The most detailed, physics/math oriented article on the kick serve!

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Permalink Reply by Tim Prapong on January 7, 2011 at 11:42pm

 

If the shoulder internal rotation creates the most to linear movement at 54%, then one should choose the stance that creates the most shoulder rotation without strain.
After fixing the stance, one can pull across the hitting shoulder horizontally and create a few degrees of extra rotation. Sampras does this by pulling his elbow back.
Then the next biggest contributors are the elbow and wrist at 31% according to your article. Here is where the real improvement lies, once your stance is set correctly.
You cannot keep trying to pull the shoulder back any further. You risk getting a rotator cuff tear. Instead, one should concentrate on snapping the arm more efficiently from the upper arm onwards to the wrist.
You can also add slight more rotation by arching. You cannot keep arching too far upwards, because then you will be angled too far upwards and will hit too far long.
A person can just end up trying to do more of something the body can no longer improve on is my point here.

 

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Permalink Reply by david reinhart on March 22, 2011 at 12:50pm

Tim is the Dent grip you are referring to closer to an eastern backhand or eastern forehand?

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Permalink Reply by Tim Prapong on March 22, 2011 at 6:27pm

Neither, David. Instead, it is a modified Continental grip where the thumb and fingers are parallel and across the handle, or perpendicular to the long axis of the racquet itself. Think of the wrist angle created by the forearm and the handle as being 90 degrees.

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