Quiz #1 Answer, Elbow Up On Your Tennis Serve

[@The3rdCoat]

This is the best serving tip I've seen online. A few years ago in an on-court interview they asked Federer for some serving tip. He mentioned "elbow up" as the most important advice, and I wasn't exactly sure what he meant. now it's pretty clear, brilliant work, thanks!

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

+The 3rd Coat Thanks for the comment. I actually got the idea from this video that I came across. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5LVgqGfeK-sq7c It's a great tip to know and try to implement into your serve. Some players may be able to get their elbow up more than others but it's useful to whatever height you can get it. Good luck and stay loose!

[@satjiwan]

I can't cut and paste that long url on this iPad. Can you make clickable link or give name of video? Thanks for your videos!

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Hi, here's a link. Let me know if that works. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHmZYpKwr9GKodE

[@alensgallery]

After many years of serving this would be one of the greatest tips I have found, would be interested to see your online serve course.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

+Alen S Thanks for the comment Alen. I'm glad you found it useful. I'm working on the logistics of putting together a course. It will be fun but there's some prep work that needs to be done. Hopefully I can figure this stuff out soon. Good luck and stay loose!

[@SteveTennisStudy]

Hi Gene, Your "elbow up" advice is wonderful. When I focused on that this last week practicing serves there were 5 nice effects: 1) my racket dropped deeper. 2) I hit up on the ball better - resulting in a nice high ball over the net. 3) my elbow did not move forward as much resulting in a ball that did not go long - something I learned from you other video, 4) my pronation finished up higher as well i.e., my contact timing was much improved. 5) my confidence improved! Of course, none of these improvements would be as dramatic, if I weren't also focusing on complete looseness. Not only are your videos extremely useful but, I read your comments as well since you add additional valuable information. Keep up the great work. Thanks, Steve

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Awesome comment Steve! I'm glad you're finding some value in my ideas. I want to share more with everyone and will hopefully get to what's really happening with every shot that I have studied. Your list of effects is really good for others to learn from. The effects of this feel based drill is to get exactly what you listed up above. You are doing your homework. I do try to answer every comment and give as much information as I can to resolve any questions that may be out there. It's a bit more difficult to type out some visuals but I'm doing my best. Keep practicing that serve! Good luck and stay loose!

[@SteveTennisStudy]

Thanks for the reply Gene. You are very generous with your advice to those of us following your videos. I have been fortunate to have had coaching from Div I coaches. I study your videos, then review ideas with my instructor each week. The results have usually been immediate. I will try to contribute observations as I did above so you have feedback - you can agree or correct me as you see fit so others can benefit. It's so nice to finally be able to hit a consistent, loose and powerful serve the last 5 times I've gone out to practice it - after years of study!

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

I'm glad it's working out for you. It's all about finding what works for you. Good luck and stay loose!

[@MyChiliIceCream]

If I could give a hundred likes, I would. I've been having a problem on finding whats wrong with my serve. I was swinging with my elbow first but I wasn't aware of the "elbow up" concept. I think this answered my problem. Thank you

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment wondawonda. I'm glad you found this helpful. Hope it has made your serve better than before. Good luck and stay loose!

[@jakeelysian6464]

Elbow up is great advice. One thing I noticed is that for a flat serve, prior to contact, I have the edge of racket come up to the ball as if I was hammering at the ball and rotate at the moment of contact. This pronation at contact makes for tremendous power and consistency which is most effective with a relaxed grip of the racket. For more spin on the serve, I swing at the ball as you have illustrated but in my case, after striking the ball and the racket is pointing down, I don't stop abruptly but rather allow the momentum of the racket to go towards my left side, otherwise the sudden stop creates pressure on my shoulder. Thanks for showing the importance of the elbow in relation to serving.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment Jake. Very good points you mention there. We all have to find what works for us. Good luck and stay loose!

[@PETERTAVIN]

Great technique with easy steps to remember. Many thanks for sharing.

[@ripleypipe]

Elbow Up! Excellent tutorial Gene, wonderfully understated. Thank you, Gordon.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks Ripley! Thanks for all your great comments and support. It's a small piece of the serve but every little piece counts. Good luck and stay loose!

[@dctrex]

Excellent, I've trying to learn this subtle distinction with the elbow up for years and years!

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment dctrex. There are many pieces to this but there are certain pieces that help certain athletes understand the entire stroke better. Glad it helped! Good luck and stay loose!

[@TNToncourt]

All we hear about is pronation pronation pronation and nothing about the elbow.Thanks for highlighting this important part of the serve.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

+TNToncourt Pronation who? The craziest part about this pronation craze is that pronation is not most important part. It's the external rotation of the shoulder that should take precedence. Thanks for the comment. Good luck and stay loose!

[@Juliette_4]

you are so right. Many instructors ignore this & don't correct their students.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment Joann. It's all about finding the right trigger to make your stroke work fluidly for you. Hope it helped. Good luck and stay loose!

[@Christfollower48]

This guy is fantastic, elbow up and he really shows that Sampras follow through who has best serve all time in my opinion, wish he was in South Florida. He is not using legs to show basics and he still gets nice power, imagine when he serves for real!

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment John! My serve is definitely popping off the racket when I get my rhythm where it needs to be. I'm sure there are plenty of good coaches in South Florida. Hopefully you'll find one that can help you. Meanwhile, stay tuned for more videos that may help you out. Good luck and stay loose!

[@TNToncourt]

I now have a beautiful first serve thanks to this video.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the update! It takes time but it's well worth it when you can feel it's reliable. I'm glad you found it helpful. I'm working on the serve course. There's so much information so I'm trying to make it as digestible as I can. Good luck and stay loose!

[@MrAngdave]

Excellent explanation of serve mechanics. Thank you.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment David. Good luck and stay loose!

[@claudioprado389]

An excellent tip. The last important movement on serve is precisely the last part when we drop the racquet head behind our back and with the elbow up we swing the racquet to the ball I so we have a wide circle to create racquet head speed. I think it's a kind of short takeback, very good tip thanks.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

+Claudio Prado Thanks for the comment Claudio. Each piece is important in making it as effortless as possible. Good luck and stay loose!

[@berniemechaca5868]

Senor Molina, So, I've taken some time to break down my entire serve motion. I was experiencing golfer's elbow & a little bit of tennis elbow. So I figured (Change) something is not right. I started playing tennis over 4 years ago. I did some playing back in the early 90's, but not as serious as I do now. I was young & just hacked all day long. Now, I'm 48 & body is not as young anymore. So, I've started to do more video watching & my Serve is my weakness. I hope I can develop a more reliable serve Thanks for helping us "hackers"

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

You're very welcome Bernie. We can become more than just hackers with the right guidance and focus. I've learned how to use the body much more efficiently. It's a different game when you start using your body the right way. There are still some ego issues that have to be dealt with but the body feels so much easier to use when the use of elastic energy is involved. I should be posting some new content soon about this subject. It will take practice but what new skill doesn't? Good luck and stay loose!

[@varo4793]

I was right in my coment but I don't speak about the elbow, and it is very important. That is a consecuence of swinging upwards at all. Nice videos, follow in that direction of feelings tips, they are very useful for every tennis players.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Yes! You were on the right track. Great job! The elbow is important to diagnose certain weaknesses in the serve. There are certain pieces that can lead to the elbow up as well. I'm trying to shed some light on these important pieces. Thanks for the comment. Good luck and stay loose!

[@yassirabusineina5526]

Hi Coach! Great stuff. The elbow up & the break or stop not going forward. that's fantastic! thanks a million God Bless. Yazz ITF. level 1 coach.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks Yazz! I've actually been curious about the ITF certification process. Can I contact you about it sometime?

[@olafsrensen9578]

Great simpel explanation .Elbow up is what you need.Thanks coach.Olaf Copenhagen

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

+Olaf sørensen Thanks Olaf! Hope it helps! It sure has made some great serving possible for my students that have had trouble with the waiters serve problem. Let me know how it works out for you. Good luck and stay loose!

[@speedypete4987]

Thanks so much for this more advanced video. It is exactly what I have been looking for. I have already worked out these components separately but you put them all together beautifully. I am trying to serve with my elbow up a la Sampras second serve position. it gives the serve more pop and top spin.Also experimenting with not looking at the ball on contact. Again it delivers more pop and more top spin. Eventually i want to be able to look at the target on contact and to aim by looking at where I want the ball to land. Kinda like the Zen of archery. Just look at the target and forget about the ball, the racquet etc just aim at the target with your mind not your racquet.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment Speedy Pete. You're becoming a regular on here I see. It's all one big experiment and we are just guinea pigs trying to entertain ourselves. One major thing is though, once we find our way we should be able to progress at a much easier pace. What seems difficult in the beginning becomes easy. The road to easy is hard. I've learned recently that once you find your way to easy on one thing then you need to find the next thing you want to make easy and then that becomes the hard road. It's never ending but the road is fun to travel on. Good luck and stay loose!

[@FYProduction]

Exactly! Saw the big difference when Raonic was practicing serve, next to UCLA players. It's also why I'm confused about the tennis balls in a sock, swing drills. Shouldn't it be more of cracking of a bull whip, from a large circular motion reduced to a smaller one at contact? I love the idea of a course, with prescribed drills that students have to be competent with, before the next step, e.g. I appreciated your tip of remaining sideways, which I got great pop on the ball. But the moment I added 'dolphin kick' as in butterfly swim stroke (your idea of prestrech the legs), my motion isn't in sync & the power is drained instead of a build up. Your course would be of great value to many!

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

+FYProduction Thanks so much for your great comment. All of the pieces need to be put together fluidly. It's difficult to stay completely loose and make all of these movements happen but it's possible. There's a major reason why amateurs can't serve like the pros, flexibility. The range of motion that is needed and looseness while doing it is very difficult to master without the proper training. If it were easy then everyone would be doing it, right? I'm a big procrastinator but hopefully I'll get to work on the course soon, it will shed some light on what needs to happen to get that serve to pop off that racket. Good luck and stay loose!

[@dkangan]

+FYProduction From my experience the "balls in a sock" drill is not used to teach technique per se but to establish a smooth rhythm. If the balls are bouncing around off my body or jerking on the string or in the sock, my motion is out of whack.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

+DK Ang That's a great point DK. My opinion on why the serve motion can be out of whack is because of too much instruction. The feel based system is used in most other sports. Not many sports use so much technical practice. There are definitely a few that do but the same things happen with those sports, things become mechanical. There needs to be one concept and then you practice that concept until it's second nature. If there's a constant interruption to work on something else, it never gets to be second nature. Thanks for the comment, I always appreciate your point of view. Good luck and stay loose!

[@6daymember]

This video made sense to me in the context of a change i've recently made. That is to get the left hip out and somewhat under the ball, after the toss, and before the "up" swing. I've found that when i do that i get a feeling of the swing going more up and "snapping" over the top, elbow up, as you show here. Before when snapping i'd hit into the net. Not sure if you agree that the two go together?

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

+SM Allan Thanks for the comment SM Allan. I've learned as a coach to accept every opinion and insight on how to swing at a tennis ball with no judgement. What you're describing seems very logical. The best way to know something works is if it's helping you achieve the desired intention and it's not hurting your body. Looseness helps keep your body from injuring itself and intention helps you learn to control your shots better. If those 2 elements are being achieved then you're doing great! Let me know if that makes sense. Over analysis is what most instructors tend to do these days. I'm trying to show there's a different way to accomplish the same goal of making better informed tennis players. Good luck and stay loose!

[@edlofranco8837]

Coach i would to have or buy any videos for youre instruction. It helps me tremendously.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment Ed. I am working on getting my serve course out soon. I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to put out any videos that you can buy but this is not my main job. Being on court with my students is number one. Without that, I wouldn't be able to figure out how to teach students online. Please head over to naturaltennissolutions.com and get on my email list. When I have my course ready I will send out an email to my email list first. I truly appreciate that you would want to further your tennis game with my information. I'll hopefully have something done for you to keep progressing. Good luck and stay loose!

[@vectorthurm]

Many thanks for doing these and I'm excited to see your serve series should you do it. My problem seems to be mental as I can air serve over and over and it is close to correct but when I actually toss to serve my stupid muscle memory kicks me right the heck back into waiter serve mode. It's so frustrating. Not sure if you have any mental tips to offer I've been at this for 2 years now but I played unknowingly with that problem serve for over 20 years and the 45 year old body has all sorts of aches, pains and lack of flexibility compared to the 25 year old body...and THAT complicate things. Ha!

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thank you for the comment and question vectorthurm. Tennis is mental in all aspects of the sport. Some of us are more mental than others, unfortunately. We need to learn to let go and loosen up to let our body do what it knows best. Everything that you need to accomplish has to be done at a slow pace until it is mastered at that slow pace. So much so, that you can make shots without making errors. Our ego gets in the way and tells us to hit harder because we're good enough but most of the time it is not true. To go into a match and let our opponent beat us is difficult to do because we think we need to be in charge and try to force the issue. In reality you need to let go. Find a slow speed that you can be consistent at and make things happen from there. Try doing the correct serve motion very slow and toss. Don't try to hit the ball. Let the toss go by. Toss then swing in slow motion. Do not try to catch up to the ball. Let your swing be the boss, not the toss. The toss should be where the swing goes not the swing goes where the toss goes. Let me know if that helps. Good luck and stay loose!

[@vectorthurm]

Natural Tennis Solutions Hey Gene, just wanted to follow up and let you know through various tips and guided mindful practice I have definitely improved my serve. The biggest tip that helped me was using lots of shadow swings but with a “dummy toss” and not really hitting the ball. I actually do catch the ball with but a carry through with my loose serve motion. Worked like a charm for me plus it encourages my tossing arm to stay nice and extended to catch ball and track it. My throwing motion is mostly loose now with only occasional recurrence of a hitch usually if I’m at a tense part of a match but I recognize it instantly and abort that serve. I keep coming back to this video and the one you made with your student demonstrating the power of holding your elbow up to bring the serve in.

[@alexhe1987]

another great instruction, thank you sir.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment Supernovasia. Hope it helps! Good luck and stay loose!

[@francisremedios2530]

The ball in the sock drill with elbow up shows exactly what is needed for the racquet arm swing path. There are too many serve videos focusing on the racquet drop that do not show the proper arm racquet swing path. Are there any exercises for a tight serving shoulder?

[@turingmendoza9266]

Elbow emphasis! This is THE tip!!!

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Hope it helped! Thanks for the comment!

[@chtomlin]

just don't forget to get the shoulder up with that elbow. In the vid, you are getting the elbow higher than the shoulder plane, which can lead to rotator cuff problems.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Is this Chuck?!! Thanks for the comment and great point. I have explained in another video about keeping the elbow on the same plane as the shoulder but if they watch this video only, it could lead to problems. Thanks for the great advice. Good luck and stay loose!

[@chtomlin]

Yes, this is Chuck and I enjoy you vids. Thanks for the great work for the tennis community!

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Chuck! I'm just putting my perspective out there. If it helps a few players out, I'll be happy. It's an honor to have your support! I have big plans for this venture but am dragging my feet, as they say. I've never been good with deadlines so I'm not setting one. I hope to put out some more great content soon. Thanks again!

[@yassirabusineina5526]

Sure thing Coach!

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks!

[@jamesforrestal403]

fantastic! you have the sampras action.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Sampras is the model I use for the serve. I believe I have figured out why his serve was so good. Details to come.

[@donnybrook8951]

I figured out why Sampras's serve was so good a long time ago.. He practiced it A LOT! Andy Murray said between matches and practice he probably hits 50,000 serves a year. That's why pros are good, not because there is a secret to be discovered using slow motion video.

[@karlopeternel7685]

Thank you

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment! You're welcome to!

[@michaelscaturro6326]

That was amazingly insightful. I can't wait to practice elbow up. Is Pete Sampras extreme elbow up a testament to his athleticism, or should we all reach for that extreme elbow up.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment Michael. Glad you liked the video. we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Every athlete has something that they do very well. Sampras had the serve motion down so well. His body just took the movements and made them look so easy. A lot of it is the practice of letting your body stay as loose as possible. This lets the body move as smoothly as it can. Confidence and fearlessness are keys to making your body perform under pressure but looseness is the foundation to all smooth movements. Your body will achieve what it can if you let it stay loose and perform the movements smoothly. Hopefully I can help with that with my future videos. Good luck and stay loose!

[@charleskocun1499]

Excellent video. Is it possible to get hip and shoulder drive if you are staying sideways? Thanks

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment and question Charles. Yes, that will be a second serve if you get the hip and shoulder drive to go while you stay sideways. Hope that helps. Good luck and stay loose!

[@bobesther7602]

Great video. Is there a good drill for getting the feel of having the elbow up? Look forward to your serve course.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

+Bob Esther Thanks for the question Bob. You can start up at net about halfway in the service box and serve from there. Starting with the body facing the side fence and elbow facing the back fence, toss a ball up and literally hit it with your elbow. Yup, you heard that right. Don't swing with your racket, just use your elbow. You may have to tilt your shoulders a bit to get your elbow up comfortably to hit the ball. The problem becomes that we tend to go forward to swing at the ball during a serve. I'm hoping I can shed some light on that part with my serve course but I'm certainly fighting an uphill battle trying to get this course going. Let me know how the drill turns out. After practicing that you can start trying to hit some serves with your racket. Good luck and stay loose!

[@humanentity2214]

Struggling with the elbow up/racquet drop for years. Is there a visual cue that will help imbibe this motion into the full swing? I'm currently trying to lightly tap my back as a way to feel racquet dropped all the way back.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment and question Human Entity. Love the screen name! Part of the reason for your struggle is that your are human. We humans tend to complicate things. Your obsession with the racket drop is part of the problem. If we take the racket away from the equation, what are we left with? We are left with your body movements being the priority, not the racket or the racket drop. Our priority with every we do is our body movement, never the racket. The racket is supposed to be flowing with momentum as our body moves smoothly and efficiently. I'll provide a link to my favorite Federer serve video that shows that the racket is not dropping near him at all. It's as far away from him as possible. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5-8lWt_p6uhobc As far as a visual, please use this video as your guide. If you want to try to get your body used to a feeling of distance between your body and the racket, just imagine you are standing at the baseline waiting to serve. Facing side ways, perpendicular to the baseline, put your arm back stretched out straight at shoulder height with your palm up. If you have your racket in continental grip in your hand when you do this the racket will automatically want to drop a bit. Try to keep your palm up with the racket in your hand and the racket will not drop as much. If you're doing this now all you have to do is push into the ground quickly to make yourself almost bounce off the ground without trying to jump. Just push into the ground fast and let the ground reaction push back up through your body. If you do this right you should notice that as your body goes down, your racket goes up and as your body reacts to the ground pushing it back up your racket will go down. That is how a racket "drops" You don't make it drop, your body reacting to the ground reaction force makes it drop. Complicating the racket drop by making it drop is how we mess this up. We are supposed to be letting our body make things happen. The constant conscious effort to make things happen is how we complicate what is supposed to be simple. Hopefully this makes sense. Experiment with it a little and see if you can add it to the serve. It did wonders for my serve. Let me know how it goes. Good luck and stay loose!

[@dejo9489]

2:25 this is what i do as well. never liked that feeling of swinging forward - that's something i avoid when i serve. many teaching pros demonstrate that forward motion and it seems pretty misleading to anyone wanting to learn how to serve.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

+Yode Smash Thanks for the comment. There are many things that should be deleted from tennis instruction at this point. It's up to the player to weed through the bad and find the good. The main good thing to know is that looseness is always good no matter what the situation. Looseness is the most difficult thing for most of us to use but it's the best way to play your best if you want to achieve your highest level. It takes time and patience but it's well worth it as with many things in life. Good luck and stay loose!

[@dejo9489]

+Natural Tennis Solutions thanks. judging by your serve videos it seems your upcoming serve course will be the real thing.

[@berniemechaca5868]

Senor Molina, Please do an Instructional Video on the Arm Bend/Break after the Ball is hit on the Serve. Please

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment Bernie. You are asking for something that is very much on my radar screen. I have studied Sampras as my example for the perfect serve. We all know how his arm would finish after contact but we don't know why. I believe I have the answer but am not ready to put it out here yet. I must first complete my online serve course to make sure you guys have the fundamental pieces necessary to get to the finishing pieces. Good luck and stay loose!

[@andrewbaroch2141]

Finally after FOUR mins., he demonstrates proper form, and sounds asleep.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment Andrew. I'm guessing you would prefer after four minutes to show improper technique? I would also guess you would want me to be smiling and act all bubbly and giddy like a lot of people on youtube as well. Sorry but that's not me. I'm definitely not comfortable in front of the camera to do all of that stuff. Maybe some day but not yet. Good luck and stay loose!

[@juicetest]

hi coach, does the elbow and chest up prior to contact help us guide racket head speed on course. I feel that my racket head is swinging off course to the right (right handed) losing speed.thanks

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment juicetest. Sorry for the late reply. Social media is not on my list of things to focus on more than my tennis students and learning more impactful ways of teaching tennis. The answer lies in what we're trying to accomplish with the arm. We are trying to keep the arm loose, when the arm is loose we are now trying to pull the arm with the body. The way our body works will be to rotate the hip, core, chest, shoulder and then finally the arm takes its natural course. Yes, like you said, elbow and chest will guide the arm which will guide the racket on course. If you're losing speed it may be because something is tightening up during the swing. Most likely it's the arm. Hope that helps. Good luck and stay loose!

[@andrewbaroch2141]

More than the elbow, the LOWER BACK POWER is activated when you rotate at the waist, ending facing the court.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment Andrew. Try not to think of it as the lower back being used. It's all about the ground force making your body use a wave motion to push the energy back up. My lower back is the only thing that gives me issues from time to time and I definitely don't want to be using it the wrong way. I've fixed that by being as loose as possible and letting the energy get transferred up through my body the right way. Hopefully this helps. Good luck and stay loose!

[@danielgomez9908]

Great !! Thank you !!!

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

You're welcome Daniel!

[@Rmnntn66h18g420a]

It works! Thanks

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Glad to hear it! Thanks for the comment. Good luck and stay loose!

[@charleskocun1499]

Did you put together that serve course? I am interested

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Hey Charles, I'm putting the finishing touches on the serve course. I still have work to do with the online part of it though. I'm not very good with the online part. I'd rather be on the court than on the computer. I hope to put out one course for everyone to learn everything the right way and never have to search for more information. When it's ready I'll be announcing it. Good luck and stay loose!

[@srinivasanpadmanabhan1811]

Hello, Any suggestions on how to prevent the ball from going into the wrong service box ( just outside the T of the correct service box) due to delayed pronation? Thanks

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment Srinivasan! It's very hard to give instructions on where to make adjustments for the most part. It takes a lot of experimenting from the player on what needs to be done. Try to go about it with looseness and don't guide it. Just let the shot go. Pronation has nothing to do with it. Hopefully be not focusing on pronation, it may help. Try to think of it as internal and external rotation from the shoulder rather than pronation. The confusion about pronation being a key factor in the serve has to be corrected in tennis. Good luck and stay loose!

[@TheAmazeer]

Rotation of shoulders should pull your elbow up, racket head should drop itself on your back, and should not be done intentionally otherwise you will put tension on your arm. Extension of the arm should stay on the same extension path as if you unroll a rope or a whip, that is why the elbow must stay on the way and not escape to the side then all the energy is transferred to the wrist

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

+TheAmazeer Thanks for the great comment. I hope that everyone knows I'm an advocate of looseness. The more we stay loose, the more our body will be more efficient. This tip is made to go with the previous tips I've put up on the serve. Hopefully everyone is doing the proper sequence to get to this elbow up step and it's happening effortlessly. Tension is the enemy!

[@TheAmazeer]

Yes looseness is efficiency, as long as your muscles are strong enough to maintain body balance from the toes to the the head, that's very often the reason why people struggle with the serve as it requires strong abdominal belt and legs...

[@sunglee3935]

TheAmazeer the racquet should drop as you rotate the shoulder, right? Then it creates a lag and you get easy power

[@sunglee3935]

Don’t you have to do the cartwheel motion?

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment Sung Lee. If the cartwheel motion is what makes you feel the movement better then, yes. It's all about finding what make you get the feel for the movement you are trying to master. Elbow up may help some players that don't get the cartwheel explanation. Good luck and stay loose!

[@theeachuisge]

If i cannot drop the racket, how can i lead with the elbow?

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the question theeachuisge. This is the age old question, which comes first? The chicken or the egg? Actually this question is easier to answer if you ask yourself the question "Which comes first, the elbow or the racket?" We should try to focus on which movement comes first. The racket is not part of our body so the racket is always last. Try to focus on the body movements first instead of what the racket is doing. Try to do shadow swings without the racket leading with your elbow through the serve motion. Then add the racket but only hold the racket with 2 fingers, the thumb and index finger. See if the racket follows the movement of your body or does your body follow the movement of your racket. Let me know how it goes. Good luck and stay loose!

[@cp_703]

Elbow up !!

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Hope it helps!

[@hermanodejesus7264]

Elbow UP!!!!!

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment Hermano! Somos hermanos en el amor del tennis!

[@hermanodejesus7264]

Well said!!!! Thanks for your kind comment bro!!!!

[@ehsanehsan3957]

This is for second serve right? What about first serve?

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment Ehsan! This would be for both serves. You don't want to change to much in technique from first to second serve. The only thing that changes is contact point and toss by a little for first and second serve. I'm putting the finishing touches on my serve course and will hopefully have it out soon. Good luck and stay loose!

[@endritmuhadri7324]

Hi, I have a problem with getting my elbow up . I dont know how should I do it naturally and not forcing it up because when force it up I get tight and something else goes wrong... This frustrates me a lot because without that elbow being up I can not generate a lot of recket speed and also my serve is inconsistant because I do it mainly with my wrist.. How do I get that feeling to get my elbow up on the "trophy" position the natural way??

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

+Endrit Muhadri Thanks for the comment and question Endrit. Looseness has been the most difficult thing to teach to my students. It's not stressed enough that you need to be as loose as possible when swinging at a tennis ball. If you were to go out and just completely let go of your hand and arm to do any motion and forced yourself to remain loose the entire time, you would find a way to make it work. It's just how we've found a way to make it work with tightness. Going from tightness to looseness is the toughest thing you can do. Please believe that it's possible. I've thought to myself many times that I was going to give up this looseness quest because it was so difficult to control and maintain. I'm very glad I didn't give up. My body has not sustained any injuries because of the looseness and if we don't protect our bodies as the main priority then we won't be able to play tennis. Try swinging at the serve thinking your arm is dead weight. You will find that your body has ways of making it happen. Try this and get back to me with what you have found. Good luck and stay loose!

[@donnybrook8951]

. I think if people could see what happens when you really practice and learn the basics, they would realize that every micro movement in tennis does not have to be separated, dissected and analyzed. When you practice the basics, everything else falls in line. Thinking about what the elbow is doing is not something you really should be thinking about.. unless you are having a specific problem with the elbow.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks for the comment Donny. I work with kinesthetics. I try to come up with progressions that will make players feel something in the stroke that may help them feel something a little faster than putting thousands of hours into it. It's my thing, I won't apologize for it. Every coach learns what works for his students and not everyone has to agree with their methods. I won't say this works for everyone but if it helps someone get looser while they play, I'll be happy with that. Good luck and stay loose!

[@donnybrook8951]

You shouldn't apologize and nor should I. You make your videos public and allow comments for a reason. You said something that hit the nail right on the head. You just admitted you are looking for a shortcut. A way to produce an advanced tennis player without the traditional way which involves thousands of hours of intense practice. Thank you for being honest. I am of the firm belief that it is impossible to significantly reduce the number of hours it takes to master ANYTHING. In fact "online" teaching is mostly a determent to learning tennis. It takes a set amount of hours to produce an advanced classical musician and it takes a set amount of hours to produce an advanced tennis players and all of the online videos with their different theories and philosophies will not change that fact. If I'm wrong and you're on to something then I'll be left behind in my teaching. Good luck.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

You make a good point. It's funny cuz the amount of hours it will take with being loose and feeling the right way on a stroke should take less time than when you're tight but it won't happen that way. The repetitions still need to be put in because looseness is much more precise and needs a ton of hours to master. My "shortcut" is not what it seems. It's a shortcut in the fact that it's how it's supposed to be done to get to a higher level but it won't take away from the fact that the reps need to be put in. Looseness is a shortcut since you will at least not be using tight muscles to hit a tennis ball, and wasting practice time playing tight, but it is in no means a replacement for hard work and hours of reps. I'm an example of this. I forget how many years I've spent now trying to be loose on everything but I'm in no way mastering it yet. I'm on court a lot and get to practice it more than the average player and it's still a struggle to make it work. I does have it's benefits at certain levels because the ball seems to be coming in slow motion and you have so much time to decide what you want to do and are able to execute a very high percentage of the time. As the game gets faster the time is reduced and the options become less. The journey never ends and that's the fun part. If you get to good at something and have no competition then it would get boring. Efficiency is what I call it when someone learns to be loose. They gain efficiency but still need to gain control.Thanks for the great comments, these will surely help some of the players out there looking for help with their games and they will gain some perspective on the fact that there are no magic tricks to make them better.

[@TooleyPeter]

@Donny - You're wrong. Anyone who has taught tennis knows the learning process is not linear. There are moments of insight that lead to rapid technical improvement. People can (and do) spend a lifetime practicing and never happen upon the secrets to advanced tennis. Why? Because the more you practice something incorrectly the more unlikely it becomes that you will discover the correct way without being guided toward it by good coaches like this one. Yes, of course, mastery takes time, but time alone does not produce mastery.

[@jackquinnes]

What a strange discussion we have here. Since wasn't it the great Gene Molina, the coach, himself who is credited of saying there should not be any detailed technical instruction on tennis strokes, to begin with but one should rather focus on broader more fundamental movements and their kinesthetic feeling? Then again, this serve elbow up advice might belong to those "technical details" known as "check points" which should fall in place when everything else, the more fundamental and general/generic level of motor (and mental) activity (or non-activity in some aspects) has fallen in its place, thus rendering this particular technical point more or less redundant . Yet, the elbow position can be indeed used as a pragmatic check-point in diagnosing one's potential serve problematics should there be any. - In any case, I believe in online tennis coaching within certain conditions. I am myself a genuine proof one can advance a ton in tennis by purely putting his mind into it via all the verbal and visual information on the game found here in the web and KZbin. Of course, there must be something else in the mix also to make it happen. Like some modest prehistory in this specific sport complemented with a long history in other ball games plus motivation, determination and clear goals reflected in efficient, focused and well-informed training with definitive feedback on the tennis court.

[@wasabikimchi7891]

Great fucking tip.

[@NaturalTennisSolutions]

Thanks a $%^#$%^ lot! Wow somebody censored me, lame. Good luck and stay loose!

[@FairwayJack]

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