A New Year's Serve

[bottle]

Trial

By the time I got to the court, I was ready to declare that these new kick ideas were cockamamie. But I wanted to remain open-minded. So I tried two radically different versions of kick: 1) way out front without the threshing heels, and with tossing arm coming down early to initiate the throw (# ) and 2) no jump but high contact slightly behind upright body like Lloyd Budge with threshing heels if that's what has happened in the illustration here.

Neither shot conquered the other. That the way out front version could compete with the other however gave me pause. And just before I got in my car to drive to the court, I re-read the service passage (prose) in THE GAME OF SINGLES IN TENNIS by Talbert and Old, which led me to hit fast slice serves with a slightly bent arm and to hit all serves at peak of toss rather than the several inches down recommended by Donald Budge and his later coach Tom Stow.

After coming home, I re-read the service passage (prose) in TENNIS MADE EASY by Lloyd Budge, which made me want to use his cue of a "pendulum" in all service actions.

A mystery remains about tossing arm left up after contact as shown in the illustration here. Helen Wills Moody is also shown doing that in a kick serve drawing in THE GAME OF SINGLES IN TENNIS. Both she and Lloyd Budge, from what other people say, finished their kick with racket off to the right, but how can one ever be sure.
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How bout them Tigers. I find it very interesting that their worst hitter over the past month, Jhonny Peralta, hit two home runs in the pennant and penultimate game against the New York Yankees. Asked for the reason why, he said he had no idea.

[bottle]

The Purposeful Porpoise Strikes Again

But does he hold serve? I hope so. He certainly wants to hit the ball and not just push it, which is possible with this serve and highly inadvisable.

Really good players, locked into their own success, don’t get to experiment much and therefore might not know something like that.

Lousy players ought to try anything and thereby have a great time since ACALG and NCAWG are the two good acronyms in the game. They come from Tilden although many other people have claimed them.

Always Change A Losing Game. Never Change A Winning Game.

How much should shoulders lead the hips at contact in this new serve modeled on J. Donald Budge?

Should contact be made halfway through the porpoisey thing? Sounds like a first serve to me. At end of all porpoising for a topspin serve? But is a topspin serve even possible with all of this porpoise stuff?

Yes, I’m pretty sure. I knew a guy who unlike his brother Dave had one, a Jeff Stickley of Woodstock, Virginia. Dave attributed Jeff’s zinging, hopping serve to his strong wrist, but if you saw how far bent over Jeff's upper body was, you might be surprised. You could even call his upper body a submarine or torpedo rather than a porpoise and I wouldn't mind.

Jeff’s serve looked unlike anything else in northwestern Virginia but was very effective.

I’m now trying to figure it out to my own satisfaction. If along with everything else you porpoise completely during count two of a three-count serve (knees not per usual rotating forward and shoulders therefore rotating backward a farther distance and heels not threshing in opposition to each other, either), racket tip lowness will become a relative matter since elbow will start quite high. But shoulders should wind the racket lower-- or farther over-- if hips stay cocked to enable this larger range.

You won’t get considerable weight on this serve since the jackknifing will already have occurred, but you’ll have the potential to make the racket go steeply upward.

What might be a useful cue? Porpoise on its back to get the racket low?

As always, my preferred though not always pursued method is to write first, try later.

The serve doctor Pat Dougherty and others have recently suggested that keeping chest open to the sky can put more swing behind the head. Is that true?

Before any likely disillusionment at an actual tennis court, I wish to think that one might save the new phenomenon of threshing heels (new at least for me) for serves that are flat or sliced. And eliminate the "wriggle" used in these two kinds of serve to load and empower the jackknife.

On kick serves I’ll just keep the hips wound back and front heel up on the toes. That method can engender natural on-the-job leftward lean while allowing the relaxedly pushing out shoulders to wind back-- or over farther-- no?

[stotty]

Anne Pankhurst introduced Quickstart going around the country for a couple of years for the USTA beginning about 5 years ago. I spoke to her because she was supervising one of my students at Carson and then I went to one of her one day workshops. She had run the Quickstart program in the UK for about 20 years. She told me she had Henman and Murray in her program. In fact, she said Andy was the only kid she had ever had go through all the stages of Quickstart in one year. So perhaps there hasn't been a Quickstart graduate that has WON Wimbledon yet, but pretty close, and at least one Grand Slam title has been taken.

don

Strange, I thought Henman was pre Quickstart (we call it mini tennis) . He was the short tennis era. Short tennis (now obsolete) used a slightly larger court than mini red. After short tennis kids went straight to the standard ball. Mini tennis wasn't around when Henman was an under 10...or at least not in the UK....not that I knew of...unless Anne was way ahead of us...which she could might have been I guess.

I saw Henman playing short tennis when he was around 5 years old. He was amazing. He came to the net all the time...a habit he never lost.

[bottle]

That's good. I'm glad to know this and perhaps it will prevent me from being such a wise-ass.

[tennis_chiro]

Closer than you think!

Am I being too provocative? Dare I eat a peach? Am I about to attack Quick Start? No, like a golden retriever I like those fat balls and little kids and eagerly await the triumph of the first one in the singles final at Wimbledon. ...

Anne Pankhurst introduced Quickstart going around the country for a couple of years for the USTA beginning about 5 years ago. I spoke to her because she was supervising one of my students at Carson and then I went to one of her one day workshops. She had run the Quickstart program in the UK for about 20 years. She told me she had Henman and Murray in her program. In fact, she said Andy was the only kid she had ever had go through all the stages of Quickstart in one year. So perhaps there hasn't been a Quickstart graduate that has WON Wimbledon yet, but pretty close, and at least one Grand Slam title has been taken.

don

[bottle]

Rotorded Nation Requires Rebirth of Tomahawk

We rotorded servers never get our racket tip low enough, which may lead to a feeling of being unmanned.

Do not submit to this degradation.

Bend the stick the other way. Will racket tip get lower then? Just the opposite and good for the soul!

Devise a more porpoiseful serve, a serve which starts out with a leaning Tower of Pisa converting into upper body swimming toward the net like a twisting porpoise as arm shoots up and forward hitting the ball on top of its head.

[bottle]

Two Bubbles in a Typical Federfore

First bubble has to do with closing the racket. How does Roger do it? Try for a minute to think of every single factor contributing to closed racket face. I'll try, too.

1) Roger's grip, which is mild though 3.5, closes strings less than a semi-western but more than the 3.0 of a standard eastern. 2) Straightened arm. A straightened arm always closes the racket face as Ray Brown pointed out. 3) Waiting position of both elbows or of right elbow slightly out from the body. When you move elbow toward side fence you close racket face. 4) "First bubble," which is simply another way of saying that elbow may go out more toward side fence as part of the backward action as seen in this clip:

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/high_speed_archive/phantom/Roger_Federer_HD_HS/index.html?dir=Forehand/RF_FH_Moves_Back&stroke=RFFHMovesBackRear1_500fps.mp4

Both backward and forward actions in a Federfore are "pretty connected," I contend, which means that body moves the racket. And I can imagine some of Roger's forehands where he doesn't change the arm-body alignment on his backswing at all. Most often, however, he closes strings an extra bit by slightly moving elbow toward right fence in early part of the backward action (a bubble in the backswing).

Second bubble is in the followthrough. Many of Roger's imitators want to swing directly to left upper arm. As the video shows, however, the racket rises toward the sky before it arcs down around the left upper arm = more topspin. A bubble if you know what I mean.

On forward swing, despite the flip, the arm is solid with body also until scapular adduction occurs.

[bottle]

Mediocre Mass Programs for Teaching Tennis

Am I being too provocative? Dare I eat a peach? Am I about to attack Quick Start? No, like a golden retriever I like those fat balls and little kids and eagerly await the triumph of the first one in the singles final at Wimbledon.

Some say we want to keep hand near ball to establish good hand-to-eye coordination for when the forehander finally-- in some personal way he's invented-- takes the racket back and then forward to the ball.

Others say to get racket back and foot flared and opposite shoulder tucked under chin in one swell foop. This prepares the arm, always a vain body part, to take a rearward solo to huge applause.

To my mind, both extremes compromise the Federer model which, generally speaking, tennis instructors agree on by now (many of whom were highly resistant for a decade or more) is best on Earth whether Roger is winning or not.

But the same instructors who reluctantly now adulate Roger feel for some strange and never properly explained reason that his stuck is inappropriate for us masses.

In the following clip one can see that shoulders turn some on unit turn and then more afterwards abetted by Roger's pointing with left hand at the right fence.

Roger's backward shoulders turn is more spread out, in other words, an idea that should help anyone.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/high_speed_archive/phantom/Roger_Federer_HD_HS/index.html?dir=Forehand/RF_FH_Moves_Back&stroke=RFFHMovesBackRear1_500fps.mp4

As for the first extreme-- the keeping of delaying hand near ball like Monica Seles-- the advantage for her is clear. In one-handed forehands, however, will not the shoulders then be too rushed or not take the extra needed journey at all?

So it's my opinion (and opinion only) that people can be imaginative in finding other ways to simulate the good hand-to-eye of closeness of hitting hand to ball for too long. Install special imaginary sensors in leading arm, I've suggested, but perhaps there are other methods that would work, too.

[bottle]

Chops for Dinner Cont'd

Stephanie/Steffany/Steffi/Steffie probably didn't hit this shot and never will but it's worth a try anyhow. After rapidly cocking the racket with hand as the fulcrum of a teeter-totter (post # 1331), straighten the arm while you whirl the racket slightly which forms a mild arc of racket tip in upward direction to establish desired pitch.

Make sure you step directly toward the net. If ball is too wide for this, hit another shot. But if all is go, jackknife now to bring outside hip and foot around as a consequence.

Upward racket tip arc caused by arm melds into downward body arc. The arm stops independent movement at racket tip apogee and joins the chopping body, which changes not the established pitch while pulling the racket butt through.

Is the top of this stroke well rounded? I'd say not. It's more like the peak of a roof or maybe even a pyramid.

[bottle]

How and Where Does Roger Close his Racket?

It’s funny how one video can change one’s basic understanding in a flash.

In everything I’ve written about Roger Federer and Federfores—at least for a long time—I’ve stressed that racket tip twists up over elbow, which suggests that upper arm is twisting in its socket like an axle.

The following video gives the lie to that. The racket closes early and elbow lift does it. Then shoulders turn back the arm, which is solid with them.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/high_speed_archive/phantom/Roger_Federer_HD_HS/index.html?dir=Forehand/RF_FH_Moves_Back&stroke=RFFHMovesBackRear1_500fps.mp4

To continue the study, let’s look at more of the rear view forehands.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/high_speed_archive/phantom/Roger_Federer_HD_HS/index.html?dir=Forehand/RF_FH_Moves_Back&stroke=RFFHMovesBackRear2_250fps.mp4

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/high_speed_archive/phantom/Roger_Federer_HD_HS/index.html?dir=Forehand/RF_FH_Arm_Action&stroke=RFFHInsideInArmActionRear1_500fps.mp4

Here’s an old clip:

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/pro_men/rogerfederer/rogerfederer_forehand/rogerfederer_fh_center/rogerfederer_fh_center.html?FedererFHCenterOpenStanceCourtlevelRear.mov

And another:

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/pro_men/rogerfederer/rogerfederer_forehand/rogerfederer_fh_center/rogerfederer_fh_center.html?FedererFHCenterNeutralStanceRear.mov

In that last one, confusing, elbow doesn’t change position until late when it lifts a bit toward the camera.

[bottle]

On the British Pathe Film

Both serves are low energy compared to what one sees on the tour today-- there's no vertical lifting of the entire body weight.

The Bobby Riggs serve, especially admired by Phil Picuri here in the forum, is not so different from Don Budge then.

But if one is careful in viewing the Don Budge from head on (front view) one can notice how much the upper body comes toward the net almost like a swimming porpoise.

Think of this serve's verbal description in THE GAME OF SINGLES IN TENNIS: A toss two feet into the court!

Not that Bobby Riggs doesn't "cartwheel" too a bit along with horizontal blend and farther back toss-- he does. Nothing like Budge, though, who's putting extreme weight into the shot.

All this figures. Budge is tall, Riggs short. And Riggs thrived on weightless "junk." That was his excellent game.

[bottle]

Rhythm and Pitch in One's Steffi-Chop

Now that I'm playing again, I want some more imaginative service returns than I employed before my injury.

While advancing age provides good opportunity to review choices of every kind, service returns are where, in the view of tennis writer John M. Barnaby, any player should be most creative.

This idea says that if one can't return a formidable serve with A, try B. But why restrict oneself to a pair of letters? Well, one won't have much time to figure things out-- the match will be over-- if one is faced with too many choices. So learn the whole alphabet as well as a four-year-old so that you can shortcut the list and go directly to N or P.

S for me is a flipped forehand where wrist abruptly lays back as part of the unit turn (but not later in the stroke). Best then is diagonal step-out with the front foot. That turns body enough, sometimes more than enough. The open version might require conscious backward body turn or maybe not if a sideways forward turn will suffice.

On backhand, I've got a chip-- never mind which letter of the 26-- which does the job sometimes but isn't very dramatic.

So it's time to streamline the Steffi-chop. Readers will recall that this shot required an intricate teeter-totter in which hand became a still fulcrum equaling racket tip going down and elbow up.

Just do all of this as part of flying grip change since we're getting older and slower and here comes the serve and we want to save time.

Building on one's chip, which in my case only takes the arm back to where one can see an imaginary ring on one's middle finger, one now replaces that finger as reference point with one's flipped elbow. So arm action in the flying grip change may have been twice as fast to go twice as far, but now you're ready to chop in the same rhythm as one's chip.

Other departures: 1) Tilted down rather than level shoulders as part of the unit turn, 2) Rising of the right hand as a natural part of the chopping motion, 3) jackknifing from the hips, 4) outside foot finally pulled up to restore balance but also demonstrating that massive weight has come through, 5) a more open racket face at contact which probably is the reason for this whole experiment-- just to see how exaggerated racket openness works best on any chop.

[bottle]

You'd better answer, fella.

[alexandrafranco]

Serve backswing

don_budge, I struggle with my backswing, and am trying to understand what you wrote in this post.Do you mean the racquet tip faces the ground and follows a parallel path to your body?and how do you get to trophy position?and what do you mean by falling motion? In other words, can you please help me with the backswing of the serve. What is the most efficient path? racquet/hand positions? I have a tendency to open the wrist and get a waiter's serve.. so I find in a ampler backswing more can go wrong with wrist and was trying to imagine I have a back wall so I go from arm down to just past my back leg and then into trophy position. Is what you advocating similar to Feliciano Lopez backswing?or now Djokovic? Do you have posts on the progressions of the serve? Thank you

John...please consider these two images. Positions #1 and #3. One very key and interesting aspect of this beautiful classic motion is the fact that the position of the racquet, hand and arm have virtually maintained the identical position throughout the backswing. He is truly swinging the racquet into position to go forwards. At the top of the backswing in image #3 the racquet is in perfect position to "fall" behind the server.

This perfect "falling" motion is very instrumental and key in the timing of the swing. The only way to maintain this position of the racquet, hand and arm throughout the backswing is to take the tip of the racquet down a path in front of you along the parallel path in front of the toes. Does that make any sense to you? It's all coming back to me now...this is the basis for all of my rollercoaster rigamarole and service theory...it was J. Donald's explanation to me made back in the summers of '72 and '73.

Very cool of you to revive this beautiful classic motion in your New Year's Serve! I think that I detect a smile on his face from above...he would have been very proud to know that someone was discussing the merits of his great service motion and not just the legendary backhand. It really brings back some fond memories of when I used to be you know who.

[don_budge]

Riggs' "Hot Pants"...Budge's disgust

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/rigg-v-budge-aka-riggs-v-budge/query/don+budge

The contrast between Budge's long trousers and Riggs' "Hot Pants" is just hilarious. I can't imagine how it looked when looking through 1942 eyes. Listen to the psychology of the remarks between the two of them. Check out the Donald's disgust with the last interview question. Even back then enough was enough. I wish that I could ask him what was going through his mind right then.