The Racquet Drop
Often a useful image is to point the butt cap at the ball And when aligned the player simply pulls the racquet into contact This pulling action occurs on the forehand and backhand and sometimes referred to as the “slot” Maybe this would be called leverage On the serve this “drop” occurs from a loose…
Second Serve – The Glancing Blow
There is a lot here Rod Laver,”You are only as good as your second serve.” Pete Sampras about his 7 Wkmbledon titles, “I had the best second serve in the game.” Whenever possible the first and second serve deliveries should be similar And certainly when watching Federer, the first and second delivery appear remarkably similar…
Roger Federer – Sequential Photos
The following sequence is excellent – with very basic elements highlighted Within the 7 images please note the following He tosses with his weight on the back foot, his tossing arm is parallel to the baseline His body weight is centered as he extends his tossing arm but his right hip is lower He accelerates up…
Mixing Things Up – Changing Length Speed and Spin
The drop shot Federer disdained the drop shot in his early years. But Roger believes it helped him capture the French Open in 2009 when opponents were often positioned deep to run down his shots At your end, if you are unable to hit through or around your opponent, or you are simply playing one…
(Re) Building the Serve
Balance Rhythm and Efficiency – your keys to an Effortless Service Delivery The following materials are suitable for juniors and adults The primary target are those who are young and developing service habits, or those who are older and are willing to try something different I will be using Roger Federer and Serena Williams as…
Loosening the Fingers – think Quantum
In physics, a quantum is the minimum amount of any physical entity involved in an interaction Many interesting parallels have been drawn between the tennis serve and the golf swing. Once the tennis player (or golfer) gets the feel for the mechanical elements of the serve (or golf swing) then rhythm becomes the overriding issue.…
One Handed Topspin Backhand
Dominic Thiem plays Stefanos Tsitsipas in the ATP World Finals on Sunday We will enjoy a demonstration of full throated one handed topspin backhands Heavy crosscourt exchanges And the match may revolve around the boldness and precision when either threads the needle up the line Both have deadly forehands – but the backhand exchanges will…
Fire the Extensors (when serving) !!
Having lunch with the famous Vic Braden at a USPTA conference in Carmel Valley 1989, someone walked by and asked Vic to give a tip on the serve, to which he (famously) replied, “FIRE THE EXTENSORS BABY” It may be that Vic called many “baby” but the memory has stayed with me. As regards extensors,…
Federer – the back foot – and the Scissor Kick Overhead
For the scissor kick overhead, the player drifts back, pushes off and up strongly from the back foot A tricky maneuver but very helpful for players who lose their balance forward when serving. Similarly, Federer keeps his weight back on the serve, even dropping his back hip and shoulder Then he pushes up, his hip…
The Underspin Backhand – Rosewall to Federer
The one handed under spin backhand can be a weapon Ken Rosewall drove his nearly flat under spin backhand with ruthless precision to the corners of the court. “Muscles” as he was called. Steffi Graf knifed her under spin backhand, keeping the ball low to ultimately open up the court for her dominating forehand. And…
Federer – Up and Down – then Down and Up
The following five shot sequence identifies key elements within the serve (as demonstrated by the redoubtable Roger) but importantly – these elements are part and parcel of a fluid and effortless delivery And a definition – I am calling UP and Down the moment when the racquet head is UP and the body is DOWN…
Federer – The Model Serve – and projects for you
This magnificent picture was taken by my friend Jim Fawcette – shot at the Laver Cup in Chicago I want to highlight a number of aspects of his form captured in this photo And for sure…
Using Your Legs on the Serve – does jumping help?
Okay – the game keeps changing. The racquets, the training, the speed of the game, and yes for sure the technique. Once it was common, and even a rule, that the server would have to keep one foot on the ground during the delivery. Then the rule was changed (though I am not sure when…
ETI 025 | Drop Shot – playing North to South
Play the ball to the open court. Run your opponent. Hit it where they “ain’t” (sorry).
Too often we focus on moving the ball east and west, meaning from side to side. Another option, in some instances a better option, is to play the ball deep and short, very deep and very short. Think of this as moving the ball north and south.
Drop shots will do the trick. Backspin, finesse, stroking from high to low with an open racquet face. But, and this is most important, always meet this ball on the rise, from inside the baseline.
Nike Clash of Champions Eugene Oregon February 8, 2011
I have been lucky enough to have seen professional tennis at Wimbledon (first row center court), the US Open, and Davis Cup in Portland and in Birmingham, the SAP Open and more. The combination of talent, venue, atmosphere, crowd participation, energy and noise made this the most remarkable tennis experience I have ever had –…
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