Squash Likely Easier On Hips Than Tennis
by Ted Gross for DailySquashReport.com
August 13, 2011 - The modern forehand technique in tennis may be largely responsible for the rash of surgery-requiring hip injuries among pro tennis players.
According to Dr. Marc Philippon of Colorado, who has operated on several tennis tour veterans, the repetitive motion of the open-stance forehand puts the hips under a duress that wasn't present during the McEnroe-Connors era, where most players struck the forehand out of a squared stance more closely aligned with squash footwork.
Dr. Philippon, who is considered a hip specialist to the stars, was quoted as saying:
"It's the new technique - they learn to load the back leg on the forehand, open stance, a lot of power rotation - a tennis player gets power from his pelvis and his hips.”
Many pros crank out groundstrokes for 2-3 hours a day in training sessions, as do top juniors. Tennis has one of the lengthiest tournament calendars in pro sports, with little, if any off-season. The elite junior tour extends essentially year-round as well.
A laundry list of male tennis pros have undergone hip surgeries in recent years, including three former world number ones, Gustavo Kuerten, Leyton Hewitt and Carlos Moya, plus Top-5 players David Nalbandian and Tommy Haas.
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