Steps to a Half Volley like Federer
Photos courtesy Jim Fawcette ©jfawcette Federer astounds on the half volley He makes the most difficult of shots appear simple And this has nothing to do with so-called NO MAN’S LAND, for certainly the ball can land at your feet no matter where you are positioned. Want some simple keys to improving your half volley?…
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…
The Live Arm
Overhand throwing might be a lost art Whether male or female, adult or junior – some throw much better than others. How come? Permit me a guess… Some whip the ball, and others use a subtle pushing motion And for better or worse those two types have similar serving actions Mike Krukow, former Major League…
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…
Wall to the Ball
Both Roger Federer and Bianca Andreescu square the face to the incoming ball – though still moving forward they have both “aligned the wall to the ball.” Tom Stow often introduced the simplicity of the volley technique by using a stool or chair such that the…
USNews
40 years experience as a player teacher and student of the game foundational point of view students describes my approach as “brilliant simplicity” far far less sales pressure, deadlines and special offers more about content, and our relationship if you love the game you owe it to your self – check out Essential Tennis Instruction…
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…
Jackie Reardon – Mindset
To review, Jackie Reardon in Mindset compares story thinking to action thinking. Story thinking is about what we expect, what we fear, what we judge, how we can live totally in our heads with thought. Action thinking, a bit like Nike’s “Just Do It” is about being in the preset, about playing freely. And she…
Mental Toughness – Maybe?
The following are some of the articles in the “Mental Library” within the ETI Network Continuous Learning – willingness to change Andre Agassi – how I beat Boris Becker The Super Fluid Swing Information and Knowledge The Space Between Stimulus and Response Setting a Trap Growing your “CQ” but only if you are Curious…
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 Art of Winning and the Second Shot Pass
There is a connection here. The second shot pass is a basic strategy when your opponent takes the net – for your do want information about their volleying skills This play works best when the volleyer is centered which then reduces the volleyers natural angles. But in the main, this play creates pressure, challenges the…
Singles Playbook – Do All Points Have Equal Value ?
Singles You have no on court coach available No doubles partner for support The winning and losing is all on you We know the feeling And more, we have won an occasional match and not known why, but equally we have lost (perhaps more than a few) matches and not known why The factors include…
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…
Roger Serving Effortlessly (E-)
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. Locate the swish point Practicing without the ball,…
Serving with Rhythm
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. One two three rhythm – without…
Roger Serving on Balance (B)
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. Serve within a box Find…
Type 1 and Type 2 – Overhand Throwing – the Tennis Serve – and the Primacy of Habit
Todd Ellenbecker, Vice President, Medical Services ATP World Tour, “Tennis teaching professionals can identify players of all ability levels, even high level players, who have less than optimal biomechanics on their serve. Often ……. their throwing mechanics also are less than optimal and have many similar characteristic patterns. Some of the same inherent deficiencies occur in…
The Other Side of the Net
http://dg2e30wx7kvei.cloudfront.net/eti_network/ETI_TheOtherSideOfTheNet.mp4 Download this Video Some time ago I was in Sacramento watching the Power Shares tour event – Courier, Sampras, McEnroe and Blake. James Blake beat John McEnroe in the finals – Mac having beaten Courier, and Blake easily beat an injured Pete Sampras (who was looking very slow on court compared to the other…
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