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Advanced Tennis: Sampras Serve
Radical Torso Rotation

by John Yandell 

The Radical Closed Stance as a Model?

So should the average player, or even advanced players use Pete’s radical closed stance as a model to increase their own rotation or to make it work effectively in sequence in their service motion?  

The fact is most club players - and a shocking number of advanced players - have other technical weaknesses in their serves, either in the basic swing path, the toss and/or rhythm of the motion, or in the use of the legs. Without these more basic factors, it’s ridiculous to try to develop a new cutting edge bio-mechanical element. 

But let’s assume these other elements are solid. Then the first step is to examine your own starting stance to see how much torso rotation you are currently developing. As noted above, many top players start far too open, either with their stance or shoulder position or both. 

These players can make a big increase in their level or rotation, and therefore their potential to develop more speed and spin, simply by learning to start with a basic square stance that aligns the torso at a 90 degree angle to the baseline. 

This stance incorporates one basic element from Sampras and McEnroe, the position of the front foot. To establish this stance, start with the front foot parallel to the baseline, the same position as Pete’s front foot after he puts it down at the start of the motion. Now align the rear foot with the front foot, so that it is parallel to the front foot and also parallel to the baseline.  

Your feet should be a little more than shoulder width apart, with your heels in line, that is, both along a line that is perpendicular to the baseline. Your shoulders should be square with the net, i.e., at a 90 degree angle to both the net and to the baseline. 

Now turn your head and look over your shoulders to see the court (rather than turning your whole body, which destroys this torso alignment). Keep the shoulders square. This square position should the same in the deuce and the ad court. Many right-handed players waste their rotational energy in the deuce court by turning their body so they can see the court. For a right-hander, this square stance is the key to serving wide in the deuce court, a weapon equivalent to the wide lefty serve in the deuce court, but a weapon too few right handed players ever develop. 

From this square stance ready position, you will now naturally rotate a full 90 degrees through the motion, and this rotational energy will translate automatically into additional racket head speed. Watch out! You’ll immediately start to feel more pop on your delivery. You’ll hear it in the sound of the ball coming off your racket too 

This additional racket head speed will give you the ability to experiment with new speed/spin ratios. For example, you may be able to retain the same velocity and increase your ball rotation, making your serve heavier and much more difficult to return. Or, if you are already hitting a heavy spin delivery, you’ll find you can now pick up the velocity without losing the control, consistency, and weight of shot the spin provides. 

Once you are comfortable with the square stance and can control your delivery with a balance of velocity and rotation, you can experiment with a more radical stance, shifting it towards Pete’s position, to further increase your rotation. For example, move your rear foot one foot behind you to your left, and open the angle of this rear foot to about 30 degrees from the baseline. This is about halfway between a square stance and “the full Pete.” 

Start your motion with your shoulders square, and as you drop your arms, let your torso and shoulders naturally turn away from the net and rotate onto the diagonal formed by the line across your toes, just the way Sampras does. It’s not a forced turning away motion - your shoulders and hips should flow backwards easily and with little effort, seeking a more natural alignment with your feet.

As your move through the windup and take the racket head to the ball, you should feel the increased torso rotation going back toward the contact point.  This will generate more racket head speed, which again can now translate into either more speed, more spin, or into both. 

Now work to get comfortable with this modified position and use your increased racket head speed to adjust the balance between spin and speed, depending on your current delivery and its strengths and/or weaknesses. 

If you find your delivery improves and you can maintain your serving consistency and percentages, you can then experiment with the advanced stance and alignment - “the full Sampras.” For the advanced players who can truly master this more extreme position, the radical torso rotation will take their serve to an entirely new level. But beginners and competitive club players at all levels can benefit tremendously from understanding and incorporating the basic principles of body rotation into their motions to produce consistently better results through superior serving bio-mechanics.

Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about John Yandell's article by emailing us here at TennisONE.  

To view the complete ProStrokes Gallery of digitally mastered Pete Sampras serves, click here.

For more information on John Yandell's Advanced Tennis Research Project, click here.

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