Brand New 2012 Monte Carlo Footage
Super Slow Motion Footage of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and many many more
Go To The Pro Strokes Page

Here we can see the start of the Djokovic forehand. His left arm is helping to take the racket back and this will do two things-
1.Get the shoulder turn
2.Help keep his right arm relaxed by holding the weight of the racket in the left hand
Also his racket head is much higher than his grip right from the start-this gives him good leverage and there is space between his right elbow and body, a common mistake some players do is they have the elbow too close on the takeback and this will cause the shot to be squashed up (no space)

Notice here how high Djokovic's racket is, the top of the racket head is at shoulder height level-this will give him a lot of space to accelerate and give him great leverage over the ball.
He also has his body weight on the back leg which will allow him a weight transfer throughout the shot
(Maximum power always starts with the body weight being used effectively)

Just before contact point and his whole racket head has dropped below the ball level to allow him to generate the tremendous topspin that he gets on the forehand.
Nadal's contact point is way out in front of his body with his hitting arm fully extended.
His eyes are fixed on the ball.

Nadal's backhand at the contact point.
Now his right arm has extended fully and is still extending outwards
Notice that there is still a good knee bend when he makes contact (a common mistake is coming up too early rather than staying down as you make contact)

Sampras' finish is very unique and you do not see players on the tour these days finishing in this way.
Novak Djokovic is probably the closest to finishing in this way.
Sampras' snap down on the ball allowed him to control the depth of the ball and hit spots that other players could dream of.

The trophy position on Mirnyi's serve. Notice 3 things

1.His pinpoint stance and the hips leaning over the baseline stretching the left side of his body

2.The great shoulder/arm alignment from the right elbow through to the left hand

3.The racket head position

All 3 of these things are big fundementals to the success of Max's serve

Learn to train like the Pro's with these footwork drills that will transform your movement and fitness on court.
Over 40 different drills all on our footwork page

Agassi is using the neutral stance and he will step into this shot more.
His body weight will start on the back leg here then transfer to the front leg during contact and forward into the ball.
Look at the left arm getting ready to pull away (which will start the rotation forward)

This picture is great to see that Agassi has not closed himself off with his right foot, a very common mistake even among pros is to block themselves off with the front foot blocking the rotation forwards after contact.
His butt-cap of the racket is really aligned with the oncoming ball (this will give hime great leverage over the ball)

When using this tactic the more slice you can put on the serve the easier it will be to pull the opponent off the court
Remember that on the first shot you are not going for a winner, if you happen to hit a winner then perfect but the idea is just to put the opponent under a lot of pressure from the first shot

What is the best way to Split-Step?
Should you start your Split-Step when the opponent makes contact?
Or should you be landing when the opponent makes contact?
What about when returning when should you do the Split?

All is answered on our Split-Step page

Would you believe me if I said to you that there was a little trick that could make tennis feel much easier instantly and make you feel fitter straight away?
When is the right time to inhale or exhale?

All is explained on our page THE POWER OF THE BREATH