Have a Question for Me?

[stotty]

I would see where the left arm stretch is at the bounce of the ball. It should be fully extended to the sideline at about the bounce. You need video of course. If the left arm is still on the racket that could be the problem. I would work on him to make that checkpoint and the problem might self-correct.

You were right. He was holding on to the racket too long. We had a go at it today and he took to the earlier release very quickly. I can see the problem will soon resolve itself. Thanks for this, John. I would have wrestled with the problem a good deal longer without your help.

Looks like I won't make the 27th as I have to cover for one of my coaches who is away and who runs one of my key programmes. If things change I will let you know. I would love to meet you but it may not be this time round.

[johnyandell]

Stotty,
Good news about your player. We will meet eventually I have a feeling. Where is your club and how far from Boston Lincolnshire?

[stotty]

Stotty,
Good news about your player. We will meet eventually I have a feeling. Where is your club and how far from Boston Lincolnshire?

My club is 50 miles from London. I am a two and a half hour drive from Lincolnshire. Are you doing a workshop there too?

[johnyandell]

No but going up there to do some research on an ancestor from Boston.

[roseretief]

Circular swing exercise

Hi John,
Thank you for your help. I tried the circular swing exercise and wondered if I am doing it right. I bring the racquet back in line with my extended arm( racquet tip faces directly to the back fence and thumb is up holding with a mild continental grip, then I bring the thumb over my right shoulder( trophy position) and from there I lead with the edge(pinky), palm facing my ear and turning out at contact. I actually get quite a nice trophy position, starting from the racquet facing the back fence and while I toss my serving arm gets into the trophy position. Does this seem correct to you? Should my palm face my head in the trophy position? Thank you so much

[johnyandell]

RR,

You are most welcome!

No your palm should face the side fence more or less, like this:

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/high_speed_archive/phantom/Roger_Federer_HD_HS/index.html?dir=Serve/1st_Serve&stroke=RF_1stS_Ad_Side1_250fps.mp4

You can also exaggerate the circular windup and imagine pointing your entire arm and racket straight up at the sky after pointing at the back fence.

That's discussed in this article part of my new serve series:

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/teaching_systems/john_yandell/serve2/

[pvchen]

The Non-Pro Racquet Drop

Hi John,
I recently subscribed and I love your site. As a 'mechanic' minded tennis player, with a degree in bioengineering and a practicing physician, I really like your approach to tennis, based on careful observation and biomechanics.

I have a question about how to find the optimal racquet drop for those of us on the less flexible side. My shoulder cannot rotate anything close to Roddick, Sampras or Fed's. You've commented that for the rest of us, the elbow will be higher and more forward. The question is, what to prioritize? If my forearm points straight back, the racquet tip won't get any further down than perpendicular to the ground. If I try to point the racquet down and keep it as far to my right side as possible, my elbow has to come way forward. If I try to reach back behind me as much as possible, my elbow comes way up high. Which of these is the best racquet drop for me, and how does one find the best racquet drop position for their own level of flexibility?

[johnyandell]

PV,

Thanks for the good words and great question. Definitely number three for you!

Use that idea of the face of the racket at 90 or so degrees to a line across the torso. Your arm and elbow position should be whatever they need to be to make that angle and still feel like there is minimal tension in the muscles.

Shoulder massage is never a bad idea, but the shoulder flexibility of the great players is like the great baseball pitchers, a decision god (or whomever or whatever) made that we have to work with.

[seano]

New Sony High Speed Cameras

John -

Have you heard anything about the new Sony RX 100 iv & RX 10 ii cameras released this month? High Speed up to 960 fps with adjustable shutter speed up to 1/32000. 240 fps is supposed to be near perfect HD quality.

Sean

[johnyandell]

Seano,

Giancarlo sent me the specs! This could be the one we are waiting for! Haven't actually seen one in person.

http://www.sony.net/Products/di/en-us/products/ht7k/index.html?contentsTop=1

John

[seano]

Sony rx 100 iv

John -

Just ordered one (w/ 5 year warranty - $1048) , should arrive in few days. Will update you.

Sean

[johnyandell]

Fab. Really interested.

[seano]

Sony RX100 iv camera - First Impressions

John -

I received the new Sony camera over the weekend. Still getting used to how it operates. First Impressions - The camera in High Frame Rate (HFR) using 240fps - pixel read out = 1824 x 1026 in Highest resolution BUT it's only a 2 second recordable duration (amazing quality). 4 second recordable duration = 1676 x 566. You can shoot at 120fps (non-HFR) and record at full HD for a long time. Also records in 4K video for 5 minutes. It will be an adjustment getting used to the limited record time in 240fps at it's highest quality but it is amazing quality.

Sean

[seano]

Sony RX100 iv camera - First Impressions

John -

2nd thought - Really like the adjustable shutter speed, it's controlled with a shuttle wheel, extremely easy.

Sean

[johnyandell]

Interesting! Sounds excellent but it's not the final solution! I was hoping for full length recording time... what if you go down to 720p for example--does that extend the time??