Understanding Andy Roddick’s Serve Part 1

An inevitable transition: from Pete to Andy?

It’s inevitable. When a player reaches the top of the pro game, players and coaches begin talking about his or her strokes differently. Slowly but surely the references to the dominant players of the previous generation fade away.

When it comes to the serve, we are going through one of these transitions, from the glorification of Pete Sampras to the glorification of Andy Roddick. It’s analogous to what happened when Sampras displaced John McEnroe fifteen years ago.

I see the transition when I talk with junior coaches. Up until last year, most coaches still wanted to study Pete. The Advanced Tennis high speed video of Pete and the talks I did about his motion at coaching conventions were phenomenally popular. I also did dozens of side by side filming comparisons using Pete as a model for competitive junior and club players. The impact of his unbelievable clutch serving and his gorgeous, fluid motion lingered well after his retirement. (Click Here to see the series on his Sampras motion.)

Click Photo to study Andy’s motion for yourself in high speed video.

But in the last year the conversation has shifted. Now these same coaches…