Anticipating the Serve

[johnyandell]

Let's discuss, "Anticipating the Serve", by Machar Reed, Miguel Crespo, and Damian Farrow!

[klacr]

This is a great topic and very interesting. I wish it were longer in length. This is one of the biggest issues I find when teaching competitive players, how to be an effective returner. It's all in the details. Superb stuff. Miguel Crespo has a lot of nice information and speaks at numerous coaches conferences around the world. Glad we have some new contributors as well. Hope to see more articles in future from these three.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

I got really tucked into the article....then it ended. It was way too short for such a weighty topic. Returning serve is a big part of tennis and always has been.

Are these esteemed contributors going to make it to the forum I wonder? I hope one of them will because it would be great to ask a few questions.

Stotty

[bdole]

The "what the eyes should be watching" section was very helpful.
I thought the breakdown of average return positions was interesting, but I'm not sure about the women's placements being so close. Kvitova in particular...watched some highlights of her and did not see those return positions replicated.

[tennisscience]

bd,
That was from the Australian only

[don_budge]

"The game of tennis has changed drastically over the decades, as developments in technology and conditioning regimens, among other factors, have altered the style of play. Underpinning many of these developments is science, and this book explains the scientific wonders that take the ball from racquet to racquet and back again."

Complete and utter nonsense! Rediscovery of the wheel The cult of science prowling about. I looked at only one thing seriously in this article. I looked at where Roger Federer was receiving. I haphazardly glanced at where Nadal was standing picking his butt.

[johnyandell]

Stotty,
I can only ask not compel.

[doctorhl]

I am interested in the returner foot action and timing when a player occasionally moves forward during the Serving windup/toss to close in and reset their position to avoid high contact.Some players seem to cover a great distance and know when to initiate the movement much better than others. Do you have footage?

[johnyandell]

doc,
Look in the HS Stroke Archives! Especially Murray.

[doctorhl]

Thanks-will do.

[johnyandell]

So Machar Reid is going to respond to a few questions starting Jan 3. Post them now if you can and try to keep them "concise"...

[bottle]

"The game of tennis has changed drastically over the decades, as developments in technology and conditioning regimens, among other factors, have altered the style of play. Underpinning many of these developments is science, and this book explains the scientific wonders that take the ball from racquet to racquet and back again."

Complete and utter nonsense! Rediscovery of the wheel The cult of science prowling about. I looked at only one thing seriously in this article. I looked at where Roger Federer was receiving. I haphazardly glanced at where Nadal was standing picking his butt.

"The cult of science?" (https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...TF-8#q=Luddite)

[nickw]

I read this book already, some very interesting stuff in it, but this section on returning serve was disappointing. Not enough detail, what exactly are the players looking for in the path of the racket, and how exactly are they reacting to it before their opponent strikes the serve? I have never ever heard a pro player talk about racket cues helping them to predict serve location, has anyone else? Does Ferrer do it better than others? He stands in very close and has great returning stats, or is it his exceptionally timed split step, excellent ball tracking skills, compact backswing, early contact etc? How do racket cues relate to Nadal's very deep return position, which gives him time to use his bigger swings?

[johnyandell]

Great questions! Machar says he will answer some questions after the first--doubt anyone has the answers to the great ones you are asking though!

[nickw]

Thanks John! Just asking questions makes you think and helps you learn, so answers are a bonus! Thoughts and opinions, with no definitive answer, also valuable.