Have a Question for Me?

[jimlosaltos]

Thanks, John. The contrast between these three photos might be meaningful. Let's see if I can attach them. First, in the USA Today shot, we see Daniil scrambling to get to a ball at the back wall. That seems to be one of his default, opening position. Then we see his return location vs Kyrgios, 10 feet back of the baseline. Yet ... in the third frame-up from Tennis Channel, on break points in the Shanghai final vs Zverev, Daniil is right on top of the baseline. So ... Daniil starts out playing rope-a-dope then on key points, then can become aggressive, even hyper aggressive. Sort of like playing Giles Simon, if Simon could step into a phone booth to don his Federer cape to break <g>. Looking forward to seeing him and suspect there will be plenty of opportunities.

[johnyandell]

Yep he is not a favored opponent on the tour.

[stotty]

Thanks, John. The contrast between these three photos might be meaningful. Let's see if I can attach them. First, in the USA Today shot, we see Daniil scrambling to get to a ball at the back wall. That seems to be one of his default, opening position. Then we see his return location vs Kyrgios, 10 feet back of the baseline. Yet ... in the third frame-up from Tennis Channel, on break points in the Shanghai final vs Zverev, Daniil is right on top of the baseline. So ... Daniil starts out playing rope-a-dope then on key points, then can become aggressive, even hyper aggressive. Sort of like playing Giles Simon, if Simon could step into a phone booth to don his Federer cape to break <g>. Looking forward to seeing him and suspect there will be plenty of opportunities.

Great observations. Medvedev is certainly a little different from the rest. The most interesting newcomer to date.

[johnyandell]

Now that he has some attention will be interesting to see how that affects him.

[stotty]

Now that he has some attention will be interesting to see how that affects him.

I think he'll be fine and will deal with success better than the other newcomers. He has a relaxed confidence about him. His success has been going on quite a while and he seems to be getting used it. He seems to go from one tournament to the next without losing any form at all so far. We desperately need some new, high quality blood, John. It's been way too long.

[johnyandell]

Time will tell!

[dpremsagar]

Went through John Yandell's Teaching Systems for both serve and forehand. My power has immensely increased but control is lacking.
I can feel the racquet whiz at high speeds that I did not have before.
One thing I've noticed is my racquet handle slips in my hand during the shot execution. Is this a problem? (I believe it is)
Often, when this happens, the ball sails long.
Lets say A is the moment where the racquet handle slip begins in my hand and B is the moment where the slippage ends.
And lets call the moment where the racquet makes contact with the ball C.
I feel C is happening between A and B lot of times during the forehand and serve.
Perhaps I'm not holding the racquet tight enough? May be I got into the bad habit of not holding it tight enough because I've been hearing that we need to stay lose?
Now, I'm consciously trying to squeeze the racquet handle tight. I seem to get better results. But eventually, due to habit or lack of grip strength I keep falling back to holding it loose and the racquet handle slips during my strokes.
This issue never occurs during my 2H Backhand. I suspect the extra hand provides that extra firmness so that the racquet handle doesn't slip even with a technically solid backswing producing good racquet speed.
Interested to hear John's thoughts on this.

[johnyandell]

Excellent! Glad to hear it about the teaching system. As for grip pressure, think of holding a bird in your hand tightly to keep it but not killing it! However I wonder if you might be getting a lot of miss hits that have to do with focusing on the ball at the top of the bounce and looking for the spin. That will usually help you find the center of the racket. Hard to say but if you post some video it might reveal more.

[rthodges]

Hi John,

I was wondering if there is any high speed footage of Federer from 2017 that is going to be released. Also, do you think there will be a section for the one handed backhand added into biomechanics? Your article on Sampras’ serve and Brian Gordon’s articles on the forehand and serve have helped my game immensely!

[johnyandell]

RT,
I don't think we have any 2017 Fed footage--been concentrating on filming younger players. I tried to get Brian to do articles on the one-hander but so far no luck. I would recommend though my summary on the one-hander in Ultimate Fundamentals. There is a lot of one-handed material in Advanced Tennis as well. As as you see in this issue I am starting a new detailed series on the one-hander.

[seano]

John -

I have a question about the serve and specifically if one would maintain 90* at the elbow joint (achieved in the trophy position) through out the racquet drop and in the upward swing (until elbow extension). I've never really though about it but I was recently watching a Jeff Salzenstein serve video and I believe that is what he was advocating. My initial reaction was, to get the deepest possible racquet drop, one would either bend the elbow more or have to have a very flexible shoulder joint. What are your thoughts on this?

SeanO

[johnyandell]

More bend more drop. More elbow extension on the way up

https://www.tennisplayer.net/members/high_speed_archive/phantom/John_Isner_HD_HS/index.html?dir=Serve/1st_Serve&stroke=JI_1stS%20Ad%20Side1%20500fps.mp4&new=

But honestly focusing on that I think would only cause muscle tension whatever the angle.

[seano]

Thank you for the reply John, that was my thinking as well but it's nice to have a knowledgeable resource to go to when I have questions. Thank you again.
SeanO

[johnyandell]

You're welcome. Jeff needs to subscribe and actually study some high speed video... I treated myself to not looking at the hs footage of him in his kick serve article but if you can stand it report back!

[seano]

John -

Do you know anything about the Catapult Vector S7, it's a GPS tracking devise? Reading an article on Andy Murray/New Gen Players wearing the vest for data when they play. The next 4 paragraphs are from the article:

"The GPS receiver and inertial sensors in the device will measure velocity and direction, acceleration and force, rotation, body orientation, and will quantify internal load (through heart rate). The data from the wearable device, which will only be accessible by each player and those that the player gives access to, will provide accurate maps of movements and actions.

The data collected will allow players and coaches at the award-winning 21-and-under event to quantify the demands of the competition, better understand athlete loading and make key performance decisions that are supported with objective data.

Players and coaches will receive both post-practice and post-match reports from an on-site vendor who will also provide one-on-one support throughout the week. In a dream come true for tennis coaches everywhere, the data can then be synchronized with the match footage turning X&Y coordinates into invaluable information. The age-old “eye-test” can now be supported with data points and precise measurements.

Players will be able to see their heart rate during crucial points, how much ground they covered, which patterns worked best, their top speed, which approach shot worked best, how much energy they expended, and more. Did they go for too much on a key shot? Maybe they didn’t go for enough and were caught out of position. The possibilities are endless. There is no reason for tennis to be behind the curve when it comes to advanced data and sports science. The stakes are too high. Information is power and further discovery could change the way the game is played".

Thoughts?

SeanO