🎾 8 - The Serve¶
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8 - The Serve — tài liệu 24 trang từ thư viện sách tennis.
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Tóm tắt nội dung (trích từ tài liệu gốc): Revolutionary Tennis Tennis Instruction That Makes Sense Step 12 The Serve uP Part 5: The Incredible ness of Contact � Mark Papas mark@revolutionarytennis.com All right. The bow is dialed in, the toss arm is well up, the ball begins to descend, the body starts to shift its weight to help accelerate the racket. Now what the hell do you do? Don't look at the bird up there. Here's the hard part, you have to wait for the ball and go to it. Rhythm is absent because you're standing still, you don't get to take steps or move the feet. It's a bit like playing golf, but you don't have all the time in t
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Revolutionary Tennis
Tennis Instruction That Makes Sense
Step 12
The Serve
uP
Part 5: The Incredible ness of Contact
� Mark Papas
mark@revolutionarytennis.com
All right. The bow is dialed in, the toss arm is well up, the ball begins to descend, the body starts
to shift its weight to help accelerate the racket. Now what the hell do you do?
Don't look at the bird up there.
Here's the hard part, you have to wait for the ball and go to it. Rhythm is absent because you're
standing still, you don't get to take steps or move the feet. It's a bit like playing golf, but you
don't have all the time in the world. Bummer.
USE THE BODY TO HIT THE BALL BETTER
The skinny is this.
1. During the swing the back shoulder and arm leapfrog up over the front shoulder and
arm, the shoulders don't rotate around like when throwing a ball. I prefer leapfrog instead
of "cartwheel' to describe this process because on a cartwheel, which is round, when one
part of it rises the other part lowers, like a seesaw. On a serve both sides of the body need
to remain up, and the front arm and shoulder need to learn what "up" is for them.
2. The body, as with the swing, goes up to the ball that's up in the sky and not forward
into the court. Even net rushers go up first, they land down close to the baseline only to
then refocus forward to the net. But going up is more than leg drive.
3. The toss-side front half of your upper body - your toss arm, shoulder, and pectoral
muscle - need to remain up. Yes they will drop, duh, but they will drop precipitously if
left on their own. Your abs will help here.
4. The body unbows as a whole and to some degree unwinds the shoulders and torso
(even though the shoulders leapfrog). It is far too easy to rotate open (baseball pitcher) or
lay out the shoulders (discus thrower, cricket bowler, jai alai player) and catch too much
air (slows the racket arm down) and overcommit the body (messes with racket trajectory).
We actually go sideways up and into the ball, it's a bit like being underwater in the shallow
end of the pool and when you break the water's surface for air half your body is
"sideways" out of the water. Or perhaps you like the coin slot metaphor better, where
you're pushing your shoulder line and torso up through an imaginary coin slot beneath the
ball. This is an instructional metaphor, pros take this a bit further and not so literally.
5. You swing up to hit up over the net much like a basketball player shoots up over the
height of the rim to make a shot. The swing is not a line drive down into the court. The
idea is there is something like a funnel upside down above you overhead where your swing
does its thing within the wide mouth of the funnel to ultimately narrow its focus up and
into the ball. A simple drill for hitting up illustrates.
6. For contact your body remains turned and should not (open up and) face the net like a
baseball pitcher who faces the catcher when releasing the baseball. During the serve you
are in the process of opening and will open fully after contact, yes, but for contact you are
not facing the net head on. Try to hold that position as best you can because the path of
least resistance is to open prematurely. You are not literally sideways while striking the
ball, that's awkward and impossible (comment for tennis absolutists), but you get the
point.
7. We are swinging up to the ball but we're going to bring the ball down into the service
box and not hit it up to the clouds. The form to achieve this leaves the racket arm in a
crooked position and not extended out straight towards the opponent's service box. Yes,
it straightens/extends up during the hit but we're not moving the arm towards the
opponent like a baseball pitcher moves his arm towards the batter since ours goes up to
the ball with a long stick in our hand. The arm sort of turns into a pretzel because you will
both snap and pronate both forearm and wrist. Emphasis on the wrist snap, but a wrist
snap for tennis players is different than any other sport's wrist snap (more later).
FOLLOW THE SUPERIOR SERVE ROAD
The coordination for the serve is very difficult, students often relate they feel like a puppet on a
bunch of strings. True, but you are also the puppeteer. Assuming the bow is dialed in and the
pecs are spread well there is one master string that allows for the rest of you to fall into place
more or less. Coming into communion with this master string takes you down the Superior Serve
Road.
One end of this imaginary puppet string is attached to your center, below your navel. It travels up
through the abdominal structure and middle of your torso and exits your body at your sternum. It
is this imaginary string the puppeteer (you) pulls up. What happens is your sternum rises and you
look like you're being pulled up on the rescue winch of a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. Much like
in ballet and other jumping disciplines it is not so much the legs that push the body up but the
center and midsection of the body that lift the lower body first and then push what's above.
This is clearly seen in the better serving pros. The photos of Andy Roddick and Pete Sampras
illustrate this best. While everyone else posits the legs pushing off against the ground gets the
body up for a great serve it doesn't work the same for everyone who "does it" this way.
Revolutionary Tennis fills in a missing link to help deliver the Superior Serve: abs-to-sternum lift
off.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.2 /24
STERNUM LIFT
The Sampras sequence below shows this sternum lift-off well because of his shirt's horizontal
stripe and the sidelines behind him. First focus on the middle of his shirt, at the gap in the stripe,
it starts out as even with the singles sideline and then rises markedly above it, it does not remain in
place like the middle of a seesaw and you don't see the stripe merely seesaw. [Yes I know his legs
are driving up, but there's more to come, and yes, the elbow pops up, or triceps, but that's been
exhausted to death and is not a main engine.]
Courier, below left, and Roddick continue this sternum lift-off idea. Leg drive alone never
explains how the body works in athletics, the major components for performance are the body
center and the abs. Even in football, driving with the legs is never enough for linemen, learning to
drive from their center and stomach muscles empowers the body more (i.e., better posture).
Tennisone.com offers Andy jumps off both feet while serving, what they call a "dual leg drive."
Andy, like all other servers, jumps primarily off one leg on his serve, the front one, he does not
use both equally because he is neither a basketball player nor a 'roo, mate (though I bet he boxes
really well). The back leg will push into the front one for extra assist, but the front one is the
main engine in this.
The legs alone do not drive, the body's center lifts as well. Add to this an upward swing and the
lifting point rises up through the chest and tennis pros with Superior Serves markedly rise up from
their sternum before hitting. Pros without Superior Serves tend to move the torso toward the net
in a misguided attempt to help "oomph" the ball more, they cartwheel, or seesaw, their shoulders,
looking a bit like a jai alai player with a scoop in their hand. Pros without Superior Serves don't
rise up much at all, and often their toss arm will drop too much.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.3 /24
On the right is Tim Henman, top, Goran Ivanisevic below, who
has been changed to right handed instead of his natural lefty for
comparison. You can see Goran really pops up from his sternum
whereas Tim Henman uses his sternum as a pivot point around
which the shoulders and arms move like hands on a clock.
Henman does come up but he quite obviously is moving forward
and over like a cartwheel (or seesaw), whereas Goran is going
nowhere but up. Henman's front arm is already lowering
whereas Goran's is held up, way up in fact, further manifestation
of the incredible uPness of contact. [Goran's swing timing is
milliseconds behind Henman's, but there's no chance Goran's
going to look like Henman milliseconds later.]
Major league pitcher Jered Weaver's sternum pops out in the
direction of his release, the batter in front of him, ours pops out in
the direction of our release, the contact overhead. Weaver's
sternum moves forward to the batter, ours moves up to the ball.
Yes, the spread in the pec muscles lays the foundation for this, and
it's been covered everywhere else. But once spread, what part of
the body should you focus on? Not the arm.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.4 /24
The background here for Rios, top, and Goran, bottom, displays how "up" each one gets, how
each one either rolls the shoulder over or rises up, and how well the front arm and hand stay up.
Rios rises from photo #1 to #2, judging from the letter "O" in the background, but in photo #3 he
remains at the same height. Not so for Goran, who keeps rising in #3. Rios in #3 seems to
already be coming down even though his head remains at the same height, possible because his
shoulders have cartwheeled, or seesawed over with his sternum as the pivot area and making him
look like he's swimming toward the net. Goran, by contrast in #3, shows no cartwheel pivoting
but instead, again, is primarily up in his sternum. Rios' toss arm in #3 has come down too much,
it is below his waist, compared to Goran's. In the #4 photos the front arm stays up, which may be
Rios' saving grace.
Mark Philippoussis here (ends) and Tim
Henman (middle two) show two
viewpoints again with the cartwheel
sternum-pivot distinction and the front
arm during contact. Mark is up whereas
Tim's goes forward and over, Tim's toss
hand drops far too much before contact
and at contact.
Equally important to help you go up and
stay up is using the front half of the body
to achieve this. I'm sure scientists can
explain better how counterforce enhances the slingshot or arrow delivery ideology, but using the
large muscle groups in your chest, abs, and rear shoulder help to produce the Superior Serve.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.5 /24
All the photos above can be used to illustrate this concept. Rios and Henman are not keeping the
front half of their body up and in on the action as much as Ivanisevic and Philippoussis. I believe
Philippoussis achieves this through talent and his overall strength, Ivanisevic through preternatural
talent. Sampras and Roddick are equally out of this world in this incredible uPness of contact.
THE FRONT HALF OF THE BODY
Sampras keeps the left half of
his body up throughout the
serve, not only can you see it
in action but his front toss
arm, by staying up so much, is
a dead giveaway. Bear in
mind the swing forces the
front shoulder and arm to
drop. If to the best of your
ability you don't give in to the
path of least resistance your
serve improves.
The front half of the body is
this: Draw an imaginary line
from behind your neck down
your spine to your waist then
around your waist on your
toss arm side and to the front
to your belly button, then up
the middle of your chest to
your collarbone. This is the
front half of the body that
works to remain up,
independently, from the rest of
you during the swing (outlined
in photos on the right of Sampras and
Rosset).
Of course don't forget to keep the toss arm
up in all of this, it needs special attention.
As Rios shows above keeping the toss arm
up helps even if you're not keeping the
sternum up during the swing.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.6 /24
A popular website with deep analytical $kills uses
Roddick and Federer (right) to show how the "Left
Side" works on your serve: "The swinging left arm
contributes to the rhythm, power, and balance of the
service delivery (as well as a pitcher's baseball
delivery). When in rhythm, there is more or less a
straight line from elbow to elbow as is the case with
Federer on the right and as we would see in Sampras'
or McEnroe's delivery as well."
A "swinging left arm" does zippo for incredible
uPness, and regarding "rhythm, power, and balance of
the service delivery" the pecs, shoulders, and abs are
larger muscle groups that will contribute in greater
part to achieve this than a "swinging left arm."
Though of disproportional importance the toss arm
can lead the rest of the body astray, like a bad apple
spoils the whole bunch.
Next photo, same $ite, uses a yellow arrow to show
the hitting elbow "pulling up" to the ball as a major
component to the stroke. The only way this small
body part performs is if something larger leads the
way and supports it, as shown by the larger arrows
offered by Revolutionary Tennis. You lift from groin
through sternum, and remain turned for contact, and then the stroke can hit those common
markers pointed out by so many. It is that simply understood.
Federer and Roddick simply are not thinking about some necessary straight line from elbow to
elbow - in a millisecond that serve elbow pops up, so why? Neither should you. What they are
thinking about is "do it," and what they have been trained to "do" is to get up to the ball, both
body and stroke. And this you can do as well: Toss arm uP, uP from the sternum, left side uP,
butt cap uP to reach uP, head uP, snap uP. uP.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.7 /24
FUNNEL
Tennis servers are not trying to split a tennis ball with the racket like a coconut
with a machete. If so our swing would look different, it would paint a much
larger arc and the racket would remain more in line with the arm and hand.
We want speed, acceleration, quickness. A quick strike. Like a pair of
nunchuks the racket snaps up to the ball: The forearm becomes one handle of
the nunchuks, the racket the second handle, the wrist the chain between them.
But our wrist is not a passive pivot point like this chain, it is active, our
forearm does not snap the racket. [Nunchuks on the right from nunchaku.org]
The red line "funnel" over Andy Roddick's serve illustrates this concept. The
arm does not swing out wide away from the body but instead moves
remarkably up and in -- to the ball. The racket does swing away from the body
out of the backscratch and the forearm follows close by, but the earlier mention
of pulling the racket up butt cap first to the ball forms the basis for this
execution. Andy's focus is to get the racket up to the ball and his "wide"
backswing narrows down when it goes up, going from a wide profile to a
narrow one as if there were an inverted funnel above him. His arm rises quickly and close to the
body (if you look at it from above), the arm muscles propel the racket up and the wrist, held
loosely throughout but gearing up for its explosion now snaps the racket up to the ball to send the
ball over the net and down into the box.
Whew. That's a lot of work just trying to explain it, let alone trying to do it.
STAY TURNED 4 CONTACT
One of the biggest surprises is the idea of remaining turned during contact. The torso needs to
fight to remain turned when you swing up to the ball instead of (giving in and) facing the
opponent during delivery like baseball pitchers face the batter during their delivery. We fight to
stay "turned" (in quotations mind you) longer than pitchers or volleyball players due to our game's
reality, i.e. 27 inch stick in our hand for an overhead strike of a small rubber ball at over 100 miles
per hour. Guys in biomechanics can explain this as related to body mass, restriction, acceleration,
etc., boring, but to improve a primary objective is either to remain turned or not open up too
easily.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.8 /24
Roger Clemens on the far right faces the
batter prior to and during release. His
torso is square to home plate, after release
his lower body reconciles, comes around,
and joins in facing home plate.
The volleyball player spikes the ball, she
faces the net although her front arm bends
and looks like ours on a serve (for
acceleration).
Tennis players, on the other hand, fight to
remain turned. In the grouping of, left to
right, top row, Brenda Schultz-McCarthy,
Lindsay Davenport, Novak Djokovic, bottom
row Sampras, Roger Federer, and an
unidentified amateur in a health magazine, you
can clearly see for yourself during impact no
pro looks like either a baseball pitcher or
volleyball player. The pros look scrunched like
they do precisely because they are still
"turned".
In direct contrast is the amateur lower right
who has not only faced the net for contact (the
back shoulder has come around a lot already)
but is dramatically leaning over in her torso.
Too often players look like this in their zeal to
hit the snot out of the ball. Instead, if they
were to trust in the incredible uPness of
contact, they would be on the flight path to the
Superior Serve.
Look at your torso like a rectangle, and during
contact it is not facing the net but off to the
side, facing the net post more or less. Yes
your torso will quickly rotate around and face
the net, right after contact basically, but the incredible uPness of contact is all about you
remaining turned as best you can. Without the uP you won't get the smack on the ball you want,
without the turned you won't get the uP.
How to do it? It's a byproduct of what has gone before. If your sternum goes up, if you keep the
front half of your body up, and if you reach up in the swing it is more than likely - but not
guaranteed - you will not open up prematurely.
You still have to fight to remain turned. And when you do you feel scrunched. And then don't
just admire the Big One you dropped in there but get ready and keep the pressure on your
opponent.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.9 /24
I illustrate remaining turned for the hit on the right. If I
could stop in mid motion it would look like this, more or
less, though I'm not flying through the air here. The idea is
you are not yet open and facing the net. Too often at this
point you are facing the net like the second photos in each
sequence below.
A photo used for an earlier serve rebuttal notes the different
look of Andy Murray and Andy Roddick during delivery, and
now for this serve Step it is being used to distinguish how
much each remains turned for contact, or not.
Murray, top row, obviously faces the net much more at
contact than Roddick, bottom two rows. In
fact his torso is square to it. Roddick looks
more turned at contact and hits the bigger
serve. It does not matter whether the toss in
"out in front" like Murray is doing and you hit
it flat, you need to fight to remain turned. One
of the many distinctions of the Superior Serve.
The top guns have a little added stuff in their
arsenal due to their superior flexibility and
talent, and while you can see some tweaks here
and there on film that perhaps aren't covered
here these tweaks are organic to them and
should not be grafted onto your serve. More
on this in the last serve step following this one.
SECRET
The simple secret to all this incredible uPness
lies in your abs. When the racket's going
behind you your abs contract and help you to
get up, stay up, swing up, stay turned, and snap
your wrist (upcoming). Too often players try
to use the musculature of their arm, shoulder,
back, or legs to help drive this stroke. But
once we wire a pro's body with sensors I'm willing to bet the abdominal structure fires more than
any other large muscle group on the serve. The hand and wrist, of course, will measure the
largest spike, but for length of duration and load the abs will star.
What does this mean? Heck, those situps you're doing or not doing aren't just for looking sharp!
Situps for serves! Hoo-yeah! Yoga for serves! Pilates for serves! Any core workout is for your
serve! [And of course for all your other strokes, but it is of incredible importance on the serve
because you don't get to move the body.]
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.10 /24
PRONATION... OR WRIST SNAP?
Pronation describes rotating both arm
and hand outward when throwing a
ball. On a tennis serve at the last
minute the hand and forearm rotate
open, or pronate, to present the strings
to the ball, if not you'd frame it since
the racket comes up on its edge since
you're using a continental grip.
But what does the wrist do? Pros talk
wrist snap, scientists/observationists say
no such thing occurs. Scientists like to
opine, "often what they [pros] say is not
what they do." Are the pros wrong?
Film evidence at 250 frames per second
shows the hand pronating right after
contact, the racket and hand turn very
much outward as if hitting an inside-out
screwball (similar to photo Roddick
near right). And evidence also shows
the racket face and hand not turning
very much outward but remain facing
forward to the opponent (similar to
photo Roddick far right).
But the hand doesn't either follow
through or remain with this extreme
pronation, the ball does not sail inside-
out wide pronation seems to suggest. The
racket face turns toward the server's body, the
wrist quite obviously bends (i.e., flexion + ulnar
deviation) and the hand turns in as seen in the
Sampras, Agassi, Roddick photos.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.11 /24
The hand does not bend simply at the wrist. Question becomes
for the student:
DO I SNAP MY WRIST OR ONLY PRONATE?
Many self styled tennis scientists look at the film
evidence and say, "Aha! The key is to pronate
the forearm and hand/wrist!" But the loudest
voice out there says you do not snap your wrist.
In fact, Vic Braden says his "studies show there
is no wrist snap on the serve; anatomically it just
does not happen.... In high speed photography,
the only time we find the wrist bends during the
serve is in the middle of the loop, not at impact...
[because] the hand is absolutely out straight;
there is no displacement of the wrist at impact."
Vic doesn't offer this as a curious fact but to
support his claim a wrist snap is "a myth."
On the right is Vic captioned illustrating "think
pronation, not wrist snap" [TENNIS magazine,
August, 1989, photo by Dom Furore], below that is
Vic's serve swing in strobe-like effect (from his
1977 book Tennis For The Future) that shows the
pronation turn-out of the racket just after
contact for two images before it turns back in
(due to a wrist bend, but more later).
What Vic and others say is high speed photos
(Revolutionary Tennis has seen some) show that
at impact, and right after, the wrist does not
continue moving or bending forward (flexion)
but instead pronates, or turns out. The same can
be said of a baseball pitch and yet "snap the wrist" is part of their instruction.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.12 /24
The group above shows the wrist laying back before swinging up.
Sharapova, right, shows the wrist straight at contact. Vic says,
"the wrist bends in the middle of the loop, not at impact," which
means the laid-back wrist moves, or bends, up and forward to the
contact position to be, as Vic adds, "absolutely out straight, there
is no displacement of the wrist at impact."
A series of Curt Shilling pitches below shows the different stages
of the wrist during delivery, from bent to "absolutely out straight"
at release. At release is looks like it does not bend over forward.
More looks of a pitcher's hand at release and
soon thereafter. In the baseball foursome
group, Aaron Sele, top left, the wrist seems
to be bending forward; pronation is seen in
various degrees with Jake Peavy, top right,
Eric Gagne. bottom right, Randy Johnson,
bottom left. Point is in baseball, regardless
of the look, it's called a wrist snap.
The pitchers' hands turn like ours do.
Peavy's arm, top right, looks like Sampras's
3rd one in his group previous page.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.13 /24
Why the confusion? To the tennis scientist guys "wrist
snap" means the wrist snaps/breaks forward like we see
on the follow through when shooting a basketball. You
know a tennis pro's wrist does not flop over like shooting
a basketball on a serve, and neither does a baseball
pitcher's, so where are these guys coming from? They are
merely trying to interpret and inform what they see on
high speed film, and scientists have the tendency to
assume what they can see is all there is to see.
If you to snap your wrist with a continental grip you don't
look like #23. Scientists complain pros are often wrong in what happens during a swing, pros
complain scientists can't do what they're seeing so how can they know what's happening? Any
flexion at contact used to counter the opposite force, even when mild, is that a wrist snap? A
wrist bend? If we say the earth is round, who's gonna tell us it's really an oblate spheroid?
Basically round then? Round-ish? The horse is out of the barn.
Offering pronation or a loose wrist does not explain all the look and appearance of the pro's
wrist, too many questions remain. The series below shows what the racket and hand look like
first turning outward with a stiff hand/wrist for pronation only (left photo), and then loosening my
hand/wrist for pronation with wrist flexion + deviation (middle). Though I am not hitting a ball,
the first photo, pronation-only, does show a little deviation. The middle photo adds the wrist
flexion + deviation during the swing and not just after the imaginary contact. The racket turns
back in, it does not remain facing out to the side. Vic's black and white photo, far right,
resembles the middle photo because of the presence of wrist flexion + deviation during his swing
even though he categorically denies it by claiming it happens after contact either voluntarily or
not.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.14 /24
You get this characteristic look of the racket and hand turning back inward sooner or later in a
pro's serve. Next question becomes: Is the wrist displacement seen after contact due to the arm
swinging around, a relaxed wrist, a "release of natural forces," or is it because the pro is doing
something with the wrist prior to contact?
IT DOES NOT ADD UP
If tennis scientists don't see the wrist bending
forward during impact on high speed film is this
"proof" it is not? Absolutely not. But what do
they see? They see the racket moving up to the
ball and then left to right across the ball, they see
the contact inside the hand and the racket travel
not backwards but forward and to the side, they
see the hand turn out and then turn in and move
down and across the body.
Photo far right the #11 on the fence shows the ball
is inside the hand during contact. The racket
slides across the plane of the fence to show the
left-to-right movement across the ball everyone
acknowledges even though of course the ball is
not hit off to the side.
A singular forward-only movement of the wrist
would mean the tennis ball is struck along one direction straight head-on
like holding a gun and firing a bullet down into the service box. This
does not happen since we know we hit up on the ball. We also know we hit across the ball, but
since the ball does not go off to the side of the service box something must be turning the ball
around the other way to the service box. It is time for the clipboard set to acknowledge what
they're seeing on high speed film of a tennis player's wrist is not all there is to see and that how
they interpret it begs for greater depth.
WRIST MOVEMENTS IN 3-D
A tennis pro's wrist first bends uP to hit the ball uP over the net, never eye-level forward.
Secondly our wrist goes across the ball (west-east) since the contact is inside the hand. Thirdly
since the ball goes to the service box on the other side of the net and down this means forward
projection along with hitting off center for spin. Up. Across. Over. This is our snap, and the
wrist works in three movements, or planes. Ours is an uPward flexing motion done in
conjunction with ulnar deviation to ultimately send the ball down into the box off to our side.
Put these three movements in motion and what comes out looks like the photos and high speed
video we see. Funny thing is the guys in the white coats agree to these movements. But they
don't call it a snap.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.15 /24
Priorities for a first serve: For a second serve:
1st Movement: Up 1st Movement: Up
2nd Movement: Over 2nd Movement: Across
3rd Movement: Across 3rd Movement: Over
Tennis scientists correctly point out two things:1. A wrist snap (for them a forward wrist snap), is
not responsible for power, and 2., because of #1, priority must be placed on the proper stroke
mechanics preceding contact (a pronating arm) to produce the power you want.
Tennis scientists (and most teachers) also correctly point out that failing to pronate the arm leads
to a crappy serve. Failing to pronate the arm means the hand is laying back in the dreaded
waiter's tray position. There are plenty of 4.0 players and above who toss the ball and lay the
hand back right away only to proceed and snap their wrist just like a basketball player. Of course
this works to some degree, but the player will always lack the Superior Serve.
It seems to Revolutionary Tennis that instead of yelling "the sky is falling" to emphasize pronation
over wrist snap scientists should emphasize avoiding the dreaded waiter tray position, the very
ingredient that leads to the lack of pronation to begin with. Then you can pronate more
comfortably and, omigod, you can do the wrist movements! Yes!
WRIST MOVEMENTS: ACTIVE OR PASSIVE?
The next tennis can the scientists kick around is whether a pro actuates the wrist movements or
whether the wrist bends forward because the arm is pronating. In other words is the wrist active
or passive. They claim the wrist "is along for the ride," pros say otherwise.
While it is possible to both throw a baseball and shoot a basketball without any voluntary wrist
movement we all know the quality of the outcome. A stiff wrist makes for a lousy foul shot, ask
the Big Aristotle.
If the wrist were along for the ride on a serve and the forearm hit a wall the wrist would break
forward like a crash test dummy flying through the windshield in a head on collision if not wearing
a safety belt. But this is not the case, the racket face impacts a ball. And if indeed the wrist were
along for the ride we'd see at contact on high speed film either the racket face bouncing back or
the wrist laying back. Instead, both racket face and wrist/hand move forward because there is
strength/resistance at the wrist joint.
How else to explain a pitch, a jumper, a tennis serve but to say the wrist is doing something on
purpose? No? Because we can't see it on high speed film? This is not the technology required to
document it. Again, lack of evidence can not be used to disprove.
A wrist action in three movements, or planes, designed to send the ball in a particular manner to a
particular spot. Sounds like an active wrist to me. And speaking from experience, it's nuclear.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.16 /24
NUKE IT
The lead horse in the serve stroke, like all others, is the hand, but here the wrist movements are
nothing short of nuclear. Nuclear! You can say you need "snap" the hell out of the wrist, or
"snap" it like there's no tomorrow, but it doesn't do justice to the event. The wrist "snap" on the
serve is the single, most explosive event in the game. It is awesome, it is ab-so-lutely nuclear in a
pro's serve. It's like you're willing to lose your wrist it's so dramatic, it feels as if your wrist is
going to fly off from the rest of you.
To achieve this the wrist remains unaffected by the arm's down and up motion, it lies dormant
and wholly independent while the hand maneuvers the racket, both arms move, the body bows.
The wrist acts loosely as if on a gyroscope even as the fingers progressively tighten on the handle,
and is ready to leap into action like a camouflaged tree snake pouncing on its prey. It stirs to life
as the racket sways down fully into the backscratch position, it remains sideways like a karate
chop as the hand pulls the racket up and then, at the last moment, boosted best by arm pronation
and shoulder rotation, it literally snaps itself silly. It gives everything is has, it performs
completely, and it either succeeds or not in delivering the ball as intended.
The preceding paragraph explains "the wrist is along for the ride" idea offered by scientists. A
loose wrist is by definition free and independent, but at the last minute it explodes. Purposely.
You don't think about using the wrist until the last minute, when it's needed, if you think about it
earlier during the swing you wind up shortchanging the swing mechanics needed for success.
You have got to hit the other points in the Superior Serve first to be able to go nuclear with the
wrist. With this understanding you can see tennis scientists' observations are correct in their own
way - don't omit pronation for the snap, a loosely held wrist, a wrist along for the ride - but they
just can't prove how the wrist fits in. So they call it passive. Perhaps if they understood the event
better they would be better able to prove it.
MORE RR-UBBISH
Pronationists like to point out there is "more" pronation on second serves than on first serves, that
is on film they see a more pronounced turn-out and conclude on second serves you pronate more!
So while you can actually bomb a ball in turning the hand inside-out on purpose, how do you do
topspin, slice, or more spin? By turning the hand inside-out more on a second serve, as in
"unscrewing a light bulb," "endorotation," "extending the elbow"? Quixotic, to say the least.
The pronation effect is less seen on a strong first serve because the wrist acts more forward than
across and is stronger. There is a much more forward angle and direction to the wrist on a first
serve and as a result the racket may not twist as much, i.e. the hand is not so overwhelmed by the
arm's pronation strength (more below).
On second serves the angle of the wrist's attack is less forward and more upward and across, and
contact favors more off-center-of-ball spin and can be higher on the ball. A pro's wrist now
works more pronouncedly for spin as opposed to driving through the ball as on a first serve. The
hand is now easily overwhelmed by the arm's pronation-rotation momentum and turns out easily
post contact. On a second serve the arm accelerates just like on the first, and maybe even more
(across the ball).
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.17 /24
It's ludicrous to think you "pronate more" on a wide slice serve than on a hard flat first serve up
the middle. When I "brush the outside of the ball" for wide slices I am not inverting, or pronating,
more, I curl the wrist more than if I bomb a first serve (a tennis serve curl, not a dumbbell curl).
Roddick's photos above, both serving into the deuce court, match up pretty well even though the
bottom set is a little more ahead in time (#2 top is pre contact, #2 bottom is at or post contact).
In the series you clearly see #1 the racket on edge, #2 it opens, #3 it has hit the ball and is turning
out, #4 it turns out fully, #5 it turns inward, #6 it turns in fully. Of note is #3, and bear in mind
the bottom row is ahead of the top row in contact time. #3 top we see the racket turning outward
but in #3 bottom the racket appears sideways from our side perspective, it has not turned outward
yet. I'm willing to bet the bottom #3 is a first serve for reasons explained in the paragraphs above.
Perhaps it's best to leave it to the PhDs in biomechanics to confirm the curious effect why
pronation looks like it does on a tennis serve, as long as they heed what pros say we are doing
instead of dismissing us. Not absolutely everything we say can be wrong, right? This way we can
have a dialogue and indeed move tennis into the future.
WHY THE RACKET TURNS OUT
The racket turns out on contacts more often than not and tennis players offer the equal-and-
opposite effect of contact masks, stops, or inhibits the wrist from bending forward. But the guys
in the white coats say that shouldn't be the case. And while more than likely correct, something
indeed is, and it's both voluntary and involuntary.
Why does the hand turn out then? It happens on weak serves, and it happens in baseball where
there is no equal-and-opposite contact force at work against the hand. The hand turns out
because the pronating arm is stronger and pulls the weaker hand along with it.
The pronation-rotation of the arm works on a different plane, or angle, than any wrist movement
(flexion, deviation, extension), and their agendas and strength values are different. The superior
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.18 /24
strength, or force, of the entire arm pronating (inward) overtakes the wrist's up/over/across
movements and pulls it into its (contrary) plane of movement. The wrist is easily overwhelmed
and follows the inward turning arm, thumb down. The hand turns out away from the box but
soon turns in again to show us what it was doing.
That was involuntary. The voluntary act that leads to the turn-out is spin. In order to prevent the
ball from flying long the racket comes off the ball, making the hand weaker and more susceptible
to the inward pull of the pronating arm.
This basketball shooting sequence shows the "wrist snap" happens long after the ball has left the
player's hand and yet basketball biomechanists instruct "wrist snap." It is easy to imagine and see
in basketball and baseball, but then why do tennis biomechanists deny a "wrist snap" in a tennis
serve? Because the speed at which it happens blinds them, and the tennis racket in the hand
obfuscates it. Assuming what one can see is all there is to see is not scientific.
NOW FOR SEMANTICS
The wrist bends forward (flexion), bends backward (extension), and to the sides (deviation).
Deviation adds degrees and dimension to wrist movement. You loosen the wrist to move it and if
you move it quickly or sharply it's a snap. The three wrist movements explained above are in fact
a wrist "snap" since they are done with emphasis and energy, and it climaxes the Superior Serve.
The real question is whether "snap" is intransitive (a brisk, sharp movement in the wrist), or
transitive (is the racket projected with a snap of the wrist). Which brings us back to: is the wrist
passive or active? Tony Trabert (many times), Tim Gullikson (10/91), even Peter Burwash (9/01)
all use the term "snap the wrist" in TENNIS magazine when describing a pro's serve or how you
can serve better. Something obviously is missing in the translation. Either it really is a wrist snap
for a tennis player's serve, or it's not. Either the wrist is active, or it's not. There is no gray area.
Theories that work in science are called "elegant" because their single, simple solution explains
problems both large and small. When someone's hypothesis goes on and on, saying in effect, "it
couldn't be this simple, it's really more complex and involves all these extra systems..." then
perhaps a red flag should go up. Gray areas in science have often been pushed to hold off an
alternative point of view because it either threatened the establishment, the status quo, or
someone's job. The examples are far too numerous to list, from astronomy, physics, life sciences,
genetics, virtually every field. And in each case a single truth emerged that displaced large
amounts of explanation.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.19 /24
It is no different in our itty bitty corner of existence. "Snap the wrist" is such a simple proposition
and yet the logorrhea used to discredit it is staggering.
IN DEFENSE OF BRADEN, ET. AL.
I have been informed there are well known coaches and club teachers who advocate a forward
breaking motion of the wrist on the serve and who focus on the snap at the expense of the
mechanics. Future science may indeed quantify there is more forward wrist flexion than either
upward or across, but for now to advocate only a forward breaking of the wrist instead of putting
it in context with the other two directions is limiting, and the coach who focuses on that aspect
exclusively is being a blockhead.
Vic Braden and the other well intentioned men and women out there who emphasize pronation
and say don't snap the wrist do so, I believe, to refute those blockheads. This is a good thing. In
this way Vic, et. al., are imploring you to remember the mechanics of the hitting arm, and are
correct in pointing out it seems we don't snap so much forward like on a basketball shot.
But it also disrespects regular players, and can be confusing to say the least.
Those in the tennis teaching community who debate these things underestimate the intelligence of
tennis players. Saying something is not happening and offering an explanation that doesn't seem
to elegantly cover all the bases tells tennis players the teaching community either doesn't respect
them, isn't up to speed, or has its own problems.
Scientists should tell the whole story and ignore the blockheads, they should share their
information even if it contradicts an earlier point of view. Good scientists are flexible, open
minded, and forward looking because their discipline demands it. Bad ones cling to the past.
Athletes often are too egotistical and inflexible in helping discover what really goes on with their
execution ("I was taught this way, I have always done it this way, this is how I do it"). Good
athletes can put their stubbornness and self centeredness on pause for self improvement. Bad
ones think they know it all.
No pro's hand has been wired with a sophisticated enough instrument to prove or disprove wrist
usage, which renders the whole debate on this topic moot. When that time comes we may see
more than meets today's imagination, and perhaps the ideas offered here will be repudiated. Until
that time, and hopefully sooner rather than later.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.20 /24
PRETZEL
The arm's signature on a Superior Serve after contact takes on a pretzel look, confirmation of the
nuclear wrist snap and the incredible uPness of the swing pattern while also getting the ball down
into the service box less than 60 feet away. You can not build up to this point and expect the arm
to look like this, it is brought to you only by the nuclear wrist snap. It's do or die.
Photos of Sampras show
this effect. The arm looks
like this for millisecond(s),
you do not hit the ball and
stop the arm to look like
this. The arm is "straight"
on contact but since the
biceps muscle slows down
to help accelerate the
forearm, hand, and
ultimately
the racket
via a nuclear
wrist snap
the whole
scenario
becomes top
heavy and
the arm
pretzels as a
result.
Another image that works is the racket acts like a
pole vaulter going up and over the bar. The
racket face turns up and goes up (the vaulter
turns feet up to go up), the racket pivots at the
handle as if it had to clear the bar and turns down
dramatically much like the pole vaulter. In other
words the racket arm does not look like a javelin
thrower's arm because the racket is not being
thrown for as much distance as possible. [pole vault
pictures by: Hunter Peress]
In pitching a baseball you can also get this pretzel
effect, but I suspect ours is more pronounced
because we snap the wrist more while also holding a long stick in our hand and striking overhead
to bring a ball down.
The only way to achieve this is to grow into it. There is a wrist snap drill that can help lead the
way for you and from which you learn how to first discipline the wrist. Snapping the wrist is the
foremost element to this pretzel, not bending the arm or using the arm. When performed during a
most celebrated swing uP to the ball you will start to get the pretzel effect. Of course it only lasts
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.21 /24
for millisecond(s) so don't go looking for it. The way you can see if you achieved it is in the
quality of the serve, by an effortless feel and good hop to the bounce.
On a popular site they advocate achieving this pretzel look by "keeping the elbow up and racket
down." Are you supposed to stop the arm on a serve to keep the elbow up after a nuclear snap?
I've tried asking students to hold the arm in a particular position but that doesn't work, they slow
down the stroke to satisfy a look and in exchange don't get the snap. When I emphasize the snap
the pretzel look happens, but of course only when the snap is first class. Think snap first and then
the elbow-up-and-racket-down will happen. If you don't get it don't worry, worry instead of
snapping the wrist as much and as best as you can.
It is not surprising that top guns started playing tennis when only one number was associated with
their age. When we learn as youngsters we tend to go overboard, we experiment a lot and often
get into trouble, unlike learning as adults. I would practice nailing the wind screens, nailing the
fence, putting the ball through the fence, seeing over how many courts I could hit the ball. I'd
also serve balls after moving automobiles to see if my ball could catch up with them - what a
tennis bum!
Point is if you want to really, really improve your serve you're going to have to go this route. No,
not hitting tennis balls after moving cars or slamming them into wind screens, but serving
thousands of balls yes. There's no way around it. Sorry.
SECOND SERVE
The best way to hit a second serve is to whack it, you have just got to hit at the ball hard. Words
used are "hack at it," "cut it," "curl the wrist." This way your hand gets used to taking the tennis
ball's head off. [Didn't know the ball had a head, did you? Sort of.]
A first serve is hit more forward than a second serve and "flatter," i.e. less ball rotation. A second
serve has more rotation, or revolutions, on it. To hit a second serve with some pace and with
more rotation than a first serve but not as forward you need more racket acceleration. I don't
know if this has been confirmed yet in a realistic experiment, but there is something "more" going
on with second serves than with first. If I am not right with more acceleration then there's more
wrist and hand work going on when going for a second serve. Maybe it's more wrist deviation.
But more on a second serve. Have some balls, se�oras, se�oritas, y se�ores. Y m�s of 'em on a
second serve.
SPIN
Spin is well covered on virtually every tennis site, i.e. the way the racket moves across the ball, up
the ball, over the ball, around the ball. But two items need more explaining.
First, bear in mind on a serve the ball is tossed up in the air and it descends as the racket ascends.
In other words we have a traditional low-to-high model here like on groundstrokes, the racket
travels from below the ball to above it for topspin or most spins. The tennis racket face turns up,
like the pole vaulter turns his feet up, as the ball is coming down, the racket face rises up against
the ball that drops. The two scenarios merge and synergize to produce spin.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.22 /24
You can get spin without a descending ball but you'll get more spin with a ball that descends.
Which means the more it drops in height before you hit it the more spin you can achieve (with the
right grip and wrist action). But of course within reason, don't toss the ball as high as the light
standard.
Second, make the racket face travel over the ball and toward the service box, don't just cut at the
ball and finish your stroke. There is intent, and reason, to that second serve. You're going to
make the ball dive down into the box (instead of bombing it as a first serve), you're sending it into
a particular area of the box, and specifically you're making the ball hop one way or the other. It's
all done on purpose and can only be realized when you send the ball over on a path line instead
of popping it up/spinning it up and watching it come down.
Too many players just spin the ball well on second serves but fail to project it (down and in) to the
box like they do on a first serve. The secret to the heavy second serve is, again, �cojones!
A SERVE IS ALWAYS A SERVE
Of course you can improve your serve without hitting it at 100 miles per hour or having a nuclear
wrist snap. But for all serves:
There's only one way to hit a serve. And that's to hit it. At 100 miles per hour, 100
kilometers per hour, 100 feet per second, or 100 centimeters per second. Nail the damn
ball every single time. This isn't a groundstroke. Hit It. And nail the second serve too.
There will be no doubt. No Hail Mary's. You can't offer your first-born or make a pact
with the devil for a good serve. Hope does not exist. There is only execution. Yours.
Execute with certainty. If you miss you will hold your head high and execute better next
time. Which means the very next serve.
You are told ridiculous things about the serve. As in swing up like throwing darts in the ceiling or
unscrewing a lightbulb; kick your back leg back during the serve on purpose to...help accelerate
the racket; keep the toss arm down and in to constrict the racket arm; swing like you're twirling
wine out of the glass; double pump with the arm or use a dual leg drive; wear your hat
backwards... These all sound like coming from a snake oil salesman trying to sell you something.
Trust your instincts.
The serve is a stroke even pros don't master. While all playing pros have good serves, a lot of
them work too hard for their result and others can't claim theirs to be a weapon. A Superior
Serve looks graceful, smooth (Roddick notwithstanding), and can be a weapon. Few achieve this
yet all aspire to it.
I don't know why Sampras, Federer, Ivanisevic, Shultz-McCarthy, Davenport serve so well, what
possesses them to nail it like they do and wind up to it like they do. It's a blessing, certainly.
Athleticism of course is part of it, playing other sports is a part of it, having influential teachers
and professional idols is a part of it. Growing up watching pros up close and personal is a part of
it. Of course it doesn't hurt to possess a flexible, quick, and pliable body, a courageous or cold
heart, and a relaxed, focused, mind. And then there's that extra something inside...
But you don't need a Superior Serve to have a good serve. What you need is a serve both worthy
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.23 /24
of, and worth, your effort. A steady serve is a good serve. A good second serve means you have
a good serve. A well placed serve means it's a good serve. A serve that does not allow your
opponent to return it back down your throat is a good serve.
Think holistically with the serve. If you want to improve your serve you need to budget the time,
find the application, and follow the "wax on, wax off" philosophy to improvement. If you don't
know that philosophy go rent the movie The Karate Kid part 1. Old school is the way to
improve, there's nothing new under the sun here.
There you have it. On this page are the major components missing from what you undoubtedly
have read elsewhere. In my humble opinion they are more responsible for serving success than
elbow and triceps up, endorotation of the arm, leg drive, because they provide the platforms,
successively, that support each of those individual components. Quite a lot of "how to serve" is
taken care of when the larger components hit their marks. As an example, working on
accelerating the arm at the expense of working to lift and position and hold the body up to
provide the moving arm the strongest platform to jump off from just won't do it.
Btw, the word "up" regarding the stroke is mentioned almost 100 times.
Photo credits: STERNUM: Sampras: from uncredited film tennisone.com; Courier: from uncredited film
tennisone.com; Roddick: from uncredited film tennisone.com; Henman: TENNIS Magazine, September 1997,
Stephen Szurlej; Ivanisevic: TENNIS Magazine, September 1996, photo by Stephen Szurlej/TENNIS Magazine;
Weaver: LA Times, 12/3/06, Jae C. Hong; Rios / Ivanisevic comparison: USTA High-Performance Coaching, Vol.
4, No.1/2002; Phillipousis: TENNIS Magazine, December, 1996, Stephen Szurlej; FRONT HALF: Sampras
montage: from uncredited film tennisone.com; Sampras outline: USTA High-Performance Coaching, Vol. 7, No.
1/2005; Rosset outline: TENNIS Magazine, December 1994, Stephen Szurlej; FUNNEL: Roddick: from
uncredited film tennisone.com; STAY TURNED: Volleyball player: LA Times, 12/2/06, Alex Gallardo; Clemens
pitch: LA Times, 6/14/03, Associated Press; Montage: Schultz-McCarthy: TENNIS Magazine, March 2005,
Manuela Davies, ProPix; Davenport: GETTY IMAGES, USTA supplement, TENNIS magazine, July/August,
2006; Djokovic: TENNIS WEEK, July 2006, Paul Zimmer; Sampras: USTA High-Performance Coaching, Vol. 7,
No. 1/2005; Federer: USTA High-Performance Coaching, Vol. 7, No. 1/2005; Amateur girl: Southern California
Tennis & Golf magazine, May / June 2005; Murray: TENNIS Magazine, October 2006, Tommy Hindley /
Professional Sport; Roddick serve compare: from uncredited film tennisone.com PRONATION: Roddick b&w:
Inside Tennis, 07/05, Getty Images; Graff: TENNIS Magazine, 05/97, Stephen Szurlej/TENNIS Magazine;
Sharapova: uncredited from web site; Roddick finish: Matthew Stockman, GETTY IMAGES; Roddick serve color:
uncredited tennisone.com film; Sampras 1: TENNIS Magazine, September 1999, Gary M. Prior, ALLSPORT;
Sampras 2: TENNIS Magazine, September 1994, Caryn Levy; Sampras 3: TENNIS Magazine, January 1994, Ad;
Agassi wrist snap: LA Times, 09/06/05, Shaun Best, Reuters; Layback Montage: Rusedski: USTA high
performance newsletter, Vol. 4, No. 1/2002; Federer USTA High-Performance Coaching, Vol. 7, No. 1/2005;
Sampras: from uncredited tennisone.com film; Martin: TENNIS Magazine, March, 1996, Stephen
Szurlej/TENNIS Magazine; Baseball photos: Curt Shilling 1: LA Times, 8.11.01, Agency France-Presse; 2: LA
Times, 6.07.01, Associated Press; 3: LA Times, 4.08.02, Reuters; 4: LA Times, 8.17.02, Associated Press; 5: LA
Times, 6.09.02, Associated Press; Aaron Sele: LA Times, 3.12.06, Allen J. Schaben, LA Times; Jake Peavy: LA
Times, 9.19.06, Gina Ferazzi, LA Times; Eric Gagne: LA Times, 6.22.02, Wally Skalij, LA Times; Randy
Johnson: LA Times, 3.07.05, Tony Gutierrez Associated Press; ADD UP: Roddick, TENNIS Magazine, summer
2006, Mike Hewitt/Getty Images; PRETZEL: Sampras 1: TENNIS magazine, January 1994, Ad: Sampras 2:
TENNIS magazine, May 2000, Vincent Laforet, ALLSPORT; Sampras 3: TENNIS magazine, September 1994,
Caryn Levy; Sampras pretzel sequence: from uncredited film tennisone.com.
� Mark Papas Step 12-5, Incredible uPness of Contact, p.24 /24