Head during serve

[cys19]

As with groundstrokes and volley, one's got to keep his head still throughout the swing. For serves, does the head stay still during the followthrough, or does it pivot to follow the ball into the court?

[spiritdragon]

i think ur head is supposed to follow the ball during your serve. take a look at federer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G03Zxg7OKA4&NR=1

[tennisdad65]

Great video showing the eyes only.. If I followed the ball like he did I would not frame so many 2nd serves..

ps.. I thought he was smoking a cigar at the start of his motion :shock:

[SystemicAnomaly]

As with groundstrokes and volley, one's got to keep his head still throughout the swing. For serves, does the head stay still during the followthrough, or does it pivot to follow the ball into the court?

i think ur head is supposed to follow the ball during your serve. take a look at federer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G03Zxg7OKA4&NR=1


Altho' its movement is fairly quiet, the head does move during the service motion. Assuming that you toss the ball forward into the court (as most pros do), the head, along with the upper body, will be moving forward before & after contact. As the racket comes forward & up from the racket head drop, the head must move & rotate to get out of the way of the back shoulder. However if you look closely at Fed's eyes, you may notice that his eye remained glued to the contact zone prior to contact.

His eyes appear to stay fixed at contact & just after contact. The eyes cannot really follow the ball coming off the racket -- it will be a considerable distance from you when your eyes are able to pick it up again. The head pivots mostly to get out of the way -- the movement of the shoulder of the racket arm dictates this head action. You can more clearly see the actions of Roger Federer's eyes in the link provided in the post referenced below:

tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?p=2356911 (http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=2356911&postcount=26)

[Radical Shot]

One of the best pieces of advice that I got from a coach regarding the head and serve is this...

"Don't drop your chin during the serve. Imagine that there is a pen stuck between your neck and the bottom of your chin"

With this mental imagery in mind, it ensures that your head remain up and focussed on the ball throughout the service motion.

Thanks Slug. You're a great teacher.