Your Strokes: Jonathan Ryle Serve

What changes should players make in what order? This month's Your Strokes demonstrates the peril in analyzing strokes through email or online message boards. Jonathan Rile, an Irish junior player, wrote in about his serve, and raised multiple technical issues. He didn't think he got enough body turn, or that he used his legs enough. He was concerned about the amount of his shoulder tilt. He thought he was contacting the ball too far in front, with too much forward body bend at the waist. And actually, he was right about some of these points. The problem was that, when I actually looked at the video he sent in, there was a far more basic issue. Priorities I encounter some version of this phenomenon with almost everyone I analyze. Players have multiple, complex technical questions about their strokes. They want to raise them all at once, and they want detailed answers, now. They think these answers will automatically lead to better technique, but that's virtually never the way it works. Where was Jonathan’s racket drop and where should it be? For the vast majority of players, it is impossible to understand and change multiple technical elements at the same time....