How Ben Shelton Hits 149mph Serves | Complete Technique Breakdown

[@TennisUnleashed]

Ben Shelton has one of the biggest serves on tour and just made his second major quarterfinal in 2023. Is Ben a top ten player in 2024? -Jason Frausto

[@marekwichniarek268]

I hope so. Being that tall he moves like a cat and has a great touch, combined with this power of serve and groundstrokes he reminds me a lot of J. Janowicz from 10 years ago (though Janowicz is even 10 cm taller). Exciting player to watch and can be a real threat to the best players in the world (Djokovic, Alcaraz), maybe even now at the USO. The same could have been Kyrgios if he ever worked really hard. Both Janowicz and Kyrgios never really developed to their full potential, hopefully Shelton will do. Because if Shelton will bring to the table hard work, deedication and defence, it can be scary for old Djokovic, and even for young Alcaraz. I remember what Janowicz was doing to Rafa when they met in Montreal in 2013. He was toying with Rafa at times, he lost only because he was young, unexperienced and choke in both sets. And this was Rafa who won Canada, Cincy and the USO that summertime, many people call it best Rafa version on hard courts (I don't agree, 2010 USO Rafa's version was his best on hc, with 2009AO version just beind). Anyway, guys like Janowicz, Kyrgios and Shelton now have this unique combination of great movement and racquet skills (significantly better than other big greats like Delpo, Medvedev, Zverev) with massive power and size advantege over the big 3 and Carlitos. If Shelton will ever develop to his full potential he might reach the highest level of all time, at least my amatuer eye sees that😉

[@ad-rock603]

Don't see why not, he's only getting better

[@coffeedude2024]

Ben Sheltons loading and trophy position is so extreme and so loaded, no wonder he's,cracking that serve! Another odd thing about his serve is that his butts facing the net when loaded which causes an extreme amount of rotation into the ball. I think Ben's got a shot of breaking John Isners official speed record over the next few years as he gets stronger. His serve is going to get copied at the rec level bigtime but his serve requires an immense amount of strength, flexibility and timing to pull off. Ben has the most extreme serve motion I have ever seen apart from maybe Sam Groth who also got into similar positions as Ben. Great analysis Jason👍

[@TennisUnleashed]

100% agreed Grant. Great observations. One of my biggest criticisms of Ben when he first came on tour after college was his movement. His movement has definitely improved considerably since then. I saw him crack a 107mph forehand winner earlier tonight. If he can learn to play without some of the youthful bad decision making he’s got too 10 written all over him. Two set points in the 3rd set againstTiafoe but he hit back to back double faults. Decision making needs work, but the Alcaraz electricity is there…. -Jason Frausto

[@SquidDesign]

Anyone remember Taylor Dent’s serve? Reminds me very much of that. Taylor also cracked 149 mph serves

[@TennisUnleashed]

Taylor Dent could certainly hit some huge serves. For awhile there huge serves on tour we’re a pretty common thing with Roddick and others hitting bombs. Mayne Ben’s serve will spark a resurgence in cannon serves. -Jason Frausto

[@mightbefire]

5:10 What kind of injury are you worried about? I lean way in with my hip and haven't noticed any problems. I'm curious what types of problems you've discovered with this.

[@blackmarkt2250]

Thanks for the critical analysis Jason & team. This problem doesn't become a HUGE problem until the injuries start popping up and then it is very challenging to change potentially career jeopardizing. I'm a lil concerned for the longevity of these more explosive style players like Shelton & Alcaraz. Poposil tweeted yesterday the rise of reported injuries due to the slower and heavier balls.

[@TennisUnleashed]

Thank you. You’re 100% on the money. It’s very difficult for any player to switch away from something that’s worked well for them, potential injury or not. Interesting tweet from Pospisil on injuries. There are many reasons for it, I’m shocked what I see on the junior level locally now at the injuries that are starting to incur at younger ages. I’ll dive deep into it on the next episode of The Breaking Point. -Jason Frausto

[@blackmarkt2250]

@@TennisUnleashed thanks @Jason I know the tour has been constantly switching/tinkering with speeding up and slowing down the game with ball & surface changes, intervals between points, etc… just curious how this current “slower balls” regime data compares with past regimes in terms of certain tennis style success (defensive v offensive, serve & volley, etc…), injuries, etc… not sure if that kind of data or storytelling is feasible

[@blackmarkt2250]

Also is it even worth it to have a 149mph serve outside Wimbledon? Feels more like a vanity metric. Also seems like spot servers Federer and Djokovic are more effective and efficient than just a bombing service game especially when the known agenda is to have longer rallies.

[@TennisUnleashed]

It seems like every media outlet latched on and drove home 149mph. I agree, it’s more “vanity” than important to be a great player. If he plays Djokovic we’ll get to see the faster you hit it to someone, the quicker it gets back to you ;) Spot servers have definitely rules tennis for the last 2 decades when Federer took over for Sampras. Tennis has a potentially serious injury issue on their hands that they’re going to be forced to address at some point. I’ve got a few ideas on how they can potentially move forward with some changes. -Jason Frausto

[@blackmarkt2250]

@@TennisUnleashed great point about hitting hard against a counter-puncher with great eye/hand coordination let alone a GOAT

[@allboutthemojo]

💯 on the analysis! It's a very exciting serve to watch but in my opinion he's likely to get injured . Also , i think he's playing every match like an exhibition so he's going for 100 percent on the first serve. If he wants to continue ( longevity and consistency), his team will have to find a compromise on the motion of the serve. There's a reason why we see more young players getting injured than the old guys these days.

[@TennisUnleashed]

100% on the money. The good news is he’s doing so well right now and the season is only 2 months from ending. The window to adjust it in November/December is coming up pretty quick. Let’s see if they do or let it be. -Jason Frausto

[@allboutthemojo]

@@TennisUnleashed I don't know if you watched last night but Ben played lights out tennis. Super exciting. Granted that Tiafoe played nowhere near his own level but I honestly think he was flustered by Ben's power , movement and depth. When I saw Ben at last year's Aus Open he looked unimpressive to me and now looks to actually have a game to unsettle all the guys that like a little rhythm and time. Amazing!

[@Rob-vx5br]

It's not his hip that's leaning in, it's moreso his butt that's sitting into the court but from this angle it looks like it's his hip.

[@bmpjjaa]

I'm taught that you should have 60-70% of your weight would be on the back foot. With the hip leaned like that, it doesn't look like the majority of the weight is at the back foot. Is the backfoot weight less important for the pinpoint stance?

[@TennisUnleashed]

Any research on weight distribution should be done using force plates to measure weight distribution between the feet. There is a higher percentage of weight in the front foot in a pinpoint according to the research. www.researchgate.net/publication/232165834_Ground_Reaction_Forces_of_Two_Types_of_Stances_and_Tennis_Serves

[@bmpjjaa]

ahh. that answers it! that's what I thought too @@TennisUnleashed

[@user-gr3tk9qt2i]

No chance of injury here! Ever!! All the motions and weight is perfectly transmitted to explosive extension of the muscles, leg, but, arm. Ben’s serve will get stronger and faster over time. This is perfect and long studied move to get this explosive result. Most of “analysts” always claimed Roddick’s shoulder injury, etc. And that never happened.

[@mightbefire]

That shaky red dot is difficult.

[@bradenburzynski]

No one handers left 😢

[@TennisUnleashed]

I wrote an article on the death of the one hander 10 years ago. It took longer than I thought but on surfaces that play with predictable bounces it appears the death or the one hander is near, at least at the top of the game. -Jason Frausto

[@Bob-rm4bj]

Hip lean leads to ankle injuries, ouch.

[@TennisUnleashed]

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years with his serve. He was more effective last night when he took a little off the serve and placed it well. -Jason Frausto