Cincinnati

[jimlosaltos]

Is there anything your camera doesn't miss...

Hah! Ahhh, the stuff I can't share is priceless

[arturohernandez]

No idea but it's the brightest thing I've heard a player doing in a long while.

I keep hearing Ben Hogan and Monica Seles in my head. There is this very small book on slow practice that was published a few years ago. It is not super long but it tries to make the point that slow practice allows people to better coordinate the fine muscles.

I am guessing that someone else here might have more insight on this as an actual way to practice.

In any case, if you watch Fed you can see how he serves very slow and fluid especially in warm up. Rafa has trouble serving very slow. I remember some years ago he had to serve from the trophy when playing a kid for fun. What you see is that Rafa's serve is not as fluid as Fed's.

That is where it feels to me that serves break down. Sabalenka always tried to muscle the ball. She is so tight. Yes, she can generate power and velocity. But she has no feel and so when it comes to try and spin the ball in she misses. I think if you asked her to serve as slow as possible she would have a very hard time.

The biomechanics are simply an extension of what her mental image of a serve is. For Sabalenka the serve is a sledgehammer. For Sampras, Fed, Barty, the serve is a coordinated set of movements that result in accelerating the racket up to contact.

Please chime in if you have seen this slow practice approach work on serves. I am only one person and definitely not a teaching pro (or any kind of pro when it comes to tennis).

[stotty]

For me Sabalenka's problems are rooted in the leg drive. She tosses the ball then bends her knees way after. I like to synchronise the bending of the knees at, or very close to, the release of the ball toss. Everything synchronises much better that way.

The trouble with the kind of problem Sabalenka has is that it will work fine in practice and may even feel great, which is misleading for the player, and the coach. It's really hard to hold a serve like hers together under pressure, however, and it soon starts to look disjointed.

I haven't studied her second serve in any detail, nor seen it live, so not sure how much spin she imparts or whether it's on the flat side.

It would be nice to get Seano's input on Sabalenka's serve.

[jimlosaltos]

For me Sabalenka's problems are rooted in the leg drive. She tosses the ball then bends her knees way after. I like to synchronise the bending of the knees at, or very close to, the release of the ball toss. Everything synchronises much better that way.

The trouble with the kind of problem Sabalenka has is that it will work fine in practice and may even feel great, which is misleading for the player, and the coach. It's really hard to hold a serve like hers together under pressure, however, and it soon starts to look disjointed.

I haven't studied her second serve in any detail, nor seen it live, so not sure how much spin she imparts or whether it's on the flat side.

It would be nice to get Seano's input on Sabalenka's serve.

From memory, her second is usually slice, or kick-slice pretty hard.

[seano]

Was reading an article on Tennis.com and it mentioned the biomechanist who has been working with Sabalenka is named Gavin MacMillian.

[jimlosaltos]

Was reading an article on Tennis.com and it mentioned the biomechanist who has been working with Sabalenka is named Gavin MacMillian.

Interesting. Thanks. This one I presume?

Does not look as if his practice is aimed at her serve, but general mobility and strength. Did play tennis -- down the street from me at San Jose University.

Gavin MacMillan
President and Founder at Sport Science Lab
Irvine, California, United States

Sport Science Lab is a company that specializes in sports performance, physical rehabilitation and general. Proven scientific methods taken from decades fo research and custom designed strength equipment that we also sell are utilized to achieve our goals. SSL to date has trained thousands of athletes of all levels and has been fortunate to have been blessed with World Champions in 7 sports.

https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-271/

[stotty]

Interesting. Thanks. This one I presume?

Does not look as if his practice is aimed at her serve, but general mobility and strength. Did play tennis -- down the street from me at San Jose University.

Gavin MacMillan
President and Founder at Sport Science Lab
Irvine, California, United States

Sport Science Lab is a company that specializes in sports performance, physical rehabilitation and general. Proven scientific methods taken from decades fo research and custom designed strength equipment that we also sell are utilized to achieve our goals. SSL to date has trained thousands of athletes of all levels and has been fortunate to have been blessed with World Champions in 7 sports.

https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-271/

I'd never heard of him until now.

[jimlosaltos]

I'd never heard of him until now.

Just heard a post-match interview with Sablenka. She thanked him, pointing to him in the stands, for helping fix her serve.

Quizzed by Renee Stubbs on she changed Saby said, "I was tossing it too far in front of me. Added some spin. Now I go for big targets instead of aces."

Basic stuff but credits that guy.