The second major transformational zone in the chain, is the load explode in the shoulders from the hip drive. Harnessing ground reaction force and momentum in the drive up, the hips initially turn the shoulders back and down creating a front to back slope before the shoulders reverse. This transformational movement is prior to and initiates the throwing motion of the serve:
As the legs extend and the hips drive up, the shoulders and racket arm drop back and down , while the front arm drives forward and down.
You can see the palm of the front arm as it drives down and pulls the back shoulder up and how the racket arm continues down before transforming with full force up to contact. It is elastic recoil in the muscles in this area as they lengthen and contract in the transformational zone.
It is a chain reaction.
I have read somewhere that 60% of your eventual serve speed comes from this motion, from racket drop to contact. I’m not sure how you can separate the force moving up the chain to measure a section of the chain reaction, and wonder about the value of the information. It is clearly the force driving up the chain loading the shoulders to drive the throwing action, it’s a chain reaction from the ground up. There is a symmetry in the movement of the arms as you would expect as they are attached to both ends of the shoulder girdle.
A coaching tip would be to demonstrate how the front hip slide will begin to turn the front arm forward to begin pulling down. everything is connected , it’s a chain reaction. At the risk of repeating myself the elastic recoil effect is in the transformational zone from loading to exploding which is the essence of a chain reaction in motion. It follows that training this way must be the most effective.
The 3DMAPS six mobility chain reactions drive your body through foundational movements in all three planes and the matrices take you through the elastic recoil in the transformational zones. Tweaking the movements in the chains to make them more task specific for tennis will add to the ranges of motion required and will lead to greater performance gain and a lower risk of injury. Do you wonder why your or your client’s level remains relatively static over time and do you begin to wonder if there’s a better way. Use the six mobility chain reaction lunge matrices 2/3 times a day for week to a month depending on where you start from.
See my next vlog on the racket arm action through contact as it uncovers the myth of the wrist snap.
Vaughan Ebrahim LTA accredited Level 4
Gray Institute, CAFS 2013, 3DMAPS 2017, FGS 2023