Jannik Sinner – sequential stills
The stills below are courtesy of my good friend Jim Fawcette – excellent camera man, he loves tennis, and he is my source for footage and so much more Look for his videos @JimFawcette. With apologies I am still processing this video, but for sure Jannik Sinner plays well within the top 10 and has…
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…
What’s Up With The Toss?
For sure the game has changed, and will keep changing The same goes for the toss Years ago on Tennis Channel there was a clip of a doubles exhibition – with Rod Laver, Arthur Ashe, Bjorn Borg and Ilie Nastase. Just an exhibition, but I remember thinking they all had the same serve – rhythmic,…
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…
(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…
Sidespin – means hitting the side of the ball
The following is meant to be visual, with very few words about how to serve, which grip to use, or really anything else. I am choking up on the racquet so that positions of the butt-cap highlight various moments in the action. I am demonstrating with a slow swing, the toss is exaggerated well to…
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.…
Placing the Toss
For me, the phrase “place the toss” describes accuracy But more than that, this dialogue is about whether you swing at the toss, or toss the ball into the swing. (This was one of Blackie Jones’on court lessons) Your answer will always be influenced by the height of your toss Use the repetitive videos to…
Elbows on the Serve
The following is yet another attempt to “keep it simple” Notice the following: The toss appears to PEAK within the contact area – which years ago was the norm The tossing arm begins parallel with the baseline As he turns away his elbow is bent and well “back” As he unwinds the elbow travels up…
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 – Sequential Elements on the Serve
Allow the tossing arm to rotate back (not out in front) to move the weight into a balanced position The most common problem occurs when players shift their weight forward doing the tossing action Federer releases the ball at eye level…
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…
Serving with your Wrist in a Cast
This is perhaps a “thought” piece For certainly some will push the serve, some will snap the wrist (impossible with a cast on) and some will rotate their forearm. At this point – I believe all methods work. This one, for better or worse, is far different. In my studies of the serve, and the…
Leg Kick on the Serve – What is yours?
There are many ways to play this game, many ways to hit the ball, and truly many ways to use your legs when serving. The USTA has an 8 stage model of the serve – which finishes with a pronounced back leg kick (featuring Andy Roddick, the previous model was Maria Sharapova) But what of…
John McEnroe – slo mo – the receivers point of view
Are there takeaways from this delivery that might help you (and I ) ? YES !! Observe his “dual leg drive” up and into the hit – by staying balanced and getting good use from his back foot he maximizes his leg drive Observe his head with reference to something behind him and note how…
Stan Wawrinka – a simple kick serve
Stan Wawrinka holds three Grand Slam titles – Australian Open, French Open and the US Open. He owns a brilliant backhand, heavy, penetrating, and truly dominating. But this article and video is about his serve – from a camera angle that shows simplicity. Including …… A pinpoint stance but where Stan gets entirely rebalanced after…
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…
Unscrew the Light Bulb (on the serve)
I learned this method from Don Kerr, former Tulane tennis coach, but interestingly a badminton coach who brought his material to the tennis world. He and I developed the Whistler, a biomechanical teaching aide, which led me to a Masters program at the University of West Florida where I studied motor learning as applied to…
A Challenge to Create Sidespin while Rotating the Forearm
This one is harder than it looks – unless it already looks hard to you – if so GOOD!
The Serve – Marin Cilic – Tossing into the Swing
Many players change their rhythm between first and second serves. A one-two-three count creates a swish in a particular location and with a recurring tempo. But when introducing the toss, the rhythm may become disrupted. Either the starting tempo becomes too quick, or just the opposite, an overly high toss creates an extra beat when…
Roger Serving with a Snap
On Court Exercises The following exercises identify specific elements of the serve. Do not attempt all exercises at once, but rather, start with the first exercise, and take as much time as needed until you feel comfortable, then progress in sequence to the next one and so forth. Snap down Positioned at the service line,…
Roger Spinning the Serve
On Court Exercises The exercises identify specific elements of the serve. Do not attempt all exercises at once, but rather, start with the first exercise, and take as much time as needed until you feel comfortable, then progress in sequence to the next one and so forth. Swing Off-Line to Create Sidespin To create sidespin…
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