![]() The racket head is moving much faster than the hand to produce racket head speed. It is critical to notice that the elbow has barely moved forward, but the racket head is continuing its free acceleration and is now fully in front of the body. Picture 3: The racket head has “slung” up and forward. It is critical to notice that the elbow has made no measurable forward movement, but the racket head has traveled all the way from the back of the swing to straight up contact point. This is the only time during the serve that the hand should be in a direct line under the racket head.īy using the triceps and forearm to extend up and allowing the wrist and hand to move from an inside to an outside position (pronation) we reach contact point. The grip must be correct to achieve this position and to serve naturally. ![]() Picture 2: Notice that the server is at full extension, the racket head is straight up and that the hand is pronated (facing out away from the server's face). The correlation is that the catapulted object-the racket head, the elastic band-the arm and the base-the elbow. This principle is similar to using a “sling shot.” We load an object into an elastic band and catapult it away from its base. The further the racket head is behind the hand, the more “sling” you will get. The KEY here is that the hand and racket are lagging way behind the elbow. In picture #1, notice that the elbow, wrist and hand will move a far shorter distance than the end of the racket (Servemaster). In order to understand this, let's look at four frames of the serve. The simple answer to “How do we increase racket head speed?” Get the racket head moving faster than the hand during the upswing and through the contact point of the ball. ![]() the racket head moving on a loose but patterned path to contact point. Just to keep it simple let's think about 3 items that are a must: 1) the grip (commonly referred to as the Continental grip), 2). Everything we do on the serve can either hinder or help generate racket head speed. The serve is the only shot that requires us to generate our own pace. All other strokes receive a ball with some pace from the opponent which turns into natural power on your own hit. ![]() The serve is the most complex and misunderstood stroke in tennis. ![]()
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