Where does Del Potro's power come from?

A question for those of you who know more about tennis technique than I do (which is probably everyone!): how does Del Potro get such power on his ground strokes? Some of the shots he unleashed last night were absolute rockets!
What makes it surprising to me is that, although he is very tall, he doesn't strike me as particularly muscular, at least not relative to the rest of tour. Yet he seems to be able to strike a ball markedly harder than other players.

Can anyone offer an analysis on what he does?

Thanks.

As someone who doesn't know much about the technical aspects of tennis shots, his forehand looks 'wrong' to me. I'd also like a technical breakdown.

The guy's 6ft 6, takes huge swings at the ball and is a damn good player.

His height and wing span will help in adding some power but his swing motion, timing and I suspect how he flicks his wrist on impact with the ball generates immense power. He is just a great talent and for a big man, has so much touch and feel for the ball.

His racquet (Wilson Hyper Pro) is quite powerful....22mm beam, which is wide for a pro to be using.

He has such a unique swing. There is hardly any back lift and the power generated through the follow through is amazing. He has a wristy action and the strange thing with his wrist injury was that it was the left hand.

And yet he's not that muscular...so the power is timing, but also strings (Alu Power used) and the Wilson racquet.

Of course the bigger the swing the more powerful but the key is that this swing get the huge help of his height.

If you are short and want to hit the ball flat (powerfully that is), you have a very narrow window (between the net and the baseline to aim at, so you tend to hit the ball carefully. The higher you can take the ball and swing, the bigger this window gets. We can see how his BH on Rafa's CC FH is very powerful yet safe (High bounce being hammered cross court by Delpo).

And finally those strings. As mentioned a few times, they grip the ball and the harder you hit, the more control you get...up to a point. That allows Delpo to swing heavily even on low balls yet get enough spin to bring the ball within the court.

For anyone who has played table tennis at a good level can tell you the importance of a sticky bat's rubber to allow a full great swing with much bigger margins than with smooth, non sticky rubber.

Tennis has become a bit of table tennis with lighter racquets and "sticky" strings.

So contrary to the rumour, the faster the racquet swing, the safer the shot.

Delpo is very muscular too. He has long muscles so they are not that impressive but he certainly has huge power.

Tenez's point about muscles is a good one - if you look at a top rower their muscles tend to be long and relatively unobtrusive (Redgrave's bulky build was not typical), but you'd not accuse them of lacking muscles.

I can't help wondering if Del Boy will continue to ask for too much from his wrists.

Delpo is built like a mountain and moves really well for a guy his size. When you look at someone like Sharapova who is built, especially around the shoulder area and that her movement is not as smooth, it is amazing how Delpo moves so well.

I agree with Barrys lost point. I wonder how long his wrist can hold up.

Fair points about Delpo being strong and I agree, he just doesnt look muscular - I guess "wiry" is probably the right word.

He does use alot of wrist on that f/h and therein lies a problem for him for the future. As with many of the top players though, its not just strength (they're all strong to be in Top10, they have to be) but innate timing - aided by strings and racquets.

With Del Potro he is not a 1 dimensional flat hitter like example Soderling. He plays lots of spin and loopy balls too. He knows the chances of hitting every forehand flat is risky as the ball stays low on grass and he will find the net more so he mixed up the shot very well. I'll maintain he gets much power from timing, swing motion and importantly the wrist action as many have said and you just have to watch his flat forehand shot to see how he flicks the wrist. I hope he stays injury free on that and his wrist somehow comes into sync with his play. He is going to a nightmare at the USO yet again I feel.
His serve has also become a main weapon and to be honest, Del Potro within a year could become unplayable on more occasions than not.

He has a big serve for sure, typically around 130mph and often above.
I dont think anyone will want to face him at USO, by which time his ranking may be already much higher if he has a good post-Wimb HC season leading up.

"A question for those of you who know more about tennis technique than I do"

That's not saying much looking at one or two of the answers, but his height and radius length invariably give him enough power to generate 100 mph shots using a combination of flat or sometimes slightly slower topspin forehands.

He also has the ability to get more power by transferring his weight from right to left with the racquet coming from lower than normal to the required height. He hits it up, rather than through, which can help get more speed into the shot, but his height at 6'6" allows him to hit the ball at a spot that is higher than shorter players, which gives him a bit more room to hit the flat forehands.

His shoulder rotation is quite full and extensive, and when he gets the ball at his hitting height zone (which is approx 3-5 inches higher than a 6' player), he can hit those 100mph flat shots. He can mix it up though and hit high quality topspin shots at these heights too.

http://www.fuzzyyellowballs.com/juan-martin-del-potro-slow-motion-video/

2nd video, 1:40 in and you'll see him hit the flatter ball when it is at the height he prefers for that shot, any going below that and he has to hit it with some topspin. He has good foot work too for a tall player.

Nice posting Tenez and Jubbahey.

I thought it was conventional wisdom that a lot of power is generated from a strong base ie. strong legs. Thus, it's the increasing rotatory motion starting from the legs, including the hips and ending with the shoulders which generates speed and power. Yet, Del potro is pretty straight on when he hits his forehand and his legs don't seem so involved. It used to baffle me, but not anymore.

Haha just watched the video above and actually he is quite side on in his preparation prior to striking.

emancipator wrote:Nice posting Tenez and Jubbahey.

I thought it was conventional wisdom that a lot of power is generated from a strong base ie. strong legs. Thus, it's the increasing rotatory motion starting from the legs, including the hips and ending with the shoulders which generates speed and power. Yet, Del potro is pretty straight on when he hits his forehand and his legs don't seem so involved. It used to baffle me, but not anymore.

Yes. Essentially his heighth gives him a bigger target as a flat hitter. Bit like Soderling and Berdych but he is simply taller and more powerful. Rochus is a greatflat hitter too but can;t quite get the as much pace and his shots are also riskier.

emancipator wrote:Haha just watched the video above and actually he is quite side on in his preparation prior to striking.

Quite right, and his shoulder rotation (with his right shoulder pointing to left of target on backhands shots) from closed to open followed by hips and weight distribution on his feet in the same direction give him a lot of power.

I wonder if this is why he has problems with his hips, most players are playing balls at normal heights, but with his taller frame, his hip rotation is askew rather than the more natural horizontal plane ie, he hits from slightly under on 50% of shots and through the ball on the other 50% of shots ? generally speaking.