The arm and wrist action of the flat serve and how to time it to perfection

[@jacksonlar]

This video and your previous one (kick) brilliantly point out what you should be feeling as the final two joints of the kinetic chain (elbow and wrist) rotate to strike the serve. I tried your fence drill for the kick yesterday during service practice, and it is an absolute game-changer. I was finding much improved contact point location on the ball, and after a fashion, far greater racket head speed. Thanks to Steve for putting these final maneuvers under the biomechanical microscope in such detail.

[@peterfretwel7068]

Brilliant. A great explanation. Especially flexion. I see some coaches saying it is not present. But when I watch pros in slow motion. It is always there. Thank you

[@Better_Call_Raul]

What those coaches mean is that the wrist does not break past neutral. From the racquet drop position to contact, the wrist moves from an extended position to a *LESS extended position* . i.e. in the flexion direction. The wrist is then at a *neutral* position at contact and following contact. Watching Federer clips in slo motion confirms this.

[@chrisreid5920]

Very very good. At my academy we work with several pros. I will use this still with them. Thank you

[@maxgluteus4263]

Steve, love your videos, here's my understanding of joint motor control and sports in general. Base on that I want to ask you the best way to teach. And specifically what actually happened during a flat serve. So here we go, part 1, Video analysis can only track kinematics not kinetic Human joints are redundant systems, there are multiple flexors and extensors, at any given time stamp, when it travels to certain joint angle, it can be done by a infinite number of combinations of extensor and flexor activation, furthermore the muscles can be at a total relaxed state, the reason it is in flexion could be due to the previous timestamp, the racket was initiated an motion in such a way, that the inertia carries it to that location in the following timestamp. In conclusion, in slow mo videos, pro has a wrist reflection, is not equal to the pro player activated his wrist flexors.

[@dawng7270]

Wow! This is an incredible video! I am guilty of bringing that elbow forward and for me I do pronation but it’s too late as seen in my shadow swing video. How do I keep it back? Do I focus on the hand and wrist action making the racket lead the way? What do I say to myself in relation to the elbow to achieve this?

[@ripleypipe]

Easy to follow tutorial Steve, thank you, noticed your racquet drop is not as deep as usual?

[@oneminutetennis]

Hi Yes. I've had a very slight injury, so I'm being careful. But it's nothing. Glad that your still enjoying my strange tennis ideas

[@ripleypipe]

@@oneminutetennis ...of course you are Steve, one forgets that coaches can get injured too...hope you mend soon. G

[@NStewF]

Steve, you discuss wrist extension here as well as your book (which I enjoyed very much!). I’ve been experimenting and (I think) open up my wrist during my racket drop. Here’s my question: how is this movement different than the “dreaded” waiter’s tray? Thanks for all of your content!

[@oneminutetennis]

Hi Great question and a subject that is often confused, even by online coaches. It's the relationship between the elbow and the extended wrist. Put your wrist into extension and now take the racket back with a low elbow... You have the waiter tray position. Now significantly raise your elbow. You now have the correct racket drop! 😉 Let me know if that helps please.

[@NStewF]

@@oneminutetennis that makes great sense! I’ve noticed i actually get a much better slice serve when extending the wrist during my racket drop. Will continue to experiment :)

[@wegtennis8740]

Steve--when I look at your serve in slo mo, you go from an extended wrist position into a neutral one, but not into the flexion you describe earlier in the video.

[@oneminutetennis]

Yes. Your right. I normally pronate quite extremely on my serve. But I'm carrying a little injury so I'm not really making a correct serve. I was hoping nobody would notice. Very impressive spot... Every other example I've made of the flat serve has strong pronation. And in about one week my serve will be back to normal. It's great that your enjoying the site. www.oneminutetennis.com

[@smokinjoe4684]

Do you think the extension and the backswing always needs to be fluid without any hitch? Are you a believer of knocking the hat off during wrist extension? Great content thank you.

[@maxgluteus4263]

Part 3, You must have watched more serve videos and play more tennis than me. My impression about serve is there is a supination during the racket drop and pronation during and after ball strike. Do you think there is a universal pre-ball strike supination, among the ATP level players? Thanks

[@oneminutetennis]

Hi. Great question. Not a universal application of either of these. Pronation is very common. But not 100% Andy Murray often does not pronate. Supination is still common but less than pronation. However, for non elite athlete who have not played tennis every day since they learned to walk. My experience is that these movements are the best way of acquiring a great service. Does that make sense? Glad your enjoying the channel. Do you have any other tennis issues that I could help with? If so let me know www.oneminutetennis.com

[@maxgluteus4263]

@@oneminutetennis Thank you for the great information! Of course It makes a lot of sense to me. I think people can compensate reduced Pronation with Shoulder internal rotation , I will experiment

[@davidwatkins8016]

What happened to radial and ulnar deviation of the wrist?

[@oneminutetennis]

Hi David Radial and ulnar deviation are prominent in the slice and topspin serves. Flexion is prominent in the flat serve. Flexion keeps the racket accelerating through the path of the ball. Does that make sense? It's great that your enjoying the site. www.oneminutetennis.com

[@maxgluteus4263]

Part 2, Knowing this, what is the best way to have the students perform the right motion, because telling them to get to the flexed wrist state, they will definitely activate the flexor muscles.

[@FairwayJack]

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