Serve

The Cyber Sports Academy An Interactive Teaching Company Presents……

“Cyber Tennis” “The Serve”


I. Overview

II.Core Elements

• Ready Position

• Racket Drop

• Back-swing/Ball Toss

• Coiling/Contact Point

• Follow Through

III. Footwork

IV. References


OverviewThere is a saying in tennis that a players is only as good as

their serve. A supreme confidence and rhythm arise from

playing good service games. Knowing you can hold serve,

allows you to focus on the return aspect. It is easy to

understand that the serve is considered the hardest to teach

and the most difficult for the pupil to learn. When you begin

the service motion you have to coordinate three simultaneous

movements- the ball toss, body movements, and racket

movements. With this being said any movement must originate from a solid base….



II.Core Elements

• Ready Position

• Racket Drop

• Back-swing/Ball Toss

• Coiling/Contact Point

• Follow Through


Ready Position

• Shoulders Perpendicular to net.

• Hitting Arm- hangs down from shoulder in line with front leg.

• Racket- Tip toward net. Shaft parallel to court. Face perpendicular

• Legs- Feet are parallel to baseline. Equal weight distribution. Knees slightly flexed.

“Cyber Tennis” “The Serve” Bad Racket Position

• Ready Position• Shoulders Perpendicular to net

• Hitting Arm- hangs down from shoulder in line with front leg.


• Legs- Feet are parallel to baseline. Equal weight distribution. Knees slightly flexed.

•

“Cyber Tennis”“The Serve

Good Bad

• Ready Position


• Racket- Tip toward back wall. Shaft behind body.


Racket Drop

Racket Drop- • Drop racket head like

pendulum.

Double click on picture to play


There is no racket drop from the Ready

Position.



Back-swing



• Shoulders- Perpendicular to court.

• Hitting Arm- Completion of racket drop is 30-40 degrees with the court.

37.99 degrees


Good Bad

• Hitting Arm- Completion of racket drop is 30-40 degrees with the court.

• The Racket is in the wrong position due to incorrect starting position.

Back-swing

Racket- tip trace creates 3/4 of a circle.




The TossArm position & Ball Placement

• -slightly forward

• and right of body.

• Ball resting on finger tips or palm.

• Arm slightly bent as lifted



Coiling Racket• Outward sweep stops

• Racket is drawn up to head

• Bending of elbow

• Racket points toward ground when coiled.

• Double click on picture to play


“Cocking the Racket”


“Cocking the Racket”



“Coiling the Racket”


Swing & Contact

• Slight Lead with elbow

• Swing is up and out

• Racket “speeds upward” to the ball



“Contact”

Body is uncoiled upward starting with: Legs, hips, back, chest, shoulder, arm, and wrist all

projecting the energy into the ball

“Contact”


“Good Contact”

• Ball is in front of the body.


“Bad Contact”

• Ball is behind body

• Racket, arm, body, and left leg

• are fully extended

• right leg extended

• weight going forward/Kind of...



ContactCoiled energy released upward

• Racket, arm, body, and left leg

• are fully extended

• right leg slight flexion

• weight going forward


Good Serve Foot Fault



“Follow-through”


Racket continues outward across bodyWeight transfer brings you into court

“Follow-Through”



“Good Follow-Through”



Head is too high or restricted during follow-through Racket continues too far forward before crossing the bodyMinimal weight transfer brings body partially into court.



Head is in good position and unrestricted during follow-through


“Good Follow-Through”

“Cyber Tennis”The Serve

“Good Footwork An Overview”

The most important element of the advanced serve is the use

of the lower body or footwork. The knee bend is more severe

at the beginning of the motion until the completion of the

coiling phase. This will result in an automatic upward

uncoiling into the ball. The relationship between footwork

and serving is paramount in unlocking power. Developing

this bend should be worked on over time.


“Good Footwork”

“From ready Position, to the racket drop, up to the coiling”


“Good Footwork”

“coiling until swing”

This is where a lot of the energy of the serve is generated. Look at the movement of the legs.. Specifically flexion.


“Good Footwork”

“swing to contact”

No foot movement here. Change is due to rotation and uncoiling.

“Cyber Tennis” “The Serve” “Good Footwork”

“contact and follow-through”

As uncoiling takes place rear foot balances body by moving back and away from athlete. Landing is on opposite foot showing proper sequence of body rotation


“Poor Footwork”“coiling until swing”

This is where a lot of the energy of the serve is generated or Lost.

Look at the movement of the legs.. Specifically flexion.

This athlete has minimal movement of the feet and little flexion of the legs


Double-Click to play

IV. References

• Braden, Vic and Bill Bruns, Tennis 2000 Boston, Mass Litle Brown and Company 2000.

• Brown, Jim Teaching Tennis Steps to Success. Champaign Ill. Leisure Press 1989.

• Kenfield, Ken Teaching and Coaching Tennis. Wm.C.Brown Company Publishers 1976.

• Williams, Scott . Serious Tennis Champaign Ill. Human Kinetics 2000.

• Yandell, Jon. Visual Tennis. Champaign Ill. Human Kinetics 1999.

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