Tennis Improvement Memo 601: Lessons from Alcaraz's 'Left-Handed Tennis'

Alcaraz started 'left-handed tennis' following an injury.
Actually, there are major hints here for the average player.
What are the sensory changes that cannot be gained through form correction, and what are the pitfalls to watch out for?

▶ Alcaraz's 'Blessing in Disguise'

Speaking from the perspective of someone who has recommended non-dominant hand tennis, I hope this becomes a 'blessing in disguise' for Alcaraz.

Saving his injured right wrist,

he resumed tennis with his left hand, the article reports.

▶ Non-dominant hand tennis opens up new sensations

Even if you aren't injured, 'non-dominant hand tennis' is worth doing for the average player as well.

It corrects physical imbalances and opens up latent neural pathways by accumulating new experiences.

Because the 'consciousness' of hitting hard fades, there is even a possibility that how you see the ball will change.

There is no limit to how you can see the ball.

As I have mentioned many times before, the world can look larger or appear to stand still (related article: 'When you focus on 'seeing,' the way you see changes').

▶ A pitfall because it's fun?

However, as a word of caution, if you don't have a mismatch in your mental image, you might find you can hit surprisingly quickly, but because it is the 'weaker side,' be careful of new injuries caused by 'non-dominant hand tennis'.

It's fun because you keep getting better (related article: 'Another growth beyond aging').

You'll inevitably want to start hitting hard (oh dear).

▶ Tennis elbow is not caused by 'overuse' or 'lack of muscle strength'

That said, as long as your hitting timing is correct, you won't get 'tennis elbow,' even if you might suffer from other injuries (related article: 'The cause of tennis elbow is not 'overuse'').

Professional tennis players do not get tennis elbow even though they receive balls at a high level of frequency and intensity almost every day.

The reason is not simply that their bodies are robust (even a grip strength of 12kg is fine!), but rather because the precision and frequency of their hitting timing are high.

As baseball player Masataka Yoshida says in other sports, it is because there is 'no' impact when you hit it just right (related article: 'Masataka Yoshida talks about the 'true nature of a good hit'').

▶ The moment form-consciousness destroys movement

In other words, even for professional tennis players or coaches, if they become conscious of their form during demonstrations or the like, it is dangerous because their movements will creak and they will lose sight of the ball.

In that case, it could lead to tennis elbow.

Even if you are muscular, if you keep receiving the shock of mistimed hits and miscellaneous vibrations, it will eventually affect your elbow, so please be careful.

Once you suffer from it, it will sting even when you try to open a plastic bottle cap.

▶ Potential to be a breakthrough for hitting a plateau

Non-dominant hand tennis—.

There are Japanese professional tennis players who work on it after retirement, and in other sports, for example, in golf, professional Shingo Katayama rounds with a set of left-handed clubs (related article: 'Shingo Katayama shoots in the '80s' even with his non-dominant arm').

For players who are hitting a plateau, it might be a solution or a breakthrough.

https://twitter.com/i/status/2061524485946089500

[Consultations and Feedback]
● [Click here for anonymous questions and concerns]
https://forms.gle/CyVh2D54oUiL8raT6
*Please note that the content you provide may be answered and shared within a note article.
● [For direct replies or individual consultations]
tenniszero.note@gmail.com
*We may reply individually and also share the content within a note article.
Tips for Instant Tennis Improvement: TENNIS ZERO
https://note.com/tenniszero
TENNIS ZERO Representative Mukei Yoshida