The Pete Sampras "Signature" Snap

[@protennis112117]

Finally someone who teaches pronation correctly, I have recently had some intense arguments about pronation with some top d1 womens and mens coaches and even a guy who was top 150 in singles and 40 atp dubbs that bet me a dinner that he didnt pronate on a slice serve. When I showed him Sampras out wide then videoed his serve at 240 fps it was exactly the same, pronate at the ball . 98 percent of pros out there do not teach pronation correctly. If you look at a baseball pitcher nfl qb or sampras roddick federer its all the same, I really wish most coaches could see you video, I wish you would put in Sampras, Roddick and Federer to show these pros what really goes on, Most women on the tour do not pronate correctly. thanks for the video Joe

[@michaelreid8737]

Hi Jim, This is absolutely the key to Sampras's power. Discovered this after learning the proper swing path for a kick serve. Everyone that plays recreational tennis should watch your video. Most teaching pros know nothing about proper pronation and the ultimate source of power on the serve. Great job!!!!

[@Paul-p1e]

Having more of an angle between racket and forearm creates another lever increasing racket head speed. Doing this has bumped my serve avg from 80mph to 100mph. Playing 5.0 tennis again in my 50s. Love this!

[@tamusri]

This is the best tip I have watched so far on serve speed and control. I have not hit the ball yet with this technique but I can feel the power and control when I am just shadowing the motion. With this tip I am able to keep my left arm up naturally for supporting the swing speed.

[@theo1029]

Jim, you make the best tennis videos! Like this one, they are so thought-provoking meanwhile you break down tennis to simple, understandable concepts. You always discuss very original ideas that no other KZbin coaches do. Thank you!

[@muuhoang7592]

Best instructional video. Everything need to show and say in 3 minutes. Brilliant!

[@jimmclennan2234]

Thank you

[@Danhtran1122]

Before I saw your video, I did practice Sampras serve and gain extra miles better than arm follow through serve like others, your video is very accurate for the moment of impact, to serve like Sampras, we also need to accelerate the racquet head using the whole body like a flexing bow, when everything are correct, the feet will be automatic of the ground at the moment of impact and ... "pop", the result will be very impress.

[@jiljith]

Thanks, for the first time I feel I have understand the key behind the power. Well done Sir! Feels like a monumental shift in perspective-- from wrist to forehand roll. Thank you very much.

[@BurnsTennis]

Really nice explanation, something I noticed and have used over the years and tried to explain to others, it seems not as easy for other people to do. If you unlock it as Jim McLennan observes, you can really put a good serve together at amateur level which opponents will notice.

[@virendradr]

Thanks Jim.I am happy to see you .Youare excellent player as well as a great teacher.with all the very best ..vir

[@robinhoodwink9345]

Thank for showing this how much control do you have by using the wrist and going through the court, not as much as making a straight on rotation.

[@JPMcLennan]

Robin - this is an example of a certain type of serve - the control relates to the grip used and how the motion feels - this is hard to explain in a reply - at some point please go to my home page and look around at the articles - Jim

[@princeanthony8525]

I really love the way this drill syncs the motion if practiced enough.

[@jimmclennan2234]

Thank you - but for sure not everyone can feel this action - best Jim

[@princeanthony8525]

@@jimmclennan2234 I did actually but can this be used for slice and kick serves as well ? I perfected this for flat serves.

[@jimmclennan2234]

@@princeanthony8525 This has to do with your fluency with a backhand grip on the serve - and it will take time - Jim

[@tensforme]

Hey Jim, absolutely fantastic video. I've never seen anyone discuss this subject before. It almost looks like the direction of the service snap is the American twist motion so the ball with move to the right. This is heady stuff, I've gotta go try this!

[@perrindt]

Both pronation and wrist "snap" are necessary for power. If you watch the palm of the hand before contact (laid back/ open) then after (closed/ closer to the inner forearm) you will see how orientation changes. Federer is slow-mo from the side is a good one to see how both the pronation & wrist snap work together

[@vincenth1030]

Thanks for this new perspective. Becker is another that did it extensively.

[@sharpasaneraser]

Vincent Hii yeah, i think becker was the most extreme or demonstrable example; i'm surprised he wasn't cited. he used a forehand grip (eastern) on his serve.

[@BurnsTennis]

+sharpasaneraser When you see examples of Becker smashing the ball away, he has the exact same finish of the wrist snap and follow through. Womens tennis really has a problem with this, so many players hit down on the ball, maybe one of the reasons women are not so good at smashing the ball away for winners.

[@kuliahtransportasi]

I love Pete Sampras 😁👍❤❤

[@mrx87329]

I think a lot of big servers - or good ones have natural inclination to roll the elbow . I used to notice for example that guys like Goran & Pete seemed to favor hitting the reverse forehand a lot , which when you think about it , is almost the opposite action shown here.

[@KeyofDavid5778]

This forearm action shows why Sampras had the most RPMs of any server even to this day.

[@jimmclennan2234]

Yes - for sure he had the greatest force at impact - enabled both very high spin and ball speed together - Jim

[@KeyofDavid5778]

@@jimmclennan2234 Just think if he would have increased his head size in lowered his swing weight a Tadd who knows 140 miles per hour ?

[@johnyeung7643]

I assume this snap right after contact right? Always taught to brush up and around back of ball for kick or slice. Like “peeling and orange”. This “last snap” forearm motion appears to be the very last part of the peeling motion. And does appear to put a little extra kick and spin on the ball. It makes it heavier. The time and toss have to be perfect. I am only 5’8. I have actually found lower toss to be more helpful too as less variation with lower toss

[@ricardocabrera6245]

Cristal ! What a great video ,, thank you ,

[@miguelbarahona6636]

Hi, Jim. Nice video. But I think that nobody does that signature snap. Pete serve is different from the rest. The right elbow is another hinge in the movement post hit (and maybe the most important), while in the other serves (Federer, Roddick, etc...), right elbow is not a hinge anymore after the ball has been hit.

[@jimmclennan2234]

Miguel - I agree with your notes, but at the same time there are some players who have aspects of this action - and at the end of the day it is about whether a player whips the racquet or pushes it through contact - and there are variations - take a moment to watch my videos of Pancho Gonzalez and something similar is evident - best Jim

[@Danhtran1122]

In fact, my racquet is Wilson Prostaff 6.0 85 with 4 inches lead tape just like Pete Sampras racquet except the quality build, tension and string type are different :). I been using this racquet for the last 18 years and still be the best racquet I play, I don't think it is raquet of the past because the one Federer using right now is no different.

[@bonguskongus]

Thanks for posting this video!

[@mrx87329]

I wish I knew about this 20 yrs ago , a lot of tennis essentially comes down to proprioception and what tricks you can use to enhance /remember it.

[@cpthurme]

Oh darn I've been hitting through the ball all this time, need to find this motion

[@rsm007fication]

Raonic uses extreme eastern backhand grip for his serve. I tried and it feels natural for this type of serve. give it a try

[@tenniswilliam]

Syed Rahman raonic is on youtube explaining his grip is continental but slides a finger up

[@drbonesshow1]

This "Signature Snap" motion is powerful, but slow by comparison. In this case, the comparison I will make is to the neutral wrist serve, which I will introduce shortly. Let's start with some simple physics: Power = Force x Velocity. By supinating the wrist before pronation, which is what your "wrist roll" does it is supination that provides the power for the pronation. This is easy to understand anatomically as supination requires contraction of the biceps and elastic stretching of the pronator teres muscle of the forearm and together they become the power source for pronation. I call this Power-Pronation. In this case, the force is large and the velocity is modest. If one were to consider a Neutral Wrist versus Pronated Wrist serve then the neutral wrist easily tops the pronated wrist for speed of action. The neutral wrist is the Karate Chop motion of the forearm and it is the fastest way to move the forearm forward. However, the force behind the neutral wrist motion is modest at best. So now you see the difference. Pronated power with supination provides more force at a modest speed. Neutral wrist power provides higher racket speeds at a modest force. The racket impacting (i.e., hitting) the ball is a collision, which is a change in momentum. Some servers will have a higher impact energy (momentum) using the pronated wrist whereas other servers will have higher impact energies thanks to the whip-like motion of the neutral wrist. You will never know until you try. John Sadri had a whip-like serve, which suggests that his wrist pronated little compared to Pete Sampras. Although Sadri had a pronated snap it was modest at best. There is video evidence of the Sadri serve available.

[@philipsayshello2]

Thanks for this video JPM! Do you mean to use an eastern backhand grip (moving the index knuckle to the left of the continental bevel) or rather closer to an eastern grip (moving the index knuckle to the right of the continental bevel)?

[@ptlonnet]

I was trying so many years to figure out the perfect serve but never satisfied until i saw your video some days ago. The forearm snap is amazing. Now my flat serve is much cleaner, more powerful even though i used continental grip (because i am used to it). I also want to experiment this technique with the grip you mentioned. What do you mean by past continental grip? Is it hammer grip? BTW, I still don't know how to apply this to topspin serve. It doesn't seem natural to me. Thanks a lot.

[@cconstantinoss]

It is always very disturbing to be stuck in Greece with 5 euros/hour when you guys in the USA are so irrelevant. Again, you revealed a secret! How amazing you are!

[@smarty432]

Coming to America 3

[@petehill3634]

Thanks Jim

[@Jazzcodes]

Very interesting! Will definitely try it. Many thanks ;)

[@rsm007fication]

does this work with the natural grip? or it is just for continental

[@mystiquetopaz]

After years in the mafia, he decided that he'd give up his past life and move on to tennis... although his mafia ways sometimes show through in his game: the tennis net in this video can attest to that :P Seriously though, great tips and great video!

[@ginetteuriel6584]

Does that also apply to the slice and kick serves

[@JPMcLennan]

Yes but hard too explain - as Pete always had some spin on the ball but he could vary the amount

[@drdetroitcity]

All very interesting and useful, but Sampras' main power stems from his beginnings, rather than his endings. Watch exactly, his feet in preparation in slow motion and consistent forward weight movement and wind up of his body like a cat spring

[@FairwayJack]

so..you're saying that I should not fully extend the racket upwards but rather do a forearm roll with the racket handle at an approximate 115 degree angle to the forearm...yes ??...thx

[@ptlonnet]

When the racket is right angle to the forearm, what grip do you use? If we use continental grip, it seems that the racket is inlined with the forearm. Also, Is this technique applied for flat or topspin serve? Thank you.

[@hongquan7389]

how do you apply the "snap" in a kick serve?

[@courtrage]

How can you accomplish the snap with the 90 degree angle without hurting your shoulder? I thought sampras had shoulder issues so he modified it later on. thanks.

[@javierr3515]

Same as golf release!!! See Shawn Clement golf.

[@hrfb9696]

Great point. Thanks

[@georgehsiao2791]

Jim looked like Harvey Keitel without the HD.

[@BenzeneHex57]

Arthur Ashe was one of them.

[@luzheng576]

Brilliant!

[@monstertrucktennis]

I've always thought the term 'snap' or any reference to the wrist during a serve was misguided at best. Anyone attempting to snap their wrist during the serve will only tighten the muscles in their hand and forearm- the exact opposite of what needs to happen. Relaxation is the key to the fastest racquet head speed and ultimate control. Just like any other stroke.

[@FairwayJack]

good word

[@SjorsKoevoets]

Dude looks like Harvey Keitel

[@FairwayJack]

...so pronation (forearm roll) occurs when racket is approximately 90* to the forearm...yes, I can see how this adds power...another good power booster is to pull down your lead elbow which creates lag in the shoulder girdle and hitting arm

[@FairwayJack]

Nowadays you can clearly see top pros' lead arm bowed backwards in the trophy pose...their first move is to release this while restraining and dropping the hitting arm behind them...creates powerful lag just like a golf swing's hips/legs going fwd while the torso is still winding up the other way. Jack

[@millionairejh]

when federer does this, its usually on his kick serves

[@perrindt]

"in slow mo" is what I meant, but I'm sure you got it.

[@aisthpaoitht]

You are essentially switching it from a pistol grip to a hammer grip. The hammer grip allows for better power, while the pistol grip allows for better spin. I think.

[@JPMcLennan]

Actually I agree about the pistol and hammer - somehow the hammer grip is more for the serve Jim

[@FairwayJack]

no, don't think he's saying that...see my comment above for my understanding

[@drbonesshow1]

Pronation is not needed for a power tennis serve (an alternative includes dorsi-flexion to palmar-flexion). If you are going to pronate start by supinating the wrist and then pronate with greater pronation as the arm moves forward toward impact. Power-Pronation: takeoutyourscorecards.wordpress.com/2019/07/19/power-pronation-an-alternative-way-for-pitchers-to-throw

[@jimmclennan2234]

Don - thanks for this - I have a video of Pancho Gonzalez on my site and this has led to my ideas on how to snap the racquet and and lot of this also comes from badminton - but I have become wary of our technical language and whether players can simply try and learn how to feel a stroke - what is your Ph.D in?

[@drbonesshow1]

@@jimmclennan2234 I'm a physics professor with degrees therein however nowadays I'm involved with the Physics of Tennis. My next demo is Friday at West Orange Tennis (the biggest tennis facility in NJ). Interestingly, I will be bringing up the name Pancho Gonzales (1928 - 1995) for a novel reason that you might also have interest in knowing. If you are open to new ideas in tennis based on physics in connection with human biomechanics then feel free to contact me through www.ProfessorTennis.net. Here I am in the NY Times: www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/sports/tennis/don-mueller-rackets.html I can't throw a ball 360 feet and 95 mph like I did in pro baseball 30 years ago, but the tennis racket has taken over for my injured elbow allowing me to hit the blistering serves mentioned in 2018.

[@slimpickinses]

How about some dude name Pancho. Great pronation

[@JPMcLennan]

Mike - this entire project began with the Whistler and in graduate school using Pancho as the template for my coursework in biomechanics - Jim

[@slimpickinses]

Pancho was my go to guy to study on the serve when I took up the game in 64

[@donnysworld6774]

It blows my mind how easy you make that look. Because I've been serving wrong for 30 years, my muscle memory is literally killing me. I can duplicate that movement effortlessly if I don't throw the ball in the air. But if I throw the ball, no matter how hard I try, my arm repeats the motion of the last 30 years. Just shoot me.

[@jimmclennan2234]

Here is a better idea - send me a video let me see

[@donnysworld6774]

@@jimmclennan2234 Thanks for the offer. Give me another week of trying. If no progress, I'll just come see you at Los Altos Hills. I live in Folsom, CA. Thanks !!

[@Nerdimtar]

the proper word for this action of the forearm is "pronation", not roll or "snap"

[@drbonesshow1]

Your forearm roll is called supination. Why not just call it that? You also miss out on explaining an important sequence of supination followed by pronation of the wrist during the tennis serve. There is also a serve that is completely foreign to traditional tennis that utilizes the sequence of (1) Pronation, (2) Supination and (3) Pronation.

[@monstertrucktennis]

(1) Pronation occurs at initial racquet drop from ready position?

[@KeyofDavid5778]

Don R. Mueller, Ph.D. Geezzze, you guys with a bunch of letters behind your name's think that you can explain is better than a top Pro like Jim. Jim was using a kinesthetic way of teaching, feel. Most people are visual or kinesthetic Learners and not auditory Learners. We all know supination is the inward rotation of the wrist which you didn't exactly say. Go out and try his exercise at the net and then try hitting a serve and see what you feel. US Tennis Pros like to use the KISS method... Keep it Simple Stupid and FEEL the fluidity in a shot or stroke to achieve the highest level of smoothness with the least amount of thought.

[@drbonesshow1]

You guys that complain about guys with letters after their name, are more often than not, the same dolts too "stoopid" to get some letters yourself, so then knock those who can. That's fine, you are average, so be average-minded. However, if you want to learn something new (i.e., what I do in tennis) then follow this link: www.ProfessorTennis.net

[@drbonesshow1]

Rave on. You sound like a fool, so why not? I use "stoopid" for folks like you with the I.Q. of an Idaho Potato. Of course, you may spell it "potatoe." Now go away.

[@kingarthurusatenniscoach1415]

tennis elbow son

[@imakazero]

who?

[@Tony07UK]

Federer does not do this and neither do any other pro players - study their videos. Only Sampras folds his elbow down after pronation .. it's old school.

[@Ryezn5057]

Hmm any videos that explain their motion vs Sampras?

[@omarsultanov362]

What’s the point? It’s obvious

[@genaroflores835]

This is also the very technique that allows you to hit the lines / corners of the service boxes with high percentage 😆

[@JPMcLennan]

Genaro - yes the trick is in the timing of the cross rotational snap at the top of the swing

[@城東太郎-t1m]

m

[@jankustra5500]

Dude, you are wrong. Its wrist. Ask Pete how manny hours he spend in gym. You can not try to serve like pro player. Your body is not used to that king of style...

[@smarty432]

Wrong. Forearm roll first. Wrist snap follows. Combo.