[tennisbiz2] Re: Serving Problem

It was mentioned in previous responce to keep the wrist loose. It's not
only the wrist that needs to be loose; the whole body. This is a key
to a great serve and no injuries.
Although we may feel very tense when a snake coils at us, the snake is
very relaxed and alert before attacking. It's uncoiling is whip-like.
When I say loose, I don't mean limp-loose which might cause your joints
be stressed by fast motion. It's loose like a martial artist, a dancer,
where the joints stay in place, there's good balance and full
cooperation of all body parts, and little or no thinking.
    The serve swing starts slow and speeds up into whip-like contact
with the ball.
    It is easy to practice this effortless motion. With a hopper of
balls: Relax a little more with each serve. Don't deliberately tense
the muscles. Grip the racquet gently. It takes practice getting used to
just letting it happen. What seems relaxed now may later feel like
over-hitting as we let-go a little more with each serve.
    We may feel like the serve is not going as fast or hard, but it will
be faster and more effective without "muscling" the ball. The
combination of relaxation and alert attention is "my"(as if I didn't
hear it before) secret to a great serve.
Ron Rudin
Carrboro, NC



 
Received on Thu Aug 24 2006 - 11:48:03 CDT