The Opposite Arm Stops When It Reaches the Body, Which Helps the Racquet Arm Accelerate Into the Ball
The Opposite Arm Stops When It Reaches the Body, Which Helps the Racquet Arm Accelerate Into the Ball

Tennis: Serve - Use of the Non-Racquet Arm

Pat Aitken

What do your students do with their non-racquet arm when they serve? Do they let it fly out of control, keep it motionless? Does it matter?

In fact, what that opposite arm does may be more important than you think. It's vital in producing power in the serve. By accelerating and stopping at the correct time, it allows the proper sequence of body movements to produce maximum power.

The Role of the Opposite Arm
If you watch the pros serve, you'll see their non-racquet arm pull down and around, helping the torso to rotate forcefully. However, the arm stops suddenly as it approaches the body—just before the racquet contacts the ball.

This sudden braking of the arm movement—sometimes called a “blocking action”—slows the rotation of the trunk, allowing the racquet arm to accelerate around it.

The effect is like snapping a towel (or playing Crack the Whip). The towel is accelerated forward, then the front of the towel abruptly stops, causing the rear of the towel to whip past it at high speed. In the tennis serve, the racquet is like the forward-whipping tip of the towel.

References:
1. Jack L. Groppel (PhD), High Tech Tennis (2nd Edition), Human Kinetics Publishers, 1992.
2. Andrew Magrath, Tennis Strokes and Tactics: Improve Your Game, Firefly Books, 2009.


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