Comments

1. Dan says:

   Great comparison. I was wondering if you had any comment about Jay hitting on his toes and Agassi seeming much more grounded and hitting off his right/back leg? I know players sometimes leave the ground as a result of the force going up and into their swing, but not sure if this is really what’s happening here as the upward motion seems to happen early not as a consequence of the power explosion in Jay’s case.

   In the same vein, you alluded to it with the chicken & egg, but something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately and trying to incorporate in my swing, is that the follow-thru isn’t something to force after contact. Rather its not an action but a reaction or necessary consequence of generating solid swing speed into the ball. The arm and racket have to slow down, and letting the arm turn over and wrap fully around with good shoulder turn insures I’m not putting the brakes on my swing and robbing it of power by actively slowing it down or stopping it too soon. Thinking this way seems to help me stay looser so I’m smoother and have a fuller follow through.

   I guess what I’m trying to say is I try to swing through the ball, and I seem to do this better when I have a full loose follow through. If I pull it up short, like you say, I really am pulling up short on really hitting through the ball and robbing my power. Also if I try to force a full follow-through I get a little tight and jerky. So I try to swing through and loose and let the natural momentum swing my arm and shoulder fully around trying not to get in the way of that momentum. This seems to help me swing faster overall.

   Sorry for the ramble…I’ve just been thinking a lot about this lately as I’ve worked on upping my power. I’m sure something I read sparked it but unfortunately can’t remember to give credit to where its due…been reading and watching too much lately! Thanks for the vids.

   Reply
   • Dan says:

     Note to self…don’t make comments on stroke mechanics at 2 am!

     I was too loosey goosey above. What I meant to say is, you know how sometimes you hear things like “Point your elbow at the ball path after you hit the ball when you follow through”? I don’t think Agassi or other pros are thinking that (I don’t really know of course). I think they are swinging like heck all the way through the ball until the twist of their bodies stops them and their racket. This leaves their elbow pointing down court and results in their shoulder rotating nicely around. This also inures they don’t skim off any power from their stroke by thinking “I have to stop my racket”…it’ll stop just fine on its own.

     Its kind of like I don’t think Agassi is thinking “turn my shoulder” during his set-up, though obviously his shoulder is turned in videos and its a correct element to watch for in anyone’s swing setup. To me it looks like he’s taking the racket back with 2 hands initially and then almost forcefully thrusting his left hand out perpendicular to the ball path. Doing this of course means his shoulders are nicely turned and his body is loaded up.

     I think some things that show up in videos are results of doing and concentrating on other things, but may not be the focal point of the person hitting. It could also be different cues work for different players too I suppose. For me I think, “start racket back with 2 hands and get my arm out” and “swing through till my body stops me”.

     Thanks again for all the videos and analysis…good stuff.

     Reply
2. John says:

   Excellent analysis, Ian. This video is a good reminder to all of us that the stroke does not end on contact. Props to Jay for submitting the video.

   Reply