My wife is sitting next to me watching TV.So I'm watching this video without any voice.I also have no earphones.But I must say all the other videos I watched before with speaking couldn't be this efficient.Thanks very much...
You and Florian are excellent teachers and a good example too of how tennis brings many cultures together. Keep up the great work, Nadim. And thank you.
This is excellent advice. Someone who is not using their elbow properly might get their serve in but they won't get that extra power. This is the very best advice on the serve for a player who seems to be doing everything else right. Nine times out of 10 the positioning of the elbow is the culprit.
I love the very last comment " ... if your flexibility allows". Working on that part as I see it as key to making this work smoothly. Thanks. Great explanation
Nadim, this video is excellent. I never understood the exact elbow movement until you explained it. Hopefully I will be able to implement it. Thank you very much.
One thing I can appreciate is that you are engaging in the comments (good or bad) with your professional responses. Some other videos selectively answer/comments on what makes he/she feels good; or they don't respond at all! Thanks for taking the time to share.
Thanks for your comment. I find that everyone is entitled to their opinion and I m more than happy to engage in a constructive discussion. The funny thing is, most people leaving comments that are deemed "Negative" don't have an interest in a frank discussion for the betterment of tennis instruction. Best wishes
I found this video, as well as the other recent videos in this series on the serve, to be very useful. I put a lot of work and thought into it over the last few weeks, and have found a huge improvement in my serves. Previously my technic was all wrong and my serve was always the weakest part of my game. Following these serve videos, my own service motion has become more fluid, powerful, and I am hitting way more first serves in play. My swing feels much more "natural" and comfortable. Regarding some of the comments below, it seems to me that these people do not understand the purpose of these instructional videos. If you are at a level where you're trying to serve like Roger Federer, than you probably don't need to be watching these videos anyway. Also, to Isaiah below, it is very difficult to learn the "right" way without demonstrating the "wrong" way. I have benefited from most, if not all, of the instructions from this group. If you are not benefiting, most likely you are not looking at it in the right way or understanding the fundamental principals being shown.
Thank you very much, Terry for taking the time to write this nice note. I am very happy to read that you have had success with our videos and encourage you to reach out, if you have any questions about your serve or any other stroke. It seems you are really into progressing your game to the next level and we are more than happy to assist. Best wishes and continued success in your journey. Kind Regards
easy exercise doing shadow swings, very difficult when I go to hit the ball to lead with the elbow, served wrong way too long, leading with the elbow has been a looong project, started putting ball between forearm and bicep, helping some, believe it is the ball falling down that just wants to change swing.
My shoulder is a mess since last tourney. I've been resting it for a week. I'll try this next time. My elbow does not go up and racquet doesn't drop like they show in all videos
Hi Nadine! Unfortunately, my serve motion looks like a cricket player pitching a ball. Could you please indicate me some drills to develop this "leading with the elbow concept"? Thanks
Dominique De Vos thanks for your comment. For those of us who are flexible enough that would be the ideal case. The important point is that you get into a position with your hand close to the level of your shoulder to where you can lead to contact with your elbow, not your hand...
I'm still struggling with the right to left movement. Do you actually force the racket to the left ? I tried that and hit my head with it :) Letting it fall is easier but it doesn't really go left then.
I watched your video which allegedly would teach one to "add 5-10 MPH" to the serve. The way you'd have convinced me is by measuring the speed of some amateur's serve, let him / her, do what you say and then let's see that they actually added the extra MPH. Let me know when you've done that.
This video is great besides one thing, I disagree on the contact point at 2:43 . I have a strong serve but I ended up with a lot of inflammation, pain and loss of mobility in my rotator cuff from having the contact point here. I've now moved my contact point a bit lower/to the side and more infront of me and have no more pain. ua-cam.com/video/DHBPL9MqTSk/v-deo.html
Art Kharlamov I’m holding the racket choked up on the grip (half grip) and still in continental; it’s done in this manner precisely so to keep the focus on the explanation of the elbow movement not the full swing.
Well, sorry but this does not make much sense to me. People don't serve holding the racket half grip ( in this position the movement of your arm is restricted ) and if you are trying to show what should be happening during a certain phase of the serve you should be gripping the racket the way you normally would when serving.
Art Kharlamov well, Art. We will have to agree to disagree here. We have different methods and as long as the students benefit from it and improve, all is well. Mine do and by the sounds of it, so do yours. I do believe that using the half grip is a valuable profession step. Good luck and best to you
Watch Roger serving ( for example here ua-cam.com/video/FBkFgS3e4QY/v-deo.html or screenshots here www.feeltennis.net/roger-federer-serve/ ) and you will see that his arm is straight and it is level with his shoulder when your arm is bent and is below your right shoulder . Federer's elbow obviously drops below his right shoulder but this is happening naturally as he is tilting his torso not because he moves his arm...i understand what you are trying to explain but because you are not analyzing a part of a real serve, your advise is dangerously taken out of context and you are likely to get a lot of folks confused. I watched a lot of your videos Nadim and shared and up-voted many of them, but this one is not the best. If I were you I would delete it
Art Kharlamov I appreciate your enthusiasm and following my videos. I won’t delete it :) the concepts in here are applicable. You need to distinguish between styles and fundamentals. No two serves look alike. Even in this video I point out that there are different positions that are good. One of them is hand and elbow being level, such as with Federer. Main issue: most players come nowhere near that “same level” position. I have studied Federer’s and many other pros (some of whom I worked with) in detail and yes, there are “differences” but the concept and the path of the elbow are still applicable.
it adds power because it is the only way to get your racket to drop, just be patient practicing leading with elbow if been serving wrong way, will not feel good possibly for a long time, PATIENCE!
Hi Antonio. Thanks for your comment. Yes, this was a "talk only" clip to "force" players to not get distracted by me serving. This clip here shows a few serves of mine, although the topic of the video is a different one. ua-cam.com/video/6q4uNyBQcPU/v-deo.html
ISAIAH JOHN thanks for your comment. Because players don’t realize what they are actually doing wrong. In fact, many think they already do it the “right” way when they’re not. An important component of proper instruction is to make the student aware what’s really going on vs. What they think is going on. Precisely why we use video recording for every single lesson. 9 out of 10 players either had no clue what they look like when they serve or never thought that they didn’t do it properly to begin with. That’s why I show the “wrong” way as well. Thank you.
@@NadimNaser absolutely right ,I thought I was serving well and couldn't understand why it was slow and inconsistent until i looked at a video of myself, I realised I was serving like an Orangutan,
I believe this to be very bad advice as demonstrated. The elbow should never be elevated that far above the shoulder as it is causing a dangerous impingement on the shoulder. Watching slow motion videos of hundreds of pros serving, none of the good ones extend their elbows very far above the plane extending from their offside elbow through both shoulders to their hitting elbow. I'm sure when you serve you don't really do what your showing here, at least I hope not. Anyway, you should review this lesson with a qualified kinesiologist and view the slow motion serves of top players as well as your own serve. Perhaps you will see a need to revise this lesson accordingly.
Michael McKenna thanks for the comment. I respectfully disagree. Sure, everything depends on a players flexibility and degree to which they can or should but the elbow does travel in that manner and in many cases (at the highest level) the elbow does in fact surpass the level of the hand. Others have it even with the hand. Fact is, elbow and hand are close in level when extending to contact...some are higher than others but the movement/path of the elbow itself is undisputed. Disclaimer: the serve on its own is not a “shot made for the human body”; similar to pitching and other athletic movements. Yet, it’s how you serve and that’s precisely why players need to know their limitations. Also, I demonstrated this in a slow motion manner for people to try. If they can’t do it here, they won’t when they play. Then, it’s time to find out whether it’s merely lack of flexibility/range of motion or whether it’s a true limitation. I have tons of slow motion footage of pro level and other players that corroborate this clearly. Thank you
Impingement occurs when the elbow is raised higher than the shoulder *laterally* (coronal plane) repeatedly and/or against resistance. In the video (1:02) you clearly state that the elbow should not be raised higher than the shoulder when out to the side. By the time the elbow does become higher than shoulder, the torso has turned, the shoulder externally rotated and the humerus adducted so that it now extends forward and upward in the sagittal plane - a.k.a. "the backscratch position", also seen in those freeze motion photos of baseball pitchers' unnaturally bent arms that make us wince and cringe. Okay, you might injure your rotator cuff, but you (sure as hell) are not going to have shoulder impingement syndrome.
Hi James, please take another look at Nadim"s demonstration, particularly around 3:20. He is clearly extending his arm above a safe plane to the shoulders. he also has given up all the effect of his core muscles with no "C" and no rotation to uncoil. I cannot endorse this lesson
Michael McKenna why don’t you send me a clip of your or your player’s service motion and together we can discuss what it is you/he/she do/does, what you want to/think you need to do with the motion to clarify the role and positions of the elbow throughout the swing
I would just like to say I had an impinged shoulder from a bike accident, and I have had immediate success from this elbow move with no soreness to my shoulder, and has helped my launch from the ground and the timing of my throwing arm coming down has improved and for once feels in good rythmn. Cheers Nadim
ShaiLESH SwaROOP Thanks for your time to comment on this video; there are plenty of “action serve videos” of us out there. This one was specifically meant to be an explanation (as mentioned in the beginning of the clip) because too many players do not know at all what the actual positions of the elbow are throughout the Serve. There will be plenty of more videos where I can show you that I can actually serve like that ;). My goal is to have others, who are interested in knowing what the elbow needs to do, get a better understanding.
My wife is sitting next to me watching TV.So I'm watching this video without any voice.I also have no earphones.But I must say all the other videos I watched before with speaking couldn't be this efficient.Thanks very much...
The best clearest instructions Coach Nadim. Thank you so much
You and Florian are excellent teachers and a good example too of how tennis brings many cultures together. Keep up the great work, Nadim. And thank you.
Thanks Nadim. Very clear .... for the first time. I love how you break down parts of the service motion.
This is excellent advice. Someone who is not using their elbow properly might get their serve in but they won't get that extra power. This is the very best advice on the serve for a player who seems to be doing everything else right. Nine times out of 10 the positioning of the elbow is the culprit.
I love the very last comment " ... if your flexibility allows". Working on that part as I see it as key to making this work smoothly. Thanks. Great explanation
Just rewatched this -- a great breakdown of the role of the elbow.
One of the best explanations I have seen on this tricky movement. Thanks for showing it from multiple views, that really helped. Great job!
All you guys have it wrong. The right arm and elbow movement automatically follows the ROTATION OF THE TRUNK.
Hi Coach Nadim,
I'm coach myself. I can say this is best video and coaching in the world. Thanks Coach Safe
I went out and tried it after watching the video, you are right, if done correctly it adds 5-10 mph on the serve. Thank you.
This is much clearer step by step that I have to leave a comment to thank you!
Nadim, this video is excellent. I never understood the exact elbow movement until you explained it. Hopefully I will be able to implement it. Thank you very much.
Clear and simple. You are great presenter and coach. Thanks!
Thanks for this detailed explanation, Nadim.
Great tip - I was choking on the elbow bend. The rotation with elbow as focus is a v good reference point.
Fantastic video...very clear and i have just practiced this for an hour with much improvement.....Many thanks
Terrific tip on the serving arm particularly. Well coached
This is absolute gold dust! Thank you so much for sharing.
This must be good instruction as other online instructors have since used this advice for serving for their lessons.
Amazing! This tennis tip is the best i have ever enjoyed!
Thanks a lot man....i never unterstood the mechsnics of serve in that topic...
One thing I can appreciate is that you are engaging in the comments (good or bad) with your professional responses. Some other videos selectively answer/comments on what makes he/she feels good; or they don't respond at all! Thanks for taking the time to share.
Thanks for your comment. I find that everyone is entitled to their opinion and I m more than happy to engage in a constructive discussion. The funny thing is, most people leaving comments that are deemed "Negative" don't have an interest in a frank discussion for the betterment of tennis instruction. Best wishes
This is a great video! So simple and clear
excelente explicacion!muchas gracias!
Thank you Nadim, it's very clear . I will translate it into Turkish Language as well
Thank you so much, God bless you
Excellent explanation, Nadim - that clarifies some questions I had.
Mark Hillman thank you, Mark. How is your progress coming along since we worked together? Keep me posted. Best wishes.
Perfect!! Thank you !!
Thanx, Nadeem for video. Please clear, if elbow extension pulls elbow up or first elbow moves up, then elbow extends.
I found this video, as well as the other recent videos in this series on the serve, to be very useful. I put a lot of work and thought into it over the last few weeks, and have found a huge improvement in my serves. Previously my technic was all wrong and my serve was always the weakest part of my game. Following these serve videos, my own service motion has become more fluid, powerful, and I am hitting way more first serves in play. My swing feels much more "natural" and comfortable. Regarding some of the comments below, it seems to me that these people do not understand the purpose of these instructional videos. If you are at a level where you're trying to serve like Roger Federer, than you probably don't need to be watching these videos anyway. Also, to Isaiah below, it is very difficult to learn the "right" way without demonstrating the "wrong" way. I have benefited from most, if not all, of the instructions from this group. If you are not benefiting, most likely you are not looking at it in the right way or understanding the fundamental principals being shown.
Thank you very much, Terry for taking the time to write this nice note. I am very happy to read that you have had success with our videos and encourage you to reach out, if you have any questions about your serve or any other stroke. It seems you are really into progressing your game to the next level and we are more than happy to assist. Best wishes and continued success in your journey. Kind Regards
This guy is awesome!
Good tip.Thank you.
easy exercise doing shadow swings, very difficult when I go to hit the ball to lead with the elbow, served wrong way too long, leading with the elbow has been a looong project, started putting ball between forearm and bicep, helping some, believe it is the ball falling down that just wants to change swing.
My shoulder is a mess since last tourney. I've been resting it for a week. I'll try this next time. My elbow does not go up and racquet doesn't drop like they show in all videos
Hi Nadine! Unfortunately, my serve motion looks like a cricket player pitching a ball. Could you please indicate me some drills to develop this "leading with the elbow concept"? Thanks
ok !that's what i have understood after many years of practice
Great to hear. Thanks for the comment
Where are you located, great videos.
Thanks so much
Does this apply for a kick serve? Because it seems like this methods relies on a lot of rotation
Detail explaination 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Great!! Thanks!!
after loading, is the elbow coming up AND swinging around? like a whip? mine is from just up and out...
thank you~~~ good video~~
AWESOME
THANKS
👍👍👍
I thought you have to do cartwheel motion with shoulder
so you are saying that the elbow is at 1 line with the shoulders when you are turned and then you go up to contact ????
Dominique De Vos thanks for your comment. For those of us who are flexible enough that would be the ideal case. The important point is that you get into a position with your hand close to the level of your shoulder to where you can lead to contact with your elbow, not your hand...
I'm still struggling with the right to left movement. Do you actually force the racket to the left ? I tried that and hit my head with it :) Letting it fall is easier but it doesn't really go left then.
I have the same problem, have you got an answer for this yet?
I watched your video which allegedly would teach one to "add 5-10 MPH" to the serve. The way you'd have convinced me is by measuring the speed of some amateur's serve, let him / her, do what you say and then let's see that they actually added the extra MPH. Let me know when you've done that.
This video is great besides one thing, I disagree on the contact point at 2:43 . I have a strong serve but I ended up with a lot of inflammation, pain and loss of mobility in my rotator cuff from having the contact point here. I've now moved my contact point a bit lower/to the side and more infront of me and have no more pain. ua-cam.com/video/DHBPL9MqTSk/v-deo.html
I was playing doubles. My partner kept double faulting. I told him to lead with his elbow, he was then blowing the ball past the opponent.
Err...3:41 and still no finish
why do you hold the racket wrong when you are trying to demonstrate what to do when serving ?
Art Kharlamov I’m holding the racket choked up on the grip (half grip) and still in continental; it’s done in this manner precisely so to keep the focus on the explanation of the elbow movement not the full swing.
Well, sorry but this does not make much sense to me. People don't serve holding the racket half grip ( in this position the movement of your arm is restricted ) and if you are trying to show what should be happening during a certain phase of the serve you should be gripping the racket the way you normally would when serving.
Art Kharlamov well, Art. We will have to agree to disagree here. We have different methods and as long as the students benefit from it and improve, all is well. Mine do and by the sounds of it, so do yours. I do believe that using the half grip is a valuable profession step. Good luck and best to you
Watch Roger serving ( for example here ua-cam.com/video/FBkFgS3e4QY/v-deo.html or screenshots here www.feeltennis.net/roger-federer-serve/ ) and you will see that his arm is straight and it is level with his shoulder when your arm is bent and is below your right shoulder . Federer's elbow obviously drops below his right shoulder but this is happening naturally as he is tilting his torso not because he moves his arm...i understand what you are trying to explain but because you are not analyzing a part of a real serve, your advise is dangerously taken out of context and you are likely to get a lot of folks confused.
I watched a lot of your videos Nadim and shared and up-voted many of them, but this one is not the best. If I were you I would delete it
Art Kharlamov I appreciate your enthusiasm and following my videos. I won’t delete it :) the concepts in here are applicable. You need to distinguish between styles and fundamentals. No two serves look alike. Even in this video I point out that there are different positions that are good. One of them is hand and elbow being level, such as with Federer. Main issue: most players come nowhere near that “same level” position. I have studied Federer’s and many other pros (some of whom I worked with) in detail and yes, there are “differences” but the concept and the path of the elbow are still applicable.
Elbow before hand!
it adds power because it is the only way to get your racket to drop, just be patient practicing leading with elbow if been serving wrong way, will not feel good possibly for a long time, PATIENCE!
Nice and useful instruction. A pity that you didn't supported it by a serve.
Hi Antonio. Thanks for your comment. Yes, this was a "talk only" clip to "force" players to not get distracted by me serving. This clip here shows a few serves of mine, although the topic of the video is a different one.
ua-cam.com/video/6q4uNyBQcPU/v-deo.html
Thumbs up if you look like that guy at 4:54 . I used to look like that until I watched this video. Thumbs up again if you agree. kidding.
Why don't you demonstrate the only right way so viewers will not get confused. Do NOT show the wrong way
ISAIAH JOHN thanks for your comment. Because players don’t realize what they are actually doing wrong. In fact, many think they already do it the “right” way when they’re not. An important component of proper instruction is to make the student aware what’s really going on vs. What they think is going on. Precisely why we use video recording for every single lesson. 9 out of 10 players either had no clue what they look like when they serve or never thought that they didn’t do it properly to begin with. That’s why I show the “wrong” way as well. Thank you.
@@NadimNaser absolutely right ,I thought I was serving well and couldn't understand why it was slow and inconsistent until i looked at a video of myself, I realised I was serving like an Orangutan,
I believe this to be very bad advice as demonstrated.
The elbow should never be elevated that far above the shoulder as it is causing a dangerous impingement on the shoulder.
Watching slow motion videos of hundreds of pros serving, none of the good ones extend their elbows very far above the plane extending from their offside elbow through both shoulders to their hitting elbow.
I'm sure when you serve you don't really do what your showing here, at least I hope not. Anyway, you should review this lesson with a qualified kinesiologist and view the slow motion serves of top players as well as your own serve. Perhaps you will see a need to revise this lesson accordingly.
Michael McKenna thanks for the comment. I respectfully disagree. Sure, everything depends on a players flexibility and degree to which they can or should but the elbow does travel in that manner and in many cases (at the highest level) the elbow does in fact surpass the level of the hand. Others have it even with the hand. Fact is, elbow and hand are close in level when extending to contact...some are higher than others but the movement/path of the elbow itself is undisputed. Disclaimer: the serve on its own is not a “shot made for the human body”; similar to pitching and other athletic movements. Yet, it’s how you serve and that’s precisely why players need to know their limitations.
Also, I demonstrated this in a slow motion manner for people to try. If they can’t do it here, they won’t when they play. Then, it’s time to find out whether it’s merely lack of flexibility/range of motion or whether it’s a true limitation. I have tons of slow motion footage of pro level and other players that corroborate this clearly. Thank you
Impingement occurs when the elbow is raised higher than the shoulder *laterally* (coronal plane) repeatedly and/or against resistance. In the video (1:02) you clearly state that the elbow should not be raised higher than the shoulder when out to the side. By the time the elbow does become higher than shoulder, the torso has turned, the shoulder externally rotated and the humerus adducted so that it now extends forward and upward in the sagittal plane - a.k.a. "the backscratch position", also seen in those freeze motion photos of baseball pitchers' unnaturally bent arms that make us wince and cringe. Okay, you might injure your rotator cuff, but you (sure as hell) are not going to have shoulder impingement syndrome.
Hi James, please take another look at Nadim"s demonstration, particularly around 3:20. He is clearly extending his arm above a safe plane to the shoulders. he also has given up all the effect of his core muscles with no "C" and no rotation to uncoil. I cannot endorse this lesson
Michael McKenna why don’t you send me a clip of your or your player’s service motion and together we can discuss what it is you/he/she do/does, what you want to/think you need to do with the motion to clarify the role and positions of the elbow throughout the swing
I would just like to say I had an impinged shoulder from a bike accident, and I have had immediate success from this elbow move with no soreness to my shoulder, and has helped my launch from the ground and the timing of my throwing arm coming down has improved and for once feels in good rythmn. Cheers Nadim
So this just an ad. Wow. Thx. Ban you form YT.
Bad..bad..bad.
Too much talking and not enough actions.
People are more receptive of pictures than words.
ShaiLESH SwaROOP Thanks for your time to comment on this video; there are plenty of “action serve videos” of us out there. This one was specifically meant to be an explanation (as mentioned in the beginning of the clip) because too many players do not know at all what the actual positions of the elbow are throughout the Serve. There will be plenty of more videos where I can show you that I can actually serve like that ;). My goal is to have others, who are interested in knowing what the elbow needs to do, get a better understanding.
Bye
Your audio sounds like nails on chalk board
Sorry Luba; not sure if it's your settings but on my end (on several devices) the audio comes through well.
Nadim Naser it was better last time are you coach if so where
Luba Luba maybe the nearby traffic causes some noise for you. Yes, I am a coach, currently in California
You could always donate
this is totally wrong this guy doesn't know the science behind the serve.
Well Junaid, if that is the case, please enligthen me. I am willing to learn. What is your approach to explaining the role of the elbow?