Biomechanical Analysis of the

Tennis serve
Preparation
The preparation phase primarily consists of the mental set in which
the athlete prepares mentally for the skill he/she is about to perform
Preparation
Head is stable and eyes are intently
focused on the target.
Balance Good
base support
Left foot points
at tennis post.
Right foot
Parallel with
base line
Shoulders and
trunk are
rotated. This
will allow force
production in
next phase
Wind Up
The purpose of the wind-up is to produce FORCE.

Force Summation results in the production of a tremendous amount of
force and momentum.
Force Summation
Large muscle
groups first
Timing of
body
segments
Use of long levers
in the racquet arm
Wind Up
During the course of the windup the athletes weight is initially shifted from
the front foot to the rear foot.
Concurrently the left arm tosses the ball; consistency is imperative to the
performance of the serve.

The left arm carries up to a fully extended position and aids concentration on the
ball.
The purpose of the wind up is to store elastic potential energy and then to convert it
into Kinetic energy

Wind Up
The action of the non-racquet and racquet arm is an example of Newtons
third law:
every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
The action of the left arm balances that of the right arm so that the
racquet arm does not initiate unwanted angular momentum
Weight is shifted to the back leg, knees are bent, this enables the use of
Ground Reaction forces.

Wind Up
As the action of the arms and torso
occur the weight is shifted from the
rear leg back to the front
leg and the knees are bent in order
to develop force summation with
the large lower body muscle
groups.
This enables
him to
generate more
thrust against
the ground
therefore
generating a
more
powerful jump
into the air.
This concept
is known as
ground
reaction
force

Force Generation
the hit
The striking action of the force generation phase is initiated via the
extension of the legs and the downward acceleration of the tossing arm.
According to Newtons third
law, as the athlete pushes
against the ground, the
earth pushes
back up against the athlete
with the same force, this is
also known as a ground
reaction force
Force Generation
The sequential body movements of the hips, torso, shoulder, arm, elbow,
forearm, wrist and racquet simulate the action of a whip.
The body is comprised of a series of segments, which form third class lever
systems.
The Racquet arm is full extended to create the longest possible lever and there
fore the greatest FORCE.
Force Generation
Whip
+
Long Lever
=
Great Force
The sequential body movements of the hips, torso, shoulder,
arm, elbow, forearm, wrist and racquet stimulate the
action oh a whip
Contact
The ball is contacted through the
centre of the racquet.
The athlete can also apply top spin by
flexing the wrist over the ball.
Follow Through
Right shoulder pointing towards
direction of ball. Indication of follow
thru is in correct direction therefore
direction of forces produced have
been accurate
Head is
balanced and
focused
towards
direction of
ball
Rotation of torso
brings right leg
around and on to the
court
Body is front on and ready to play next point
Comparisons
Preparation

Head position not
focused on direction
of shot
Small base support, this will
create instability during ball toss

Comparisons
Wind Up
Lack of force
Summation
Counter balance of arms
is ineffective due to
position of racquet arm
Lack of torso rotation, this
will hinder the production
of angular momentum
The Hit
Over rotation of
torso creating
instability
Left arm moving in wrong
direction this will limit the
whip effect and reduce the
production of force
COG
outside
the base
support,
result will
be
instability
Follow Through
Continuation of over
rotation and
instability causes
server to
overbalance
Right leg moving trying to land inside
under COG for balance. This is too far to
the left and in a poor position to play
next point
COG
outside of
body