Thank you Vladimir for these serve videos, I now have a much more consistent and powerful serve. My shoulder pain is much less severe and I’m serving with less effort. You might be the best instructor I’ve ever experienced and that’s me playing for over 30yrs and once a D1 player.
@Jason Lee Thanks, Jason. Glad to hear that. I am quite sure that the shoulder pain which you still experience is only the remnants of your former serving technique. If you raise your loose arm high and let it “ride” your torso’s drive, you will not stress your shoulder at all. You should not experience any stress, let alone pain, whatsoever. If you still feel some pain or discomfort while serving, then it could only mean that you are not entirely letting your arm “to be driven”. You still are allowing your arm to “butt in” into your swing production. Old habits do die hard. To learn how to let go off it - takes time. It is not that easy!
@@powerflail7832 hi, vlad, my shoulder pain has significantly reduced because of your serve videos. It did take a awhile but my serve is now more consistent more pop with very minimal effort. I do relax my shoulders when I serve now and just let my body do the work. For decades, I’ve taught to bow, continuous swing, bend knees etc but no one ever mention to drive ur arms with the torso. I now understand that the power source is not from ur legs but from ur torso and that the leg drive is a byproduct of the torso driving the arms upward to hit the ball. Such a simple technique with such little effort I now understand how the pros serve so big with no effort. Again, thank you very much for these videos!
@@jasonlee6777 ".....leg drive is the byproduct of torso driving your hands upward to hit the ball...." I am so pleased to hear you say the above. You have indeed seen the light!
Such a great video. By chance we are currently doing lots of kick serve training and our coach keeps telling us our core muscles should be hurting after practice! Your video really makes it easy to understand what he is teaching us. Still a long way to go but the other players where definitely struggling to return my kick serves; especially those with single handed BH. I’m so grateful I found this video. Thank You.
I would just like to say that I really enjoy watching your videos. I think your logical and scientific perspective of the game is something that I can relate to and allows me to 'see' the game in a different light. I love the game of tennis and am teaching my kids how to play and have used your techniques to build their game around. Having grown up watching Mac, Borg, Agassi (my fav), Sampras, Edberg, Becker, I really miss the variety of games. I was wondering if you might be able to do a video examining the Sampras serve. I consider it to be one of the most beautiful shots in recent years and though I grew up an Agassi fan, I was always in awe of Sampras' serve. Also, I think a video on how Agassi took the ball so early would be amazing. Once again, thank you for doing these amazing videos!
Hey Vlad, I got it. we understand that in order to strike the ball we need to twist our torso as fast as possible. But Can you do a video explaining exactly how we make that happen using all the different muscles in a closed stance and semi closed?
To clarify, I understand that you have to move one leg backwards and the other forwards to cause the torso to turn around itself. But for example in a semi closed stance which Nadal does often it looks like he rotates around on leg instead of both legs rotating around each other...
He’s actually a righty, maybe his brain over the years has been trying to figure out how to be a lefty and this is what it can up with. I would gather that that made things quite complicated.
Hey Vlad! You once said that you were watching how Nadal throws a ball with a javelin thrower and that he was cringing when he saw him doing that. Can you elaborate what exactly was the problem and how should it be performed correctly? I've seen couple of javelin throwers workouts to get inspiration on how to strenghten core and they were helpful however I think that throwing jevelin is absolutely different beast than serving. Still as I said working out the core muscles (both for strenght and dynamic purposes) will really improve the serve.
@John Mack When Nadal throws the ball - it is all about his arm. He does not look comfortable doing it. Very much like his serve. The throwers pick on that right away. He doesn’t seem to have a concept of the “torso’s momentum”. Uncle Toni is obviously no help in that department, I am sure. You can see how anemic his torso is during his serve. That is why his serve is not very fast and even for that speed - he is forced to work very hard. The throwers work on their core strength all the time - that is what drives their throws after all. In the tennis serve, you’ve got to drive your arm also - and for that you need your core. Nadal barely moves his torso - just watch the video and you will see. Nadal gets away with that crap because he is quite a “specimen”. I’ve seen him in person at the US Open - he is by far bigger and stronger than the average tennis pro, let alone the average person.
@@powerflail7832 Yeah. I'm a Rafa Nadal guy but it really looks like he tries so hard when he serves. Grim on his face and loud grunts and often what comes out of it is really spinny and slow serve. That being said I think that his groundstrokes are phenomenal as you said it yourself and he was often your example of how to hit forehands and backhands.
Hey Vlad!! Can you make a video about how to slide on clay courts(like Nadal or Thiem) or even hard courts for that matter ( like how Djokovic does it so well) I always tend to slip while changing directions on clay courts (maybe because of not having the 'herringbone or zigzag pattern' outsole shoes, does outsole pattern of shoes matter according to you?) Also, many a times my momentum drives me way further then required while running and sliding to reach an opponent's struck ball (basically I can't stop after sliding and striking a ball , I stop a little farther away then required) which makes me loose precious time and have to make extra steps to reach the next ball. How should I resolve this? Your help would be much appreciated. Eagerly waiting for your reply. Thanks!
@ PolKsio Over the years, he seems to be screwing around with some elements of his serve, like raising the elbow higher, or not. But his overall understanding of how the serve should work, or how to drive his arm, did not seem to change much - it is still "too much of the arm".
A lot of stuff going on here. In a perfect world this type of serve may not be ideal, but what really is ideal? Your technique can only go as far as what your personal body is capable of doing. We are constantly robbing peter to pay paul as a means to compensate and acommadate to the task at hand. Nevertheless great video and always interesting stuff!
I'm completely sold on both the serve and the groundstrokes watching your videos. However, after I changed my strokes in practice I started having tennis elbow whereas I never had it before. Any advice, coach?
@ Indus Fandango “Tennis elbow” - it’s when your elbow aches to the point that you can’t pick up and hold the racquet. If that’s what you are talking about, then it has nothing to do with the changes, because it does not happen overnight, it really takes time to develop and you probably have been working on it for a while.
@@powerflail7832 It's quite possible. I've been playing tennis for a several years but the stroke was more of a shoulder swing which was inconsistent. I felt a lot more consistency with both the serve and the drive using hip rotation and let the arm fly(one handed backhand). And that's when I got the elbow pain, so I theorized maybe I was weak with the a particular muscle group that I wasn't using before which I'm being forced to use now. Not the fault of the technique, it's just being a new movement for me. Even after stopping for a few weeks, I still have the pain and working with a theraband and just getting better. I'll continue to try the stroke because it's opened up so much more potential, but would love to know if there's something that I can strengthen from a fitness/strength perspective.
@@MrIndiefan90 I can relate to it. I recently started serving the "right" way after watching Vlad's videos and ended up developing Tennis elbow. If it's tennis elbow it would either be serve or BH and golfer's elbow would be forehand. Anyway, I am realizing that you have to trust the "torso thrust" and be relaxed. Sure, you won't get the ball in the box early on but it doesn't take long either to get it right. I have started to mentally think, "hit two 2nd serves" and I immediately stopped muscling the ball, or do any shoulder rotation, pronation etc forcefully. Remedy for Tennis elbow would be rest, ice and massage, 3-4 times a day. It takes less than 10 mins. As far as strengthening goes, work out your core with planks, side plank, mountain climber, leg raises, bridge pose, squats, lunges, deadlift and some hip strengthening isolation exercises. If you do any arm workouts, or bench press, I would just stop doing them because they restrict range of motion and cause you to load up in your arms and shoulder in your swing instead of being relaxed. Hope this helps. Cheers!
Vladimir, I was always interested in Roddick's serve, especially in how his ''power position'' has the racket head far lower than most other players. When you compare him with Federer, for instance, Fed begins the serve from a position where the racket head is above his head, whereas Roddick has the racket by his trunk. Although both have the elbow at the same place, Roddick has the shoulder far more internally rotated. Do you think this contributes anything to racket head speed?
@ Marian Palko It is not the racquet head you should be looking at - but where his elbow is. Of course these things are connected, so one will reflect upon the other. Andy’s elbow is too low. Roger keeps his elbow high. Eventually the elbow, will have to come up anyway, so why not place it where it should be to begin with? Placing the elbow too low just makes the whole process more convoluted and difficult. But in spite of his elbow position, Andy’s torso action is by far more aggressive than any of the other guys (or maybe all three of them put together), that is why it is not surprising that he has the fastest serve of them all.
@@powerflail7832 it occurs to me that Roddick produces far more Kinetic Energy with his core/hips/shoulder to be transferred to the lower mass segments of the mechanism. Since KE = 1/2 M X V squared, as the mass of each segments are decreased, the Velocity must increase (unless KE is lost in some segment). Your pointing out the simplicity (elegance) of Stan Wawrinka’s motion leaves no place in the motion to bleed off energy. Nadal’s not so much. Federer’s serve is also simple and incredibly repeatable. There seem no loss there either. Thanks for your ongoing analysis. It is a breath of fresh air in a sea of tripe.
![KSI - Thick Of It (feat. Trippie Redd) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/At8v_Yc044Y/mqdefault.jpg)
The greatest serve lesson on planet earth! Efficient, simple, protects your shoulders and back and knees, simply mind blowing!
Great video. Really focuses on the key elements of serve that matter and why Rafa’s serve is not very efficient.
Thank you Vladimir for these serve videos, I now have a much more consistent and powerful serve. My shoulder pain is much less severe and I’m serving with less effort. You might be the best instructor I’ve ever experienced and that’s me playing for over 30yrs and once a D1 player.
@Jason Lee
Thanks, Jason. Glad to hear that.
I am quite sure that the shoulder pain which you still experience is only the remnants of your former serving technique.
If you raise your loose arm high and let it “ride” your torso’s drive, you will not stress your shoulder at all. You should not experience any stress, let alone pain, whatsoever.
If you still feel some pain or discomfort while serving, then it could only mean that you are not entirely letting your arm “to be driven”. You still are allowing your arm to “butt in” into your swing production.
Old habits do die hard. To learn how to let go off it - takes time. It is not that easy!
@@powerflail7832 hi, vlad, my shoulder pain has significantly reduced because of your serve videos. It did take a awhile but my serve is now more consistent more pop with very minimal effort. I do relax my shoulders when I serve now and just let my body do the work. For decades, I’ve taught to bow, continuous swing, bend knees etc but no one ever mention to drive ur arms with the torso. I now understand that the power source is not from ur legs but from ur torso and that the leg drive is a byproduct of the torso driving the arms upward to hit the ball. Such a simple technique with such little effort I now understand how the pros serve so big with no effort. Again, thank you very much for these videos!
@@jasonlee6777 ".....leg drive is the byproduct of torso driving your hands upward to hit the ball...."
I am so pleased to hear you say the above. You have indeed seen the light!
Such a great video. By chance we are currently doing lots of kick serve training and our coach keeps telling us our core muscles should be hurting after practice! Your video really makes it easy to understand what he is teaching us. Still a long way to go but the other players where definitely struggling to return my kick serves; especially those with single handed BH. I’m so grateful I found this video. Thank You.
Thanks Coach. Awesome.
I would just like to say that I really enjoy watching your videos. I think your logical and scientific perspective of the game is something that I can relate to and allows me to 'see' the game in a different light. I love the game of tennis and am teaching my kids how to play and have used your techniques to build their game around. Having grown up watching Mac, Borg, Agassi (my fav), Sampras, Edberg, Becker, I really miss the variety of games. I was wondering if you might be able to do a video examining the Sampras serve. I consider it to be one of the most beautiful shots in recent years and though I grew up an Agassi fan, I was always in awe of Sampras' serve. Also, I think a video on how Agassi took the ball so early would be amazing.
Once again, thank you for doing these amazing videos!
Hey Vlad, I got it. we understand that in order to strike the ball we need to twist our torso as fast as possible.
But Can you do a video explaining exactly how we make that happen using all the different muscles in a closed stance and semi closed?
To clarify, I understand that you have to move one leg backwards and the other forwards to cause the torso to turn around itself. But for example in a semi closed stance which Nadal does often it looks like he rotates around on leg instead of both legs rotating around each other...
The video shows Rama’s racket doesn’t lead on edge like most pros do. Interesting.
He’s actually a righty, maybe his brain over the years has been trying to figure out how to be a lefty and this is what it can up with. I would gather that that made things quite complicated.
Perhaps this explains why he was forced to develop a monster baseline game.🧐
Hey Vlad! You once said that you were watching how Nadal throws a ball with a javelin thrower and that he was cringing when he saw him doing that. Can you elaborate what exactly was the problem and how should it be performed correctly? I've seen couple of javelin throwers workouts to get inspiration on how to strenghten core and they were helpful however I think that throwing jevelin is absolutely different beast than serving. Still as I said working out the core muscles (both for strenght and dynamic purposes) will really improve the serve.
@John Mack
When Nadal throws the ball - it is all about his arm. He does not look comfortable doing it. Very much like his serve. The throwers pick on that right away. He doesn’t seem to have a concept of the “torso’s momentum”. Uncle Toni is obviously no help in that department, I am sure. You can see how anemic his torso is during his serve. That is why his serve is not very fast and even for that speed - he is forced to work very hard.
The throwers work on their core strength all the time - that is what drives their throws after all. In the tennis serve, you’ve got to drive your arm also - and for that you need your core. Nadal barely moves his torso - just watch the video and you will see.
Nadal gets away with that crap because he is quite a “specimen”. I’ve seen him in person at the US Open - he is by far bigger and stronger than the average tennis pro, let alone the average person.
@@powerflail7832 Yeah. I'm a Rafa Nadal guy but it really looks like he tries so hard when he serves. Grim on his face and loud grunts and often what comes out of it is really spinny and slow serve. That being said I think that his groundstrokes are phenomenal as you said it yourself and he was often your example of how to hit forehands and backhands.
Hey Vlad!! Can you make a video about how to slide on clay courts(like Nadal or Thiem) or even hard courts for that matter ( like how Djokovic does it so well)
I always tend to slip while changing directions on clay courts (maybe because of not having the 'herringbone or zigzag pattern' outsole shoes, does outsole pattern of shoes matter according to you?)
Also, many a times my momentum drives me way further then required while running and sliding to reach an opponent's struck ball (basically I can't stop after sliding and striking a ball , I stop a little farther away then required) which makes me loose precious time and have to make extra steps to reach the next ball. How should I resolve this?
Your help would be much appreciated. Eagerly waiting for your reply.
Thanks!
@Tarun J
Sorry mate, “striking the ball” is enough for me.
When it comes to running, stopping, sliding or dating - you are on your own! ;o)
@@powerflail7832 I understand sir!😬 but do u have any tips to share? 😅 Thanks again
@@tarunj4333
Learn to skate or roller-blade if don't do it yet. But always wear helmet!
What about Feliciano lopez’s serve?
@ Rafael Nicoletti
Too many notes, if you know what I mean.
ruclips.net/video/AUFwk1Ibwkc/видео.html
00:38 - Why he is serving with the right hand?
Notice the Mercedez-Benz ad-panel behind Rafa
What does a car have to do with being ambidextrous (that means having both arms as strong as eachother since I bet yiudidnt know that).
Wonder what you think of his complete serve overhaul in 2010
@ PolKsio
Over the years, he seems to be screwing around with some elements of his serve, like raising the elbow higher, or not. But his overall understanding of how the serve should work, or how to drive his arm, did not seem to change much - it is still "too much of the arm".
A lot of stuff going on here. In a perfect world this type of serve may not be ideal, but what really is ideal? Your technique can only go as far as what your personal body is capable of doing. We are constantly robbing peter to pay paul as a means to compensate and acommadate to the task at hand. Nevertheless great video and always interesting stuff!
Ideal technique would probably be Sampras's serve technique.
Peter Sampras? Who is Paul?
I'm completely sold on both the serve and the groundstrokes watching your videos. However, after I changed my strokes in practice I started having tennis elbow whereas I never had it before. Any advice, coach?
@ Indus Fandango
“Tennis elbow” - it’s when your elbow aches to the point that you can’t pick up and hold the racquet. If that’s what you are talking about, then it has nothing to do with the changes, because it does not happen overnight, it really takes time to develop and you probably have been working on it for a while.
@@powerflail7832 It's quite possible. I've been playing tennis for a several years but the stroke was more of a shoulder swing which was inconsistent. I felt a lot more consistency with both the serve and the drive using hip rotation and let the arm fly(one handed backhand). And that's when I got the elbow pain, so I theorized maybe I was weak with the a particular muscle group that I wasn't using before which I'm being forced to use now. Not the fault of the technique, it's just being a new movement for me. Even after stopping for a few weeks, I still have the pain and working with a theraband and just getting better. I'll continue to try the stroke because it's opened up so much more potential, but would love to know if there's something that I can strengthen from a fitness/strength perspective.
@@MrIndiefan90 I can relate to it. I recently started serving the "right" way after watching Vlad's videos and ended up developing Tennis elbow. If it's tennis elbow it would either be serve or BH and golfer's elbow would be forehand. Anyway, I am realizing that you have to trust the "torso thrust" and be relaxed. Sure, you won't get the ball in the box early on but it doesn't take long either to get it right. I have started to mentally think, "hit two 2nd serves" and I immediately stopped muscling the ball, or do any shoulder rotation, pronation etc forcefully.
Remedy for Tennis elbow would be rest, ice and massage, 3-4 times a day. It takes less than 10 mins.
As far as strengthening goes, work out your core with planks, side plank, mountain climber, leg raises, bridge pose, squats, lunges, deadlift and some hip strengthening isolation exercises. If you do any arm workouts, or bench press, I would just stop doing them because they restrict range of motion and cause you to load up in your arms and shoulder in your swing instead of being relaxed.
Hope this helps. Cheers!
Vladimir, I was always interested in Roddick's serve, especially in how his ''power position'' has the racket head far lower than most other players. When you compare him with Federer, for instance, Fed begins the serve from a position where the racket head is above his head, whereas Roddick has the racket by his trunk. Although both have the elbow at the same place, Roddick has the shoulder far more internally rotated. Do you think this contributes anything to racket head speed?
@ Marian Palko
It is not the racquet head you should be looking at - but where his elbow is. Of course these things are connected, so one will reflect upon the other.
Andy’s elbow is too low. Roger keeps his elbow high. Eventually the elbow, will have to come up anyway, so why not place it where it should be to begin with? Placing the elbow too low just makes the whole process more convoluted and difficult.
But in spite of his elbow position, Andy’s torso action is by far more aggressive than any of the other guys (or maybe all three of them put together), that is why it is not surprising that he has the fastest serve of them all.
@@powerflail7832 it occurs to me that Roddick produces far more Kinetic Energy with his core/hips/shoulder to be transferred to the lower mass segments of the mechanism. Since KE = 1/2 M X V squared, as the mass of each segments are decreased, the Velocity must increase (unless KE is lost in some segment). Your pointing out the simplicity (elegance) of Stan Wawrinka’s motion leaves no place in the motion to bleed off energy. Nadal’s not so much. Federer’s serve is also simple and incredibly repeatable. There seem no loss there either. Thanks for your ongoing analysis. It is a breath of fresh air in a sea of tripe.
@@virginfitness deep fried tripe is awesome!
😁