Serena: Stepping in the open stance FH

[marius hancu]

This is an amazing example:

Serena W
Open Stance: FH Center Open Stance Side 2

A lot of commentaries on the open stance FH refer to the support one is placing on the BACK foot (the right, for a FH) and the rotation being by far the major contributor to the shot.

Well, this clip is an example that the right foot can become the lead foot, as it's clearly in this case a step in front of the left one which is coming from behind into a very classical step-into-the-shot motion (but with the feet reversed wrt a closed stance forehand, in which the support is on the left foot and the right comes from behind to step into the shot). Thus, the linearization through motion is not lost in the open stance, on the contrary, is present (as revolutionarytennis.com affirms) even in the shots of those players which are using extreme grips and thus are normally supposed to base their work on rotation.

Serena's footwork and athleticism in this clip are really outstanding. Watch in slo-mo just the kind of contact she has with the ground (mainly on her toes), everything so fleeting, so mobile.

[John Yandell]

Serena

Yeah and she look pretty in the yellow tutu against the blue backgroun as well... But seriously, I think the pattern of steps has been radically oversimplified. What seems to be happening here is a shuffle step then the step up and out to get behnd the ball, which may have been shorter than she expected, or just a little short.
The same is try for this buzz word combo: linear vs angular momentum. nI'm sure one day we'll extract the exactg numbers and amounts of both--not sure how much the concept helps the player. I think that what we should be looking for are positions--where are the good players with the various parts of their bodies at various times in various strokes. If we approximate these model positions we don't have to worry about having enough of which typ of momentum--not that it wouldn't be fascinating to know...

[lukman41985]

This is off the topic, but in that clip, she has something on her right elbow. Is that a wristband (style statement) or an elbow strap (injury related)? I don't think Serena has had a bout with tennis elbow.

[BruceElliott]

Serena

Yeah her arm bothered her off and on in LA.

[lukman41985]

Really? Is their something in her technique that could be causing her this injury? I doubt it's tennis elbow...

[John Yandell]

[lukman41985]

Uh oh...

I can't see that video...

[CrazyLefty]

Linear vs angular movements

All shots have a combination of linear and angular motion. These concepts can not be separated with one being dominant over the other. In the Serena clip she steps into the shot with her right leg while rotating her shoulders about 90 degrees. This movement increases the angle between her shoulders and her hips. This concept has been called the X factor in golf and has been correlated with increased driving distance (force production). At contact, she has rotated her shoulders approximately 90 degrees indicating that rotation plays a major role in force production. Her hand may move in a linear motion, but a major reason it is moving with a high velocity is rotation.

[John Yandell]

Ladies and Gentlemen--look up--the video is back...

[marius hancu]

Can these QuickTime clips displayed in the Forum be "full-mode", i.e. able to run like in the Stroke Archives, with all the QuickTime buttons, or that's not possible in the Forum?

One reason, I need to refresh the browser to restart them.

[John Yandell]

The way it should work--and works on my system anyway--just click on the movie. Once you do that, you can control it with the arrows on the key board.