Hey guys, hope you all are doing well, its been a while since I've been on here. I am a senior in high school and I really want to play Division 1 collegiate tennis. I picked up a racquet for the first time about 3 years ago, so I know I have some stuff to improve on but I would like to hear from you guys. Hope you all like it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vCARzTREgE
Thanks
-Will
Your forehand looks excellent. However, you consistently set up in a neutral or near neutal stance. IMO, you will generate more power and spin setting up in a more open stance.
Your backhand is good, but, IMO, your takeback is too circular, and you are dipping your right shoulder and leading with your upper body which prevents you from leading with your legs and hips and generating a kinetic chain and upper body rotation. I would recommend that you take your hands straight back (not that big loop), with a straight (or nearly straight) right arm, and the racquet pointing straight up. In the forward swing, keep your shoulders level and lead your forward swing by rotating your left hip toward the target. This hip rotation will pull your shoulders, which will pull your arms and racquet through contact.
IMO, Andre Agassi had the greatest backhand of all time. Check out his technique in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1qv6S7KJug
Your serve is good. But, it could be better. I'm betting your second serve drops off in power, spin and reliability during a match. You are arming the ball and using very little upper body rotation. Like groundstrokes, upper body rotation on serve will add a lot of mass and racquet speed to your shot. In order to maximize upper body rotation on serve, at the peak of your toss, your shoulders should be
turned and
tilted as much as possible so that you can rotate around your spine adding both mass and racquet speed to your shot. Currently, you have almost "ZERO" shoulder turn and tilt. At the peak of the toss, your opponent should be able to see your shoulder blades. In addition, your left shoulder should be as high above the right shoulder as possible which is accomplished by sliding your hip to the target as you toss the ball causing your body to bow. With your spine angled back, and your upper body rotating around your spine, as you rotate toward the target, your right shoulder will rotate up to the ball and your shoulder tilt will reverse with the right shoulder above the left shoulder. This will add a lot of free, effortless power and spin will improve your serve, and save your arm in the long run.
Here are two excellent online serving lessons that will help you picture what I'm talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlPVdppfYGs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajoZ0f7hw-A
Your volleys are ok. But, you let your racquet head drop on too many volleys. It's one thing to volley balls 3 feet above the net from 5 feet away from the net. It's something else to volley balls below your knees from 10-15 feet from the net. Keep the racquet head above your hand, and keep the angle between your arm and racquet constant throughout your volleys.
Hope this helps.