Shivering hand

Soumya Routray Asked 7 years ago

When I try to start a rally with my forehand, the result is unpredictable. It is so frustrating. If I use backhand without any problem but my hand shivers and something as I swing forward it seems like I lose complete control of my swing.

Whats happening with me. I could play it before but not now. Why and how can i correct it???

Alois Rosario Answered 7 years ago

Hi Soumya,

This is tension i your arm, wrist, shoulder area or all of the above.

It comes from uncertainty of your stoke and fear of missing the shot. Practice your shot, trust the stroke and then allow yourself the option of missing and see what happens. You will find that you relax more and swing more freely.

Also take a look at our tutorial in our Sports Psychology section on Recognise Your Feelings.

← Topspin Changing a bat after warm up but before a match →

Nigel C Posted 7 years ago

I have the same issue! It started a number of years ago when i hurt my back. I find the slower shots harder to do than when the ball is hit at me with pace. If i have enough time to have a good warm up then the problem can vanish! Vital points, stress and pressure can see it return. Recently i have found that if i practice my forehand swing using a small weight half hour before playing this seems to help.

Manfred Posted 7 years ago

I know this problem as well. It is only by using the forehand and only at start of the training or the matchday. Especially when i did work in the garden or something like this.

Since i know this problem, i'm going to do my warmup first with backhand and chance my standing while the rally to use the forehand. It is important for me to do this while a ralley. It also works, to do the warm up by playing a game.

Tomislav Erceg Posted 1 year ago

I have the same problem and its not psychological either, been playing for over 25 years and i don't play competition anymore either and i couldn't care less about missing the ball or the table. It has gotten worse over the years. I have seen other players talk about this in other forums and even on Tennis sites. I think its either a muscle fatigue or strength issue until the muscles warm up and overcome the problem. The backhand supports the weight of the arm and wrist which avoids the issue. My hand trembles or shakes when shadow playing a forehand even without a bat. It takes about 5 or 10 minutes to overcome the problem during warm-up. It doesn't happen when pushing or chopping, but only when trying to hit the ball flat, almost like the wrist isnt strong enough to support the weight of the bat against the air/wind resistance and when striking the ball on slow flat strokes during the warm up phase of forehand to forehand. Its so weird, and lots of players ask about it, but it disappears after 5 or 10 minutes of warmup on those flat forehand to forehand warm up strokes, but only on the forehand.