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So interesting to see the extensive detail to explain Federer’s kick serve, and people coming to think it’s a video to teach them how to create the energy Federer does. Honestly, the fitness, body awareness, core, hip and scapula stability and control you have to have are really the places people need to start. Trying to copy Federer or pro players serve without a decent level of fitness is going to give you a stress injury!
Great video and great analysis of one of the most effective and accurate serves of all time. Federer was quite unique the way he was up on his toes, and the way he crunched his abs while lifting his knees at contact. Most pros have their legs almost fully extended at contact.
If you have a continental grip leading or throwing the edge is the most efficient way to swing. Think of throwing an ax or a hammer🔨, the motion would be similar to the serve motion. I hope this helps. Thanks, John
@@topspintennis yes thank you. Can I ask- if the racket edge is the hammer head and the ball is the nail: where do I swing; from the direction of the back fence up to the back of the ball or from the doubles alley up to the left hand side of the ball- being right handed- ?
What is the wrist angle at impact with the ball: Flat, bowed back away from forearm or bent up toward forearm? What are the wrist angles through out the entire swing?
He gets tio thin the objective is rewarfing cells rest not ti increase pains the return campaung is eat more the set to win is known so energized it is nice maybe set ti nit too much care
The racquet is tilted in the preparation stage because the grip is not fully Eastern, it goes into bevel 8 and keeping the racquet straight up would be uncomfortable for the wrist. Check Shapo he's even more tilted. Musetti holds is straight.
Something I never noticed before is the Pros (or at least Federer) is looking down range at the box on the toss. I look, visualize where I want to hit then just watch my toss....probably not a good thing.
All my life since guys Borg and Vilas , topspin was everyone's dream stroke . Then Agassi hit on the rise and topspin but a bit harder . Then Nadal comes along and it's all about topspin again because of more consistency. Now all I see and hear is a flatter , harder stroke , which my grip is not good for . Why is flat all of a sudden a in thing . Jimmy Connors hit all flat and everyone was striving to get away from that . He was very accurate also. I am A lefty and had a brief period when I was ten , when I tried to emulate Connors . Borg then changed my mind 😁
I believe hitting with spin will always be important. Whether it's heavier or flatter may change but you will always have different players coming through the ranks that will win with different styles. Someone like Sinner or Medvedev hit with spin but flatter. Alcaraz hits a heavier ball. It's really up the individual and what they prefer and their game style. Grips and the type of surface also have an impact. If you like hitting with more spin I would stick to that. There is a time and place for hitting flatter and I believe that's on attacking shots inside the baseline. Thanks for your comment and support! JF
I am a rec. player who have had many college players that I grew up with and play with. I used a semi -western grip most of my career , been using full western for about ten years now . Never ever had tennis elbow in my racket arm or wrist injury . Feels totally smooth to me . I am 59 and been playing since I was 10. I did have a ten year break in there though .
If the Western grip is working for you keep it going. I personally think you should using different grips for each individual ball. Similar to golf where you have different clubs for different distances and shot capabilities. Let me know your thoughts and if I can help with anything else. JF
tossing parallel to the base line is natural for me. Tried a few types doen'st work for me. It must be to do with dominant eye which is left in my case and Fed's
I agree with the continental warmup but how putting your hand behind your back, keep you using a continental grip? Other than that, a great warmup drill
It locks the player into the Continental grip and teaches them how to use the wrist (slightly) to square up the racquet face. Players tend to relax/loosen their grip when doing this drill as well. Thanks for your comment! JF
For someone that wants to become pro in today's game is a god idea to copy Del potro' s forehand if you want to become pro knowing that is more old school backswing technique and not the modern atp forehand that the tip of the racket goes more to the outside and not to the back?¿
I believe his off hand position as he begins his unit turn is directly related to how much he will rotate his torso on the shot. If his left hand is tight to the body, he can more easily rotate.
you can tell it's a kick because his body is sideways at contact and the swing path of the racket is close to the baseline (flat serve swing path would go more straight forward). Also contact is right above the head rather than in front
It's great to see how he extends his arms during preparation and impacting the ball. Most recreational players don't and they could improve a lot their games working on that!
Hey doc great and beautiful analysis. Quick question… at what point should one go for a topspin one handed backhand return and how do we deal with the grip change when the ball is coming really fast at you.
Great question. The only time I go for a TRUE Topspin return on the one hand backhand is off of 2nd serves and when I stand further back. The exception on the first serve is when they have a slower serve. Off of BIG first serves I usually take an abbreviated backswing and look to go from “low to level” with my swing path. I use this swing type when taking balls early near the baseline. There can always be exceptions but my intent for the most part is to level out my swing path and compress the ball with a slight low to high swing path. I’m usually in a continental or eastern forehand grip when returning serve. That way I don’t have a BIG grip change to make when switching to my one hand backhand grip. I hope this helps, thanks for your comment and support! John
After thinking about this more, I think that Fed doesn't lean as far back as Stan and so his racket drop doesn't appear as deep. I think with Fed everything he does is based on artistic impression. I'm sure that if he thought it would look more pleasing to lean back more like Stan or arch his back like Roddick or Joker, he would do it and you would see his hand well below his elbow. Apparently, he doesn't. Who can argue with the result?
I created this video a few years back Better FEEL and CONTROL on the Kick Serve ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7e961eqvC3s.html Thanks for your comment!
Correct, your emotions on the court are so important to manage. Opponents thrive on seeing you down or upset. Sinner would also be put in this category.
Wow, I didn't know John was your son. I subscribe to him also. Anyway, Emma is my favorite WTA player to watch (second is Rybakina). Her game is elegant and nearly effortless, similar to Fed. She has changed the takeback to her serve and went from a full to an abbreviated takeback. (Maybe you can do a video to compare her old vs new serve.) I don't know if this has helped her resurgence. She is working her back from multiple surgeries last year, so I love her drive to get good again. Besides, this era of WTA is very weak IMO and because of that, she should be able to win another major. She lost to Datsatkina in the Quarters of Eastbourne but I figured she would lose given the very strong windy conditions that doesn't favor her aggressive game. Hopefully Wimbledon is not as windy, if so, she has a chance to go deep.
All Emma's matches will be in one of the stadium courts so winds will have less of an impact. And 2024 Wimbledon will be relatively dry ( only 6 hours of rain predicted for the 2 weeks).
