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Essential Body Positions

Marcos Baghdatis displays the essential body positions for the serve in the sequence on the left. This is a great animation to watch before going out and working on your serve.

In the first frame, look at the perfect 'trophy' position Baghdatis achieves. His tossing arm is completely extended straight up to the sky. This let's him hold in the body coil for a moment. His racket is pointed straight up to the sky as well, just like his tossing arm. His shoulders have fully rotated sideways, and the extended tossing arm drives his upper body down, so that his upper body is extremely well coiled. Also his knees are bent. He is like a fully coiled spring waiting to uncoil upwards into his throwing motion.

In the second frame, Baghdatis has rotated his shoulders upwards in a "see-saw" motion while dropping and supinating his hitting arm. As one part UNCOILS the other part COILS. Body uncoils, hitting arm coils.

In the second frame, his dropped/supinated hitting arm is in a perfect position to extend upward and prontate into the ball in what is essentially an upward throwing motion.

I think you can see in this sequence how the serve is not simply about "racket head speed" or seeing how fast you can swing your racket. Instead the serve is based on the principles of coil/uncoil/pronate. The looser you are and the more you can develop your coil/uncoil/pronate motion, the bigger your serve will be.

The Roddick Rocket - Drop and Extension