Tennis Training

There's no better weapon in tennis than a big first serve. You know the basic elements: a Continental grip, full extension and pronation. Pat Dougherty, the serve doctor at Nick Bollettieri’s academy, stresses something else: chest angle. Dougherty uses a pole vaulter’s pole as an example. Before upward acceleration begins, the pole bends and the center of the pole, or its chest, points skyward. Your chest should do the same on the serve.