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Tennis Lessons / Serve / Step 7
Swing and Pronate
How To :
1. Swing up on edge towards the tennis ball.
2. Rotate body towards net.
3. Right before hitting the ball, pronate your forearm and wrist.
Figure 1: Swinging up on edge and pronating at the last second
From the racket drop, I swing up on edge towards the tennis ball. Swinging "on edge" is similar to pretending your racket was a hammer and you were trying to drive a nail into the tennis ball. If I hit the tennis ball when my racket was on edge, I would be hitting the ball with my racket frame. Also, look at the shape my arm and racket form as I swing up. It looks very similar to an upside down "L."
At the same time I am swing up, on edge, at the tennis ball, I rotate my body from sideways to towards the net.
Right before I make contact with the tennis ball, I pronate. Pronation is the source of much consternation in the tennis world, but in reality it is a pretty simply motion. In this instance, pronation means rotating your forearm and wrist as a unit so that the racket goes from on edge to the strings facing the tennis ball and net. To examine pronation more closely for yourself, put your arm out in the Atlanta Braves' "Indian Chop" position. Now instead of chopping as you move your arm forward, transition into giving someone a High Five. That transition, from chopping on edge to slapping with a high five, is pronation.
The longer you wait to pronate — the faster you do it — the more pop (or spin) your serve will have. Obviously, don't wait so long that you don't make solid contact. But from the racket drop, you do not start pronating immediately.
The image below should clear things up. Frank's racket starts on edge, but he pronates and makes contact with the tennis ball:
Figure 2: Frank pronating
Common Errors:
Swinging up at the ball with your strings open / facing the ball.
This means you cannot pronate. These serves are sometimes called "frying pan serves" because it looks like you are holding the tennis racket like a frying pan when you hit. This is a more common problem when you have the wrong grip, but it is still possible to do this with a continental or other acceptable service grip.
At the risk of sounding redundant, the on edge — pronation swing combination is essential. It happens with every good serve — flat, slice, kick — it doesn't matter.
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