forearm use during serve

[grimmbomb]

Here is my problem.

I know during the serve the wrist is not supposed to snap, but rather just "come along for the ride". I have also been told the service motion is just like throwing a football. Well, when I throw a football, my wrist is bent back. Then as I bring the ball up and I am about to release, I can feel the muscles in my forearm flex for a split second. I wouldn't call it a "snap", because my wrist is not really snapping foreward. It's more just going along with the pronation.

The back of my hand and my forearm do end up in a straight line, not typical of the position of a person who is trying to snap their wrist into contact. I have been trying not to use my forearm at all, and I have been able to. However, it feels a bit less natural to me. Plus, my natural throwing motion gives me more pop on the serve. So, my question is, do I give the "limp wrist" way more time and practice, or just use my natural throwing motion?

Thanks for the help,

Bryan

[johnyandell]

Bryan,

I'm stepping in for Bungalow for a while here because he is fully engaged with his move to Idaho from So Cal.

You ask a great question. I wouldn't try to snap the wrist forward, but I wouldn't hold it back either. The football throwing motion is a good analogy--especially if you are thinking of throwing the ball 40 yards straight up in the air.

I personally still think the "high five" to the ball is the best image. You are right that the wrist WILL be laid back at the completion of the drop. I think there probably is some muscle contraction to get to the high five although with that image it tends to happen naturally--otherwise how would everything get in line at the contact?

The big point is to let the elbow extension and the rotation of the hand and arm guide the movement not focusing on the so-called forward snap which doesn't exist.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

John Yandell

[grimmbomb]

excellent. Thank you for the reply. Worrying about what to do with the forearm has really messed me up lately. This should fix it.

Thanks again.

[Bungalow Bill]

I can feel the muscles in my forearm flex for a split second. I wouldn't call it a "snap", because my wrist is not really snapping foreward. It's more just going along with the pronation.

John provided you with information that I would fully support. What I did like was your awareness of the flex that happens when you threw the football. Although I feel that flex in my twohanded backhands tophand and somewhat on the forehand as well, the serve I have not.

For the me to generate a lot of pace on the serve, the arm needs to be completely relaxed. Completely. One of the things I use to do is go to a gym, grab a 15 lb dumbbell, lay on my back on a bench, while letting my arms go back past my head and towards the ground.

There was usually a place during this take back that my muscles resisted. I would take a deep breath and try to relax them to get my shoulders to rotate some more to provide me with a deep stretch. In a way, it resembled the pull over exercise, except I wasn't trying to "lift weights" per se but trying to get my shoulders to relax.

The key to a good serve is fluid body motion and an arm that can be accelerated. The non-dominant arm also plays a role as it fold back into the body to accelerate the hitting arm.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/pro_men/mark_philippoussis/MP_serve/MP_1st_serve/MP_1st_serve.html?MP1stSDeuceFront1.mov

Look at how loose Mark's hitting shoulder is, his racquet motion is continuous, and watch how his non-dominant arm fold in which helps propel the hitting shoulder and arm. Let it flow.