Sampras Serve:
The Mystery of the High Elbow

John Yandell

Is there an explanation for Pete Sampras's high elbow bend? Yes.

Last month we posted over a hundred high speed videos of the serve of the great Pete Sampras—maybe the greatest serve of all time. (Click Here.) Over the years on Tennisplayer we've published more articles on his motion than any other stroke in tennis history, with the possible exception of Roger Federer's forehand.

There was my initial 8 part series on Pete's serve, beginning with our inaugural issue 13 years ago. (Click Here.) Then the 3 part series I did with Brian Gordon based on the only quantitative analysis ever of this incredible motion. (Click Here.)

There is also the groundbreaking article I did on the amazing combination of speed and spin in Pete's serve, compared specifically to the speed/spin combinations of another great server, Greg Rusedski. Not to mention in the original Stroke Archive, a detailed portrait of over a hundred more stroke files. (Click Here.)

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John Yandell is widely acknowledged as one of the leading videographers and students of the modern game of professional tennis. His high speed filming for Advanced Tennis and Tennisplayer have provided new visual resources that have changed the way the game is studied and understood by both players and coaches. He has done personal video analysis for hundreds of high level competitive players, including Justine Henin-Hardenne, Taylor Dent and John McEnroe, among others.

In addition to his role as Editor of Tennisplayer he is the author of the critically acclaimed book Visual Tennis. The John Yandell Tennis School is located in San Francisco, California.

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