Federer 1st Serve (Rear View) | Master Class

Roger Federer doesn't hit the FASTEST 1st serves on the tour but one thing he does do is not get broken very often. In this Master Class video I break down Roger's 1st Serve, some of the key checkpoints to look for and add a bonus tip at the very end. Enjoy the footage! JF

Thanks again for watching this video. It’s a been a pleasure delivering this content. If you liked the video, hit the “Like” button. If you really liked the video, please share it.

===SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES===

===PRO FOOTAGE===

Roger Federer Slow Motion Practice 240FPS HD

Federer ATTACKS 2nd Serve Return

Alexander Zverev Practice

Dominic Thiem Real Time and Super Slow Motion

Stan Wawrinka Backhand HD and Slo Motion

Gael Monfils Forehand, Backhand, volleys, and Slow Motion Serve

Thiem Amazing Backhands Court Level

Nadal Crushes His Serve Super Slow Motion

===INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS===
Angular Momentum Video

The Best Forehand Spacing Drill Ever

Best Volley Drill | Diamond Volley Drill

How To Load And Launch On Your Serve

Volley "V" Tennis Drill

Progression to a one-hand backhand

Bermuda Triangle | The Secret Service Target

How to attack the low, deep forehand

=== FOREHAND ANALYSIS===

Roger Federer Forehand | Unique In His Tecnique

Juan Martin Del Potro Forehand Analysis | Unique In His Technique

Dominic Thiem Forehand Analysis | Unique In His Technique

=== BACKHAND ANALYSIS===

Dominic Thiem Backhand Analysis | Master Class

Novak Djokovic Backhand Analysis | Master Class

The Low One Hand Backhand

Kei Nishikori Effortless Two Hand Backhand

Novak Djokovic Open Stance Backhand | Master Class

=== SERVE ANALYSIS===

Roger Federer Kick Serve | Master Class

[markbayasen]

Thank you very much for this video. It shows what are mentioned in other videos that were not made clear. For instance, in a video by Rope Tennis and Golf, it was mentioned that Federer and Roddick, unlike most other professional tennis players, don't actively make the racket drop using their arm by folding their elbow, instead they do what professional pitchers do which is arm cocking. This video, it is argued that Roddick and Federer maintain a 90 degree angle of the elbow (upper arm and forearm makes an 'L' shape). Your video is clearly showing no folding of Federer's elbow .The racket drop in Roddick's and Federer's serve is accomplished by the full body rotation initiated by the leg drive. This body rotation initiates the elbow to go forward and up, makes the arm externally rotate; in this position, starting from the trophy pose, the 90 degree angle is maintained. The Rope video argues that this is observed among pro baseball pitchers and only very few tennis players including Federer and Roddick do it. The benefit of this type of serving is less effort by the shoulder/arm and less prone to injury, Rope video concludes. As far as the Federer's hand above the elbow prior to impact, true, this is not the optimal but it is a limitation of his external arm rotation rather than a flaw. Somax (Roddick's serve analysis) video explained beautifully that the biggest servers like Roddick has the best external arm rotation measuring 127 degrees prior to impact( Federer 82 degrees, Nadal 79 degrees, etc.); it is argued that for every degree of external arm rotation you add prior to impact, you add a mile of speed to your serve. I have really enjoyed your videos including Federer's kick serve analysis. In this particularly video (something not clearly shown on other videos of the same subject), now I know where Federer's toss is in relation to the baseline, his follow-through and the trajectory of the ball after impact. Hope you come up with more videos.

[ellenlee]

This video is extremely helpful. I am a beginner server and have watched many videos on serving, this one with your talk through explanations i can finally visualize & see in my head exactly what to do. Thank you!!

[tomsd]

You mentioned Federer's racquet drop with the hand above the elbow. I believe it's because Federer had a bad back. He had to play with his limitation. Try pushing that elbow upward and you'd feel it in your back. For rec players, we don't need to kill our back to try to have elbow above the hand. If it's good enough for Federer, it's more than enough for us.

[vicmulyk]

Good point regarding hand height versus elbow, then showing Wawrinka's motion. This is the serve I was practicing today.

[juicetest]

good tip on right shoulder alignment coach, love effortless pop

[Markoify]

Nice analysis. Thing is, extreme external rotation can lead to a shoulder injury just as much as internal rotation.
Federer knows what he's doing.

[suman]

I like your videos. One thing I’d like to suggest is for people who are left eye dominant versus right eye. Their positions are different. Also, I feel serving to the deuce side versus the ad side is slightly different on how your body mechanics work. Maybe your tutorials can be better customized based on that. Just my 2 cents to help improve the community. I’m always looking to improve my serves every time I practice for effortless power!

But thank you for analysis! Love your videos

[dr.timothyp.charltonmd]

Nice video. The comparison of Stan to Federer at racquet drop just shows greater external rotation at the shoulder. That’s it. Some athletes have more. Some have less. Not a flaw in the serve.

[James-opud]

Swing racket on edge— simply the most insightful tip, THANK YOU!

[DyvmSlorm]

My only thought on the hand above/below the elbow is that, hand below looks like it will generate a little more power but, hand above looks like it will be a little less stressful on the rotator cuff. It MIGHT be one reason Federer has lasted as long as he has.

[TikiCat]

Great kinetic chain analysis with memorable tips, John. Thanks!

[cjcycledude]

A few things you didn't mention that are important are how Federer remains at 45 degrees when he hits the ball (he doesn't come around and open up to the court/his opponent too soon) and his left arm is tucked into his chest to act as a reactionary brake making his right arm come through faster. This all leads to a faster serve!

[AirGuitar]

The hand above the elbow is just Federer's level of shoulder flexibility. His shoulder simply isn't as flexible as a lot of other servers on the tour. Wawrinka and Djokovic have very flexible shoulders that allow the hand to go below the elbow. In my opinion, as long as you can lead on edge and keep the motion fast and fluid, then it's fine.

[gordonjohnstone]

awsome vid and description, thank you

[timothybint]

I’ve watched both your 1st and 2nd ( kick ) serve analysis of Federer’s serve .
How would you describe the essential differences ? Is it point of ball contact ?

[Issızkampçı]

I just watched my own slow mo serve video simultaneously to your Federer slow mo serve video, it seems that I started doing some biomechanics right, yet thanks to the video I found out that I pronate earlier than I should, causing me not to be able to hit as good as I should or pros do. This is really gonna be useful for me, I'll exactly focus on this next time. Thanks :)

[wassilafritschy]

Génial de voir au ralenti son service 👌👍🎾

[borisvisic]

My brother....
I like yours video you are a great coach
But....sory in this video Federer not serve a flat 1st.serve...this is a slice serve in parallel from righty players...white the pronation in the end.Federer 1st serve is in diagonally direction in this situation.

[MikeHammerForEver]

Very good video, but there's something missing that makes Federer´s serve pretty unique: the weight transfer. You mentioned that he places his weight on his left foot, True, but misleading, since that´s anecdotical and it happens only to start the motion. Right after that he quickly places virtually all of his body weight in his right foot (the left foot barely touching the ground) and he stays that way well beyond the moment he releases the ball, maintaning a vertical pose, and he does so for longer than the rest of the players. He only iniciates the weight transfer forward and balances the weight between both feet after the ball is already released and approaching its apex point. That gives him unique balance during most of the motion.

[hi_vince]

awesome video; elbow above hand is key and so easy to miss; it indicates arming the serve too much