If you want to maximize the potential of pronation, join the 30-Day serve challenge with many different pronation drills: www.feeltennis.net/serve-challenge/
Having practiced more than 100000 serves on my own, I m pretty sure this is the best vid of tennis serves for intermediate level rec players as well as complete beginners. Highly informative..!!!
Hi Tomas. I have been playing and trying to learn tennis serve for the last 8 years. But for the first time in my life, after watching this video, I REALLY understood the concept of pronation. I went to the court, tried my serve keeping this video in my mind, and I am not lying that my usually opponent could not take even one of my serves!!! I am so happy and can't thank you enough.
You share invaluable info on the serve on this video, years of tennis lessons and never even heard of this concept. Every question and answer are so well detailed and demonstrated. Thank you!
This is by far the best video explaining pronation that I have ever watched. Great explanation, and demonstration. In all the years I have played tennis and coached my daughter I never really knew for sure or understood the major differences in serves or the concept of pronating. Thank you for this excellent video explanation describing in detail the pronation process.
This is by far the best explanation and demonstration of what is meant by 'serve' pronation that I have ever heard. Thanks! Wish I had seen this 3 years ago when it came out. Great job!
Yes!!! This is fantastic! I've been playing tennis for 20 years and NEVER ever any coach said a word about pronation . I always felt something was missing. Thanks for sharing this awesome master class!!!
I just realized the importance of the pronation recently. Came back to this video and found it exactly correct when it described “may not maximize the full pronation”. Wished I paid more attention when I watched it the first time. Thank you for the excellent explanation
Much appreciated! Make sure you follow some drills as they develop the pronation well, the information of what's happening is just the start. You can join the serve challenge: www.feeltennis.net/serve-challenge/
After following the guideline of the coach Tomaz, my serve has worked! You can not image how happy I am. I appreciate really your great support! You are the best coach at the UA-cam. Thank you for brightening my tennis world.
Wow!! I recorded my serves and had this exact question on my mind - am I pronating? It is funny how Thomaz could think of us having a question like this after playing tennis for 10 years AND answer it so clearly and accurately!
Sir, can you please make a video explaining & showcasing the fundamentals of how to aim the serves in tennis, like what should be the mental as well as the physical process while aiming🙏
Your explanation of the serve is the best I have found on UA-cam. Before your videos I really did not understand what part pronation played in the serve. I always felt like there was an element missing in the explanation. Thinking of the serve as a two-axis motion has really made a difference for me. I still need to work on actualizing it! :) But this has certainly pointed me in the right direction. Thank you!
idk why i was so confused if i was pronating or not but this is very clear!! thank you! I AM pronating but I need to focus on maximizing the pronation especially on slice serves.
It's perfectly possible to serve without pronation with a Continental grip. Indeed, that was precisely how I used to do my second serve. You do exactly what you showed, just a bit harder and more side-on to the line, with some torso rotation timed with the swing, and the ball travels slowly and with extreme slice, creeping just over the net then bouncing with extreme slice. That's perfectly possible. It isn't *good*! But it is possible.
It is not possible. Laws of physics prevent that. You have not recorded yourself in super slow motion to see that your racket face angled into the ball even though you may have not felt it.
Your video was truly excellent. I was so so confused with pronation and you just cleared it up instantly and I really appreciate the simple and clear demonstrations. Thank you so so much for your teaching.
I had watched many videos on pronation before stumbling on this and I must confess, you broke it down the way it needs to. Now I understand the whole dynamics of pronation. And I just subscribed to your channel for this reason. A very big thanks to you.
Very good video (as ever). I am also so glad that the Kiki Bertens serve was addressed in it. I was stunned when I first saw her serve and thought my perception was playing tricks with me. Amazing that you can play top 10 WTA tennis with a waiter's tray serve! (You have to wonder what kind of powerful serve she would have otherwise.)
I achieved both understanding and muscle memory of pronation in tennis just a couple of weeks ago. I’ve known about the definition for more than a decade, but only got the feeling this month. And it feels wonderful. I would describe the result of pronation as force that drives the ball forward into the service box. In nerdy terms, it’s the component of the hitting force perpendicular to the racket face and pointing towards the service box. As all serves needs to go to the service box, then any serve (using Continental grip as Tomaz said) must have this result that was caused by pronation. I further consider pronation to result in a a position of strength and stability for the arm as the racket hits the ball. In simpler terms, pronation gives you the “slapping” action on the ball. The spin and kick comes from the grazing action. The proportion between the slapping and grazing actions determines the type of serve (flat, kick, slice)
One of the best videos on serve and pronation. To be honest, I think I still don’t pronate most of the times, but the hinge and improved toss has improved my serve a lot. I have noticed that I seem to pronate only when I toss it higher than usual.
Hey Tomas, I have learned almost everything about tennis from you only. Your lessons still reveal so many new things even on rewatching the 3rd time. Thank you so much.
Now that’s the best way a video on tennis serve and pronation should start. Thanks for explaining this so well Tomaz. A quick rookie question, Q. “Doesn’t pronation then result in a lot of stress (and then maybe even injury) on the wrist? What is it that I might be doing wrong when trying to maximise pronation with a continental grip?”
Impressive how he can vary between the different stroke techniques. Even showing the wrong/ineffective ones. I am an advanced player playing 30 years, but especially changing the serve takes so much time. My pronation is good, but I tend to not swing the racket, kind of interrupt the motion and lose a lot of speed. So the last few weeks I mostly focused only on the swing to get some power back. I just have made some progress. Now I start to try more adjustments to improve precision. If this works, I'll start focusing on spin.
Sooo that´s what happened t me whenever I tried to hit a kick serve hahaha I didn´t know I had to add a bit of pronation!! Thank Thomaz always great hearing from you!!!
I now can reconcile what for a long time seemed like opposite racquet movements: the left to right brush of the racquet to achieve spin (kick/slice) and having the ball-hitting racquet face end up facing to my right (as a right hander)! Upto this point, I’ve been ending up with the ball-hitting racquet facing down with my my wrist on top. I’m looking forward to developing new muscle memory and hitting the serve with more power with proper serve pronation. I appreciate the careful explanation. Quite the find for me.
Fantastic instructions - Thomaz made me understand with his breakdowns - after many years of improvising - the fundamentals of the forehand, backhand, service, timing and the split step. Thank you very much !
This is an amazing video. I believed that pronation must just occur naturally, without any conscious movement. But you say that we must actively DO the pronation, pushing with our finger / hand, thus adding power / spin / byte to the ball, and not just let the pronation happening by the natural momentum of the racket head? That's great :)
Great video. It covered the questions which as amateur tennis players I had. Watched few other videos on pronation but this one answers the question those left unanswered.
Love this video... I have heard of the word "pronation" and was wondering if I am doing it correctly. So glad to hear that I am pronating, just not optimize my probation.
hi tomaz thank u for these helpful videos. in this video you said doctors can explain. im a doctor and started to learn tennis 6 months ago.. we call movement in joints. so pronation is in wrist. and pronation in shoulder.. pronation in wrist makes pronation and pronation in sholder makes it maximize.
I’m 63, I play 4.0-4.5 league tennis. I have been playing tennis for 23 years. I have a good powerful serve, flat, slice, and kick, with a Continental grip. I developed my serve years ago watching Pete Sampras serve in slow motion, and going to the courts with a basket of balls and trying to copy it. After thousands of balls I developed a very good serve 20 some years ago. It is a big part of my game. Recently I started working on maximizing my pronation, and I developed tennis elbow for the first time. Obviously, I am doing something wrong, or I have exposed a weakness in my arm. I am currently taking time off, icing, stretching, and strengthening my injury. I am not very happy about all this, and my advice to y’all is be careful with this concept. It might maximize your serve, but it might put you on the sidelines with an injury. It seems to put a great deal of stress on the elbow.
Exactly my point. I did a little research before going out and practice because this is such an awkward movement even without holding the racquet. Hope you have a fast recovery.
@@miracledoh4020 At this age, I Usually play a match twice a week, and hit with my wife once or twice a week. When I was younger I played almost everyday.
The demonstrations of poor technique are delightful. Besides informing and illustration, they add a touch of endearing comic absurdity. They make me chuckle. Also, a good reminder of what I probably look like half the time in my tennis technique. Tomaz, you're great!
Great video on pronation and use of the ball; as a visual learner, your videos are some of the best on youtube. Ive been playing tennis for over 30 yrs and rated 4.5-5.0.
@Feel Tennis Instruction I'm a beginner and i watched this video in preparation to my first serve lesson. As a first approach i've been taught that after hitting the ball, I should conclude the pronation movement by stopping the twist of the wrist at 90° instead of a sort of 180° twist. Is it correct? thanks in advance, you're a great teacher!
The big problem of my serve was I did not pronate. After I one day I did the pronation I feel my serve so much better. After I experience the pronation, then I watch this video, it explains real clear. I hope I watch this video earlier.
One extra little tip is to keep serving arm extended straight out after follow through, and not to bring it down and around the body. This will naturally encourage pronation and a snap motion
Love your explanations. You are more articulate in a second language than 99% of native English speakers. Seems a bit harsh to describe kiki bertens serve technique as a mistake. You have highlighted in a different video that Federer and Tsonga both momentarily have strings facing upwards, Kiki just has a pronounced pause at that moment. Seems that enough players serve this way for it to be considered a different but valid technique - ferrer, hewitt, safin and the fastest female server Lisicki. Appears to involve a specific movement in the elbow.
The hardest thing to figure out is how to visualize the swing path in your mind. If you could help with a minds eye visualization as you start the swing that would be amazingly helpful! Love your videos!
As a doctor who is learning to serve, "pronation" adds racket speed with the wrist pronator and flexor muscles, and adds power with the pectoralis and anterior deltoid muscles. It enhances the kinetic chain and follow through, like icing on a cake.
Excellent, excellent explanations! I realize now that I do pronate, but I don’t maximize my serve with that follow-through move, twisting my arm further to the outside. Thank you! I subscribed. Question: did pros from yesterday-year maximize their serves with the “full” pronation? I’m thinking of Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe. Or is “full” pronation a “modern” technique, like the “modern” forehand?
Oh if anybody just had explained this for me when I started and the coach said use " the continetal grip" in the serve and I just hit the frame everytime like a hammer. No one said that I must turn the wrist so I stopped and used a forhand grip.
With all due respect, I’ve been doing the pronation exercises and got tennis elbow. It can be because of my age, but I had a lot of pain and could not touch a racket for three weeks. The lessons are great, without a doubt, but I would suggest to inform the viewers on potential hazards to their arm. Thank you !
Hi Rolland, there are potential hazards in any exercise. What "informs" you that you're going in the wrong direction is PAIN. When you did exercises you likely did them to the point where you felt some small pain at first but you ignored it because there is such strong desire for more powerful serve. Ignoring the pain is the problem, not the exercise. It also takes time to do the exercise right and it's best to request feedback from a good tennis coach whether you're doing the pronation right. In any sport when you attempt a new exercise you need to do it very carefully and wait for your body to adapt and certain muscles to strengthen before you can do the exercise harder. Again, what informs you that you're not doing it right is PAIN. Always listen to pain! Pain is telling you that you are doing the exercise wrong or that you're doing it too hard for your current skill level or strength level.
Thank you for your response. I was not complaining, I was only suggesting to caution the possible elbow injury related to pronation. Outside of this your lessons are great. But man, my elbow hurt, but I over did it like you said.
I use the continental grip when serving. Didn't know about the pronation technique until a player this morning showed me how to pronate. I was confused by his comment that my racket should not cross my body on the follow through of my serving after contacting the ball. He said that the racket's head should end in front or on the right side of my body. How is this accomplished? I saw the feel tennis instruction techniques on the pronation, but none showed or talked about where the tennis racket head ends.... Help! I love and thank Feel Tennis Instruction.
If you want to maximize the potential of pronation, join the 30-Day serve challenge with many different pronation drills: www.feeltennis.net/serve-challenge/
Having practiced more than 100000 serves on my own, I m pretty sure this is the best vid of tennis serves for intermediate level rec players as well as complete beginners. Highly informative..!!!
Hi Tomas. I have been playing and trying to learn tennis serve for the last 8 years. But for the first time in my life, after watching this video, I REALLY understood the concept of pronation. I went to the court, tried my serve keeping this video in my mind, and I am not lying that my usually opponent could not take even one of my serves!!! I am so happy and can't thank you enough.
That is so Awesome!!! I hope it fixes my serve too!
Tomaz, you explain this subject better than any other coach I have seen. Thanks much as you have helped improve my serving a great deal.
This and some others are the best coaching/explanation I've heard
You share invaluable info on the serve on this video, years of tennis lessons and never even heard of this concept. Every question and answer are so well detailed and demonstrated. Thank you!
Thank you for the time you took to write this feedback, much appreciated!
This is by far the best video explaining pronation that I have ever watched. Great explanation, and demonstration. In all the years I have played tennis and coached my daughter I never really knew for sure or understood the major differences in serves or the concept of pronating. Thank you for this excellent video explanation describing in detail the pronation process.
Glad it was helpful, thanks for the feedback!
The best tennis coach on UA-cam!👍
This is by far the best explanation and demonstration of what is meant by 'serve' pronation that I have ever heard. Thanks!
Wish I had seen this 3 years ago when it came out. Great job!
Probably the best video on serve and effets i have ever seen. Thank you for sharing Sir
Yes!!! This is fantastic! I've been playing tennis for 20 years and NEVER ever any coach said a word about pronation . I always felt something was missing. Thanks for sharing this awesome master class!!!
99% of the coaches don’t know about that and some say it’s a gimmick…
Sorry to say, but you both have had horrible coaches if they never mentioned it after the 1st few sessions.
@@ER_aka_RAMwell, not everybody has access to coaches like Tomas. At least in my country. You must consider yourself lucky.
When you think Tomaz peaked his pedagogical level, PUM! this lesson appears. SO EASY to understand, thanks!
I just realized the importance of the pronation recently. Came back to this video and found it exactly correct when it described “may not maximize the full pronation”. Wished I paid more attention when I watched it the first time.
Thank you for the excellent explanation
Much appreciated! Make sure you follow some drills as they develop the pronation well, the information of what's happening is just the start. You can join the serve challenge: www.feeltennis.net/serve-challenge/
FINALLY the best explanation about pronation on the whole internet. THANK YOU, Tomas!!!
I love the way you show it for the viewer to observe from the back. I am able to see clearly the swing path of the hand and the wrist.
After following the guideline of the coach Tomaz, my serve has worked!
You can not image how happy I am. I appreciate really your great support!
You are the best coach at the UA-cam. Thank you for brightening my tennis world.
Wow!! I recorded my serves and had this exact question on my mind - am I pronating? It is funny how Thomaz could think of us having a question like this after playing tennis for 10 years AND answer it so clearly and accurately!
Sir, can you please make a video explaining & showcasing the fundamentals of how to aim the serves in tennis, like what should be the mental as well as the physical process while aiming🙏
Your explanation of the serve is the best I have found on UA-cam. Before your videos I really did not understand what part pronation played in the serve. I always felt like there was an element missing in the explanation. Thinking of the serve as a two-axis motion has really made a difference for me. I still need to work on actualizing it! :) But this has certainly pointed me in the right direction. Thank you!
First video to truly explain pronation properly and the connection to gaining power in ones serve.
idk why i was so confused if i was pronating or not but this is very clear!! thank you! I AM pronating but I need to focus on maximizing the pronation especially on slice serves.
after watching tomaz videos and learnt how to pronate, my serve is improved 100%! thank you tomaz, best teaching videos on the net!!!
Very much appreciated!
This is one of the best explanations of using pronation while serving. Good job again!
It's perfectly possible to serve without pronation with a Continental grip. Indeed, that was precisely how I used to do my second serve. You do exactly what you showed, just a bit harder and more side-on to the line, with some torso rotation timed with the swing, and the ball travels slowly and with extreme slice, creeping just over the net then bouncing with extreme slice. That's perfectly possible. It isn't *good*! But it is possible.
It is not possible. Laws of physics prevent that. You have not recorded yourself in super slow motion to see that your racket face angled into the ball even though you may have not felt it.
@feeltennis Well, I'm sure you know much better than I do and your videos are just fab, & so helpful. So I'm not going to try to argue! 😃
Your video was truly excellent. I was so so confused with pronation and you just cleared it up instantly and I really appreciate the simple and clear demonstrations. Thank you so so much for your teaching.
Glad it was helpful!
I had watched many videos on pronation before stumbling on this and I must confess, you broke it down the way it needs to. Now I understand the whole dynamics of pronation. And I just subscribed to your channel for this reason. A very big thanks to you.
Glad it was helpful!
I’ve been trying to pronate completely. It finally happened during my serves today. Thanks much.
Love this guy!! Such a great teacher!!!
Wow, your videos are so easy to understand! Your evaluations and explanations are so clear. Thank you.
Best video and lesson on pronation. Thank you coach Thomas, you are the best coach who explains very well all the subtleties
Beautiful teaching on topspin serve.
Thx Coach😊
Very good video (as ever). I am also so glad that the Kiki Bertens serve was addressed in it. I was stunned when I first saw her serve and thought my perception was playing tricks with me. Amazing that you can play top 10 WTA tennis with a waiter's tray serve! (You have to wonder what kind of powerful serve she would have otherwise.)
I achieved both understanding and muscle memory of pronation in tennis just a couple of weeks ago. I’ve known about the definition for more than a decade, but only got the feeling this month. And it feels wonderful.
I would describe the result of pronation as force that drives the ball forward into the service box. In nerdy terms, it’s the component of the hitting force perpendicular to the racket face and pointing towards the service box. As all serves needs to go to the service box, then any serve (using Continental grip as Tomaz said) must have this result that was caused by pronation.
I further consider pronation to result in a a position of strength and stability for the arm as the racket hits the ball.
In simpler terms, pronation gives you the “slapping” action on the ball. The spin and kick comes from the grazing action. The proportion between the slapping and grazing actions determines the type of serve (flat, kick, slice)
Thanks for sharing your feedback!
Some great tips, I never understood why my coach was always pushing me towards the continental grip. Now I understand
I'm so glad I found your videos, which are so clear and helpful compared to many others out there. Thanks!
Glad you like them!
Excellent teaching. Very clear. It answers precisely the questions I had having seen another of Thomas' videos on pronation last week.
One of the best videos on serve and pronation. To be honest, I think I still don’t pronate most of the times, but the hinge and improved toss has improved my serve a lot. I have noticed that I seem to pronate only when I toss it higher than usual.
This answers all my questions i had but didn't ask. Thank you.
He answers even questions we don't know we have
Hey Tomas, I have learned almost everything about tennis from you only. Your lessons still reveal so many new things even on rewatching the 3rd time. Thank you so much.
You're very welcome and thanks for the kind feedback!
Now that’s the best way a video on tennis serve and pronation should start. Thanks for explaining this so well Tomaz.
A quick rookie question,
Q. “Doesn’t pronation then result in a lot of stress (and then maybe even injury) on the wrist? What is it that I might be doing wrong when trying to maximise pronation with a continental grip?”
Thanks for the detailed and systematic explanation of pronation service, I will adapt the same while in practice
Well done Tomaz, excellent explanation as usual, cheers
Impressive how he can vary between the different stroke techniques. Even showing the wrong/ineffective ones.
I am an advanced player playing 30 years, but especially changing the serve takes so much time. My pronation is good, but I tend to not swing the racket, kind of interrupt the motion and lose a lot of speed. So the last few weeks I mostly focused only on the swing to get some power back. I just have made some progress. Now I start to try more adjustments to improve precision. If this works, I'll start focusing on spin.
Sooo that´s what happened t me whenever I tried to hit a kick serve hahaha I didn´t know I had to add a bit of pronation!! Thank Thomaz always great hearing from you!!!
as usually - great explanation for tennis nation :-) Tomaz is soooo great instructor....
I now can reconcile what for a long time seemed like opposite racquet movements: the left to right brush of the racquet to achieve spin (kick/slice) and having the ball-hitting racquet face end up facing to my right (as a right hander)! Upto this point, I’ve been ending up with the ball-hitting racquet facing down with my my wrist on top. I’m looking forward to developing new muscle memory and hitting the serve with more power with proper serve pronation.
I appreciate the careful explanation. Quite the find for me.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom, Tomaz!
Excellent !!! others coaching have explanation but just with you I can really understand !!
Hi Tomaz, thanks for the videos, I think you're one of the best teachers on YT!!!
This breakdown of 'pronation' is very helpful. Thank you
Fantastic instructions - Thomaz made me understand with his breakdowns - after many years of improvising - the fundamentals of the forehand, backhand, service, timing and the split step. Thank you very much !
One of the best lesson I have found in you tube. Thanks a lot
This is an amazing video. I believed that pronation must just occur naturally, without any conscious movement. But you say that we must actively DO the pronation, pushing with our finger / hand, thus adding power / spin / byte to the ball, and not just let the pronation happening by the natural momentum of the racket head? That's great :)
Great video. It covered the questions which as amateur tennis players I had. Watched few other videos on pronation but this one answers the question those left unanswered.
Great job Tomaz,very clear presentation and very useful for us recreational players. Thanks
Love this video... I have heard of the word "pronation" and was wondering if I am doing it correctly. So glad to hear that I am pronating, just not optimize my probation.
hi tomaz thank u for these helpful videos. in this video you said doctors can explain. im a doctor and started to learn tennis 6 months ago.. we call movement in joints. so pronation is in wrist. and pronation in shoulder.. pronation in wrist makes pronation and pronation in sholder makes it maximize.
One of the best coaches on the web for sure.
Super excellent explanation about pronation! You are the best coach!!
Thank you for taking time to go through the details.
This is a fantastic informative video describing pronation of a Tennis Serve.
Thanks for your amazing guidance. This is what I wanted to know.
One of the best instruction and explanation videos!
Great teaching video on pronation during a serve. Made me serve better!
I’m 63, I play 4.0-4.5 league tennis. I have been playing tennis for 23 years. I have a good powerful serve, flat, slice, and kick, with a Continental grip. I developed my serve years ago watching Pete Sampras serve in slow motion, and going to the courts with a basket of balls and trying to copy it. After thousands of balls I developed a very good serve 20 some years ago. It is a big part of my game. Recently I started working on maximizing my pronation, and I developed tennis elbow for the first time. Obviously, I am doing something wrong, or I have exposed a weakness in my arm. I am currently taking time off, icing, stretching, and strengthening my injury. I am not very happy about all this, and my advice to y’all is be careful with this concept. It might maximize your serve, but it might put you on the sidelines with an injury. It seems to put a great deal of stress on the elbow.
Exactly my point. I did a little research before going out and practice because this is such an awkward movement even without holding the racquet. Hope you have a fast recovery.
Thanks Chance. How often do you play?
@@miracledoh4020 At this age, I Usually play a match twice a week, and hit with my wife once or twice a week. When I was younger I played almost everyday.
wish i saw this comment before trying to pronate, i hurt my shoulders bad and i had been serving for 20 years without major problems
Yeah, you have to be careful to get the motion just right. Take things slow until you really can feel it.
What a great teacher.
This is the like the answers to all my serve questions. Superb video. Thanks.
Excellent. There is a lot of good info online and you're the best.
The demonstrations of poor technique are delightful. Besides informing and illustration, they add a touch of endearing comic absurdity. They make me chuckle. Also, a good reminder of what I probably look like half the time in my tennis technique. Tomaz, you're great!
Wonderful, thanks for the feedback!
Great video on pronation and use of the ball; as a visual learner, your videos are some of the best on youtube. Ive been playing tennis for over 30 yrs and rated 4.5-5.0.
Very much appreciated!
Best explanation of pronation serve! Great teaching!
Best summarize of serve. Great. Thanks a lot.
Awesome, right on the money. Best video that I have seen so far.
@Feel Tennis Instruction I'm a beginner and i watched this video in preparation to my first serve lesson. As a first approach i've been taught that after hitting the ball, I should conclude the pronation movement by stopping the twist of the wrist at 90° instead of a sort of 180° twist. Is it correct? thanks in advance, you're a great teacher!
Excellent teaching! Very clear and detailed.
Excellent explanation Tomaz. Thanks for taking the time to make the video.
Nice lesson. You are an excellent coach! I've learned a lot about the pronation and how to serve.
I feel like I FINALLY get this......great explanation of the concepts. Now.....time to go practice with a video camera.
Great video. You are really amazing coach for teaching the serve pronation 👍👍👍
The big problem of my serve was I did not pronate. After I one day I did the pronation I feel my serve so much better. After I experience the pronation, then I watch this video, it explains real clear. I hope I watch this video earlier.
One extra little tip is to keep serving arm extended straight out after follow through, and not to bring it down and around the body. This will naturally encourage pronation and a snap motion
To me a tennis serve = racquet throw motion + intentional/voluntary/positive/active pronation at the end ....
Excellent video. You made it so easy to understand.
Love your explanations. You are more articulate in a second language than 99% of native English speakers.
Seems a bit harsh to describe kiki bertens serve technique as a mistake.
You have highlighted in a different video that Federer and Tsonga both momentarily have strings facing upwards, Kiki just has a pronounced pause at that moment.
Seems that enough players serve this way for it to be considered a different but valid technique - ferrer, hewitt, safin and the fastest female server Lisicki.
Appears to involve a specific movement in the elbow.
Insane how good this video is at explaining the serve. Ridiculous.
Great idea about the serve looking like a waiter's serve from behind but actually ending with pronation solely due to the continental grip.
Wow that's an amazing explanation. Never thought this way. Thanks so much!
The hardest thing to figure out is how to visualize the swing path in your mind. If you could help with a minds eye visualization as you start the swing that would be amazingly helpful!
Love your videos!
This is the best explanation of "pronation" I've ever seen. Thank you very much for making this video.
Very clever explanation, as usual. Thanks.
As a doctor who is learning to serve, "pronation" adds racket speed with the wrist pronator and flexor muscles, and adds power with the pectoralis and anterior deltoid muscles. It enhances the kinetic chain and follow through, like icing on a cake.
Excellent, excellent explanations! I realize now that I do pronate, but I don’t maximize my serve with that follow-through move, twisting my arm further to the outside. Thank you! I subscribed.
Question: did pros from yesterday-year maximize their serves with the “full” pronation? I’m thinking of Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe. Or is “full” pronation a “modern” technique, like the “modern” forehand?
Thank you! Very helpful, even at my advanced age. I think I can add some power to my serve.
Oh if anybody just had explained this for me when I started and the coach said use " the continetal grip" in the serve and I just hit the frame everytime like a hammer. No one said that I must turn the wrist so I stopped and used a forhand grip.
Thomas is the best instructor on the web. Explains technique clearly.
With all due respect, I’ve been doing the pronation exercises and got tennis elbow. It can be because of my age, but I had a lot of pain and could not touch a racket for three weeks. The lessons are great, without a doubt, but I would suggest to inform the viewers on potential hazards to their arm. Thank you !
Hi Rolland, there are potential hazards in any exercise. What "informs" you that you're going in the wrong direction is PAIN. When you did exercises you likely did them to the point where you felt some small pain at first but you ignored it because there is such strong desire for more powerful serve.
Ignoring the pain is the problem, not the exercise. It also takes time to do the exercise right and it's best to request feedback from a good tennis coach whether you're doing the pronation right.
In any sport when you attempt a new exercise you need to do it very carefully and wait for your body to adapt and certain muscles to strengthen before you can do the exercise harder. Again, what informs you that you're not doing it right is PAIN. Always listen to pain! Pain is telling you that you are doing the exercise wrong or that you're doing it too hard for your current skill level or strength level.
Thank you for your response. I was not complaining, I was only suggesting to caution the possible elbow injury related to pronation. Outside of this your lessons are great. But man, my elbow hurt, but I over did it like you said.
I use the continental grip when serving. Didn't know about the pronation technique until a player this morning showed me how to pronate. I was confused by his comment that my racket should not cross my body on the follow through of my serving after contacting the ball. He said that the racket's head should end in front or on the right side of my body. How is this accomplished? I saw the feel tennis instruction techniques on the pronation, but none showed or talked about where the tennis racket head ends.... Help! I love and thank Feel Tennis Instruction.
This video immediately improved my serve!
what a great video, glad i found this treasure!
King of the pronate explanation.