The McEnroe Serve

Most players who remember John McEnroe’s serve recall his distinctive sideways starting stance,
with both feet along the baseline, and the slow rhythmic rocking motion at the start of his delivery.

McEnroe’s sideways stance broke new biomechanical ground in tennis allowing him to
generate roughly twice the body rotation of players with conventional motions (close to a
full 180 degrees, compared to the 90 degrees in a conventional motion).

You can see the extent of the rotation by comparing McEnroe’s shoulder position
in the two photos at the left.

The influence McEnroe had on serving in the modern game is evident today in the motion
of players like Pete Sampras. Although his stance is less extreme, Sampras lines up his feet with the
back foot behind and to the left of the front foot, with the toe turned back even further away from
the baseline, or slightly open.

Like McEnroe, Sampras lines up his feet with the back
foot behind and to the left of the front foot

The result is that as he begins his wind up, his body naturally turns away from the net. Prior to rotating into the delivery, his back is approaching parallel to the baseline….