Elbow Positioning in the Trophy Phase of Tennis Serve

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Why a High Toss is Easier for Most Players 👉🏻 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHqpfapprJaLgNU

[@rafapazos06]

My overhead is not too bad but I serve awfully bad and struggle with the movement, timing, placing and even hitting the ball back to court. When thinking of it, if I can do overhead I should be able to put the ball in the box when serving I suppose. Is there any correlation? Any tip ?

[@joseh899]

I could never figure out why my approach to the ball was always on a diagonal swing path, when I was focusing so hard on pulling my elbow back, now I realize for most of us club players, a happy medium in certain technique is much more effective than trying to copy the pro"s . Thanks Nik!! 👍👍👏👏🎾🎾🎾

[@franklyfrank123]

Very true

[@charlesdang2557]

Great video Nick! There seems to be a boatload of things to be aware of on the serve. Obviously we are not thinking of them all when we serve. It's useful to be aware of these things to help troubleshoot and improve. Thanks, Nick!

[@cesarfernandezlopez5063]

What's the best position of the elbow in the collection and raising of the trophy after you won the match ?😉 😂😂😂 Vamoooooos RAAAAAAAFA 💪🏼🇪🇸❤️🎾

[@IntuitiveTennis]

😂😂🙌🙌🙌

[@udayanbhanot2509]

This guy is brilliant. He solved an issue with my serve which I’ve suffered for 15 years. In one session. I mean I watched a free video, and tried out the approach and voila! I’m going to sign up with him soon.

[@TeamTennisfr]

Totally agree. Very dfficult to come out of a large coil. Another problem is to throw the ball in front and at the same time to have a large coil. The large coil tends to lead to a throw behind the baseline. And you say the problem is that players force themselves, maybe that's the main problem. We don't need to "force" ourselves to do a particular motion, even if we want to stick to good fundamentals.

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Well said 🙌🙌

[@briandtnguyen]

I’ve tried for months to bring my elbow back more but am unable to do to due to flexibility issues. Glad to see that it doesn’t have to be so extreme.

[@stevenmckelvey4210]

Thanks a million. Been slicing a lot of serves and now know why! Great point on the need for racket flare-out on KS too

[@jedrickboca5385]

Wow this is exactly my issue. For months I’ve been wondering why my shoulder joint hurt so much from serving. Turns out my elbow started to get to the hitting side of my body. For some reason my body prematurely rotated before hitting to the ball so my chest was facing the court before I made contact.

[@desy2478]

That occasionally happens to me and it's very jarring on the shoulder. I find that any little pains I get are definitely from bad technique rather than anything like racket choice. Like when you hit the ball too close to your body and your wrist hurts becasue you have it an an awkward angle.

[@konstantinkhodchenko8369]

Yeah, my issue as well.. and an always hurting shoulder joint:(

[@its0dill659]

i just had a bad injury from this that took me out of my high school districts tournament

[@DeltoidBeast]

What a great video this is! Very useful tips! You hit the core of the problem here, Nikola! This will help many to know what to do with elbow and the racket path on the serve. Thanks!

[@IntuitiveTennis]

🙌

[@miketang7533]

Well explain and easy to understand. Thank you. 👍🎾🙏

[@cliveburks]

Thanks Nick you explained something I had felt but didn’t know what it was. Very wise and insightful coaching tips. Reminds me of when I played golf I would have loved to have a full swing legs moving club parallel at top of backswing but I couldn’t do that so would never hit the ball well. Focused on a 3/4 swing hit the ball very well good distance consistent got very good. I will use your insights as I work on mastering my serve ie serving to my full potential with consistency under pressure and on all courts.

[@sportscastercanada]

Does it ever rain 🌧 or get cold 🥶 in Florida? You lucky 🦆 😁 What’s the coldest temperature you’re willing to play 🎾 in?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

I can’t play below 40

[@willmurphy6663]

Thanks for this...yes athletic ability, neuromuscular ability....the pros may do this, but that doesn't mean we can... because of our limited abilities

[@desy2478]

I tried this along with some of your other tips and it works very well for me. A lot of things have clicked into place recently. My timing, toss and balance are all coming together now and I'm serving so much better. I can do a proper flat serve and kick serve but my kick serve definitely needs more work especially when it comes to placement it's very erratic right now. Thanks!

[@SLee-lh3pq]

Excellent video! It took a long time for me to know this before.

[@tennis3605]

Great recommendations Nick! Wonderful video. Your technique in imitating tennis masters is amazing. Thank you very much Nick!

[@IntuitiveTennis]

🙏🙏

[@Hurry19671]

Wow! what an input! I have never met a trainer with even a piece of your knowlege!

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Thank you Harald

[@mowghlee]

I was looking for this long time

[@cezarpalaghia7449]

One of the best tips regarding serve, simple and straight to the point. Thank you.

[@mariasubtirel1115]

Hi Nick,I initially wanted to make a much longer comment (including things about myself), but this is irrelevant for all other commentators here, therefore the short version: Pinpoint stance and pulling the right leg to a point where it surpasses the left one (righty serve). I (older player and newer to tennis, but still athletic, women and a formerly top skier - meaning that I intuitively know how to use my legs). I tried to copy the serves on tv, did not work, until I tried to copy serves of young girls (I am rather short and need the spin to get it over the net). Interestingly, I discovered that all young players nowadays (I mean the young ones on the WTA tour, but also a lot of guys on the ATP tour - young generation) do not seem to have the focus on the leg pull, but rather on the rhythm of the serve overall. See Hurkasz or Sabalenka, to just name the ones that really stand out. Could it be, that there are new developments these days ? It won't change anything for me (as I am glad to have discovered a way of doing this for myself), but I need to improve my daughter's serve, who still has some big hick-ups in terms of motion (although the result is great sometimes and she does play the No. 1 in Medenspiele in her team (under 15) and Offene Damen in a not so unknown Club in NRW (Ratingen Grün Weiss). And yes, she has access to trainers who believe that she should try it out for herself (and we just want to get to a high amateur level, nothing else), but ..... they were also the ones holding me back from playing the way I intuitively wanted to - meaning - just keep the ball in play, bla bla, früh ausholen (whatever that means, for me it only meant that I was late every time, instead of unit turn and go for it - but use your legs). I guess I started to play much better since I do the opposite of what my trainers say (but kind of adapt what you say :-)). But going back to my initial comment: could it be, that he leg pull nowadays has changed and it does not matter that much where the outside leg is pulled to, but rather what the rhythm on the serve is ?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

One thing that changed is the back leg on outside. Players used that style a lot more back in the day. Now due to false theories about the role of the back leg players are discouraged from placing back leg on the outside on pinpoint stance. However, some of the best servers in history Graf, Venus, Ivanisevic placed the back leg on outside and biomechanically it is not a hinderance to the loading and unloading process.

[@herri2758]

Thanks for this tip 👍🏿All the best to you and warm greetings from Germany🙋🏿

[@IntuitiveTennis]

🙏

[@mikehardwicke23]

Great detail. Crazy music!

[@TheSamwonders]

Awesome. Thanks

[@artisteacherextraordinaire]

Awesome video!!! Excellent advice and tips! Thank you Coach! 🙂

[@IntuitiveTennis]

My pleasure!

[@vivy_xo]

Great video Nick!

[@Lunchpgap]

great video Nick. do you have an analysis on where the feet are pointing on the platform stance? i usually point my front foot at about 45 degrees against the baseline, but i've been toying around with pointing my front foot down the baseline, ie Federer. i don't know why, but i feel like i have better control(but less power) when my foot is pointing down the baseline.

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Try this 👉🏻 kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXaqZ52Fft6CsJI

[@chinaski5]

OMG. I need to fix this!

[@markscott6102]

Thanks Nik! I’ve been trying to figure out how to get the racquet to swing out and then come forward but I was fixated on coiling as much as I could. So this looks great to try. Once my shoulder heals from the fall I had just over a year ago that is 😖.

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Feel better 🙏

[@markscott6102]

Thanks Nik!

[@attybong]

the real problem for me really is how to get rid of my old muscle memory ..

[@alexandersevtsov2209]

THANX A LOT! Very helpful!

[@franklyfrank123]

This is exactly what I need!!!

[@drmitofit2673]

As a beginner, why does it feel good when serving or overhead smashing to watch the ball while having the side rim of racket head lightly touching the back between the shoulder blades? This shortens the swing for easier timing, a simpler compact swing easier to learn, more likely to make good contact and not completely miss the ball, and the racket touching the back gives repeatable tactile feedback. It feels like the wrist, shoulder, and elbow are coiled and ready to apply power. Yeah, one isn't getting 100% this way, but it this a good starting point?

[@anjanenadovic7369]

Amazing video,it helped me! I am 12 years old and I try to play tennis as much as possible.I recently started practicing it. Greetings from Serbia!!!

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Hvala 🙏. Keep training hard 🙌🙌

[@anjanenadovic7369]

@@IntuitiveTennis Thank you🙂

[@massimodanzelmo4607]

Nick is emphatic coach. As always, thanks Nick❤

[@IntuitiveTennis]

🙏

[@drmitofit2673]

I am returning to tennis and have learned a lot about correcting my old bad techniques by watching your instructional videos. I am trying to learn how to serve properly. I like to use body imagery in sports. The body image that seems to work for me is pretending I am drawing a traditional Japanese bow aimed at the peak of the ball toss. In Kyudo, the draw hand comes back further and higher above and behind the ear similar to the trophy position. In modern archery we anchor at the side of the chin. In my serve imagery "full draw" lasts a fraction of a second at a moving target, snap shot style, not a long static aiming draw. This pulls my dominant elbow back in line with my shoulders under brief tension (neither too forward nor too far behind) with my left pectoralis directed at the ball creating the coiled side C arch. The main difference with archery is the unstable base, as I am leaning forward into the court. As the ball begins to fall from its peak I begin the fast uncoiling which naturally and quickly drops the racket behind my back loading with acceleration for the power stroke. This seems to be working. Are there pitfalls to doing this?

[@tanaymahesh5181]

Hurkacz is crying after seeing the thumbnail xD. If you get it you get it. Love the video as usual Nick!

[@dadsfreetimeclassicgaming1220]

Everytime i figure out a better way to do things with the serve i always end up backing it down a bit because of the amount of energy i want to commit lol.

[@king0vdarkness]

Hi Nick, did you do any diet changes to lose weight or just more exercise?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

I will address the weight situation, stay tuned…

[@king0vdarkness]

@@IntuitiveTennis Thank you! I fell off the training wagon for 2 months and now I'm really big :( I've started again though! :)

[@vijaynarsapur147]

Lot of respect for telling regular folks NOT to copy a pro's look in toto...most coaches will say otherwise...

[@umutkara739]

Again another great video. You talked about my problem. But I will still go on trying big coiling.

[@peterbedford2610]

Elbow the enemy

[@clydewmorgan]

dammit that is what i do. i found your channel a week ago and glad i did.

[@pjakobsen]

Great video!

[@robinhoodwink9345]

Hi that is a the best help for my serve now as a older player. I have been making more of a tilt and a higher extention at contact too make up for like you pointed getting out of over rotate of the take back of the elbow

[@Ian-lx1iz]

Wow - superb lesson. (Solid meaty chunks!)

[@rcarioca]

How would you practice to get that 2 step motion of the racket face ?

[@LOWWANCHING]

SO GOOD!

[@WendellFuntanilla0195]

This is my issue right now :(

[@bsuccc1220]

Can you please make a video on half volley shots?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Sure

[@bsuccc1220]

@@IntuitiveTennis thank you so much!

[@Stellarffxi]

What a pretty court

[@ernie8117]

Nick, very good lesson. Nick, what is the weight and balance, and string and its tension of your Babolat Pure Drive Plus? Thanks.

[@IntuitiveTennis]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXTcf5qZfaqSq9E

[@joikomojomoto828]

So do you have to increace the racquet acceleration in bigger elbow coiling?

[@pietrpiepir6444]

Random question, but can you explain why Pete did that unusual motion with his front foot where he lifted the toe up before tossing the ball? Does that serve an actual purpose, or was that just an individual quirk of his?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Lots of players do this kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqnZfoWqetCVe6c

[@001niwrad]

In a serve progression, I have a short reach, or in video a bent elbow at contact. The ball still goes in and im using only about 30-50% effort. Is this a positioning problem or is it an acceleration problem? When I accelerate it's hard to control the serve but I get longer reach and a straighter elbow at contact

[@IntuitiveTennis]

It could be acceleration but impossible to know wo seeing it

[@ivanivanovski4278]

Nadal's elbow is also neutral on the serve.

[@spleeb275]

nick what shoes are you wearing?

[@abelsicat6097]

Hi nick, you think you can talk about the tossing arm positions? I think there’s a lot of variety of positions after the toss. Thanks 🙏

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Video on that coming soon

[@drbonesshow1]

As usual you miss out on not understanding important biomechanical principles. Concerning your mention of the neutral wrist, which interestingly is not an action of the wrist you concern yourself about coiling rather than actually using the neutral wrist motion for a serve. That's right the neutral wrist rather than the pronated wrist can be used for a powerful serve. How is this possible? By rotating the neutral wrist into the serve motion via rotation of the lower body. The neutral wrist (Karate Chop motion) is the fastest way to move the throwing (serving) arm across the body. Power = Force x Velocity. Use the neutral wrist action for your velocity component and watch your serve power go up. It's all in the physics for which tennis instructors are simply ignorant. Knowledge is power, but only when you have it. So get some.

[@lendljetleyba7920]

New shoes, Nick? Lol

[@FredYang]

Very pragmatic !

[@jasonloeb331]

ELBOW THE ENEMY LOL

[@sidchugh8371]

Awesome video Nik! Very few coaches spend sufficient time talking about elbow position during loading. Is the neutral or far back elbow position solely a result of coiling upper body from waist, or are we deliberately moving the elbow back as well?

[@BorisBecker1872]

I thought you explained in a previous serve video that on the kick serve our elbow mist stay behind our body and *not* come out like it does on the flat or slice serve. What gives?

[@IntuitiveTennis]

It doesn’t

[@BorisBecker1872]

@@IntuitiveTennis Ah, so you can point the racquet to the back fence and come forward with it and then cut the ball from 8 o’clock to 2 o’clock and still keep that elbow behind your body. Gotcha.

[@FairwayJack]

good stuff

[@cacaoperesoso732]

Thanks much

[@robinperkins7695]

A great week (vamos Rafa) just got better, this is a fantastic video- thanks Nick

[@willkittwk]

I've been experimenting with a platpoint ( my own creation) stance. I find it redundant to slide my back foot up. It virtually adds zero to power for me probably everyone else too. This platpoint stance does look as graceful as a platform but it is effective insofar as its easier to lean into serve out in front especially flat and slice. Also I feel it's harder to read direction by opponents. And I can change from a t serve to out wide in ad side very quickly. On deuce side it's easier to hit t with a hard bomb for an ace. Out wide on deuce moot point so far.

[@harryherman5371]

If you’re not like the pros you’re doing it wrong. Club tennis is not lazy tennis. If you can’t do it find another sport. 😊

[@markandfirst-rz8fk]

the man speak too fast and can not be heard clearly

[@kjinx7154]

It’s just a baseball or football throw adding a snap. That’s why Americans have bigger serves. Stop worrying about the elbow. The “trophy position” is outdated because it cause a hitch and is not a continuous throw of the racquet at the ball. I’d bet this pro can’t get his speed over 115 because of this suboptimal technique

[@narsimha1089]

Thanks for the effort.. but this video lacks clarity due to the fact switching topics from pin point to elbow to platform to outside , neutral rather than staying on one topic. At the end this kind of videos ruin the students with lack of clarity.. it is so confusing