Returning the Kicker
We have positioned the camera at eye level, on the baseline, as though returning serve in the ad court. I nearly hit Antony on one of these serves, but no worries Mate, he is an Aussie. That said I think this camera angle gives you the feel for how this serve jumps up and away…
ETI 023 | Borrowing Pace – Tennis Ju-jitsu
Tennis ju-jitsu. Blocking, borrowing, deflecting the ball, playing with angles and change of pace.
The game is not always about power and winners. Just as easily the game can become one of rebounding the ball, using the opponent’s force and incoming shot to create our own.
This style, ju-jitsu if you will, comes from shorter strokes, firmer grips at contact, and a willingness to look for angles, dinks, drops and more.
McEnroe was the unquestioned master of this – try it out for yourself.
The Tradition Continues – Segura – Connors – Djokovic
Novak Djokovic captured his third consecutive Australian Open title. Crushing David Ferrer 62 62 61 in the semifinals, and wearing down and then beating back the challenge of Andy Murray 67 76 63 62. The end the fourth set of the men’s final showcased a dominant and domineering Novak Djokovic and a dispirited but…
Andy Murray’s New Attitude – you read it here first
Ours is a wonderful, but equally ours is a very difficult game. We have all had days when we played great, sometimes unexpectedly great. And we have all had days when we played far far below our best level, said another way far below our expectations. When some say the game is 95% mental, I…
Drop Hit One Handed Backhands – a hidden practice gem!!
Start a rally; deliver a ball to the adjacent court when responding to “ball please.” In nearly every instance the swing is a drop hit forehand. Sometimes those forehands are deliberate and practiced (that is good). Other times those forehands are wristy, in poor form, somehow not acknowledged as genuine practice opportunities. Truly – practice…
ETI 019 | Fire the Extensors
Many elements are combined to produce the serve – and one of the secrets is to have all the elements firing in the appropriate sequence.
Timing – we have all felt the effortless hits and unfortunately we all have at one time or another, felt the effortful hits.
One of the most important sequence during the serve occurs with regard to the racquet drop and the knee bend.
In general, on the serve, one must fire in quick sequence large muscles first leading to smaller and then smaller muscles, culminating in a whip at the top of the swing.
As regards the racquet drop and knee bend, the best one I heard on this was from Vic Braden, who said, “Fire the extensors baby!”
ETI 016 | Positioning for the Hit – Moving in Twos
Hopefully you have seen and worked through the podcast entitled Weighting and Waiting.
And as a subtle review, baseball batters “wait” on the pitch with their “weight” back. Similarly, pitchers and quarterbacks start their throwing motion with their “weight” back.
ETI 015 | Lobbing along the line of your shadow
In addition to consistency, control, spin and power, much less trying to produce your best tennis when the chips are down, a large part of the game includes your precise awareness of the conditions – meaning the direction of the wind, as well as the location of the sun.
The next time you are on court with the sun high in the sky, but equally when it is at your back, take special notice of your shadow. As the sun moves through the sky the line or alignment of the shadow will change.
SloMo Analysis of Sam Stosur’s Kick Serve
I had a chance to be courtside at a WTA tournament in Stanford California, marveling at as well as filming Sam’s incredible serve. With an impressive run at Roland Garros to reach the finals in 2010 and her US Open title in 2011 over Serena Williams, Sam Stosur has played at the highest level of…
ETI 011 | The Active Non Dominant Arm
Whether ice skaters keep their arms at same level when spinning Or the baseball pitcher uses the non dominant arm to “trigger” the unwinding For your forehand and serve the non dominant arm is important
ETI 010 | The Pete Sampras Snap
At the net put your forearm at net level and parallel to the net strap, with the racquet head at right angles to your forearm.
Now practice quickly turning your hand and wrist such that the racquet head snaps forcefully against the net strap.
Take your time, keep experimenting – and once this feels somewhat natural – toss up a few (rather than tossing down a few) and see how it feels on the serve.
You may be pleasantly surprised!
ETI 009 | Waiting and Weighting
If you want to hit the ball with less effort and more power, take a page from the baseball batter or the boxer – both wait with their body weight on the back foot before swinging the bat or delivering a punch.
Too often players pay too much attention to grips, swings, and spin without ever mastering their balance. And truly even the pitcher puts their back foot on the pitching rubber before hurling the pitch.
ETI 008 | Pressuring the Second Serve
“You are only as good as your second serve.”
I know, I do write about this quite a lot, but I believe it – and in nearly every instance the statistics of the professional matches support the idea.
The match winner always wins more points on their second serve, and the match loser will always lose more points on their second serve.
ETI 007 | The top of the bounce
Watch the professional players who are adept at moving inside the baseline to finish the point. They will invariably make contact when the ball is well above the net, if not the absolute apex of the bounce.
And at this height (which is nearly always above the level of the net) the net is less an obstacle. In fact, in many instances it appears the stroke and follow through are almost level if not slightly down, that is they are driving the ball over the net but down and into the court.
ETI 005 | Holding your finish
Holding your finish for just a moment clarifies your balance as well as the quality of your stroke and follow thru.
Further, this method has been used by so many famous coaches – Tom Stow, Robert Lansdorp and more. It will help you as well.
Stow remarked that if the stroke started correctly (balanced on the back foot with a compact but loose preparation) and finished correctly (weight shifted forward and arm well extended toward the target) then everything between the start and finish – meaning contact – would be just fine.
ETI 004 | Balance – in the extreme
Many years ago, in my training with Tom Stow (I was in my early 20’s and had already played 4 years of college tennis) he totally remade my game with constant reference to balance, to posture, to playing with less effort and more “conk.”
Watching our very best players, you can see a similar poise, balance if you will. Federer is the acknowledged master of all this. But you too can start by working on how you carry your head.
As amusing (hopefully) as the drill in the video appears, see if you can see if you can perform your swings with a “ball on the hat.”.
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 –…
Sam Stosur – the best kicker in the women’s game
I had a chance to be courtside at the recent WTA tournament in Stanford California, marveling at as well as filming this incredible serve. Following her impressive run at Roland Garros in 2010 Sam is ranked 5th on the WTA tour. A fluent all court player, previously a doubles specialist, she owns the best kick…
The Great Pancho Gonzalez
The great Pancho Gonzalez was both featured and honored at this year’s US Open (2009). Fierce. Graceful. Combative. And until Sampras came along, arguably the best serve in the history of the game. Pancho stories. I watched Pancho play Raz Reed in ain Lake Worth Florida, 1974. I had lost in the first round to…
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