Hand cramps from tennis...help?

Question

hey i often play tennis for about 2 hours at a time and my hand starts to really hurt, making it a lot harder to play........do you guys have any ideas of what i can do to prevent/help this?????

Thank you

Answer 1

Of course you know it's difficult to pin-point the problem without watching your stroke but I'll venture an educated guess.

It's unusual for the hand to cramp if your racquet, grip and stroke is correct. Typically the wrist, elbow and shoulders take more abuse. So you could narrow down the problem to either the grip size, your grip or the stroke.

If your grip is too small or large it will put a lot of stress on your hand muscles. After gripping the racquet if you can easily insert your index finger between your palm and fingers (holding the racquet) it's sized correctly. If there is space on either side of your finger or it can't fit the grip is sized incorrectly.

If you are using the correct grip for your stroke you may be gripping too tight. In order to allow the racquet to pronate you need a looser grip, so ease up. It should feel like a very weak handshake.

The stroke. You could just be experiencing shock from mishits. In which case you might be taking your eyes off the ball excessively. Keep your head down watching the point of contact even after the ball has left the racquet.

To iterate it's hard to tell without seeing in person but these are some common causes.