Racket Wobble

I bet you've seen no end of photos showing players hitting the ball with a closed racket.

Or have you? Are we really seeing what we appear to be seeing here?

Is this just before or just after contact? We can't tell but it makes a big difference.

Yes, the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. So, if you are hitting a RISING ball, it could come off a slightly closed racket face at an angle that would clear the net.

But you can't tell in a photo whether the ball was on the way up or down.

Also, players today are generating tremendous racket-head speed. That racket is closing and closing fast through the hitting zone. So fast that by the time the ball is only an inch or two away, it has already closed.

But that doesn't mean it was closed at contact.

We are talking about milliseconds (one-thousandths of a second) here.

Today I saw a video that raises even more questions about whether players are actually striking the ball with a closed racket face. It's an eye-opener. Watch what happens to the racket at contact on Roger Federer's forehand.


Could that be what we're actually seeing in many of those photos? Nothing but racket wobble?

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