Serve leaves a lot to be desired. 1) Lower and upper body are out of synch. 2) Front foot is too sideways to baseline (maybe even slightly past parallel) at the start. 3) Loading of the legs throws off her balance thru-out the rest of the motion (knees too close to each other) . Notice where her back leg finishes at the end of the stroke (too far to the right). 4) Elbow is too close to the body in "trophy" position. 5) Too open at contact, too much twist rotation of the trunk. (hips are square at contact), due to no loading of rear hip. 6) Contact is too far to the right. 7) End result = less internal rotation of the shoulder.
I would start to solve the problems with a better starting foundation with the front foot at a 45* angle and a platform stance. Less arm movement and more loading of the rear leg/hip in the take-back. Have her toss closer and in front to promote more shoulder over shoulder rotation. Make sure her shoulders and right elbow are aligned in the "trophy" position. Have her legs exploding up, start the racquet drop.
How can a top American hopeful, advance thru the ranks, get lots of top coaching and have such a liability at this stage in her career? I know she is still young and needs time to fully develop but? Any idea the speed of her 1st & 2nd serves? Given her size and the power of her competition, it's going to be a struggle to have long term success if her serve is such a liability. Difficult to make the needed corrections while playing on the tour.
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Interactive Forum December 2017: Cici Bellis Serve
Cici Bellis Serve
Sad to say that I predict Cici Bellis’s serve will be a huge limiting factor in her success. See what you think. The windup is a disaster and the coordination of the timing of the racket drop and upward swing with the legs probably could not be further off. Check out the double pump knee bend. I don’t like super low tosses but hers is a mile too high. As for internal arm rotation, it’s there, partially, sometimes. Other thoughts?
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