This is the kind of serving motion i have, and it adds pace and consistency without even trying hard, which also save alot of stamina. Great video man, and love your game, especially that backhand slice.
The way Federer subtly combines the classic long backswing and the Roddick esque quarterback position shifting the first, pendulum kind of, move seamlessly into the palm & racquet face down pointing approach (to the trophy phase) is a true masterpiece - and a masterclass for doing it smoothly and elegantly. It is a lession to be learned and an awe inspiring artistic athletic feat in one package. When done right it has its benefits over the abbreviated racquet path up but it has its risks/difficulties also as regards the correct form and timing. The pros: the arm relaxation and the elbow position in a horisontally abducted position from the get go, to mention the most important ones…
@@sayles7858 I donno about that unless you refer to Roger’s fully developed serve motion in the late part of his career. :D Indeed, there is only one who can do it with such ease and fluidity, Roger himself. There are some brave guys on the Tour like Benjamin Bonzi who try and imitate Federer’s smooth serve but the end result tends to be a more or less wobbly and erratic caricature. So, we mere.mortals might be better of with a semi abbreviated backswing if we wanna keep the quarterback style finish in the backsiwing…
Awsome staff these details make greatness to technique. Im ex swimmer to tennis now and as in swimming the movements starts from the shoulers not the hands is the same in every sport. I struggled with waiter serve, top and with ta tip is now over Thank you
Yeah Salzenstein calls it the "elbow the enemy" trick. So much of tennis I've noticed is based on elbow spacing/position. Good tip on keeping the top of the forearm facing the sky/ceiling
Thanks! So the elbow goes back in a horizontal direction, rather than downward (3:07). Also, I recommend everyone to record themselves. You can directly compare this video with your own video and check your actual body position during the serve (or any other stroke).
What do you mean downward elbow direction? That would cause you to be jammed. Elbow should be roughly in line with with shoulder give or take a few inches in the horizontal plane. I like to imagine my arm resting on an invisible bookshelf that is just a few inches below the height of my shoulder. Hope that helps. If not then this is why I am not a teacher hahha.
@Top Spin what Les mentioned at the 3:07 mark. Also what you said: elbow resting on a bookshelf. If your elbow points down, your entire hitting arm will open up.
@@tennisteutonkeep your shoulder internally rotated with elbow back as demonstrated in video. Racket tip pointing to right side fence, as shown by Les in video. Don’t externally rotate your shoulder too soon as it will result in problem shown at 3:07. Does this answer your question?
The best tip I had to get the timing and the elbow was to stand sideways on in your serve position and let your body weight go forwards and backwards to make your racket arm move like a pendulum. Keeping the arm and shoulder relaxed if you just bend your elbow to 90 degrees on the way up at the back it automatically goes into the right postion. Then you just combine that with throwing the other arm up for the ball toss and you have a perfectly timed trophy position with your body momentum doing all the right things.
This is somehow the first time I've ever heard about pushing the elbow back. Most of the instructors I've worked with focus on getting into that "trophy" ready position almost no matter how you get there, which I always found a bit strange considering how many troubled serves I've seen doing weird start up motions in my years playing. I also noticed that swinging the arm way back seems to be a habit that Federer had, so it may just be an old school way of teaching.
Federer serves like this as well. His arm gets straight but notice his racket is still down in backswing and his wrist doesn’t open and flip up when it is going back, his elbow still gets the tension. His racket tip never points towards the back fence. All of the important angles are still there. Leading with the elbow is just a simple and effective way to explain this muscle activation/mechanic. It’s very much still evident in Feds serve. Watch from back and behind position and you can see the same muscles in his arm activating as when someone leads with the elbow. Hope this helped!
alcaraz didn't have his trophy phase with racquet pointing down though. perhaps you have your racquet pointed up increases spin but if you want speed and flatness in trajectory you do what you propose?
If you look at his recent serving in the past year he has fixed his elbow to nudge back. His wrist is also held at the same angle throughout the whole thing. His racket happens to be upwards because he turns his wrist a slightly different angle but his wrist isn’t open so the concept remains the same where the muscles are all activated the same way. If you watch his past serves a while back he used to have the racket tip point to the back fence on his take back, but that has changed. This concept works for any serve
This is the kind of serving motion i have, and it adds pace and consistency without even trying hard, which also save alot of stamina. Great video man, and love your game, especially that backhand slice.
It’s such a game changer for many peoples serves. Thanks for watching and for the compliment 😁
Solid advice. I learnt this from 2 minute tennis a week ago. Dramatically improved my serve.
Gonna try your tip out when it stops raining!
The way Federer subtly combines the classic long backswing and the Roddick esque quarterback position shifting the first, pendulum kind of, move seamlessly into the palm & racquet face down pointing approach (to the trophy phase) is a true masterpiece - and a masterclass for doing it smoothly and elegantly. It is a lession to be learned and an awe inspiring artistic athletic feat in one package. When done right it has its benefits over the abbreviated racquet path up but it has its risks/difficulties also as regards the correct form and timing. The pros: the arm relaxation and the elbow position in a horisontally abducted position from the get go, to mention the most important ones…
Poetry 😁
@@sayles7858 I donno about that unless you refer to Roger’s fully developed serve motion in the late part of his career. :D Indeed, there is only one who can do it with such ease and fluidity, Roger himself. There are some brave guys on the Tour like Benjamin Bonzi who try and imitate Federer’s smooth serve but the end result tends to be a more or less wobbly and erratic caricature. So, we mere.mortals might be better of with a semi abbreviated backswing if we wanna keep the quarterback style finish in the backsiwing…
@@jackquinnes yeah I was talking about fed haha. I agree that simple is better for 99.999% of people trying to learn
Great instruction. The football/baseball analogy was perfect. I will need to incorporate this into my serve.
Best of luck! You got this
Awsome staff these details make greatness to technique. Im ex swimmer to tennis now and as in swimming the movements starts from the shoulers not the hands is the same in every sport. I struggled with waiter serve, top and with ta tip is now over
Thank you
I might revisit the sitting down drill! Not sure if this will help me with getting a looser arm.
Yeah Salzenstein calls it the "elbow the enemy" trick. So much of tennis I've noticed is based on elbow spacing/position. Good tip on keeping the top of the forearm facing the sky/ceiling
Thanks 💪🏻
@@sayles7858 just got off the court. The forearm facing the sky/ceiling trick worked great. Very good whip
Nice explanation, very clear and easy to follow with the other sports throwing analogies as well
Throwing is a good foundation for serving! Thank you 😊
Thanks! So the elbow goes back in a horizontal direction, rather than downward (3:07). Also, I recommend everyone to record themselves. You can directly compare this video with your own video and check your actual body position during the serve (or any other stroke).
What do you mean downward elbow direction? That would cause you to be jammed. Elbow should be roughly in line with with shoulder give or take a few inches in the horizontal plane. I like to imagine my arm resting on an invisible bookshelf that is just a few inches below the height of my shoulder. Hope that helps. If not then this is why I am not a teacher hahha.
@Top Spin what Les mentioned at the 3:07 mark. Also what you said: elbow resting on a bookshelf. If your elbow points down, your entire hitting arm will open up.
@@tennisteutonkeep your shoulder internally rotated with elbow back as demonstrated in video. Racket tip pointing to right side fence, as shown by Les in video. Don’t externally rotate your shoulder too soon as it will result in problem shown at 3:07. Does this answer your question?
@@topspin1715 yes
Yes and yes! Both have the right idea 😊
Your serve kinda looks like Andrey Rublev, great tips, thnx bro!
Thanks!
pure quality content as always👀
Keepin it real 💪🏻
Thanks Les! Solid tips!
😊thanks!
The best tip I had to get the timing and the elbow was to stand sideways on in your serve position and let your body weight go forwards and backwards to make your racket arm move like a pendulum. Keeping the arm and shoulder relaxed if you just bend your elbow to 90 degrees on the way up at the back it automatically goes into the right postion. Then you just combine that with throwing the other arm up for the ball toss and you have a perfectly timed trophy position with your body momentum doing all the right things.
Cool tip!
Soooooo good!
Super good!
Thank you!
This is somehow the first time I've ever heard about pushing the elbow back. Most of the instructors I've worked with focus on getting into that "trophy" ready position almost no matter how you get there, which I always found a bit strange considering how many troubled serves I've seen doing weird start up motions in my years playing. I also noticed that swinging the arm way back seems to be a habit that Federer had, so it may just be an old school way of teaching.
Federer serves like this as well. His arm gets straight but notice his racket is still down in backswing and his wrist doesn’t open and flip up when it is going back, his elbow still gets the tension. His racket tip never points towards the back fence. All of the important angles are still there. Leading with the elbow is just a simple and effective way to explain this muscle activation/mechanic. It’s very much still evident in Feds serve. Watch from back and behind position and you can see the same muscles in his arm activating as when someone leads with the elbow. Hope this helped!
@@sayles7858 Good points!
Good teacher
Thank you!!
Great
I like all you clothes 😂 where did you get them? Looks really cool
Shein! 😂
alcaraz didn't have his trophy phase with racquet pointing down though. perhaps you have your racquet pointed up increases spin but if you want speed and flatness in trajectory you do what you propose?
If you look at his recent serving in the past year he has fixed his elbow to nudge back. His wrist is also held at the same angle throughout the whole thing. His racket happens to be upwards because he turns his wrist a slightly different angle but his wrist isn’t open so the concept remains the same where the muscles are all activated the same way. If you watch his past serves a while back he used to have the racket tip point to the back fence on his take back, but that has changed. This concept works for any serve
lol your serve sitting down is more powerful than my serve standing up
Efficient technique :)
Use it to add power to yours! Goodluck :)
@@sayles7858 i actually tried this out yesterday and it definitely improved my serve. thanks!
@@syncore33 that’s great!
please do a video on how to kick serve
Any tips on a consistent ball toss?
Hold by the palm or the fingers?
I have a video explaining the toss :D
I prefer fingers rather than palm
Only clicked on it cuz of the diagram 🤡
Thanks Raymond