Much appreciated, video analysis is crucial for tennis.

On 3. Prior to the trophy position a lot of pros have an ulnar deviation of the wrist, and I believe this amplifies the radial deviation they get during the reach back after the trophy position, which in turn amplifies the power from the radial deviation unwinding through the contact. So the motion is ulnar->radial->ulnar. I've been trying it out and it seems to add a little extra power to the serve without swinging any harder.

Wonderful, thanks for the feedback!

Yes, had to be very careful with the iPad but everything worked out fine. ;) Much appreciated for the support!

Like I mention in my article based on this video, the player can be deceived by the feel since 95% of the service action the wrist is relaxed and lagging. A skilled player also relaxes the wrist quickly after contact and they have this sensation of a loose wrist. But it's important for a coach to know exactly what happens in the wrist so that they don't teach incorrectly. "Relaxed wrist" throughout the backswing and then doing "pronation drills" is what develops the right action.

I saw the KZfaq video where Djokovic said that - it was in a interview with Time magazine in 2009, at a tennis centre in Tenafly, New Jersey, USA. As you say, while Djokovic is highly intelligent, even the pros don’t fully understand the biomechanics of the serve. The wrist snap is really the turning of the forearm (pronation) and there is no flexing of the wrist.

I see in this thread, two persons saying Djokovic (and his team) do not understand the serve mechanics - is that right ?

Hmm, who says that? You must be misinterpreting something. What is it that makes you think that?

@@tennistan463 I think he understands most of the serve mechanics, its just his description of pronation is flawed. However he made that statement all the way back in 2009, so maybe the way he would describe it now would be different. Its hard to say as I have not seen any other similar interview online where he technically described each part of his game.

Coming soon but you will be surprised how little difference there is between a flat serve and a slice serve...

The wrist on a topspin serve was published not long ago: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/b7KYfd2Zzce0nmQ.html. The slice serve videos are coming up soon...

Correct! Pronation before the contact is more important than afterward……

Yes, on the forehand it's also important to spread the fingers as the index finger then partially "rests" under the handle and helps with upward acceleration of the racket head for topspin. But the general idea is to have more of your palm against the handle which means better support and also better feel as more sensory cells in your skin get the information from the handle's orientation and movement.

The wrist does not snap on any serves, but it moves a bit different on a topspin serve, explained here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/b7KYfd2Zzce0nmQ.html

@@feeltennis merci!

@@feeltennis I served so much better today simply by knowing that there was no snap with wrist. Thank you so much for pointing this out!

Pronation is the consecuence of using a continental grip (otherwise you would hit with the edge of the racket). Pronation doesn´t provide any power. It´s elbow extension that provides power (many people are confused and think that´s pronation)

@@miguelbarahona6636 Sorry but that too does not sound completely right. As far as I can see, shoulder rotation and pronation of the lower arm do provide power. I still think that the serve motion is very difficult to describe. Many online teaching pros comment on how the serve is done but when they serve themselves, and one looks at the stop frame images of what they do, it is very much different. Maybe helpful at some stage of the learning process but not so helpful if one wants to get to a better level. I think good players truly think they do something a certain way but their actual motions aren't what they think. They are probably playing from "feel" and not thinking about it. Someone has lead them into the proper actions and then that player learns the "feel" of the motion. Great subject. And after many years of trying, I am still looking for that right "feel". :-)

Tennis players that bend their elbow quickly after contact are usually very naturally talented for the serve like Sampras, Becker, Djokovic and they just developed that technique naturally. Note that at point of contact their arm is straight and the ball is long gone by the time they bend the elbow. So it's just their own feel of pronation that results in that move. So with a question "which is better" you may imply and ask which should you learn or copy. I would personally never teach such details in player's style. They have to develop naturally in the same way as the style of forehands which is different for every player.

Not in basic teaching approach and not for recreational tennis players. They will go the wrong way, they will become tense and never really get their elbow behind enough. So if you teach abbreviated take back you can already know what problems will follow so you need to have your corrective exercises ready. ;) I work with adult recreational tennis players now exclusively and they are also the people who look for tennis tips online - so I make videos for them. If you have a very talented 10 year old boy who has a very good throwing motion already then you can teach him abbreviated take back and likely he will be ok.

I don't say anywhere in this video that the wrist is stiff or not active. The purpose of the video is only to show that there is no snap / flexion which is what is being wrongly taught. If I were to explain every nuance of the serve in one video then the video would be 5 hours long... I know exactly what goes on with the wrist, forearm and other parts of the body because I can serve well, I have very good awareness of my body and I have been a professional tennis coach for 25+ years. But I need to share information online to rec players in digestible form where each video basically answers just one question. In this previous video on wrist action on a topspin serve I mention and demonstrate that the wrist is actively engaging in the last bit of acceleration towards the ball: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/b7KYfd2Zzce0nmQ.html. As for your concern that players will misinterpret the video, for one, there is no absolute clear instruction that cannot be misinterpreted. And secondly, be more concerned about thousands of other nonsense tennis instruction videos on KZfaq and not mine which has been the top 3 channels in terms of views and subscribers for many years. And finally, if you're so concerned about tennis players, why don't you start your own KZfaq channel, put yourself out there and let us judge and comment on your instruction. Then you'll have something to be concerned about...

You're absolutely correct - everything you stated, including the "slight" wrist snap which is what similarly occurs when you're throwing a dart (though there is no pronation of the forearm). Unfortunately, there are people who are so closed-minded they simply can't or won't acknowledge the truth of what you said.

I think what Tomaz was trying explain here is don’t purposely snap your wrist and think that will increase the racket speed then to make a good serve. But ultimately, doing this frequently may hurt your wrist because that part is very fragile indeed. Power should come from uncoil, leg drive and quick pronation.

One should definitely not try to snap the wrist on the serve or overhead. As you can see the wrist functions completely differently. One should try and learn pronation and internal shoulder rotation doing the pronation drills and then the wrist will do correctly what it's supposed to do (without thinking what to do with it): kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Y5-TfLKTyLfdfXk.html

What I'm trying to say is using the continental grip and snapping wrist will naturally get you pronation and internal shoulder rotation though. I honestly don't think anyone who tries to snap wrist with the right grip can get into that awkward position Tomaz demonstrated.

@@klue. 90% of adult recreational tennis players do not use internal shoulder rotation and pronation. They swing from the shoulder down with a straight arm. Nothing happens naturally, all these players need to be taught in slow progressive way how to serve with pronation. What can get in the way is their belief that they need to snap the wrist, then it's even worse. While tennis players may naturally develop good forehands and backhands, they do NOT develop naturally the serve. It is the most messed up stroke in recreational tennis. It needs to be taught and corrected by a knowledgeable coach or it will stay a mess.