Tiafoe, Sharapova serve limitations and junior instruction

[arturohernandez]

Hi Everyone,

I have been off of Tennisplayer.net for a while and am happy to be back. Hopefully, I am not late to this party and if I am I apologize for posting on an issue that might have been covered here. I looked at both Sharapova's and Tiafoe's serve and seem to see a common problem in both these serves. I think it is a misunderstanding about what throwing is. If you watch a basic throw the arm stays in line with the target and the wrist points at the target the whole time. However, advanced throwing (i.e. pitching or throwing a football) involves loosening the wrist and letting it break away from the direction of the throw. I put a picture of this on twitter (@tennisnut_ae) with Manziel. So my sense is that one way to overcome this at an early age would be to actually teach this advanced throw to children. I am wondering if this resonates with anyone on the board. Again I apologize if this is an old topic but it seems that the common thread I see is in the image that the palm of the hand should face the target at all times while throwing that is then transferred to the serve.

Sincerely,

Arturo

[hockeyscout]

Hi Everyone,

I have been off of Tennisplayer.net for a while and am happy to be back. Hopefully, I am not late to this party and if I am I apologize for posting on an issue that might have been covered here. I looked at both Sharapova's and Tiafoe's serve and seem to see a common problem in both these serves. I think it is a misunderstanding about what throwing is. If you watch a basic throw the arm stays in line with the target and the wrist points at the target the whole time. However, advanced throwing (i.e. pitching or throwing a football) involves loosening the wrist and letting it break away from the direction of the throw. I put a picture of this on twitter (@tennisnut_ae) with Manziel. So my sense is that one way to overcome this at an early age would be to actually teach this advanced throw to children. I am wondering if this resonates with anyone on the board. Again I apologize if this is an old topic but it seems that the common thread I see is in the image that the palm of the hand should face the target at all times while throwing that is then transferred to the serve.

Sincerely,

Arturo

Hire an NFL QB coach.

Bottom line, 1-2 lessons - see if they can throw a very tight spiral by a certified coach (football). If they can't do it naturally they will never be able to serve as they do not have the genetic rotator cuff needed to be a quality server (and, durable over the long haul).

As for woman's tennis, it has a long ways to go. Coaches have not ironed ANY of the wrinkles in technique to date, and generally have much better track records in developing male athletes. The technical faults women have today cause of a lot of injuries, early burnout, developmental stalls and unbelievably bad constancy compared to the men. It's almost scary to watch how some of these girls on the pro tour are hitting the ball.

[don_budge]

Late to the party…pull up a chair

Hi Everyone,

I have been off of Tennisplayer.net for a while and am happy to be back. Hopefully, I am not late to this party and if I am I apologize for posting on an issue that might have been covered here. I looked at both Sharapova's and Tiafoe's serve and seem to see a common problem in both these serves. I think it is a misunderstanding about what throwing is. If you watch a basic throw the arm stays in line with the target and the wrist points at the target the whole time. However, advanced throwing (i.e. pitching or throwing a football) involves loosening the wrist and letting it break away from the direction of the throw. I put a picture of this on twitter (@tennisnut_ae) with Manziel. So my sense is that one way to overcome this at an early age would be to actually teach this advanced throw to children. I am wondering if this resonates with anyone on the board. Again I apologize if this is an old topic but it seems that the common thread I see is in the image that the palm of the hand should face the target at all times while throwing that is then transferred to the serve.

Sincerely,

Arturo

Maria Sharapova serve thread...

http://www.tennisplayer.net/bulletin/showthread.php?t=2711&highlight=maria+sharapova+serve

Francis Tiafoe serve thread...

http://www.tennisplayer.net/bulletin/showthread.php?t=2767&highlight=francis+tiafoe+serve

I understand your comments about the throwing motion. But is it a prerequisite for good serving? I know in my case that I throw right handed and serve left handed and it is awkward for me to do the reverse. There are similarities for certain. But they are not ultimately necessary…or are they?

Teaching throwing to children is certainly a good idea though. Catching as well.