sense that putting more body weight into the ball will make you hit it harder.

But the instinct is wrong this time.

You will hit too long only if you rotate too fast.

It is, in fact, easier to control the speed of rotation of your body than it is to control the speed of movement of your arm and hand because they are relatively light compared to the body mass.

It is easier to suddenly and rapidly accelerate a small mass than it is to accelerate a big mass.

So, players tend to lose control during mini tennis because they use only the arm and the hand. Their logic tells them it’s the right way, but that logic fails here.

The real logic is that controlling the speed with a bigger mass is easier than with a smaller mass.

If you start your session by engaging your body rotation in the first 5 minutes during mini tennis, you’re already priming your body for the correct movements once you get back to the baseline.

It may be difficult at first to figure out the speed of rotation, but keep experimenting and you’ll find it. Then playing mini tennis will be very easy.

You will also learn a skill of controlling a fast incoming ball, either on the baseline or perhaps return a serve because the approach is the same – slowly rotate with your body while making contact.

Summary

When adult recreational tennis players come to see me for lessons, they typically identify a problem with their stroke.

So they might say, “I have trouble controlling my forehand. What is wrong with my swing? Do I need to change my grip? Do I need to prepare with the racket head up? Do I need to change my follow-through?”

In 9 out of 10 cases, the problem is poor balance and lack of hip rotation.

I almost always correct hip rotation as the pelvic region is completely out of sync with the rest of their body.

And remember, we only talk about hip rotation when it comes to correcting tennis stroke.

There is no need to single out hip rotation if the player has integrated hip rotation into their stroke.

A skilled tennis player has no awareness that they are doing anything special with their hips/pelvis because they are completely in sync with their upper body.

That’s why so many tennis coaches fail to correct the problem with the hips – they simply are not aware that they are doing any special movement with their hips.

But if you were to take their hips out of sync, they would immediately realize how important that segment of the body is.

Another thing to keep in mind is the mental side.

Players tend to hold back their body because they are constantly in a state of fear of missing.

They can be afraid to miss, afraid to lose, afraid to be embarrassed by a loss, afraid to be criticized after a miss or a loss, etc.

The paradox of tennis is that, when you play cautious and hold your body back, you actually have LESS control over the ball than if you move your body DECISIVELY through the contact.

So, as you work on your hip rotation and putting more of your body into the strokes, also work on your mind and investigate if there are any fears holding you back.

As you release those fears, so will your body be released to move more freely, and the surprising result will be that you will play better.